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Marijuana may be even safer than previously thought, researchers say

washingtonpost.com

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Re: Marijuana may be even safer than previously thought, researchers say

#21

Post by Synaesthesia »

discardorama wrote: post #14

While I agree that the headline is click-baity, and the stats are a bit suspect, I still want to see headlines like these in the mainstream press, because it raises questions about why MJ is classified as a Schedule-I drug after all? I'm not a smoker (maybe once or twice a year, at most?). But the blatant lying by the government (that MJ has no medicinal value and is more dangerous than meth ), which flies in the fac…

We don't really let science inform our policy decisions. They are driven by other motives, most frequently business lobbying. Not a Theocracy, more of an Oligarchy.

Re: Marijuana may be even safer than previously thought, researchers say

#22

Post by PaulHoule »

Synaesthesia wrote: post #17
guelo wrote: post #13

As a programmer I'm very protective of my higher level brain functions. Marijuana's effects on short term memory are especially concerning to me. Do any of you long term smokers feels like it has affected your programming skills for the worse or better?

As a Marijuana addict, It has negatively affected mine, although that may be due to the underlying pschological problems that cause me to be an addict. I find that with infrequent use, it is a legitimate psychedelic which can be very intense. It can however give one deep insights into your topic of study under the effects. With frequent use the character of the drug changes, and it becomes almost a normal state, wher…

There is no doubt at all that is affects short term memory when you are using it. The long term affects of cannabis use is difficult to study and there is the whole problem that the median scientific paper is wrong.

Re: Marijuana may be even safer than previously thought, researchers say

#23

Post by Someone1234 »

I've never been a user, but I do support legalisation.

The reason I support it even though I myself wouldn't benefit is:

- It is at least as safe as tobacco and alcohol. So even if we leave the question of what is safer on the table, I think most people would agree based on available evidence that it isn't LESS safe than those two, and they're legal.

- The "war on drugs" has been a disaster. It has actually hurt economic growth, you have too many people in jail for trivial things, you leave a black mark on their file almost indefinitely making them unable to get a [good] job, you isolate them from society, you further push people into criminality, and the benefits of it are not clear if you ignore moralist arguments.

- We gain tax money from it being legal AND drug users aren't funding pretty horrifying criminality in countries like Mexico and Columbia.

- It has been shown to help with certain medical conditions (e.g. chronic pain, PTSD, etc). And while much more research needs to be conducted, it might be easier after legalisation as the permits needed are much easier to get.

However I will say my support for legalisation dropped quite a lot after reading how lightly "weed" users take smoking and driving. A lot of them seem to do it now and don't consider it a big deal, which I take a pretty dim view of. Unfortunately there isn't a very reliable test to see if someone is under the influence of anything other than alcohol.

People who drive under the influence of any mind altering substance (be it alcohol or weed) should have their driving privileges taken away or for repeat offenders they should literally go to jail for a period. It endangers their lives and the lives of other people on or near the road.

Re: Marijuana may be even safer than previously thought, researchers say

#24

Post by madaxe_again »

guelo wrote: post #13

As a programmer I'm very protective of my higher level brain functions. Marijuana's effects on short term memory are especially concerning to me. Do any of you long term smokers feels like it has affected your programming skills for the worse or better?

Neutral in my experience - I find sleep deprivation is far, far, far more damaging to my ability to think clearly.

If I code while stoned, I find I take longer, but come up with ideas I may not have otherwise considered - and I take way more notes and actually document my code, due to the whole memory thing - which is only while you're stoned, rather than permanent.

I mean, if you inject most of the LD50 of THC into your blood stream every few hours from infancy to adulthood, you're going to have some significant neurological problems - just like the lab rats used in the study I think you're referencing.

Re: Marijuana may be even safer than previously thought, researchers say

#25

Post by CalRobert »

poolpool wrote: post #19
discardorama wrote: post #14

While I agree that the headline is click-baity, and the stats are a bit suspect, I still want to see headlines like these in the mainstream press, because it raises questions about why MJ is classified as a Schedule-I drug after all? I'm not a smoker (maybe once or twice a year, at most?). But the blatant lying by the government (that MJ has no medicinal value and is more dangerous than meth ), which flies in the fac…

Racism

A discussion of the history of drug legislation and its intended target (Chinese immigrants in SF, for instance) would lend more weight to your comment.

