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As weed gets more potent, teens are getting sick

nytimes.com

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Re: As weed gets more potent, teens are getting sick

#51
post #15

I live in the Netherlands where there is a "coffeeshop" culture, with some of these coffeeshops having a connaisseur-like focus - as in, they sometimes even offer extremely exotic strains that you've never heard about and aren't even on Leafly etc yet, sourced from god knows where 10000 miles away, and then carefully and passionately grown and cured - and I can 100% guarantee you that people are not necessarily getti…

Fellow Dutchie here, I completely agree with this. When I learned to smoke weed, which was relatively late in my life (late twenties), I got sick of weed. I wondered why smoking just a quarter of a joint was already too much. Then I realized I just need between 1 to 4 inhales and call it a day. The high is relatively light and quite nice :) > sourced from god knows where Well, that's the illegal part, isn't it? ;-) I…

Goededag,

> sourced from god knows where

> Well, that's the illegal part, isn't it? ;-)

Ahh, I was referring to certain coffeeshops that carry rare strains that have been sourced from very remote places. But you're absolutely right as well of course. Not a fan of this setup either.

My home country, Germany, is apparently planning on fully legalising cannabis - if you thought Dutch politicians are out of touch with reality and cannabis, allow me to tell you that they seem like the most mentally stable and rational humans on earth compared to German politicians (maybe you've heard about the drug commissioner over there calling cannabis "broccoli" and explaining that "cannabis is illegal because its forbidden") - so you can probably imagine how absolutely insane it seems for them to be discussing and actually planning this.

I have high hopes that neighbouring legalisation will push the Dutch, but realistically I think the worst part about all of this here is really only the lack of logic. Users aren't getting punished, police and prosecution don't have to deal with it, the coffeeshops pay taxes, and so on. That's already a day and night difference to our direct neighbours.

When I moved here, it was like my brain errored out into a bootloop - I was standing outside in the park smoking a joint, and could not stop looking around and getting paranoid about cops showing up, then remembering it's okay and feeling like tons of weight and anxiety had been lifted, then 5 seconds later getting paranoid again, then remembering again, and so on. To this day, I sometimes feel a weird sense of unease and.. I guess you could call it internalised shame? Living in prohibition really sticks with you.

Re: As weed gets more potent, teens are getting sick

#53

This line has been reliably trotted out every few years since the 1990s at least: But experts say today’s high-THC cannabis products — vastly different than the joints smoked decades ago — are poisoning some heavy users, including teenagers. The issue is that people adjust their consumption accordingly, just as with alcohol - drinking one liter of beer, everyone knows, is not the same as drinking one liter of vodka.…

> Imagine a headline like "Concentrated alcohol products cause vomiting in teenagers! It's not your parent's booze!"

During the Gin Craze, sure:

> It is with the deepest concern your committee observe the strong Inclination of the inferior Sort of People to these destructive Liquors, and how surprisingly this Infection has spread within these few Years ... it is scarce possible for Persons in low Life to go anywhere or to be anywhere, without being drawn in to taste, and, by Degrees, to like and approve of this pernicious Liquor.

Re: As weed gets more potent, teens are getting sick

#54
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Concentrated liquor is most definitely a health risk! Drinking a bottle of whiskey can kill you, while it is almost impossible to kill yourself with beer. Many places tax liquor more than beer, and restrict sales to approved liquor stores while beer and wine are sold broadly.

Well, yes but most people drink a lesser amount of spirits than they would beer. I for one have never poured myself a pint of vodka, for example!

And some people don't. The story of me meeting my wife involves her roommate pouring a pint from the bottle of gin I brought as a gift - straight up to the brim.

Re: As weed gets more potent, teens are getting sick

#55
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would love to see sources on deaths from unregulated weed. Are we talking the age old boogeyman of laced weed or something else?

You are confusing unregulated weed with laced weed. That's not really a boogeyman now is it, and I'd be the last person to propagate myths to badmouth cannabis lol. Laced weed has indeed become a serious problem in western Europe.

Neve heard of that. Provide a source.

Re: As weed gets more potent, teens are getting sick

#56
post #15

I live in the Netherlands where there is a "coffeeshop" culture, with some of these coffeeshops having a connaisseur-like focus - as in, they sometimes even offer extremely exotic strains that you've never heard about and aren't even on Leafly etc yet, sourced from god knows where 10000 miles away, and then carefully and passionately grown and cured - and I can 100% guarantee you that people are not necessarily getti…

Would love to see sources on deaths from unregulated weed. Are we talking the age old boogeyman of laced weed or something else?

Synthetic cannabinoids ("spice") are a genuine threat which have killed people, but they only exist because of a stupid legal system. Sometimes media reports will misleadingly conflate these designer drugs with natural cannabis.

Re: As weed gets more potent, teens are getting sick

#57
The real danger with cannabis is not that it'll make you sick or have some nasty side effect like this article describes.

The danger is simply that you will like it, you'll end up using it every day, all different times of the day, and it won't really hurt your health as much as it will make you live your life in a somewhat dopey, detached, less-intelligent way. As time goes on it won't feel "fun" it'll just feel "normal". And you just won't get as much out of your life as you could get, won't achieve as much relationship success, professional success, or personal fulfillment.

Re: As weed gets more potent, teens are getting sick

#59
post #57

The real danger with cannabis is not that it'll make you sick or have some nasty side effect like this article describes. The danger is simply that you will like it, you'll end up using it every day, all different times of the day, and it won't really hurt your health as much as it will make you live your life in a somewhat dopey, detached, less-intelligent way. As time goes on it won't feel "fun" it'll just feel "no…

This argument always pops up as if there aren't a wealth of very successful daily cannabis users.

Re: As weed gets more potent, teens are getting sick

#60
post #57

The real danger with cannabis is not that it'll make you sick or have some nasty side effect like this article describes. The danger is simply that you will like it, you'll end up using it every day, all different times of the day, and it won't really hurt your health as much as it will make you live your life in a somewhat dopey, detached, less-intelligent way. As time goes on it won't feel "fun" it'll just feel "no…

You nailed it -- that's exactly what makes habitual use of the substance so insidious.

Like, why deal with life (which involves risk and rejection, and ick, work) when you can just blast trippy movies through your head all day? (Fun though these movies can be, for a while).

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