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I made my son cannabis cookies. They changed his life

washingtonpost.com

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Re: I made my son cannabis cookies. They changed his life

#91

Post by mazlix »

hubb wrote: post #21
gragas wrote: post #13

I'm for the legalization of marijuana, but I really hate the arguments these articles present in favor of it; I'm sure your raging 9-year-old kid would chill out on a strong dose of heroin, too. We should not falsely elevate marijuana as some wonder drug. Surely, there's a better argument that can be presented for legalization?

this is a false equivalency for two reasons: marijuana is not physically addictive, and THC doesn't have near the same capability to incapacitate people that heroin does.

Most good studies on THC are on adults/ developed brains. I'm not sure it's established yet that marijuana wouldn't cause a "physical" addiction if used in adolescence. It might be / hopefully is fine, but people shouldn't assume that just because cannabis is fairly harmless in adults it is also established to be safe for youth.

Re: I made my son cannabis cookies. They changed his life

#92

Post by raverbashing »

exwebtina wrote: post #85

I recall in 70s/80s Denmark and Netherlands made pot legal in parts of Amsterdam and Copenhagen. The areas quickly turned into dumps. I'm fine with Slab City but do we wan't this for all of US?

Have you ever been to Amsterdam or Copenhagen to make such a ludicrous assertion?

Re: I made my son cannabis cookies. They changed his life

#93

Post by ritchiea »

gragas wrote: post #82
jMyles wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm sure your raging 9-year-old kid would chill out on a strong dose of heroin, too Read what you've said again; do you realize how completely ridiculous this sounds? A "strong dose" of heroin, to a 9-year-old who is opiate naive, will obviously not cause them to "chill out." It will cause them to horribly itch, turn green in the face, violently vomit, alternate between pouring sweat and feeling freezing cold, moan…

One could properly dose this 9-year-old and make him "chill out." I have no doubt that it is possible. That said, I really agree with your argument. You make a great case for legalization that isn't merely "oh hur dur look how my child mellows out on weed." Thank you.

The case isn't "my kid mellows out on weed" it's "my kid has behavioral problems that prevent him from functioning at home & in school that are alleviated by weed".

Re: I made my son cannabis cookies. They changed his life

#94

Post by Johnny555 »

gragas wrote: post #83
op00to wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Heroin is not really a fair comparison. If you take away the pot, the kid won't get seriously ill from withdrawal symptoms. If you give too much pot, the kid won't forget to breathe and die. If it works for them, let them do what they think is best for their kid. The argument is basically there's an option that works for them, and causes little health complications. That it's "looked down on" means nothing. I'm sure…

I completely agree with you. Your argument stands much better than the one presented in this article.

The mother saw something in literature that made her think it could be useful, researched by going to a marijuana support group, talking to a Harvard professor/psychiatrist, and got clearance from her son's neurologist, then did methodical experimentation to find the right strain.

She didn't just wake up one day and say "hey! Let's give him a joint and see what happens!"

Which, I should add is pretty much how my sister came to use marijuana as medicine -- except she didn't live in a state where medical marijuana was legal, her teenaged son had a source. She was on treatment for an autoimmune disorder and on the days she took her meds, she was so nauseous that she couldn't get out of bed. Pharmaceutical anti-nausea meds (including $20/day Marinol) worked poorly or had unwanted side effects. Finally her doctor pointed her at a website and told her that he couldn't recommend it, but other patients had gotten relief from medical marijuana. And indeed, it made a huge difference for her.

Due to her illness, she had access to pretty much any narcotic painkiller she wanted, yet to gain access to marijuana, she had to ask her son to risk prosecution to buy it from a guy he knew from school.

Re: I made my son cannabis cookies. They changed his life

#95

Post by tunap »

jptman wrote: post #25
thesmallestcat wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This article is propaganda. It doesn't contain any interesting data, just a rehash of the policy landscape and a single, heart string-tugging anecdote.

Unfortunately, it's the heart string-tugging anecdotes that make policies happen in the US, not data.

