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Teen Marijuana Vaping Soars, Displacing Other Habits

nytimes.com

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Re: Teen Marijuana Vaping Soars, Displacing Other Habits

#61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those who use heavily in Adolescence can lose something like 6 or 8 IQ points, among other negative effects. Those who start as adults and stop don't seem to have the same effects[1], but it is unclear how much that reflects lower baseline IQ of users vs. the impact of marijuana itself. [1] https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/mari...

I would like some perspective on what a 6-8 IQ point difference actually means in real life. I know IQ is on a curve so if I'm on the lower end and dope up I might not qualify for the military against had I not doped up by such a margin window. For an average person, what can the person sitting next to me do +8 IQ that I can't? What can the person sitting in front of me not do at -8 IQ that I can? Granted I've encoun…

A population average loss doesn't even mean that I'll deterministically lose 6 to 8 IQ points. But it's strong enough evidence that it severely fucks with the brain for me to stay the hell away. The direct effect of the loss of a few IQ points is not the issue.

Re: Teen Marijuana Vaping Soars, Displacing Other Habits

#62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Teen Marijuana Vaping Soars" is objectively not great news. Subjectively it might be great news if the vaping THC dose was low, but it is not. There is no technology that makes alcohol 100X stronger for todays teen than what it has been historically. But that's not true for THC products. On a personal note, I lost my hearing in one ear immediately after trying a strong MJ product. I just assumed it was congestion at…

I've never heard of anything like that happening (and admittedly I'm skeptical) - can you expand on the event that caused you to lose your hearing? What did your doctors say about it?

I had perfect hearing in that ear, smoked a high THC joint, and felt immediately congested. Congestion usually makes hearing diminish temporarily. But the next morning I still felt congested and then spent several weeks trying to yawn it away and get my ear to pop. Three weeks later I went to the doctor who diagnosed me with "sudden nerve deafness". Medically there is no known cause for sudden nerve deafness and the doctor had no idea either. But I did have a cold the weeks before, so who knows.

So yes, it could be this was all just a co-incidence but the precise timing of it all should give everyone pause. I did Google for similar stories and I did find one person with a similar story who was immediately dismissed because no one ever heard of such a thing. I do wonder how many people restrain from reporting such effects since the counter-argument is to provide casual evidence or get a doctor to confirm which is often not possible.

For sure there is a gross disparity in tolerance these days and you should avoid sharing hits of THC with anyone if your tolerance is low. They'll be fine, you on the other hand may have an experience you weren't expecting.

Re: Teen Marijuana Vaping Soars, Displacing Other Habits

#63
post #59

I'm an avid user for many years, and when I used vaping pens for a couple weeks, I felt the damage in my lungs, it was uncomfortable. Burning oil was a little better but it still felt like the hot air was burning your lungs, and burning wax had a completely different problem where I literally felt wax on my esophagus and lungs the more I vaped. Never had any of these problems smoking from a bong. I'll stick to what h…

You may have been a bit paranoid, wax isn't actually wax it's just pressed weed so you remove plant matter. When you smoke it through water it you're inhaling a healthier product because you're not incinerating leaves and stems, and typically you're doing it at a more controlled and lower temperature.

Re: Teen Marijuana Vaping Soars, Displacing Other Habits

#66
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know people who are extremely dependent on weed, who will have anxiety attacks without it. It's less dangerous than most drugs, but there are people who are important to me that I wish could function without it. I'm talking grown adults, with families, who do nothing but play video games. Their problems would exist without the weed, but it seems to play a part in their stagnation. I guess I just don't know that man…

"... who will have anxiety attacks without it." Honestly, I've met many daily smokers in my life. Heck, I've been one off and on and tend to like to do it most weekends. I greatly prefer it to alcohol.Most folks can quit quite easily: At most, a few weeks of decreased appetite and trouble falling asleep. The worst effects wear off in the first week. The few folks I've met that have trouble without it have mental heal…

I'm definitely not trying to blame weed, if people can use it responsibly I say great! The problem is people who have conditions like anxiety who become dependent on it to get by. Some people become alcoholics because they have stuff going on that they can't deal with, and that doesn't mean I think alcohol should be illegal. But just like them, I wish the drug wasn't a numbing agent that prevents them from dealing with the underlying problem.

Re: Teen Marijuana Vaping Soars, Displacing Other Habits

#67
post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm very much for pro-fact-based drug education. Not just for THC, but for the most common things that folks can come into contact with. No scare tactics, just answering questions like what happens to one's body, what "high" feels like, realistic methods of ingestion, and benefits. Unfortunately, the greater public - the government at least - hasn't been so keen on such things because the focus is more on keeping dru…

Indeed, we seem to have ample evidence that Tylenol seems to be strongly associated with autism[1] and weakly with ADHD[2], yet its use is not only widespread but unquestioned. The problem, of course, is that it's complicated; correlation isn't necessarily causation. So how to respond? Should all high school students be taught how to think critically of bioscience results? It's not easy to distill down to distinct us…

Your first source is a bad one but here is a review: [1] The association is really not strong but the authors do advice against indiscriminate paracetamol use.

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29341895 [2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26930528

Re: Teen Marijuana Vaping Soars, Displacing Other Habits

#68

I don’t understand why everyone moved away from directly smoking the flowers so readily. I hated the idea of shatter/resin when I first heard it and there is no way I would use a vape pen.

Because lighting carbon-based molecules on fire creates thousands of carcinogenic components that are difficult to enumerate.

Vapor, on the other hand, (theoretically) contains only 3 chemicals: glycerin, propylene glycol, . In practice though, vapor has probably thousands of compounds as well due to "flavors", additives, and side effects of the heating coil on those things.

It's all about perception though. Lighting something on fire and inhaling smoke is perceived as dangerous compared to inhaling "vapor" (which everyone does every day in the shower, right?)

Re: Teen Marijuana Vaping Soars, Displacing Other Habits

#69

I don’t understand why everyone moved away from directly smoking the flowers so readily. I hated the idea of shatter/resin when I first heard it and there is no way I would use a vape pen.

Combusting and smoking anything is a known carcinogenic path. The draw away from that is what's attractive about non-combustion consumption methods.

That said, induction-based direct vaporization of dry flower is the best of both worlds.

Re: Teen Marijuana Vaping Soars, Displacing Other Habits

#70
post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed, we seem to have ample evidence that Tylenol seems to be strongly associated with autism[1] and weakly with ADHD[2], yet its use is not only widespread but unquestioned. The problem, of course, is that it's complicated; correlation isn't necessarily causation. So how to respond? Should all high school students be taught how to think critically of bioscience results? It's not easy to distill down to distinct us…

Your first source is a bad one but here is a review: [1] The association is really not strong but the authors do advice against indiscriminate paracetamol use. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29341895 [2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26930528

Tylenol/paracetamol use should be sparing to begin with just because of its harsh effect on the liver.
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