More Americans report near-constant cannabis use • Hacker News Board

Re: More Americans report near-constant cannabis use

#51

Post by moosey » Mon, Aug 20, 2018, 6:25 PM UTC

samsonradu wrote: post #32

meesterdude wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a false equivalency. opiates and tobacco have vastly higher toxicity than marijuana - which is lower toxicity than aspirin or caffeine.

What's toxic with caffeine?

It is difficult but not impossible to overdose on caffeine and die. I'm not sure if this is the toxicity that the previous poster meant, but it could be. It appears that 30 cups of coffee is about the threshold where you get to serious danger, but that sounds insane... I've got terrible nausea after four or five cups of light roast (which has more caffeine).

Caffeine pills & powder are far more dangerous. It is very easy to overdose on them, and death is not out of the question. It still isn't common.

With marijuana, it is virtually impossible to have an overdose that kills you (It's very difficult to find sources on CBD/THC overdose):

> An overdose on marijuana is dissimilar to overdoses on other drugs because marijuana consumption, in and of itself, is not life-threatening. But using too much of the drug can have hazardous results, which may increase the risk of death.

> For instance, someone who consumed a lot of marijuana may be unaware of their environment, which can lead to accidents or falls. Furthermore, marijuana intoxication has been linked, in some studies, with psychosis,3 a condition in which the individual is disconnected with reality, typically resulting in hallucinations, delusions, or extreme paranoia. A person who is having a psychotic episode may put him or herself in dangerous situations due to confusion or detachment. [0]

Synthetic MJ (K2) is far more dangerous, though.

[0]: https://www.projectknow.com/research/marijuana-overdose/

Re: More Americans report near-constant cannabis use

#52

Post by flanban » Mon, Aug 20, 2018, 6:26 PM UTC

idoh wrote: post #29

e40 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You didn't list what you think the problem is.

The problem isn't listed because it viewed as self evident to some people. I'd list the problem of having high functional people who use marijuana everyday as: A - MJ, while a mild drug, is still a drug, and it seems like people who use it everyday are addicts. B - On the one hand I'm OK with people making their own decisions as to how they want to live their life, but on the other hand if we are talking about the ty…

You didn't really list any problems either

Re: More Americans report near-constant cannabis use

#53

Post by fithisux » Mon, Aug 20, 2018, 6:27 PM UTC

The new business model of the big tobacco and a ground breaking solution to poverty and unemployment, the handicapped junkie citizen willing to throw away liberty for pot or smokes. I smell a new Nobel in economics.

Re: More Americans report near-constant cannabis use

#54

Post by zkomp » Mon, Aug 20, 2018, 6:28 PM UTC

I think when it comes to marijuana there is a real difference between using it every day and being truly addicted.

I think the difference comes down to if you use it as medicine and thus medicate each and every day or if you use it as a drug and just want to get high and party every day.

In any way - there is no use of punishing addicts, and even less use in preventing people from medicating - legalize!

Re: More Americans report near-constant cannabis use

#55

Post by andrenth » Mon, Aug 20, 2018, 6:31 PM UTC

coldtea wrote: post #44

insickness wrote: post #17

In the past I was addicted to pot. I was addicted in the sense that pretty much everything felt better when I was high. I was more relaxed and had less anxiety. Sex was better. Food tasted better. I was more creative. I thought about much deeper things. I spent less time online and in front of screens. The biggest downside for me--and the reason I ended up quitting--was that my sober life just sucked in comparison. I…

> In other words, it made me feel fine just hanging out in my apartment doing nothing. That should be the natural state of man, though, I'd extend it to meeting with friends, cooking, playing, etc -- that is, being "non-productive". It took a lot of advertising and protestant ethic working hand in hand through opposing ends to move the needle towards full on consumption and full on productivity. "All human evil comes…

If that were true, humanity wouldn't even have reached the point where that advertising and protestant ethic were even possible.

