Marijuana may be even safer than previously thought, researchers say • Hacker News Board

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

#71

Post by benologist » Mon, Feb 23, 2015, 5:35 PM UTC

cnp wrote: post #47

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…

Out of the zillions and zillions of weed smokers over the past 100 years, there has never once been a reported case of someone dying due to carcinogenic responses to the smoke. Granted, there has never been a formal study, but there have been adjacent studies and by all intents and purposes it appears to be safe. Google around: https://www.google.com/search?q=marijuana+lung+cancer

Today we have have vastly stronger, concentrated wax/oil that can be up to 99+% THC enabling much faster and bigger consumption. Weed consumption and delivery will continue to be refined, a fatal dose is "impossible" only until it is not.

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

#72

Post by nitrogen » Mon, Feb 23, 2015, 5:35 PM UTC

VLM wrote: post #38

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…

"People who drive under the influence of any mind altering substance (be it alcohol or weed)" How bout coffee, energy drinks, cold medicine, most prescribed prescription medicines have some blurb about possible mental effects, tea, kava, nodoz caffeine pills, numerous herbal products ... We only complain about certain psychoactive drugs, and not others. Theres no logic behind it aside from residual cultural Puritanis…

There is definitely logic behind it: anything that impairs one's driving can result in a DUI. Commercially available egogenics (caffeine) do not impair one's driving under typical doses.

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

#73

Post by lotsofmangos » Mon, Feb 23, 2015, 5:38 PM UTC

dethstar wrote: post #42

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…

>We gain tax money from it being legal AND drug users aren't funding pretty horrifying criminality in countries like Mexico and Columbia. As a note, I remember an article somewhere about how it was meth the drug that gave more profit to drug mafias. So it'd still be a problem. The question is, bigger or smaller? I'm pretty sure there's data of the translation from marijuana users->hard drugs users.

I'm pretty sure there's data of the translation from marijuana users->hard drugs users.

The data for oxygen is far more alarming.

100% of hard drug users users first started out on oxygen.

Furthermore, if nobody was allowed oxygen, all illegal drug addiction would stop.

Oxygen is the ultimate gateway drug.

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

#74

Post by integraton » Mon, Feb 23, 2015, 5:41 PM UTC

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…

> drive under the influence

The research about Marijuana's impact on driving is inconclusive, but there are indications that it might have no negative impact (for the most recent example: https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.documentcloud.org/documents/1667...) and even that it might reduce risks of crashes.

As a result, it's unfortunate that it's apparently socially acceptable to assume without question that marijuana has a negative impact on driving. New research could still demonstrate that it does not, just as new research has been strongly suggesting that our other assumptions are likely flawed. If marijuana is found to not be dangerous for drivers, then it will very unfortunate that we've promoted yet another misconception about it due to unchecked assumptions.

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

#75

Post by techmarketerguy » Mon, Feb 23, 2015, 5:42 PM UTC

hga wrote: post #6

techmarketerguy wrote: post #2

The real kicker is that even the slim chance of "unwanted mental health effects" could be reduced without removing the substance's pain and inflammation-relieving properties, if the US Gov't would simply allow the plant to be researched for pharmaceutical purposes.

Suspected "unwanted mental health effects" include full blow permanent schizophrenia. (Emphasis on suspected, for we know there's a lot of mental illness self-medication with psychoactive drugs starting with alcohol.) That strikes me as making it very hard to do ethical research of the sort you're positing.

If you think regular usage of cannabis increases the general prevalence of schizophrenia sharply enough that it would prohibit further medical research, I don't really know what to tell you. I just don't see it.

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

#76

Post by lotsofmangos » Mon, Feb 23, 2015, 5:43 PM UTC

spacemanmatt wrote: post #64

DanBC wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Do we really know that? I mean, it stands to reason that combustion produces carcinogens, but cannabis is not tobacco. I think this is one of the basic assertions that must be validated by quantitative analysis.

