The on-going debate about the legalization of marijuana rages on. The latest development is the possibility for “weed clubs”, a place where adults over the age of 21 would be able to gather with their friends to enjoy their 64th amendment rights.

Some places are already implementing these cannabis clubs, such as Nederland CO, called “one of Colorado’s most 420-friendly towns.”, according to Leafly. In its private cannabis club, customers are charged either a $10 daily membership fee or a $14.20 monthly fee. Unfortunately, one of the regulations for these clubs is that it is strictly BYOC (bring your own cannabis).

However, there are professional locals who are willing to go the extra mile by rolling a joint for you; which is pretty radical considering in April of 2015, beloved and well-smoked rapper Wacka Flocka Flame was looking to hire someone specifically to roll his weed for him for an annual salary of $50,000 per year. Is there a major for that?

These weed clubs could be a huge step in making marijuana as legal and acceptable to the same extent that alcohol is. If we have the right to buy it, why wouldn’t we have the right to consume it in a public establishment like a cannabis bar?

On average, there are 480,000 deaths cause by cigarettes in the US every year, yet we are able to consume these in public. Alcohol is responsible for about 88,000 deaths per year and get this: You can not only consume alcohol at bars and restaurants but also at casual places that we visit every day, like Starbucks.

For those wondering the annual death rate of cannabis, there are very few known cases of death from THC overdose. An article by New Health Guide on death by marijuana states that in cases where death has occurred with marijuana use, it has also been due to “other drug use or the health condition of the individual”. The article goes on to say that in order for someone to cause fatality by marijuana, they would have to take “40,000 times the amount of THC that it took them to get them high in the first place” and let’s face it, Michael Phelps doesn’t have those kind of lungs.

Even with the fact that “they have not found any evidence that it is toxic to the body,” it is also preposterous to assume that people would buy weed for any purpose other than consuming it. Having the right to buy weed but not smoke it in public is like making a peanut butter sandwich with no jelly; we’re only half way to where we want to be. So how do we get there?

Let’s start with the mindset that marijuana is a drug of the 70’s and will cause you to trip or turn into a total idiot or loser. Marijuana has no hallucinogenic properties. The high that marijuana provides comes from the THC entering the brain, causing the user to feel euphoric by activating the brain’s reward system. Basically, you won’t be seeing talking flowers.

No one becomes an idiot simply by smoking weed. Sure, if you skip school to smoke 7 joints, you might become an idiot, but not due to the weed smoking, but instead due to not going to school.

I believe many positive things can come out of weed bars and cannabis clubs being implemented in Colorado. Restaurants and stores would get more business and we, as a society, could really cash out on all the different ways weed can bring money to us.

We’ve already cashed out with the dispensaries, the cool “Best Bud” hoodies and other aspects of the stoner life. Let’s just do what America has been doing forever and reap the benefits of capitalism whilst smoking j’s in public with our friends.