More Americans report near-constant cannabis use • Hacker News Board

Re: More Americans report near-constant cannabis use

#261

Post by yashap » Tue, Aug 21, 2018, 12:03 AM UTC

wellboy wrote: post #165

Confiks wrote: post #160

I think it's a mistake to legalize cannabis and continue to treat it like any other consumer product, opening the floodgates to gratuitous advertisements and dubious health claims. Instead, the sale of cannabis (and perhaps other drugs) should be treated as a public health issue, where the sale is permitted as long as it isn't advertised and proper information is given about the product. The Netherlands partly has th…

The problem is, criminalization of pot does far more harm to society than decriminalization. So, while there might be downsides of decriminalization, the downsides of criminalization far outweight the former.

Confiks isn’t arguing it should be criminal, though. Just saying it should be “tolerated”, but not the same way a lot of other products are - they mention disallowing advertisements, and restricting who can sell it.

This is actually pretty similar to how cigarettes are treated in Canada (and many countries). Restricted sales, legal ages to purchase, product covered in discouraging warnings, lots of restrictions around advertisements, tonnes of places you aren’t allowed to smoke (not just inside, but anywhere remotely close to doorways), etc. Basically sends the message “we think smoking is negative, but it’s better to tolerate it in a highly regulated way than to make it illegal.”

Re: More Americans report near-constant cannabis use

#262

Post by drooogs » Tue, Aug 21, 2018, 12:05 AM UTC

grawprog wrote: post #104

magic_beans wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But do you smoke very day? Do you look forward to pot more than anything else? If not, then good for you! Like alcohol, some people take weed to extremes, and others are able to drink one glass every now and again without going overboard.

I do smoke weed every day. I don't necessarily wake up in the morning and look forward to only that. Ya if I finish work after a hard stressful day sometimes I do look forward to it. But, I look forward to getting home, showering and eating dinner too. If I'm busy doing things where I can't I don't really mind and I don't really think about it or anything. I would say my usage would qualify as habitual but in the end…

i don't mean to condescend (i smoke weed often myself), but please be careful when you compare your habit to others'. if you know a lot of unhealthy people, it can be hard to recognize your own issues.

Re: More Americans report near-constant cannabis use

#263

Post by WalterSear » Tue, Aug 21, 2018, 12:08 AM UTC

droopyEyelids wrote: post #166

stronglikedan wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm glad you quit, because that's what you needed to do for you, and that's always the right thing to do. However, even though your comment is anecdotal, I do feel the need to point out that your concerns weren't because of the pot, but rather because of your decisions. If you smoke in moderation and learn your strains (sativa dominant for social situations, indica dominant for Netflix and chill), then it's a highly…

Have there been any double blind tests of the difference between Sativa and Indica? As someone who doesn't smoke, it sure sounds like sommelier's talk. Even though it's almost legal now, the world of cannabis is full of so much mystical mumbo jumbo and outright fabrication. Take the whole CBD thing, for example. The only consensus seems to be that people who sell it say it does whatever the customer wants. And how mu…

Cannabis chemistry and pharmacology science may be in its relative infancy, but it's already a broad and established field.

Re: More Americans report near-constant cannabis use

#264

Post by WalterSear » Tue, Aug 21, 2018, 12:12 AM UTC

dekhn wrote: post #212

droopyEyelids wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have there been any double blind tests of the difference between Sativa and Indica? As someone who doesn't smoke, it sure sounds like sommelier's talk. Even though it's almost legal now, the world of cannabis is full of so much mystical mumbo jumbo and outright fabrication. Take the whole CBD thing, for example. The only consensus seems to be that people who sell it say it does whatever the customer wants. And how mu…

Gotta push back on the CBD part. Epidiolex was approved by the FDA (priority, fast track), but so far, multiple lines of evidence have shown it to be efficacious for a number of conditions. The sativa/indica spectrum isn't really accurate. Pot is more like a multidimensional feature vector crossed with the user's feature vector- a complex multivariate interaction.

Indica, Sativa and Ruderalis are separate species of the genus Cannabis.

Re: More Americans report near-constant cannabis use

#265

Post by WalterSear » Tue, Aug 21, 2018, 12:14 AM UTC

chipperyman573 wrote: post #186

droopyEyelids wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have there been any double blind tests of the difference between Sativa and Indica? As someone who doesn't smoke, it sure sounds like sommelier's talk. Even though it's almost legal now, the world of cannabis is full of so much mystical mumbo jumbo and outright fabrication. Take the whole CBD thing, for example. The only consensus seems to be that people who sell it say it does whatever the customer wants. And how mu…

CBD has been demonstrated to stop seizures, so it does have some use. That said its possibilities are likely way oversold. Here's a very cool example, if you're interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ybu-_tDXb8

It's not oversold. You'll be hearing more and more about it.

However, it's often sold in 'salves' and edibles in ineffectively small amounts, cheifly to those who are 'socially' allergic to cannabis.

