Poll: Do you smoke marijuana?
61–70 of 105 posts
Re: Poll: Do you smoke marijuana?
#62Remember, just because people who advocate keeping marijuana illegal are horrible human beings, doesn't change the fact that marijuana is a psychoactive drug and we don't really understand the human brain all that well. My own brain is idiosyncratic and doesn't always react as expected (e.g. to caffeine) and I've heard friends say that they think that taking marijuana during college might have permanently dulled the…
For someone whose main preaching is a religion of caution and skepticism, you speak with a lot of moral certainty. Why should holding a very common view (which probably not a lot of thought went into) make a person a "horrible human being"? I even allow that some of the people that disagree with us might have good reasons for doing so. Should I excise a person from the company of "the good guys" because one of his family members went through a horrible experience with illegal drugs? Or should I condemn him because he lives in a community where nearly everyone thinks drugs should be illegal and he lacks the two-plus sigma IQ often needed to disagree with the whole of society?
By such standards, the world is full of monsters. While I stop short of endorsing full-fledged moral relativism, I do think a little humility in judging the moral worth of others is a (rare) virtue. This is especially true on the interwebs, where separating the sheep from the goats is a favorite pastime of each little ego.
Re: Poll: Do you smoke marijuana?
#63Earlier quoted context omitted.
I spoke of LSD with the implication that LSD is much worse than marijuana in terms of lasting effects (flashbacks in this case). I used it only to provide some frame of reference in the real argument, which is over marijuana. You went after my mentioning LSD despite weed being the topic here. That's a straw man, if you care about being syntactically correct. Find me the story of somebody who was "lost" in LSD and I'l…
You probably already know this, but just to clarify, LSD flashbacks are not biological, but psychological, similar to Vietnam flashbacks or other PTSD inducing events.
Really? I didn't know that.
Re: Poll: Do you smoke marijuana?
#64I mainly get high before having sex, really enhances the experience. Haven't noticed any effects to my hacking but there's no way to do a controlled experience, is there?
You have sex? You must be the odd one out on this site :)
Hacker News is where the literate, success/money-minded bright people come. Perhaps this is elitist, but I'd bet that this community is thinner, richer, and more socially capable than most communities online. Probably younger as well, since there's the whole core of high school/college YC wannabes, myself included.
Re: Poll: Do you smoke marijuana?
#65It seems to me like it would have been helpful to split yes in to "Yes, and I feel that it makes me a better hacker" vs. "Yes, and I feel that it has a negative or nonexistent effect on my hacking abilities." Right now the question seems a little too vague. :(
Re: Poll: Do you smoke marijuana?
#66Earlier quoted context omitted.
Excellent points all. Anybody who wants to use social drugs should take a look at meditation and self-hypnosis, because you can get the same emotional states that you'd get with drugs through a little practice. As lionhearted mentioned, hallucinogens are the one exception.
I know its very unhealthy, but how about sleep deprivation or fevers? I've never really hallucinated, so I wouldn't know.
I'm confused. Are you asking if hallucinogens cause sleep deprivation/fevers?
Re: Poll: Do you smoke marijuana?
#67I read on reddit that hemp was banned by the lobbyists of the lumber/timber corporations, as hemp was dirt cheap to grow and process it to make paper, which of course would have killed these big paper corps. Marijuana being a cousin and seemingly looking alike was banned together with it. any truth in this?
Ok. marijuana affecting hacking abilities (in terms of driving) video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3zou4F00Ic (i think this is from channel-4 UK)
In there he says he is "concentrating more and driving slower".
Re: Poll: Do you smoke marijuana?
#68I smoke pot because it helps me sleep. In any other cases I find pot to be counter-productive... Sure it might've help me come up with some interesting essay in my Philosophy class back in college but besides that I find it really hurts my productivity. I can code when I'm high but everything takes at least 2-3x longer than it would've taken me if I were sober.
Then again, I guess it affects everyone differently. Some of my friends (usually the more "artsy" type of people) find that it helps boost their productivity. As for me, well, I have trouble sleeping and I'm not interested in sleeping pills so, as long as pot will help me with that, I will keep on smoking it. In any other situation (especially any "social" situation) I avoid it as it makes me more awkward, paranoid and anxious.
Re: Poll: Do you smoke marijuana?
#69Remember, just because people who advocate keeping marijuana illegal are horrible human beings, doesn't change the fact that marijuana is a psychoactive drug and we don't really understand the human brain all that well. My own brain is idiosyncratic and doesn't always react as expected (e.g. to caffeine) and I've heard friends say that they think that taking marijuana during college might have permanently dulled the…
Elizer, I'm going to respond to you not because I disagree with what you said, but because you stated concisely the view that's opposite the one I hold, and I figure it might be neat to provide the foil view. I don't hold my mind's current state sacrosanct. That is to say, I respect my mind incredibly, but I don't have any belief that says my mind was built the way it was for a reason, or that there's something wrong…
I never got into smoking dope, but a number of my friends did. It ended up being really boring to hang around with them, they would be content doing nothing and getting stoned. I wanted to do something. They also stayed like this for a number of years, whereas I moved on, finished my degree, got a job. They are now doing working in gas stations.
Re: Poll: Do you smoke marijuana?
#70Is it really a good idea to have people confess in writing to what the the federal government and many states consider a crime? I'd suggest the instead asking: "Do you think canabis negatively effects one's hacking abilities?"
Maybe I'm too laid back, but I don't really get the impression that the DEA is trolling the Hacker News comments, recording usernames, sending subpoenas to ISPs, obtaining search warrants, and busting down doors. Somehow I just don't see an online comment holding up in court as "probable cause".
It's not the only thing to worry about: