What Marijuana Does to Your Metabolism

124

Replies

  • tincanonastring
    tincanonastring Posts: 3,944 Member
    Azexas wrote: »
    BigGuy47 wrote: »
    Yay! A judgement thread on MFP!

    I'll play along. Does anybody justify their drinking because of the reported health benefits?

    They say a glass of wine with dinner is healthy for your heart.

    I just save up all of my glasses and drink a bottle on the weekends. Totally the same thing.

    A whole bottle of wine fits into a Trenta cup from Starbucks...You're Welcome :)

    You're buying the wrong size wine bottles!

    chateau-cheval-blanc-468x343.jpg
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    kmajor2015 wrote: »
    zyxst wrote: »
    What's the yippee for? Do you feel justified to smoke pot because it might lower your risk for the 'beetus and obesity?

    Maybe that person doesn't need to feel they need to justify their private habits to anyone. Chill.

    Then perhaps starting this thread wasn't such a good idea.

    I remember a long time ago when I used to smoke weed, I thought I came up with all sorts of absolutely brilliant ideas when I was high. I even wrote some of them down, so I'd be sure to remember them in the morning.

    The next day? They weren't so brilliant. LMAO.

    Yep. Remember the days too. I didn't smoke it long because I didn't like how it made me feel, but I thought I was really awesome.
  • OneHundredToLose
    OneHundredToLose Posts: 8,523 Member
    edited August 2015
    I've no doubt that pot slows reaction time (I'm not even sure we needed studies for that - just pretend to hit a stoner and wait the 5 minutes for them to flinch), but how does that correspond to driving ability?

    There are lots of factors, including the strain being used and the user him/herself. Some people do not experience any loss of reaction time, while others behave like the stereotype you described.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    edited August 2015
    SLLRunner wrote: »
    kmajor2015 wrote: »
    zyxst wrote: »
    What's the yippee for? Do you feel justified to smoke pot because it might lower your risk for the 'beetus and obesity?

    Maybe that person doesn't need to feel they need to justify their private habits to anyone. Chill.

    Then perhaps starting this thread wasn't such a good idea.

    I remember a long time ago when I used to smoke weed, I thought I came up with all sorts of absolutely brilliant ideas when I was high. I even wrote some of them down, so I'd be sure to remember them in the morning.

    The next day? They weren't so brilliant. LMAO.

    Yep. Remember the days too. I didn't smoke it long because I didn't like how it made me feel, but I thought I was really awesome.

    ha, i remember sooooo much bad poetry (another societal harm). (or i remember THAT i wrote it, obviously i don't actually remember it.)
  • tincanonastring
    tincanonastring Posts: 3,944 Member
    edited August 2015
    Kalikel wrote: »
    elphie754 wrote: »
    senecarr wrote: »
    RaeBeeBaby wrote: »
    senecarr wrote: »
    I find it funny that people still go on about medical marijuana for glaucoma when it does nothing for glaucoma last I saw any medical review.
    I'm perfectly fine with adults doing it because they want to. I find it kind of sad that people have to invent medical properties for it as a means to justify legalizing it to a bunch of people.

    It's not sad that people are "inventing medical properties" for it to justify legalization. There are clinical studies going on all over the world on the health benefits of cannabis for everything from cancer treatment to epilepsy to Alzheimers to treatment of PTSD. Of course, people do consume it for pleasure and recreation, but the medical use benefits are well documented or there would not be medical marijuana programs in many states in the U.S.

    I'm very happy it is now legal for recreational use in my state. We can certainly use the tax revenue!
    I think it is indeed sad. It should just be legal because it is a personal decision. Having to justify it for other reasons is sad to me. Cupcakes are both delicious, can be enjoyed, and in excess can have health consequences, but no one needs to tell people that cupcakes might cure cancer or treat Alzheimer's to justify having a cupcake. It seems sad that people have to do that for marijuana.

    It does not impair driving like alcohol does.

    I'm all for legalisation... but this is only half true. It doesn't impair driving in the same way as alcohol, but it absolutely does impair driving. People have crashed their cars and killed people when driving after smoking - because the effects mean they don't pay as much attention as they should.

    I've seen arguments that most of these cases involve multiple intoxicating agents being in a system i.e. someone was drunk and stoned or stoned and on meth, which confounds things somewhat. Is there any research showing that marijuana-using drivers become distracted at a higher rate than sober drivers?

    Yes. There have been several studies that show it slows down reaction time.

    I've no doubt that pot slows reaction time (I'm not even sure we needed studies for that - just pretend to hit a stoner and wait the 5 minutes for them to flinch), but how does that correspond to driving ability?

    You cannot react fast enough to not kill someone.

    There are many times that sober drivers can't react fast enough to not kill someone. How does this statement contribute to the conversation in any meaningful way?
  • Rage_Phish
    Rage_Phish Posts: 1,507 Member
    all drugs should be legalized
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    elphie754 wrote: »
    senecarr wrote: »
    RaeBeeBaby wrote: »
    senecarr wrote: »
    I find it funny that people still go on about medical marijuana for glaucoma when it does nothing for glaucoma last I saw any medical review.
    I'm perfectly fine with adults doing it because they want to. I find it kind of sad that people have to invent medical properties for it as a means to justify legalizing it to a bunch of people.

    It's not sad that people are "inventing medical properties" for it to justify legalization. There are clinical studies going on all over the world on the health benefits of cannabis for everything from cancer treatment to epilepsy to Alzheimers to treatment of PTSD. Of course, people do consume it for pleasure and recreation, but the medical use benefits are well documented or there would not be medical marijuana programs in many states in the U.S.

    I'm very happy it is now legal for recreational use in my state. We can certainly use the tax revenue!
    I think it is indeed sad. It should just be legal because it is a personal decision. Having to justify it for other reasons is sad to me. Cupcakes are both delicious, can be enjoyed, and in excess can have health consequences, but no one needs to tell people that cupcakes might cure cancer or treat Alzheimer's to justify having a cupcake. It seems sad that people have to do that for marijuana.

    It does not impair driving like alcohol does.

    I'm all for legalisation... but this is only half true. It doesn't impair driving in the same way as alcohol, but it absolutely does impair driving. People have crashed their cars and killed people when driving after smoking - because the effects mean they don't pay as much attention as they should.

    I've seen arguments that most of these cases involve multiple intoxicating agents being in a system i.e. someone was drunk and stoned or stoned and on meth, which confounds things somewhat. Is there any research showing that marijuana-using drivers become distracted at a higher rate than sober drivers?

    Yes. There have been several studies that show it slows down reaction time.

    I've no doubt that pot slows reaction time (I'm not even sure we needed studies for that - just pretend to hit a stoner and wait the 5 minutes for them to flinch), but how does that correspond to driving ability?

    You are kidding right? You don't see how slowed reaction time negatively impacts driving?
  • tincanonastring
    tincanonastring Posts: 3,944 Member
    tomatoey wrote: »
    SLLRunner wrote: »
    kmajor2015 wrote: »
    zyxst wrote: »
    What's the yippee for? Do you feel justified to smoke pot because it might lower your risk for the 'beetus and obesity?

    Maybe that person doesn't need to feel they need to justify their private habits to anyone. Chill.

    Then perhaps starting this thread wasn't such a good idea.

    I remember a long time ago when I used to smoke weed, I thought I came up with all sorts of absolutely brilliant ideas when I was high. I even wrote some of them down, so I'd be sure to remember them in the morning.

    The next day? They weren't so brilliant. LMAO.

    Yep. Remember the days too. I didn't smoke it long because I didn't like how it made me feel, but I thought I was really awesome.

    ha, i remember sooooo much bad poetry (another societal harm)

    Not as bad as the poetry written by Paula Nancy Millstone Jennings of Essex, right?
  • tincanonastring
    tincanonastring Posts: 3,944 Member
    elphie754 wrote: »
    elphie754 wrote: »
    senecarr wrote: »
    RaeBeeBaby wrote: »
    senecarr wrote: »
    I find it funny that people still go on about medical marijuana for glaucoma when it does nothing for glaucoma last I saw any medical review.
    I'm perfectly fine with adults doing it because they want to. I find it kind of sad that people have to invent medical properties for it as a means to justify legalizing it to a bunch of people.

