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I'm Just a Middle-Aged House Dad Addicted to Pot

nytimes.com

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Re: I'm Just a Middle-Aged House Dad Addicted to Pot

#31

Post by omegant »

vishnugupta wrote: post #15
mrlatinos wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So is this a symptom of addiction, or just lack of discipline? I smoke plenty, but I know when and how to stop.

This is a test I did on myself to check if I'm addicted to sugar, so please take it in that context. Reduce your intake by 50% for about a week. Do you see a craving developing in you that's affecting your day to day life? Such as fatigue (both physical and mental), lack of focus, interest etc.,? If the answer is yes then you are probably on the verge of getting addicted. I'm not a doctor but my guess is that next st…

I consider myself addicted to sugar, the good part is that only takes about 3 days of craving to be free of them. After that it's much much easier to keep away from it.

Re: I'm Just a Middle-Aged House Dad Addicted to Pot

#32

Post by Jaruzel »

the_reformation wrote: post #19
paavoova wrote: post #12

Marijuana is pure Soma. The people pushing, fighting for legalization are digging their own grave in one form or another, especially as far as sentiments of freedom are concerned - the government wins one way or another. You cannot argue against sobriety without appealing to inherent weaknesses of human nature. That alone speaks volumes in regards to the value of this drug.

Love what this argument is touching upon, few questions though: 1. What is Soma? 2. How does the government win either way?

> 1. What is Soma?

I'm guessing (from a quick trip to Wikipedia) OP means this:

Soma, featured in Aldous Huxley's novels Brave New World and Island, a fictional hallucinogenic drug to keep society peaceful and happy.

It's been a LONG time since I last read BNW, time to put it back on the reading list!

Re: I'm Just a Middle-Aged House Dad Addicted to Pot

#33

Post by jacobush »

mrlatinos wrote: post #6
sosborn wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lack of self control is absolutely a symptom of addiction.

So is this a symptom of addiction, or just lack of discipline? I smoke plenty, but I know when and how to stop.

Good for you. Seems you are one of the 91% (or whatever) who don't are addicted. (Or "dependent".)

Re: I'm Just a Middle-Aged House Dad Addicted to Pot

#34

Post by Nursie »

mrlatinos wrote: post #4

Is a lack of self-control the same thing as addiction?

You know it's interesting, I see the same sorts of themes crop up whenever there's an article criticising alcohol on mainstream press websites.

Quite a few people will come out and say that it can't really be addictive, because they aren't addicted. Some say things like "Well I can have a beer every night, but never go off the deep-end and become an alcoholic, so clearly it's not that bad".

The point is that a percentage of people won't be able to control it. They will lose themselves to it. They will suffer for it. This happens with substances that cause physical dependency (opiates, alcohol, tobacco) and activities that clearly cannot (gambling). Cannabis seems to lie somewhere between the two, and be relatively mild.

Good for you if you enjoy it, use it and are not addicted. But that's not everyone's experience (It was mostly mine too, mostly, until it wasn't).

Re: I'm Just a Middle-Aged House Dad Addicted to Pot

#35

Post by shittyadmin »

nv-vn wrote: post #23
iliaznk wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course it is addictive, otherwise people wouldn't come back to it after the first try. And as for harm to lungs – does anyone really think that combustion products (regardless of what's burning) can not be harmful for human body?

A lot of stoners are convinced it reverses the damage or something because "THC cures cancer"

The largest studies to date have found no ties to lung cancer or COPD, however there's still other damage present which can take the form of reduced lung capacity, chronic bronchitis, etc. As for refuting the "THC cures cancer" thing, there's certain forms of testicular cancer which do show slightly increased risk of statistical significance. The lack of worse lung problems is somewhat surprising but I've seen speculation from doctors about other possible causes than a miracle cancer cure.

I'm not much of a pot head, but my country is legalizing in a few weeks so I did some research - Dry leaf vaporizer is absolutely the way to go if you can afford it, full inhalation dose control and speed, no extra shit from flavorings or solvents, far less risk of those lung issues.

Re: I'm Just a Middle-Aged House Dad Addicted to Pot

#36

Post by jimmies »

I got introduced to pot when I entered grad school to do a STEM Ph.D. I was cool with it - I was never an addict. I smoked a couple of times a year at most. It had to be a quite special occasion for me to smoke marijuana, drink, or do other drugs. Like the author, drugs gave me the courage to do things I would regret later. I did things to hurt my very best girlfriend I could have when I was high. She later left me.

