Very true, and weed is much much less dangerous than alcohol or cigarettes.
However, I think it is a coincidence how as everything in the US is reaching peak shittiness, a ton of states are legalizing it.
Weed, while not harmful, absolutely keeps people entertained, distracted, and lets us use it as an escape from the shitty world. That is not bad, but I have a suspicion that it is actually useful to the people in power to keep people from revolting or disrupting power. Who would rather go protest after a hard day of labor vs chilling and having a gummy?
Kind of like how there are a ton of efforts to keep people addicted to phone and TV instead of taking action.
I can see how you’d reach this conclusion, but I also feel it discounts the decades of lobbying and protesting up to those moments. Plus, if the rationale was truly to make the populace more docile, why would there be such reluctance to legalization at the federal level in the U.S (not saying there isn’t a counterpoint to this, re: keeping federal institutions full)?
You have to understand. THC is psychoactive. Certain strains that are low in CBD (the antipsychotic) and high in THC can trigger latent conditions, such as paranoia, psychosis, etc.
But, they can also be triggered by alcohol, having a brisk walk, etc.
Cannabis is only really dangerous at the extremes of use, and paranoia is a possibility, as well as cortical shrinkage and depression. Like alcohol or tabacco, proper restraint should be used.
I’ve seen people develop psychosis from casual use. They were smoking almost daily.
Smoking daily is more than what i would call casual use. You need time to allow your receptors to unblock, thats why people can blow out their tolerance so quickly. Every other day is probably a bit over the line I would draw for casual use. But the line is diferent for everyone I guess.
I think they started gradually. They never had their own supply in the beginning but just can’t across it at parties. Then they got more consistent weekend supply before eventually finding a more consistent dealer.
Funny enough, weed does scare the absolute shit out of me, but I’m in a very small minority here. In fact, a few months back, my wife’s friend gave us some cannabis breath strips. Same brand, but different colored packaging. THC for my wife, CBD for me. Well. I was standing in my open refrigerator filling a glass of water when that CBD breath strip I had taken started to get real weird.
Flash forward an hour or two and I was laying in my dark bedroom in a panic spiral, thinking I was a terrible father and convinced that my house was haunted. I even saw a small white orb of light suspended near the wall above my fan, and I’m still not sure how it was projected there. I’ve never seen it before or since. Stared at it a good while before it just faded away.
Anyway. That wasn’t CBD.
sounds like a great time to me, but to each their own.
If it isn’t for you it isn’t for you and it’s no fun when people try to force it on you.
That said, most of the stories like this are from overdoing it which happens a lot when you have little to no tolerance and some people are much more prone to it than others. Starting out with weed is a lot like riding a bike in that it can take a few spills before you learn how to handle everything at once. Convincing someone to get back on a bike is easier than asking them to try psychedelics again though. Interesting to me that we’re more afraid of our thoughts than physical pain so often. I’m smoking weed about it.
I wholly agree. What’s interesting in my case is that I’ve done a ton of psychedelics in my life, both natural and synthetic, and have only had a single negative experience by overdoing it. I love them. I miss them. Not really something I have room for in my life anymore. But weed absolutely wrecks me at the chemical level. I guess my mom was the same way.
Not to argue against weed, but it’s actually bad for some people who have a certain genetic predisposition.
For some, it can be harmful regardless of whether they have good supervision or they need to learn how to handle the high.
It is known to exacerbate schizophrenia symptoms and hence is not recommended to people with those tendencies.
Edit: I don’t remember the source, I remember this from the kurzegesagt videos on it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP15q815Saw&t=17 (This is an early video, they changed their opinions later.)
Their more recent video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBRaI0ZeAf8&t=8 (This is a more recent video and is based on more concrete science. They’re a lot more optimistic in this one).
B-but jobs!! Prison inmates are a vital economic resource! KeEp GoVeRnMeNt OuT Of OuR LeGaL SyStEm!!!
Don’t forget the old textile companies that were threatened by hemp as well
Wouldn’t want to harm the cotton plantations…
I’ve been around cannabis products a lot. It’s never been legal in my country. I’ve seen people using it recreationally, I’ve seen people using it therapeutic. I’ve seen people who have used cannabis products their entire lives without issues, and people who have been unable to keep a job and earned a living doing crime.