    It's not sad that people are "inventing medical properties" for it to justify legalization. There are clinical studies going on all over the world on the health benefits of cannabis for everything from cancer treatment to epilepsy to Alzheimers to treatment of PTSD. Of course, people do consume it for pleasure and recreation, but the medical use benefits are well documented or there would not be medical marijuana programs in many states in the U.S.

    I'm very happy it is now legal for recreational use in my state. We can certainly use the tax revenue!
    I think it is indeed sad. It should just be legal because it is a personal decision. Having to justify it for other reasons is sad to me. Cupcakes are both delicious, can be enjoyed, and in excess can have health consequences, but no one needs to tell people that cupcakes might cure cancer or treat Alzheimer's to justify having a cupcake. It seems sad that people have to do that for marijuana.

    It does not impair driving like alcohol does.

    I'm all for legalisation... but this is only half true. It doesn't impair driving in the same way as alcohol, but it absolutely does impair driving. People have crashed their cars and killed people when driving after smoking - because the effects mean they don't pay as much attention as they should.

    I've seen arguments that most of these cases involve multiple intoxicating agents being in a system i.e. someone was drunk and stoned or stoned and on meth, which confounds things somewhat. Is there any research showing that marijuana-using drivers become distracted at a higher rate than sober drivers?

    Yes. There have been several studies that show it slows down reaction time.

    I've no doubt that pot slows reaction time (I'm not even sure we needed studies for that - just pretend to hit a stoner and wait the 5 minutes for them to flinch), but how does that correspond to driving ability?

    You are kidding right? You don't see how slowed reaction time negatively impacts driving?

    I can see how it would negatively impact driving if the delay was appreciable. You didn't link me with anything to reference, so I'm asking follow-up questions.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    tomatoey wrote: »
    old news now but Alcohol 'more harmful than heroin' says Prof David Nutt

    weed is 8th on this list

    The study involved 16 criteria, including a drug's affects on users' physical and mental health, social harms including crime, "family adversities" and environmental damage, economic costs and "international damage".

    _49735645_drugs_comparisons_464gr.gif


    does this take into account that alcohol is legal and readily available and used more frequently by a lot more people than any of those other things? I really have a difficult time believing that alcohol is more dangerous than heroine.
  • Rage_Phish
    Rage_Phish Posts: 1,507 Member
    hell yeah mushrooms and LSD!!
  • OneHundredToLose
    OneHundredToLose Posts: 8,523 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »

    does this take into account that alcohol is legal and readily available and used more frequently by a lot more people than any of those other things? I really have a difficult time believing that alcohol is more dangerous than heroine.

    While there's definitely some merit to the idea that because alcohol is legal it has an "edge" over the other substances on the list, things like Marijuana are nearly as prevalent and available as alcohol despite being illegal. Further, alcohol and heroin do have some things in common - namely that they both cause physical withdrawal symptoms which can be fatal.
  • Rage_Phish
    Rage_Phish Posts: 1,507 Member
    a dug being legal should be counted as something that makes it safer and less dangerous. not mroe dangerous

    jsut ask the cartels and people involved on the bs "war on drugs"
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    edited August 2015
    elphie754 wrote: »
    senecarr wrote: »
    RaeBeeBaby wrote: »
    senecarr wrote: »
    I find it funny that people still go on about medical marijuana for glaucoma when it does nothing for glaucoma last I saw any medical review.
    I'm perfectly fine with adults doing it because they want to. I find it kind of sad that people have to invent medical properties for it as a means to justify legalizing it to a bunch of people.

    It's not sad that people are "inventing medical properties" for it to justify legalization. There are clinical studies going on all over the world on the health benefits of cannabis for everything from cancer treatment to epilepsy to Alzheimers to treatment of PTSD. Of course, people do consume it for pleasure and recreation, but the medical use benefits are well documented or there would not be medical marijuana programs in many states in the U.S.

    I'm very happy it is now legal for recreational use in my state. We can certainly use the tax revenue!
    I think it is indeed sad. It should just be legal because it is a personal decision. Having to justify it for other reasons is sad to me. Cupcakes are both delicious, can be enjoyed, and in excess can have health consequences, but no one needs to tell people that cupcakes might cure cancer or treat Alzheimer's to justify having a cupcake. It seems sad that people have to do that for marijuana.

    It does not impair driving like alcohol does.

    I'm all for legalisation... but this is only half true. It doesn't impair driving in the same way as alcohol, but it absolutely does impair driving. People have crashed their cars and killed people when driving after smoking - because the effects mean they don't pay as much attention as they should.

    I've seen arguments that most of these cases involve multiple intoxicating agents being in a system i.e. someone was drunk and stoned or stoned and on meth, which confounds things somewhat. Is there any research showing that marijuana-using drivers become distracted at a higher rate than sober drivers?

    Yes. There have been several studies that show it slows down reaction time.

    I've no doubt that pot slows reaction time (I'm not even sure we needed studies for that - just pretend to hit a stoner and wait the 5 minutes for them to flinch), but how does that correspond to driving ability?
    Not sure if serious regarding the piloting of multi-thousand pound projectiles at scores of feet per second and poor reaction times.

  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited August 2015
    senecarr wrote: »
    tomatoey wrote: »
    old news now but Alcohol 'more harmful than heroin' says Prof David Nutt

    weed is 8th on this list

    The study involved 16 criteria, including a drug's affects on users' physical and mental health, social harms including crime, "family adversities" and environmental damage, economic costs and "international damage".

    _49735645_drugs_comparisons_464gr.gif

    Surely this must be at current uses which weights alcohol up because of how common and accessible it is?

    Right. From Nutt in the article: "Overall, alcohol is the most harmful drug because it's so widely used."

    The problem with arguments based on the harm of alcohol being greater is that if heroin or meth were legal they also would be more commonly used.

    I think marijuana would be too, but unlike various other drugs I think it would still be not that harmful.
  • OneHundredToLose
    OneHundredToLose Posts: 8,523 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    senecarr wrote: »
    tomatoey wrote: »
    old news now but Alcohol 'more harmful than heroin' says Prof David Nutt

    weed is 8th on this list

    The study involved 16 criteria, including a drug's affects on users' physical and mental health, social harms including crime, "family adversities" and environmental damage, economic costs and "international damage".

    _49735645_drugs_comparisons_464gr.gif

    Surely this must be at current uses which weights alcohol up because of how common and accessible it is?

    Right: "Overall, alcohol is the most harmful drug because it's so widely used."

    The problem with arguments based on the harm of alcohol being greater is that if heroin or meth were legal they also would be more commonly used.

    I think marijuana would be too, but unlike various other drugs I think it would still be not that harmful.

    I disagree. Most people I know wouldn't go use meth today if it became legal suddenly. Conversely, most people I've met who use meth don't seem to worried about the fact that it's illegal. My point is that I don't think the law is that much of a factor - the type of person who is going to use meth regularly isn't likely to care that it's against the law.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    tomatoey wrote: »
    SLLRunner wrote: »
    kmajor2015 wrote: »
    zyxst wrote: »
    What's the yippee for? Do you feel justified to smoke pot because it might lower your risk for the 'beetus and obesity?

    Maybe that person doesn't need to feel they need to justify their private habits to anyone. Chill.

    Then perhaps starting this thread wasn't such a good idea.

    I remember a long time ago when I used to smoke weed, I thought I came up with all sorts of absolutely brilliant ideas when I was high. I even wrote some of them down, so I'd be sure to remember them in the morning.

    The next day? They weren't so brilliant. LMAO.

    Yep. Remember the days too. I didn't smoke it long because I didn't like how it made me feel, but I thought I was really awesome.

    ha, i remember sooooo much bad poetry (another societal harm)

    Not as bad as the poetry written by Paula Nancy Millstone Jennings of Essex, right?

    Worse, so much worse. No worst, there is none.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    Rage_Phish wrote: »
    hell yeah mushrooms and LSD!!

    Calm down rage phish
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    tomatoey wrote: »
    SLLRunner wrote: »
    kmajor2015 wrote: »
    zyxst wrote: »
    What's the yippee for? Do you feel justified to smoke pot because it might lower your risk for the 'beetus and obesity?