Re: Marijuana may be even safer than previously thought, researchers say

#26

Post by madaxe_again »

Someone1234 wrote: post #23

I've never been a user, but I do support legalisation. The reason I support it even though I myself wouldn't benefit is: - It is at least as safe as tobacco and alcohol. So even if we leave the question of what is safer on the table, I think most people would agree based on available evidence that it isn't LESS safe than those two, and they're legal. - The "war on drugs" has been a disaster. It has actually hurt econ…

Agreed on the whole driving bit - but commensurately, whenever I'm in the US, I am astonished by how casually people drink and drive.

Don't think it's a stoner problem, more an inconsiderate dickhead/cultural problem.

Re: Marijuana may be even safer than previously thought, researchers say

#27

Post by masklinn »

mycroft-holmes wrote: post #18
discardorama wrote: post #14

While I agree that the headline is click-baity, and the stats are a bit suspect, I still want to see headlines like these in the mainstream press, because it raises questions about why MJ is classified as a Schedule-I drug after all? I'm not a smoker (maybe once or twice a year, at most?). But the blatant lying by the government (that MJ has no medicinal value and is more dangerous than meth ), which flies in the fac…

Unless I'm mistaken, marijuana is a Schedule I drug. https://www.google.com/search?q=schedule+1+drugs&ie=utf-8&oe...

You're correct, schedule I is "high potential for abuse, no accepted medical use and unsafe to use even under medical supervision".

Schedule III would be "less potential for abuse than I and II, accepted medical use, abuse may lead to high psychological dependence or low to moderate physical dependence"

(Schedule II is for high abuse potential and severe physical or psychological dependence drugs which nonetheless have accepted medical use e.g. cocaine, amphetamines, morphine).

A problematic side effect of I is that being allowed to study them is extremely difficult, so getting enough data to move a drug from schedule I to schedule II is near-impossible.

Re: Marijuana may be even safer than previously thought, researchers say

#28

Post by misiti3780 »

madaxe_again wrote: post #26
Someone1234 wrote: post #23

I've never been a user, but I do support legalisation. The reason I support it even though I myself wouldn't benefit is: - It is at least as safe as tobacco and alcohol. So even if we leave the question of what is safer on the table, I think most people would agree based on available evidence that it isn't LESS safe than those two, and they're legal. - The "war on drugs" has been a disaster. It has actually hurt econ…

Agreed on the whole driving bit - but commensurately, whenever I'm in the US, I am astonished by how casually people drink and drive. Don't think it's a stoner problem, more an inconsiderate dickhead/cultural problem.

people smoke and drive here too though

Re: Marijuana may be even safer than previously thought, researchers say

#29

Post by misiti3780 »

DanBC wrote: post #16
trose wrote: post #8

I can't help but feel that statistic they're using is a little disingenuous. Yes cannabis has a ridiculously high lethal dose, more than you could ever smoke or consume. You'd basically have to create a concentrate and inject it directly or something. I don't think you should be saying that cannabis is 114 times less deadly than alcohol. There are other contributing factors that could cause harm. There seems to be no…

> There seems to be no research into carcinogenic qualities of cannabis smoke for example. We know that cannabis smoke contains a bunch of the same carcinogens as tobacco smoke. But tobacco smokers smoke a lot more than cannabis smokers; and you don't have to smoke cannabis.

and you can use a vaporizer - which further reduces those carcinogenic qualities - most people i know that smoke cigarettes do not smoke e-cigs

Re: Marijuana may be even safer than previously thought, researchers say

#30

Post by Someone1234 »

madaxe_again wrote: post #26
Someone1234 wrote: post #23

I've never been a user, but I do support legalisation. The reason I support it even though I myself wouldn't benefit is: - It is at least as safe as tobacco and alcohol. So even if we leave the question of what is safer on the table, I think most people would agree based on available evidence that it isn't LESS safe than those two, and they're legal. - The "war on drugs" has been a disaster. It has actually hurt econ…

Agreed on the whole driving bit - but commensurately, whenever I'm in the US, I am astonished by how casually people drink and drive. Don't think it's a stoner problem, more an inconsiderate dickhead/cultural problem.

I agree. People are far too blasé about drinking and driving in the US. It also seems like the punishment is often fairly light for the first few offenses (e.g. a small ticket, no penalty points, or similar).

People from the US I've spoken to often claim this is because in some areas not having a car is pretty unworkable due to a lack of public transport or alternatives. So if driving was revoked then people could get "stranded" at home (e.g. the nearer store is a 10 minute drive away on roads with no sidewalk).

I think if they're unwilling to revoke people's driving, then waste a bunch of their time. People car much more about their time than their money, just force people to take a full day weekend class even on the first offense and make it three weeks worth or more on the second attempt (you can fine them also).

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