Pothead Ph.D. - This is most definitely not a cautionary tale • Hacker News Board

Re: Pothead Ph.D. - This is most definitely not a cautionary tale

#121

Post by gwc » Tue, Jul 08, 2008, 4:20 AM UTC

LPTS wrote: post #118

LPTS wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I gotta go right now. I got a ton of references, but I'm off to some my yoga class and a nice walk on a beautiful day. I'll post it tonight or tomorrow.

http://www.marijuana-uses.com/essays/002.html Mr. X By Carl Sagan This account was written in 1969 for publication in Marihuana Reconsidered (1971). Sagan was in his mid-thirties at that time. He continued to use cannabis for the rest of his life. http://www.marijuana-uses.com/essays/028.html By "Russell Ambrose" Russell Ambrose (a pseudonym) is a musician: aged 47, composer, jazzer, conductor, teacher. Time alterati…

LPTS, do you have any sources that provide actual data to back up your claim?

I'm not trying to be snarky ~ I am legitimately interested in seeing data; too much of this debate is founded in anecdote, editorial, and propaganda on both sides.

Re: Pothead Ph.D. - This is most definitely not a cautionary tale

#122

Post by pg » Tue, Jul 08, 2008, 4:43 AM UTC

[deleted] wrote: post #119

edw519 wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You figured all that out about me from a single post? Amazing. Your massive inellect and talent is wasted here at hn. Looking forward to seeing you on Dr. Phil.

[deleted]

Come on, you guys. You're wasting valuable disk space on our server.

Re: Pothead Ph.D. - This is most definitely not a cautionary tale

#123

Post by eznet » Tue, Jul 08, 2008, 5:02 AM UTC

dejb wrote: post #104

OK if we are talking about anecdotal evidence then how about a colleague of mine who smoked pot every day while doing his PHD. He spent several years doing very little work and then ended up having a major psychotic episode. Without people to support you this sort of thing could entirely derail your life. Fortunately he managed to complete the PHD only after getting off the pot. Having known a number of people who ha…

I too have known people like you describe here and can say that it is more likely that they began habitually smoking marijuana because of some latent psychological conditions - and not that they formed these conditions as a result.

Sure, marijuana may exaggerate seemingly innate personality characteristics, but create them? Highly unlikely. Its all about the individual's personality and mindset - same reason some individuals develop PTSD, while others walk away from the exact same traumatic experience with no lasting psychological scars.

I feel confidant in saying that there are far more chronic users of marijuana who are otherwise mentally healthy than there are users who are teetering on a "major psychotic episode" - a sign that people such as your colleague are the minority, unstable demographic of the population. Also, it is far easier for individuals who 'freak out' and have embarrassing 'psychotic snaps' to point to an inanimate, socially demonized substance to blame rather than to find and accept blame with 'self'.

Re: Pothead Ph.D. - This is most definitely not a cautionary tale

#124

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Jul 08, 2008, 6:30 AM UTC

LPTS wrote: post #115

rms wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the 7-hydroxymitragynine precursors are ok but I don't have the capital to set up an industrial synthesis... for any intrigued chemical engineers there is a lot of money to be made here.

Here is the thing. For anyone who's good enough at setting up chemistry equipment to be good enough for you, why wouldn't they rather make a few batches of MDMA or LSD instead. Shit, Shulgin has 3 whole books, which, in addition to being keys from an extraterrestrial into the ways our brain works and we experience ourselves, are also recipes for unique psychedelics. I could imagine people could make a lot more money…

[deleted]

Re: Pothead Ph.D. - This is most definitely not a cautionary tale

#125

Post by dgabriel » Tue, Jul 08, 2008, 7:46 AM UTC

dejb wrote: post #102

dgabriel wrote: post #66

For me, it just makes me paranoid, sleepy, or sick, which are three good reasons to avoid it. I pass no judgment on others, though. It's clearly a substance that should be legal, whereas tobacco should be banned.

I was just about to vote you up then I saw the tobacco should be banned. As an ex-smoker (tobacco) I am against any smoking happening near me but banning it is not the answer.

The funny thing is that I'm a smoker on my third attempt to quit. Tobacco is insidious and deadly, and if it were impossible to buy, many thousands of lives would be extended, and health care costs would be significantly reduced. I don't necessarily believe any substance should be banned by the government, but comparatively, weed does far less damage.