    Maybe that person doesn't need to feel they need to justify their private habits to anyone. Chill.

    Then perhaps starting this thread wasn't such a good idea.

    I remember a long time ago when I used to smoke weed, I thought I came up with all sorts of absolutely brilliant ideas when I was high. I even wrote some of them down, so I'd be sure to remember them in the morning.

    The next day? They weren't so brilliant. LMAO.

    Yep. Remember the days too. I didn't smoke it long because I didn't like how it made me feel, but I thought I was really awesome.

    ha, i remember sooooo much bad poetry (another societal harm)

    Not as bad as the poetry written by Paula Nancy Millstone Jennings of Essex, right?
    When it's worse than poetry read AT someone rather than TO someone, it's pretty bad. Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz concurs, I'm sure.

  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    Kalikel wrote: »
    elphie754 wrote: »
    senecarr wrote: »
    RaeBeeBaby wrote: »
    senecarr wrote: »
    I find it funny that people still go on about medical marijuana for glaucoma when it does nothing for glaucoma last I saw any medical review.
    I'm perfectly fine with adults doing it because they want to. I find it kind of sad that people have to invent medical properties for it as a means to justify legalizing it to a bunch of people.

    It's not sad that people are "inventing medical properties" for it to justify legalization. There are clinical studies going on all over the world on the health benefits of cannabis for everything from cancer treatment to epilepsy to Alzheimers to treatment of PTSD. Of course, people do consume it for pleasure and recreation, but the medical use benefits are well documented or there would not be medical marijuana programs in many states in the U.S.

    I'm very happy it is now legal for recreational use in my state. We can certainly use the tax revenue!
    I think it is indeed sad. It should just be legal because it is a personal decision. Having to justify it for other reasons is sad to me. Cupcakes are both delicious, can be enjoyed, and in excess can have health consequences, but no one needs to tell people that cupcakes might cure cancer or treat Alzheimer's to justify having a cupcake. It seems sad that people have to do that for marijuana.

    It does not impair driving like alcohol does.

    I'm all for legalisation... but this is only half true. It doesn't impair driving in the same way as alcohol, but it absolutely does impair driving. People have crashed their cars and killed people when driving after smoking - because the effects mean they don't pay as much attention as they should.

    I've seen arguments that most of these cases involve multiple intoxicating agents being in a system i.e. someone was drunk and stoned or stoned and on meth, which confounds things somewhat. Is there any research showing that marijuana-using drivers become distracted at a higher rate than sober drivers?

    Yes. There have been several studies that show it slows down reaction time.

    I've no doubt that pot slows reaction time (I'm not even sure we needed studies for that - just pretend to hit a stoner and wait the 5 minutes for them to flinch), but how does that correspond to driving ability?

    You cannot react fast enough to not kill someone.

    There are many times that sober drivers can't react fast enough to not kill someone. How does this statement contribute to the conversation in any meaningful way?
    You asked how being high might affect your driving, so it was answered.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    tomatoey wrote: »
    old news now but Alcohol 'more harmful than heroin' says Prof David Nutt

    weed is 8th on this list

    The study involved 16 criteria, including a drug's affects on users' physical and mental health, social harms including crime, "family adversities" and environmental damage, economic costs and "international damage".

    _49735645_drugs_comparisons_464gr.gif


    does this take into account that alcohol is legal and readily available and used more frequently by a lot more people than any of those other things? I really have a difficult time believing that alcohol is more dangerous than heroine.

    yes - includes accessibility and the bar fights, vehicular manslaughter, spousal abuse, and hooliganism that go along with it
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    senecarr wrote: »
    tomatoey wrote: »
    old news now but Alcohol 'more harmful than heroin' says Prof David Nutt

    weed is 8th on this list

    The study involved 16 criteria, including a drug's affects on users' physical and mental health, social harms including crime, "family adversities" and environmental damage, economic costs and "international damage".

    _49735645_drugs_comparisons_464gr.gif

    Surely this must be at current uses which weights alcohol up because of how common and accessible it is?

    Right: "Overall, alcohol is the most harmful drug because it's so widely used."

