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Stop Treating Marijuana Like Heroin

nytimes.com

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Re: Stop Treating Marijuana Like Heroin

#251

Post by ImTalking »

hyperdunc wrote: post #249
ImTalking wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another anecdotal story about someone's sister's friend's aunt's barber who shot-up marijuana and now is in hospital with 6 tubes running out of every orifice. Let me tell you the truth... addiction is not about the drug. Addiction is about the environment. So if these students were apathetic, it was because they had deeper-rooted issues that they were attempting to mask via some drug. And cannabis is not physically…

Are you saying they injected a marijuana solution? I've never heard of that before.

Sorry... just having a bit of fun.

Re: Stop Treating Marijuana Like Heroin

#252

Post by psykpsyk »

hyperdunc wrote: post #249
ImTalking wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another anecdotal story about someone's sister's friend's aunt's barber who shot-up marijuana and now is in hospital with 6 tubes running out of every orifice. Let me tell you the truth... addiction is not about the drug. Addiction is about the environment. So if these students were apathetic, it was because they had deeper-rooted issues that they were attempting to mask via some drug. And cannabis is not physically…

Are you saying they injected a marijuana solution? I've never heard of that before.

I know a guy who shot hashish. And no, I'm not joking. The guy is still alive, no hospital trip needed.

Re: Stop Treating Marijuana Like Heroin

#253

Post by psykpsyk »

sandworm101 wrote: post #79

The OP speaks of a lack of studies due to a lack of supply. That's incorrect. There are plenty of studies and plenty of research-grade marijuana out there. There is just very little American material. The plant has been studied in Canada and Europe with plenty of material available from a variety of producers. Canadian government's list of sanctioned providers: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/marihuana/info/list-eng.p…

Marihuana? With an H? Not sure I would believe those guys...

Re: Stop Treating Marijuana Like Heroin

#254

Post by pbhjpbhj »

Donzo wrote: post #52
pbhjpbhj wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>anecdotal evidence of people smoking marijuana everyday for 10-20 years and remaining extremely productive. // What roles, in what areas, have they risen to in this time?

Designers, architects, engineers, carpenters, administrators, teachers, writers, and so forth. I've seen daily marijuana users rise to the top of major industries. Of course, I've seen other daily marijuana users remain stationed at the front counters of gas stations, but that's my point. I don't think that daily marijuana use is the factor that accounts for the relative successes or failures of these individuals. Th…

>I don't think that daily marijuana use is the factor that accounts for the relative successes or failures of these individuals. There are many more variables. //

Do you think it's a significant factor for some?

I'm interested in where you live, well what society - you've listed 7+ professions, each as a multiple, of people you personally know who you consider successful, who you also know to be daily pot smokers. I don't even know the daily routines of 7 people outside my family ... let's say 50% of people (you know) are using pot and they're split evenly between smokers, vapers, eaters, others ... that means you know the daily routine of over 100 people. That's, erm, impressive.

[Ah, just realised, do you deal, that would explain it! Sorry, is still early for me.]

I know a handful of people who smoke pot, but that's likely my demographic - but I couldn't tell you if they smoke once a day or once a week, or less.

Any chance you're exaggerating your personal knowledge?

In the UK site workers, like carpenters, will often be tested for drug use. Your engineer, teacher friends - do they use on the job, like when taking responsibility for multiples of other people? Are you content with that.

Appreciate your responses as potentially they'd suggest a vast change in my ideas of the prevalence of daily pot use (depending on your geography, social context).

Re: Stop Treating Marijuana Like Heroin

#255

Post by pbhjpbhj »

lettergram wrote: post #133
arthurcolle wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is hard to believe, major banks drug test.

Coming from one such bank, and a background of drug tests... No, major banks don't all drug test. And in general you are given some warning about drug tests (at least at the several companies I was at). All you have to do is get off drugs for a week or so, and youre fine.

Which is probably the right approach, then you 'capture' addicts, which is surely the concern?

Re: Stop Treating Marijuana Like Heroin

#256

Post by mercer »

jacobr wrote: post #185
dietrichepp wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whoa there yourself! I thought I made it clear that the bit about criminalization was just a "bad joke" (my words). I was just pointing out that if we're going to talk about the dangers of cannabis, we should not be comparing the dangers of cannabis against the dangers of abstaining from cannabis, but we should be comparing those dangers against other risks which we consider completely acceptable, like World of Warcr…

I find it reasonable to warn about the risks of unhealthy usage of both WoW and cannabis, without criminalizing either.