Re: More Americans report near-constant cannabis use

#56

Post by sorrymate » Mon, Aug 20, 2018, 6:32 PM UTC

The types of problems described in the article related to near-constant cannabis use:

> Users or former users I spoke with described lost jobs, lost marriages, lost houses, lost money, lost time. Foreclosures and divorces. Weight gain and mental-health problems. And one other thing: the problem of convincing other people that what they were experiencing was real. A few mentioned jokes about Doritos, and comments implying that the real issue was that they were lazy stoners.

With users themselves describing problems that result from smoking marijuana like impaired concentration, short-term memory, motivation, and neglecting responsibilities. These are serious pit falls of failing to moderate. But I also feel that legalizing marijuana is a better alternative than putting users in jail. Incarceration seems like it would cause a lot of the problems described by marijuana users (lost jobs, lost marriages, lost houses, lost money, lost time).

Re: More Americans report near-constant cannabis use

#57

Post by Chardok » Mon, Aug 20, 2018, 6:33 PM UTC

jeremy7600 wrote: post #48

It was strange how the article kept talking about the downsides, and the downsides were just anecdotes, and nothing else. Did I miss something in the article, or was I just supposed to know the downsides before I read this? Risks like "budtenders providing medical advice" have zero to do with near-constant cannabis use.

I get that the article is supposed to be a counter-point to the rapid legalization, but you are absolutely right.

Being almost impossible to overdose on means they can't use scary death statistics, and it might be too early to have any meaningful studies done on productivity/motivation/etc. That being said, this article is really as useful as your anti-cannabis family member at Thanksgiving telling you stories about the consequences of cannabis.

Re: More Americans report near-constant cannabis use

#58

Post by mindgam3 » Mon, Aug 20, 2018, 6:36 PM UTC

For those seeking the anti-anxiety benefits of a daily dose of high grade medicinal cannabis without the cognitive impairment associated with THC (notably impairment of short term memory, which is crucial for maintaining flow state while doing complex tasks like coding or chess) - may I recommend looking into high CBD, low THC flower.

You want THC 10%. I recently switched over to a high CBD strain and it has been a godsend for productivity. Another nice benefit of minimizing daily THC intake is I have started dreaming and remembering dreams again. THC tends to suppress dreaming activity.

In the Bay Area, you can find high CBD flower at most reputable dispensaries. I’ve tried a few products and the best one by far I’ve experienced is a strain called C3P0, sold under the Marley Naturals Red/Jellyfish brand.

(Shameless plug notwithstanding, I’m not affiliated with that brand in any way, just a very happy customer wanting to share a quality product with others who might appreciate it)

Re: More Americans report near-constant cannabis use

#59

Post by nate_robo » Mon, Aug 20, 2018, 6:38 PM UTC

insickness wrote: post #17

In the past I was addicted to pot. I was addicted in the sense that pretty much everything felt better when I was high. I was more relaxed and had less anxiety. Sex was better. Food tasted better. I was more creative. I thought about much deeper things. I spent less time online and in front of screens. The biggest downside for me--and the reason I ended up quitting--was that my sober life just sucked in comparison. I…

I was always curious about the mental sharpness / memory portion. I know the short-term memory impairment is well documented but in regards to mental sharpness, that's a bit more nebulous and hard to hone in on. Is there any evidence that the use of cannabis effects cognitive ability while not under the effects or "high" of the drug?

Re: More Americans report near-constant cannabis use

#60

Post by omegaworks » Mon, Aug 20, 2018, 6:40 PM UTC

andbberger wrote: post #34

Alternative headline: citizens of deeply broken society turn to least harmful drug available to them to dull the pain of their shitty lives.

With that framing, you're omitting the most important part of the article:

All of the most powerful, most predatory actors in that society are gearing up to make that drug more widely available, experiment with its potency, and capitalize on the notion that it is "the least harmful."

I'm grateful they quoted a Stanford professor speaking truth: "We’ve learned enough about capitalism to know that’s very dangerous."