The worst thing I’ve seen are the kids who came in to the psych ward I temped at. IDK how/what happened exactly, but it could be 20 yos with delusions and hallucinations, supposedly brought on by a misuse of cannabis. As in they probably already had some issues that they were dealing with, and found that cannabis made it easier to exist.
The what-aboutism of asking about alcohol is really not a good argument, because had alcohol been introduced today, and had we not had millenia long relationship with alcohol, then it would definitely have been banned as well.
With that being said, for profit prisons will never be a good idea, and letting prison corporations lobby politicians? If we just let them print their own money, then we wouldn’t have to lock up so many people.
Queue ‘Reefer Madness’
Lmao you gotta watch what you say man, you really did bring the reefer madness out of the woodwork
Lmfao apparently haha
You only get paranoid if you don’t smoke every often. It’s not an issue for daily users.
Name one positive thing about weed?
It smells nice and adds interest to my garden.
feels better than alcohol while being far less harmful than alcohol
It makes video games so much more intense and immersive. Gaming on any other substance (or substance) is boring by comparison.
(edit: That said, it’s even more immersive on psychedelics, but it’s also kind of hard to focus on a game when you’re too busy discovering the meaning of life. But during the comeup it’s really fun due to the sensory enhancement. You can pinpoint enemy locations with millimeter precision.)
Name one positive thing about alcohol? Name one positive thing about caffeine? Name one positive thing about nicotine? 🙄
Note that none of those are scheduled drugs and they all tend to have more adverse effects than cannabis does.
Caffeine - not dying from lack of sleep.
I said name one positive thing about weed, not that other things are bad. So, go on, you still haven’t named one positive thing.
Others have replied with positive things, and did so before my comment. I’m pointing out how hypocritical and unconstructive your question is by asking you the same thing about drugs most people don’t even bat an eye at.
Honestly, my response would be to do a quick search, but you seem to think Lemmy is your personal Google concierge or something.
And I’m also not “most people” with “most people talking points”. Again, two individuals having a conversation. But ok. Be that way.
I’m talking to you as an individual with your own opinions. So, I was asking for your opinion. Others have shared theirs.
You’re mean, it seems unnecessary and childish. Is it THAT difficult to have an conversation about potential negatives with weed?
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Current cancer patient here. I have a stash of meds around, but weed is the only thing that GIVES me an appetite, while also easing nausea and pain. It does all this without making me constipated and other side effects like my medicine does.
💚
That’s great! Sending you best wishes.
- Not physically addictive.
- Little – if any – impact on liver and kidney health.
- Thus a great pain medication – especially compared to opiates – in particular for chronic pain and cancer patients but also for example for menstruation cramps.
- Can greatly reduce Parkinson‘s symptoms.
- Can regulate diabetes.
- Can regulate seizures.
- Can help treat depression.
- Can help reduce anxiety.
- Can slow the development of Alzheimer‘s.
- Feels nice.
- Doesn‘t cause hangover.
Can’t have an overdose either. Worst that’ll happen is you’ll pass out after a bad trip.
Hm. Ok. I was a heavy to moderate user for ten years. I will have to go against this list. I have quit many times. And each time I have had physical withdrawal symptoms. Such as sweating a lot, having nightmares for months after quitting. Reduced appetite the first month. Irritability and so on. So I simply do not agree. Kidney health i do not know about. My kidneys are fine, I think, and I haven’t seen any studies done on this. One could argue that it doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. Because not many things causes liver issues- other than drugs and alcohol that is. I haven’t had cancer, but I’ve had menstrual cramps. And I can’t vouch for it helping with cramps. But hey, I’m not everyone. I do have diabetes tho, so I can speak for that. Weed is horrible for diabetics, since smoking reduces your sensitivity to insulin. It also makes you uncontrollably hungry, impulsive and forgetful. So it’s an awful combo. Imagine you just had the worst munchies, but you forgot to take your medicine before you ate and now your body is struggling with a high blood sugar. Not the best of times. The only two other things on your list i can speak for is anxiety and depression, there are studies that show that it can worsen those. Of course, it all depends on how you take it. In a controlled environment and with purpose, or just willy nilly. How often and so on. But I would of course not give weed to someone feeling bad without seeing what the root of the problem is, seeing as narcotics most likely will worsen the situation. So I respectfully disagree. But I understand you point of view, especially since I used to think the exact same thing in my twenties.