Soot from bits of stalk in a spliff is going to be little different from breathing in soot from any other bit of dry burning wood.

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

#77

Post by rprospero » Mon, Feb 23, 2015, 5:43 PM UTC

madaxe_again wrote: post #15

Decided to feed the rage centres of my brain and read the most replied to comments in the article. Apparently every joint smoked causes four pregnancies. By this math, everyone please, give me a pat on the back, I've repopulated a small city. I suppose my lowered testosterone and enhanced aggression have made me super-virile, and I'm causing parthenogenesis all over without trying. Thing is, I don't know how you can…

That does make for some interesting math. For instance, there's about four million children born each year, so that gives us an upper bound of about a million joints consumed. The penal system seems to regard about thirty grams as the unit of scale, so the total mass would be 30 Mg. According to their own website, the DEA seems to seize about an average of 400 Mg of marijuana a year.

So we now have a lower bound on production (400 Mg) and an upper bound on consumption (30 Mg). Clearly, production has greatly exceeded demand, in violation of basic micro-economics. Thus, the statement there are four children born for every joint smoked is one of the greatest refutations of capitalism you can imagine. Everyone who believes it should be issued a free Che Guevara t-shirt to show their disdain for free market enterprise. Similarly, anyone who supports the war on drugs should preferentially hire jobs candidates wearing Che Guevara t-shirts in order to avoid hiring those pot heads.

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

#78

Post by jrells » Mon, Feb 23, 2015, 5:43 PM UTC

Zelphyr wrote: post #37

madaxe_again wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

We're just bad drivers in general, regardless of our level of intoxication. Texting. Dancing (I see this frequently). The number of elderly people who drive who shouldn't be is mind boggling. I'm of a mind that its actually way too easy to obtain a drivers license in this country. For example; my mother took my uncle to get his drivers license renewed. Why she did is beyond me because he has early stage dementia. He…

I would question the claim that Americans are bad drivers in general. Compared to driving I've seen in other countries (particularly India, China), even the worst drivers I've seen in America aren't so bad. And the worst drivers in America I know personally are not actually Americans but internationals.

Maybe we are generally worse compared to other western countries but my experience suggests the prevalence of driving in America puts our skills among the best. If someone has data which suggests otherwise please share.

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

#79

Post by Retric » Mon, Feb 23, 2015, 5:44 PM UTC

DanBC wrote: post #53

Zelphyr wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We're just bad drivers in general, regardless of our level of intoxication. Texting. Dancing (I see this frequently). The number of elderly people who drive who shouldn't be is mind boggling. I'm of a mind that its actually way too easy to obtain a drivers license in this country. For example; my mother took my uncle to get his drivers license renewed. Why she did is beyond me because he has early stage dementia. He…

> The number of elderly people who drive who shouldn't be is mind boggling. Is this supported by any research? Road traffic accident statistics show too many young people. So, older people might be safer drivers. Of course, there are a few people with dementia or visual impairment who shouldn't be driving but it's interesting that it's ok to suggest that older people are risky drivers when that doesn't appear to be t…

Older drivers (85+) are generally extremely risky per mile. "On the per-mile basis, the death rate of target drivers aged 85 and older is nearly triple that of drivers aged 16 to 17"

https://aaafoundation.org/sites/default/files/OlderDriverRis...

They drive fewer miles, but even still their far more risky than teenagers. "The per-driver death rate of target drivers aged 85 and older is nearly double that of target drivers aged 16 to 17 (Rate Ratio [RR] 1.93, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.66–2.24) and is over six times that of drivers aged 50 to 59 (RR 6.25, CI 5.48–7.14)."

Also of note, new drivers of any age are generally more risky than experienced ones of that same age. So, a large chunk of the teenage hit would happen even if you banned people <20 from driving.

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

#80

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Feb 23, 2015, 5:46 PM UTC

madaxe_again wrote: post #24

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…

[deleted]