    The problem with arguments based on the harm of alcohol being greater is that if heroin or meth were legal they also would be more commonly used.

    I think marijuana would be too, but unlike various other drugs I think it would still be not that harmful.

    I disagree. Most people I know wouldn't go use meth today if it became legal suddenly. Conversely, most people I've met who use meth don't seem to worried about the fact that it's illegal. My point is that I don't think the law is that much of a factor - the type of person who is going to use meth regularly isn't likely to care that it's against the law.
    I'd use the hell out of cocaine if it were legal and I could fit it into my macros.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    senecarr wrote: »
    tomatoey wrote: »
    old news now but Alcohol 'more harmful than heroin' says Prof David Nutt

    weed is 8th on this list

    The study involved 16 criteria, including a drug's affects on users' physical and mental health, social harms including crime, "family adversities" and environmental damage, economic costs and "international damage".

    _49735645_drugs_comparisons_464gr.gif

    Surely this must be at current uses which weights alcohol up because of how common and accessible it is?

    Right: "Overall, alcohol is the most harmful drug because it's so widely used."

    The problem with arguments based on the harm of alcohol being greater is that if heroin or meth were legal they also would be more commonly used.

    I think marijuana would be too, but unlike various other drugs I think it would still be not that harmful.

    I disagree. Most people I know wouldn't go use meth today if it became legal suddenly. Conversely, most people I've met who use meth don't seem to worried about the fact that it's illegal. My point is that I don't think the law is that much of a factor - the type of person who is going to use meth regularly isn't likely to care that it's against the law.

    There's a grey zone of people who would use drugs if they seemed appealing and were more socially acceptable. Probably people you and I know wouldn't use hard drugs (I suspect I know people who would do coke, though), but they aren't in the grey zone. I know lots of people who don't smoke pot now, but probably would, or would consider doing it recreationally, if it were legal. Similarly, alcohol use did go down during prohibition.

    The legality of something is a big deal in terms of how many people think of things, the ease of trying them, and the social stigma.
  • Rage_Phish
    Rage_Phish Posts: 1,507 Member

    tomatoey wrote: »
    Rage_Phish wrote: »
    hell yeah mushrooms and LSD!!

    Calm down rage phish

    i will not
  • OneHundredToLose
    OneHundredToLose Posts: 8,523 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    senecarr wrote: »
    tomatoey wrote: »
    old news now but Alcohol 'more harmful than heroin' says Prof David Nutt

    weed is 8th on this list

    The study involved 16 criteria, including a drug's affects on users' physical and mental health, social harms including crime, "family adversities" and environmental damage, economic costs and "international damage".

    _49735645_drugs_comparisons_464gr.gif

    Surely this must be at current uses which weights alcohol up because of how common and accessible it is?

    Right: "Overall, alcohol is the most harmful drug because it's so widely used."

    The problem with arguments based on the harm of alcohol being greater is that if heroin or meth were legal they also would be more commonly used.

    I think marijuana would be too, but unlike various other drugs I think it would still be not that harmful.

    I disagree. Most people I know wouldn't go use meth today if it became legal suddenly. Conversely, most people I've met who use meth don't seem to worried about the fact that it's illegal. My point is that I don't think the law is that much of a factor - the type of person who is going to use meth regularly isn't likely to care that it's against the law.

    There's a grey zone of people who would use drugs if they seemed appealing and were more socially acceptable. Probably people you and I know wouldn't use hard drugs (I suspect I know people who would do coke, though), but they aren't in the grey zone. I know lots of people who don't smoke pot now, but probably would, or would consider doing it recreationally, if it were legal. Similarly, alcohol use did go down during prohibition.

    The legality of something is a big deal in terms of how many people think of things, the ease of trying them, and the social stigma.

    That's true enough. I think my point "if it was legalized today" stands, but after a few years it would be normalized, and you're right, there wouldn't be a stigma attached to it so it's likely more people would use it.
  • salembambi
    salembambi Posts: 5,585 Member
    im here because marijuana

    where is it
  • Rage_Phish
    Rage_Phish Posts: 1,507 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    senecarr wrote: »
    tomatoey wrote: »
    old news now but Alcohol 'more harmful than heroin' says Prof David Nutt

    weed is 8th on this list

    The study involved 16 criteria, including a drug's affects on users' physical and mental health, social harms including crime, "family adversities" and environmental damage, economic costs and "international damage".