So in many respects, I’m right there with you. I do not believe the ‘it’s not physically addictive’ bit beyond ‘it’s not physically addictive with the same severity as cocaine, caffeine, alcohol if a heavy user, etc.’. People often do get physical withdrawl symptoms if they are heavy users that don’t taper off. Long-term heavy use can exacerbate depression and anxiety symptoms, though I do wonder about the impact of environmental factors here (the habits that get cemented in some folk’s smoking routine). Some people do have pre-existing psychiatric conditions that cannabis can trigger or worsen, and those folks should stay as far away from cannabis as possible for their health.
From a rec drug perspective though, as an occasional thing it can be pretty great for others. We live in stressful times - something that is acutely relaxing with a shortish duration, no hangover, and comparatively few side effects with casual/occasional use is pretty damn useful. The amount of trouble you can find yourself in at high levels of intoxication is pretty low v. many alternatives. And for many people who use it medicinally, it allows for better quality of life compared to drugs with much more severe, acute side effects.
My general take at this point is this: Cannabis is not right for all people at all times. It can be right, or useful, for some people sometimes. In places where it’s legal, that’s good because fuck going to prison for a plant. But it’s legal - not mandatory. Use should be a function of personal choice, with risk management in mind. Ideally, we should be creating a space to think about cannabis in terms of its pros and cons, and provide guidance for those who find themselves getting more of the cons - either around RoA, frequency of use, dosage, or whether it’s something they should be using in the first place if things are really bad. But with compassion and a clear-eyed view of what it’s actually doing for them on the whole.
It gives me pain relief from my ulcerative colitis and gives me an appetite at the same time. Its what i need, but cant have because my job adheres to USA federal regulations
That’s great! Too bad you can’t use it. Are there no other medicines that offer the same solutions?
Sulfasalazine helps with inflammation, but that treats the long term maintenance. If i need a short term relief, nothing really helps the same.
Prednisone helps, but obviously way different with massive side effects
Ok, with the names and everything ^^, I don’t know enough about those medicines and I won’t even pretend to. From what I gathered nothing is as good as weed. Wich is good, that you found something that works. Medical marijuana can be a real life saver, as you already know. This is, to me, the interesting part of it. The rest is fine too, but the real heart of it is how it can help with some very particular illnesses. And not being able to have an actual discussion about lived experiences because of stigma and feelings, is getting in the way of the real discussion. I Wish you nothing but the best.
Pain relief without opioids.
For you? Or in general?
Any strain for any pain?
Keeps me from having PTSD dreams about the war.
That’s great. Does it keep you from dreaming altogether, or is it strictly about not having the war dreams?
I don’t dream at all. Better than having random nightmares.
This is what I suspected. I understand that point of view. I don’t wish to meddle in your mental health. Hope you find serenity one day my friend.
As of the research we have right now, it is healthier than alcohol. Note the “-er” I am not saying it is healthy and will have 0 long term effects.
This is kind of my gripe with it,saying that it’s healthier- doesn’t really mean much. It kinda just makes alcohol look worse. Not weed look better, imo. But thanks for the input and the articles.
It is an alternative to a recreational drug that has a much worse track record. If your take is nobody should use recreational drugs ever, your opinion is invalid in this conversation.
It’s not my point. People have been using different form of narcotics for ever. The real question is why though. In this day and age where mental health is important. Why don’t we try and go to the root of the problem, if there is a problem that is. So many self medicate and use this point, that it’s the best alternative: as a shield. Completely ignoring any negative impact it might have. However no opinion is invalid. Perhaps you don’t agree with me. But that’s fine for me, I’m not here to argue like that.
The real question is why though.
It is fun? EVERYTHING is bad in excess. Based off your own wording, it seems like you think all drug use is drug abuse.
Also, if you are Pro-choice, you should know that there are some conversations where not everybody’s opinion is valid.
Bot drug use, but it’s a slippery slope for far too many. Not all, but many. There’s a stigma and a hardcore belief that you cannot get addicted, no way no how. The negatives are something to be aware of. To be able to make an informed decision. Based on my wording there shouldn’t be anything indicating that all use is abuse, but I’ll have to backtrack to make sure.
I think we are having two seperate conversations, you are talking about drug abuse/habitual addiction, while I am addressing your original comment of “name one positive about weed.”
The main topic of the OG post is about legalization of weed.