Drugs are the demon that I thought I'm good enough to control -- I have a fucking Ph.D. after all. I know the answer for myself now, that is doing marijuana or any other drug is a losing battle. Most of the times when I am sober, I can hide the asshole person I really am. But when I'm high, all hell breaks loose.

Re: I'm Just a Middle-Aged House Dad Addicted to Pot

#37

Post by sdrothrock »

anigbrowl wrote: post #8

Actually, you're an asshole who likes pot and uses it as an excuse to behave badly. My drug use history reads like War and Peace and I don't have any aggressive or obnoxious episodes that I feel terrible about because I always considered that no matter what strange thing I put in my body I was responsible for for my own behavior, inebriated or not. This person needs help, and the first thing they need to do is take r…

> My drug use history reads like War and Peace

I'm curious about unpacking this since I actually read and enjoyed the book when I was in high school.

Which of the following are you saying? These choices are obviously not exclusive, but I'm curious about your original intent. :)

Your drug use history is:

1. Long (I think this is the most popular way to use War and Peace)

2. Boring (Probably the second most popular)

3. Violent (This is probably ruled out since you said you don't have any aggressive episodes [that you feel terrible about])

4. Characterized by peaks and lulls in use

5. Cryptic

6. Other?

Re: I'm Just a Middle-Aged House Dad Addicted to Pot

#38

Post by StanislavPetrov »

twblalock wrote: post #3

One of the upsides of legalization is that a lot of the false claims made about marijuana are going to come under heavy scrutiny. Some of this will be good for marijuana enthusiasts, but some will be bad. I've lost count of the times I've been told by marijuana fans that marijuana is not addictive, and that smoking it is not bad for your lungs. I expect both of those myths to be refuted in the coming years. In partic…

>In particular I expect to see studies demonstrate a link between marijuana smoking and lung cancer, followed by years of denial by marijuana producers and smokers, similar to what happened with cigarettes.

Perhaps you should examine some of the extensive studies that have already been done, so you could base your beliefs on scientific evidence instead of reefer-madness-based conjecture.

https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1513/AnnalsATS.201212...

Re: I'm Just a Middle-Aged House Dad Addicted to Pot

#39

Post by paavoova »

the_reformation wrote: post #19
paavoova wrote: post #12

Marijuana is pure Soma. The people pushing, fighting for legalization are digging their own grave in one form or another, especially as far as sentiments of freedom are concerned - the government wins one way or another. You cannot argue against sobriety without appealing to inherent weaknesses of human nature. That alone speaks volumes in regards to the value of this drug.

Love what this argument is touching upon, few questions though: 1. What is Soma? 2. How does the government win either way?

Soma is a fictional drug popularized in Huxley's Brave New World, and used to ritually sedate the populace in seemingly benign but pervasive manner. It's closely associated with with consumerism, in the of form of "feelies" (also from BNW), as Huxley was alive to witness the transition from silent films to "talkies", and didn't respond to the perceived gross spectacle. In my mind, soma is a generalization for all that preys upon human weakness, and for something that is justified, even by intelligent, renowned individuals, via illogicality and appeal to human nature ("it's fun", etc). Rather than consider the value of the intoxicant itself compared to the innate conscious state, you typically see defense of it and claims of its banality and harmlessness. This is cognitive dissonance and justification, nothing more.

The government wins by profiteering either way off of legalization or not. Police states enforcing the war on drugs is profit, and tax revenue from legalization is profit. The people celebrating the current trends as a win are delusional.

Re: I'm Just a Middle-Aged House Dad Addicted to Pot

#40

Post by collyw »

jimmies wrote: post #36

I got introduced to pot when I entered grad school to do a STEM Ph.D. I was cool with it - I was never an addict. I smoked a couple of times a year at most. It had to be a quite special occasion for me to smoke marijuana, drink, or do other drugs. Like the author, drugs gave me the courage to do things I would regret later. I did things to hurt my very best girlfriend I could have when I was high. She later left me.…

Drugs are bad M'kay.

Come on, everyone is different and plenty of people (the majority?) can use them responsibly. And drugs are vastly different as well so classifying them as as such seems fairly counter productive to any discussion.

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