Whenever a highly anticipated restaurant opens in Des Moines, I can count on seeing a line out the door as Iowans are eager to see if the food matches the hype.
That's what I thought when I read this story out of Canada:
Just days after marijuana became legal in all of Canada, the Great White North is already running out of pot.
Long lines were found outside dispensaries as people waited to buy legal weed. In some cities, police needed to be called in to help with crowd control. Bill Blair, the man who spearheaded the government's legalization effort, told the CBC that he expected stocks to run low but not to worry because "they've got a pretty good infrastructure in place and I'm confident it will work."
Last Wednesday, Canada became the second country in the world to decriminalize recreational cannabis, allowing citizens to carry up to 30 grams and grow plants for personal use.
I imagine the early frenzy will subside and the availability of weed in Canada will soon become a normal facet of life.
What, of course, will be interesting is the impact of legal weed on the lives of an entire country. We've seen the impacts of legal marijuana debated in the states that have legalized it - but what's the impact across an entire country? Will people be more apt to drive while under the influence? Who is showing up for work stoned? Does it lead some folks to harder drugs?