Re: More Americans report near-constant cannabis use

#266

Post by grawprog » Tue, Aug 21, 2018, 12:16 AM UTC

drooogs wrote: post #262

grawprog wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do smoke weed every day. I don't necessarily wake up in the morning and look forward to only that. Ya if I finish work after a hard stressful day sometimes I do look forward to it. But, I look forward to getting home, showering and eating dinner too. If I'm busy doing things where I can't I don't really mind and I don't really think about it or anything. I would say my usage would qualify as habitual but in the end…

i don't mean to condescend (i smoke weed often myself), but please be careful when you compare your habit to others'. if you know a lot of unhealthy people, it can be hard to recognize your own issues.

It's cool. But i'm well aware of my own issues and problems in life and I assure you they don't come from smoking weed.

Re: More Americans report near-constant cannabis use

#267

Post by yodsanklai » Tue, Aug 21, 2018, 12:22 AM UTC

umvi wrote: post #67

insickness wrote: post #17

In the past I was addicted to pot. I was addicted in the sense that pretty much everything felt better when I was high. I was more relaxed and had less anxiety. Sex was better. Food tasted better. I was more creative. I thought about much deeper things. I spent less time online and in front of screens. The biggest downside for me--and the reason I ended up quitting--was that my sober life just sucked in comparison. I…

Another downside you might not have considered is that you may have also adversely affected your neighbors if you live in shared housing. Not everyone enjoys the smell of pot, and I've had neighbors that made me miserable from the constant pot stench seeping through our shared wall.

Weed can be vaporized, which is pretty much odorless (and safer to consume).

Re: More Americans report near-constant cannabis use

#268

Post by 01100011 » Tue, Aug 21, 2018, 12:26 AM UTC

dgzl wrote: post #250

01100011 wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was an engineer at a design services firm. My 'boss' was 500 miles away, along with the rest of my team. People threw bugs and tasks at me and I did them. At my company, I'd walk in, go straight to my cube, and sit there all day. Occasionally I'd get social. Even when I was assigned to other projects working with local teams, or even leading teams of people, I managed to make it work. People just got used to me bei…

How do you think being high affected your work?

I usually did the minimum required of me. While I did challenge myself and learn new things, I stuck to the easy stuff. I worked the minimum amount of time every week and shied away from taking on voluntary projects which would have made my usefulness to my employer more obvious. I got my job done in 20-30 hours, billed for 40, and went home(shitty, I know).

When times got tough for my client(after nearly 6 years) I was eventually replaced with a WiPro guy.

I could have learned C++14, but instead I stuck with what I knew. I could have learned algorithms, but I stuck with the driver/systems/embedded stuff I knew. I could have learned the security frameworks and been really valuable right now.

The last 2 years have been a time of furious catching up. I'm now being courted by FANG companies and hoping I can make the cut(I need to bump my salary to afford alimony... long story).

Re: More Americans report near-constant cannabis use

#269

Post by P_I_Staker » Tue, Aug 21, 2018, 12:30 AM UTC

droopyEyelids wrote: post #166

stronglikedan wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm glad you quit, because that's what you needed to do for you, and that's always the right thing to do. However, even though your comment is anecdotal, I do feel the need to point out that your concerns weren't because of the pot, but rather because of your decisions. If you smoke in moderation and learn your strains (sativa dominant for social situations, indica dominant for Netflix and chill), then it's a highly…

Have there been any double blind tests of the difference between Sativa and Indica? As someone who doesn't smoke, it sure sounds like sommelier's talk. Even though it's almost legal now, the world of cannabis is full of so much mystical mumbo jumbo and outright fabrication. Take the whole CBD thing, for example. The only consensus seems to be that people who sell it say it does whatever the customer wants. And how mu…

There's a range of cannabinoids with varying effects; I believe this is something that's studied, acknowledged, but still not completely understood. THC is just the main one. The variations explain the differences between strains, "pure" Indica having higher concentration of THC, but lower diversity of cannabinoids. In reality everything is a blend.

This is in contrast to alcohol, which is straight ethanol, all the time. There's no difference in the active ingredients in alcohols. Anybody that claims a different high, based on beer, whiskey, ect., is only referring to environment and aesthetic influences, which do matter (also, hangovers may vary, due to ingredients used). There's bullshit in the industry, specifically w/CBD and medical claims, but I think it goes well beyond sommelier's talk.

Marijuana is not an easy to understand and classify, unlike other drugs, like alcohol. I think it's been pretty well established that there are significant differences between strains, though I suppose you're right, I've never seen a specific study.

Re: More Americans report near-constant cannabis use

#270

Post by markbnj » Tue, Aug 21, 2018, 12:38 AM UTC

This is probably overall a healthy counter reaction to the counter reaction to the ridiculous decades-long federal position on the stuff. Marijuana is an intoxicant of sorts, although I use the word loosely here, not the cure for all ills. Like the other primary intoxicant it can sometimes have health and wellness benefits, but it is also easily abused. Like anything that changes your mental state in a way that you find pleasurable it can easily become a psychological dependence, whether or not it's physically addictive. Back in the day, when my friends and I discussed the possibility of marijuana legalization (and this was the 70's when it was not at all possible) the concept in our minds involved treating it like liquor: something adults have the right to enjoy, but which is treated with cautious suspicion and care by society at large. I still think that's where we'll end up, and it's been somewhat fascinating to watch the whole system trying to digest this change.