Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory: Marijuana Use and the Developing Brain

hhs.gov

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

261–270 of 352 posts

Re: U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory: Marijuana Use and the Developing Brain

#261

Post by sharadov »

donw wrote: post #218
sharadov wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's profoundly sad. But I don't blame the drug, people need to figure out boundaries.

That requires clear and honest guidance as to where those boundaries might lie, though. Broadly speaking, I am pro-legalization of Pretty Much Everything, on the basis that proper education and appropriate treatment programs for heroin users are better for society than jail time. But that comes with the need to implement pragmatic, evidence-based policies for how we approach drug use as a society. A lot of neural dev…

That's the libertarian approach, which says legalize everything, tax everything. Am with you on it, although am not sure, how that would work with hard drugs ( cocaine,mushrooms,LSD, ecstasy,heroin). Again within hard drugs - cocaine is vastly different from doing LSD. A single dose of LSD in a bad setting could mess your psyche up for life. What you are doing is choosing the better of two evils.I would rather buy a pure form of LSD from Pfizer that one from a street dealer with a nefarious source and containing crap knows what!

Re: U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory: Marijuana Use and the Developing Brain

#262

Post by wannabcodr »

0000011111 wrote: post #180

If we compare the effects of Marijuana on people to those of alcohol and or Oxycodone, I think it is clear to most that the latter two are more destructive. I agree more research is needed on the effects of Marijuana use on people in general. And we need to keep the risk factors in perspective. Many more people will die, hurt others and become addicted to alcohol and or Oxycodone than marijuana. So put that beer down…

You would think this to be universally good advice based on the risks related to alcohol intoxication and alcoholism, but it’s not. Some people would do better to not smoke weed and instead drink moderately and socially.

Re: U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory: Marijuana Use and the Developing Brain

#263

Post by vangelio »

wannabcodr wrote: post #124
DaniloDias wrote: post #122

As a teenager- I decided I would wait till I was 22 before I tried Marijuana. All of my friends were heavy users- and while that made me feel like a bit of an outsider, I had come to the conclusion that it was better to wait and see how using turned out for them before I joined in. That decision was profoundly informative. My high school friends personal and professional trajectories have been severely hobbled. I don…

Indeed, I succumbed to the habit as a teenager, when I was indoctrinated by full time users who were also my peers who abused my physically in pre teen years. Upon starting marijuana usage with these peers, they saw that I reacted to the substance and proceeded to abuse me psychologically. This planted the seeds necessary to catalyze a lifetime of delusion and exploration of waste and dipping my toes into counter cul…

You'd feel a kinship with the author of Psalm 13.

For every time I've been caught in the place described in the first four verses, Christ has gifted me to see the other side in the last ones.

There's only one way to be sure you'll never have a chance to rejoice like that, and I pray both that you'll seek help before it comes to that, and that you'll be granted the same joy it describes.

Re: U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory: Marijuana Use and the Developing Brain

#264

Post by donw »

sharadov wrote: post #261
donw wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That requires clear and honest guidance as to where those boundaries might lie, though. Broadly speaking, I am pro-legalization of Pretty Much Everything, on the basis that proper education and appropriate treatment programs for heroin users are better for society than jail time. But that comes with the need to implement pragmatic, evidence-based policies for how we approach drug use as a society. A lot of neural dev…

That's the libertarian approach, which says legalize everything, tax everything. Am with you on it, although am not sure, how that would work with hard drugs ( cocaine,mushrooms,LSD, ecstasy,heroin). Again within hard drugs - cocaine is vastly different from doing LSD. A single dose of LSD in a bad setting could mess your psyche up for life. What you are doing is choosing the better of two evils.I would rather buy a…

I'd say more pragmatic than purely libertarian. :)

You still need a regulatory framework, and I would strongly argue for compulsory education on drug use, not to mention treatment programs, all of which should be funded through use taxes.

Otherwise, though, I agree very much with the libertarians that that empowering individuals to make their own life-choices is far more beneficial to society than criminalization and prohibition.

Re: U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory: Marijuana Use and the Developing Brain

#265

Post by sharadov »

donw wrote: post #264
sharadov wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's the libertarian approach, which says legalize everything, tax everything. Am with you on it, although am not sure, how that would work with hard drugs ( cocaine,mushrooms,LSD, ecstasy,heroin). Again within hard drugs - cocaine is vastly different from doing LSD. A single dose of LSD in a bad setting could mess your psyche up for life. What you are doing is choosing the better of two evils.I would rather buy a…

I'd say more pragmatic than purely libertarian. :) You still need a regulatory framework, and I would strongly argue for compulsory education on drug use, not to mention treatment programs, all of which should be funded through use taxes. Otherwise, though, I agree very much with the libertarians that that empowering individuals to make their own life-choices is far more beneficial to society than criminalization and…

I think when you give people the facts and remove the stigma and the "mystery" surrounding drugs, you will get people to start making wise choices - to counteract it you need a sound education policy, not the fear-mongering that goes in the name of education now.