After 80 years of ignoring the data, I do not know how else one would effect change other than employing the same tactics. Empirical data is available, anecdotal data is available, historical harm has accrued for non-violent "offenders". The rarely spoken facets of the hemp plant's superiority to pulp derived paper and cotton fabrics have been ignored for almost a century. Before "reefer madness" was invented, the aforementioned products couldn't compete, hemp was common and priduced superior products. The reasons for demonizing hemp, not marijuana, were economic forces and lobbyists pushing their agendas at any cost.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_J._Anslinger#The_campaig...

Re: I made my son cannabis cookies. They changed his life

#96

Post by vinay427 »

throwaway729 wrote: post #44
hasenj wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? I have a very deep suspicion that drugs destroy society by making a majority of people lethargic and unmotivated to do anything in real life. A case could be made for exceptions here and there (like the child in this article) but I don't think it works so well in society.

> by making a majority of people lethargic and unmotivated to do anything in real life. Almost all of the drug users I know are highly motivated and very successful people. Even if you include illegal drugs. Perhaps this is just selection bias at work, but that knife cuts both ways.

(Not the OP)

There isn't just the selection bias of people you tend to know potentially not being representative of most drug users, but the need for comparing how those same drug users would do without drugs (I'm not sure how this is possible to evaluate). It isn't enough to say that some drug users are highly motivated and successful, which I don't contest.

Re: I made my son cannabis cookies. They changed his life

#97

Post by liquidise »

milesf wrote: post #74
patrickaljord wrote: post #3

The war on drugs is probably one of the biggest crime against humanity since WW2 with millions of deaths, millions in prisons, and trillions of dollars and human resources wasted, mostly affecting the poor and minorities everywhere. This needs to stop. Sadly, it looks like it will go on for a few more decades.

The United States always needs an enemy. Hitler, communism, Russia, Viet Cong, acid rain, drugs, them... The war on drugs might subside because of the perfect enemy they have now: terrorists. A faceless, ever-present threat that can keep the war drums beating. What I'd like to see is the military-industrial complex shift their battle to a War on Extinction: space exploration.

I'm glad to see someone else come to a similar conclusion. The one thing i would add: this singular enemy tends to be held generationally. As the generations move in and out of the prime voter ages (and the congresspeople they are voting for) US policy changes dramatically around these vilified groups.

Re: I made my son cannabis cookies. They changed his life

#98

Post by spraak »

DanBC wrote: post #63

Mildly disturbed that she medicates him against his knowledge with something that we think may be harmful for young brains (although we don't know, because drug laws make research impossible). We excuse this because she's in a desperate situation and there's a lack of support. But other people in her situation resort to more harmful forms of quackery. The answer shouldn't be "quackery is fine so long as it doesn't re…

Constantly banging your head off an iron bath also interferes with brain development, and any other drug that could treat this

Re: I made my son cannabis cookies. They changed his life

#99

Post by rtz12 »

throwaway729 wrote: post #44
hasenj wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? I have a very deep suspicion that drugs destroy society by making a majority of people lethargic and unmotivated to do anything in real life. A case could be made for exceptions here and there (like the child in this article) but I don't think it works so well in society.

> by making a majority of people lethargic and unmotivated to do anything in real life. Almost all of the drug users I know are highly motivated and very successful people. Even if you include illegal drugs. Perhaps this is just selection bias at work, but that knife cuts both ways.

Almost all of the drug users I know are unemployed social outcasts. One of them at least somewhat tries.

Re: I made my son cannabis cookies. They changed his life

#100

Post by jimnotgym »

exwebtina wrote: post #85

I recall in 70s/80s Denmark and Netherlands made pot legal in parts of Amsterdam and Copenhagen. The areas quickly turned into dumps. I'm fine with Slab City but do we wan't this for all of US?

Rubbish. Complete rubbish. Cannabis is decriminalized in the Netherlands. The Netherlands like all countries has its good and bad parts.
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