Re: Pothead Ph.D. - This is most definitely not a cautionary tale

#126

Post by radu_floricica » Tue, Jul 08, 2008, 10:13 AM UTC

edw519 wrote: post #47

josefresco wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm grown up, have kids, mortgages (3 in fact!) and car payments and this weed ignorant college kid didn't strike me as whiny. Just slightly ignorant as I pointed out above. Let me guess edw519, you probably drink, both coffee and alcohol, you probably also consume your fair amount of sugar and possibly (although unlikely) smoke cigarettes. Why is it that smoking weed (to help you work/play) makes you winy and a poth…

"Let me guess edw519, you probably...* You guess wrong, josefresco. But it doesn't really matter anyway because I never "advertised" my habits to the world. This guy did. Just slightly ignorant as I pointed out above. Ignorant I can live with. But this was also irresponsible. This is hacker news, where people post and learn and share together about doing difficult and exciting work. I realize that OP had no idea wher…

As far as I can tell, "to take the easy way out" is not the right description for the OP. He just did something that helps him, just like exercising or listening to music or having sex. To take the easy way out as you put it probably means to give up higher/future goals for an immediate rewards. His point is that he didn't give up anything. If you want to attack him, do it there, we're more then eager for good arguments here.

Re: Pothead Ph.D. - This is most definitely not a cautionary tale

#127

Post by pavelludiq » Tue, Jul 08, 2008, 11:07 AM UTC

when i was 15 or 16 i used to smoke a lot of pot. I got bored and started some more interesting hobbies, like parkour and football(real football, not that American parody of a sport). Anyway, if you are realy bored, go ahead and smoke, but if you are still bored, thats because you are a boring person, i realised im boring and started to unbore myself. Now im satisfied with my self and i don't realy need weed. If somebody offers me to go smoke i might agree, if i have nothing better to do at the moment, but for me it is esentialy the teenage anti=boredom drug. Because most teenagers are really bored a lot of them smoke.

Re: Pothead Ph.D. - This is most definitely not a cautionary tale

#128

Post by edu » Tue, Jul 08, 2008, 11:14 AM UTC

   But now it seemed like a privilege to consider
   economic globalization and its relation to 
   British poetry

No comment.

Re: Pothead Ph.D. - This is most definitely not a cautionary tale

#129

Post by edw519 » Tue, Jul 08, 2008, 11:45 AM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #112

edw519 wrote: post #11

Oh you poor baby! You have trouble reading and writing and 'rithmetic, so you need a little chemical help. You pussy. Get out of cocoon, er I mean school, get a real job, get married. have a couple of kids, get a mortgage and a couple of car payments, raise those kids without worrying too much about the evils around them, visit Mom in her nursing home, do things for others in need, and, if you have time, have a nice…

I usually love your comments. It's hard to get through changing diapers and managing toddlerhood and stay sane and sharp, and you have, and, you know, respect, yo. But this right here? Sounds like you just snapped. What do you care if people smoke up in their spare time? Why is it bad if it helps them cope with stress? I'm sure exercise would be better, but doing nothing about stress is probably worse. Agree: whining…

Thank you, tptacek.

Sounds like you just snapped.

Not at all. This was planned. I won't beat it up, but like I've responded already, I just don't want to see any more about drugs, sex, religion, politics, profanity, and certainly not the stream of conciousness bloggings of liberal arts students. I can get all that at a thousand other places (but I don't). I just didn't think that the usual "not hacker news" would have much impact here.

I pushed the envelope and learned a little more about our community. Lots of people disagree with me on more than just a few issues. No surprise.

Sorry if I disappointed you. Hopefully I'll be able to earn respect in future discussions.

Now let's get back to hacker news.

Re: Pothead Ph.D. - This is most definitely not a cautionary tale

#130

Post by a-priori » Tue, Jul 08, 2008, 12:08 PM UTC

mrtron wrote: post #75

mattmaroon wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In many states, possession of small amounts (more than a smoker would need at one time) isn't even a misdemeanor.

And with respect to the international community - many countries. Canada's police turn a blind eye to it mostly, since the courts usually throw out the cases. But it creates a ridiculous situation where it is accepted and considered legal, but occasionally people trafficking large amounts are still prosecuted and face serious jail time. I really would prefer if it was legalized. This would reduce funds going to organ…

In Ontario, it's not a crime anymore to possess small quantities. It's a minor offence punishable by a fine (about $50-$100, I think), and mostly the police don't even do that.