Re: U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory: Marijuana Use and the Developing Brain

#266

Post by zzddffgg »

true_tuna wrote: post #244

I’m glad this came out. It’s easy to forget that weed causes harm. Just from my own experience, when I’m on it I can’t think straight, can’t track a sentence from beginning to end. I can’t imagine where I’d be if those effects had applied long term as my brain was developing. Actually I can imagine. I’d be incapable of doing the high-paid, satisfying work I do now. I’d be stuck doing toilsome work with nowhere to go…

I sometimes I have a feeling this is the case, as a regular user. But to clarify, I'm struggling with understanding differential geometry, and work as an se. Not trying to humblebrag but just trying to establish context. Should I be worried? I ask because I experience some of the same symptoms you do.

Re: U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory: Marijuana Use and the Developing Brain

#267

Post by ohbama »

meiraleal wrote: post #188

I smoke heavily for 10 years and if I could say something about the cognitive changes, it was for better. I learnt two foreign languages, more programming languages that I can count with one hand and got out of depression by means of self-awareness and meditation after a joint. Weed+Youtube surely is harmful, but so it is only Youtube (with less fun).

.

Sorry for the long post, I feel I need to say this.

I smoked daily and multiple times a day starting at 28 and until 33. During this time, I switched jobs twice for higher pay, learned a lot and I was very uninhibited to the extent that I grew my social life tremendously.

One of my favorite things to do was to get high and solve leetcode problems. I could do it for hours. I will never forget the stuff I learned while high, I was focused to the extent that I feel those things etched into my brain (I'm talking algorithms, competitive programming tricks, etc..). I rarely played games or wasted time when I wanted to relax, I mostly read books (about mind bending stuff) or listened to good music while drawing.

I was super productive at work also. I never smoked at work but the 9-10 hours of sobriety during the work-day were laser focused.

But all my intellectual ventures have been at the expense of my lifting hobby so I stopped going to the gym for 5 years.

But at one point, it all took a turn for the worse. I started getting panic attacks and some severe anxiety. My heart rate used to go over the roof and one day I realized that I was burning out at work, marijuana wasn't making me feel better anymore, I was just smoking to get to the baseline of 'meh'. So 5 years later, I realize that:

a) I don't have too many memories since I started smoking pot.

b) I'm morbidly obese and my resting heart rate is dangerously high.

c) I'm burned out at work.

d) I'm an addict.

And I stopped. After stopping, I went through the worst 3-4 months of my life. Severe panic attacks that I was prescribed medication by a doctor. Depression, insomnia, irritability and the scariest IMO, depersonalization... Marijuana withdrawal is real. Not as 'real'/dangerous as opiates or alcohol but there is no mention whatsoever in the pop culture about it. If I knew how it would have been, I would never have smoked daily. It took me about 6 months of existential crises and bouts of deep depression to be decently productive again, to be able to feel 'normal' and to feel that I got my cognitive function back on track.

I haven't touched it for about 2 years now and I don't believe I ever will. I learned a lot about myself, most important thing being that I'm vulnerable to addictions.

I am one of the most liberal (in the European sense) person you'd meet. I would legalize all drugs, everything. And I am happy that marijuana is legal. Because now, perhaps the medical profession will take a closer look at it and people will be more informed (at least more informed than I was).

Re: U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory: Marijuana Use and the Developing Brain

#268

Post by MiroF »

Medicalidiot wrote: post #192

THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) activates cannabinol receptors in one's brain whenever they smoke cannabis. These receptors are responsible to stimulating hunger (why you get munchies) but they also stimulate something called long term depression, which is the process by which your brain forgets memories. The effects take years to decades for anything significant enough to precipitate. Now, I'm not against smoking cannabi…

Source? I would love to be fully informed but I don't think the science is nearly as settled as you are making it out to be

Re: U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory: Marijuana Use and the Developing Brain

#269

Post by MiroF »

wannabcodr wrote: post #262
0000011111 wrote: post #180

If we compare the effects of Marijuana on people to those of alcohol and or Oxycodone, I think it is clear to most that the latter two are more destructive. I agree more research is needed on the effects of Marijuana use on people in general. And we need to keep the risk factors in perspective. Many more people will die, hurt others and become addicted to alcohol and or Oxycodone than marijuana. So put that beer down…

You would think this to be universally good advice based on the risks related to alcohol intoxication and alcoholism, but it’s not. Some people would do better to not smoke weed and instead drink moderately and socially.

Sure - but policymaking is ultimately a game of averages.

Re: U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory: Marijuana Use and the Developing Brain

#270

Post by MiroF »

rosser wrote: post #71
Pimpus wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anyone who's taken it should have no problem understanding how easily this drug can create a disturbed state of mind. It has quite powerful psychoactive effects.

I do a lot of work with psychedelics. I'm very, very well aware of the power of consciousness-altering chemicals to have profound effects. That's kind of the whole point of using them. They should be respected but I don't see how that implies they should be feared . EDIT: Phrasing

Putting weed and hard psychedelics in the same category is silly imo.

The strength of a drug like LSD takes my breath away compared to something like pot.

Post reply on HN