I feel that there should be more nuance and awareness in general about 'addiction'. Most people, and I even catch myself sometimes, associate addiction with severe alcoholism, junkies, gamblers, and so on. As a result, it's really easy to underestimate our own unhealthy dependence on things.

Re: Stop Treating Marijuana Like Heroin

#257

Post by mercer »

saulrh wrote: post #100
Retric wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We seem to be ok with people dropping out and becoming monks, but somehow living a relaxed lifestyle is somehow a major problem. Is it ok for people not to be a cog in the machine that makes your lifestyle possible or not? Sure, I might be happier if my past self saved even more money, lived a vegan lifestyle, or learned to play an instrument. But, I don't think it's a problem that I have failed to optimize for makin…

> We seem to be ok with people dropping out and becoming monks, but somehow living a relaxed lifestyle is somehow a major problem. Thank you for this reframing! I believe that it is useful and will likely use it in the future.

I totally agree with the statement itself, but my experience around many stoners is similar to IsaacL's: they're generally not happy or relaxed at all, and smoke weed because they're stuck somehow (or vice versa, perhaps).

More often than not, the 'relaxed lifestyle smokers', myself included, did so primarily to numb the stress in their head, whether caused by work stress, personal issues, social anxiety, etc.

Basically, it's often more to cope than to relax, at least in my experience and that of my surroundings.

But exceptions always exist, of course. I just think it's good to be cautious with anything that seems to offer a quick solution to a difficult problem (being at peace / relaxed).

Re: Stop Treating Marijuana Like Heroin

#258

Post by mercer »

nine_k wrote: post #113
martinald wrote: post #13

While I'm totally for drug (all drugs - not just cannabis) legalisation/regulation, I do think the "dangers" of marijuana have been really downplayed over the last few years. I know a lot of people at university who got into smoking it very often and basically lost 10+ years of their life to complete apathy to anything. Some have now stopped and are totally different people - just 10 years behind. While it doesn't ca…

Alcohol's effects are similar and often worse. Prohibition is still widely regarded as a mistake, and literally tens of millions people in the US consume small doses of alcohol without becoming adficts.

I sometimes wonder if a measure less extreme than prohibition might've actually worked.

When it comes to weed, the Dutch approach seems to be pretty effective at allowing it's use while simultaneously keeping it from being a cultural mainstay, and I think that's a good thing.

It also seems to work with smoking. It's amazing to see how many people quit smoking as price increases and as the cultural values change. As a chain-smoker who wishes he never started, I think that's great.

In my ideal world it would be legal to drink, but it wouldn't be such an integral component of our social world. For many people, and perhaps especially those who struggle with dependence on alcohol, the relative difficulty of avoiding 'drinking culture' and the stigma attached (being boring) is a major pain in the ass.

Re: Stop Treating Marijuana Like Heroin

#259

Post by mercer »

Without arguing for anything in particular I'd just like to add the following:

If you feel or suspect that marijuana negatively affects your life, and if you want to quit (even temporarily), then I can strongly recommend visiting the 'leaves' subreddit (leaves.reddit.com).

In fact, even if you're just curious about how people compare living with and without weed as part of their lives, it could be interesting to read a bunch of the posts there.

It's a remarkably varied community; not everyone there sees weed as evil and quitting as an necessity.

And for alcohol there's a similar subreddit called stopdrinking. It's similarly open-minded.

Both have really helped me deal with (borderline) dependence.

Re: Stop Treating Marijuana Like Heroin

#260

Post by InclinedPlane »

martinald wrote: post #13

While I'm totally for drug (all drugs - not just cannabis) legalisation/regulation, I do think the "dangers" of marijuana have been really downplayed over the last few years. I know a lot of people at university who got into smoking it very often and basically lost 10+ years of their life to complete apathy to anything. Some have now stopped and are totally different people - just 10 years behind. While it doesn't ca…

Alcohol is far, far worse. Many more people get trapped by it, and it destroys careers, relationships, and lives. Sometimes directly, through DUI and other violent crimes committed while drunk. But we as a society recognized that the hazards of making alcohol illegal far outweighed those of having it legal. We need to learn to treat other drugs the same way.
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