    _49735645_drugs_comparisons_464gr.gif

    Surely this must be at current uses which weights alcohol up because of how common and accessible it is?

    Right: "Overall, alcohol is the most harmful drug because it's so widely used."

    The problem with arguments based on the harm of alcohol being greater is that if heroin or meth were legal they also would be more commonly used.

    I think marijuana would be too, but unlike various other drugs I think it would still be not that harmful.

    I disagree. Most people I know wouldn't go use meth today if it became legal suddenly. Conversely, most people I've met who use meth don't seem to worried about the fact that it's illegal. My point is that I don't think the law is that much of a factor - the type of person who is going to use meth regularly isn't likely to care that it's against the law.
    I'd use the hell out of cocaine if it were legal and I could fit it into my macros.

    you gonna struggle to reach your macros on blow, not stay below them
  • tincanonastring
    tincanonastring Posts: 3,944 Member
    edited August 2015
    elphie754 wrote: »
    senecarr wrote: »
    RaeBeeBaby wrote: »
    senecarr wrote: »
    I find it funny that people still go on about medical marijuana for glaucoma when it does nothing for glaucoma last I saw any medical review.
    I'm perfectly fine with adults doing it because they want to. I find it kind of sad that people have to invent medical properties for it as a means to justify legalizing it to a bunch of people.

    It's not sad that people are "inventing medical properties" for it to justify legalization. There are clinical studies going on all over the world on the health benefits of cannabis for everything from cancer treatment to epilepsy to Alzheimers to treatment of PTSD. Of course, people do consume it for pleasure and recreation, but the medical use benefits are well documented or there would not be medical marijuana programs in many states in the U.S.

    I'm very happy it is now legal for recreational use in my state. We can certainly use the tax revenue!
    I think it is indeed sad. It should just be legal because it is a personal decision. Having to justify it for other reasons is sad to me. Cupcakes are both delicious, can be enjoyed, and in excess can have health consequences, but no one needs to tell people that cupcakes might cure cancer or treat Alzheimer's to justify having a cupcake. It seems sad that people have to do that for marijuana.

    It does not impair driving like alcohol does.

    I'm all for legalisation... but this is only half true. It doesn't impair driving in the same way as alcohol, but it absolutely does impair driving. People have crashed their cars and killed people when driving after smoking - because the effects mean they don't pay as much attention as they should.

    I've seen arguments that most of these cases involve multiple intoxicating agents being in a system i.e. someone was drunk and stoned or stoned and on meth, which confounds things somewhat. Is there any research showing that marijuana-using drivers become distracted at a higher rate than sober drivers?

    Yes. There have been several studies that show it slows down reaction time.

    I've no doubt that pot slows reaction time (I'm not even sure we needed studies for that - just pretend to hit a stoner and wait the 5 minutes for them to flinch), but how does that correspond to driving ability?
    Not sure if serious regarding the piloting of multi-thousand pound projectiles at scores of feet per second and poor reaction times.

    It's mostly just curiosity. I'm wondering how much slower reaction times are and if that lag would fall into the natural variability in reaction times from one person to the next. If sober Person A reacts to a stimulus in 1 nanosecond (and I'm pulling these out of my behind) and sober Person B reacts to a stimulus in 3 nanoseconds, what danger does pot use present for Person A if it slows reactions by 1 nanosecond? Stoned Person A would still be reacting faster than sober Person B.

    Furthermore, did any of those studies check reaction times in a driving situation? I would think the specific stimuli and setting used for the tests would be a factor, no?

    ETA: Please don't think I'm advocating for stoned driving being okay. I'm just wondering about the extent of our actual knowledge on the subject.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »

    does this take into account that alcohol is legal and readily available and used more frequently by a lot more people than any of those other things? I really have a difficult time believing that alcohol is more dangerous than heroine.

    While there's definitely some merit to the idea that because alcohol is legal it has an "edge" over the other substances on the list, things like Marijuana are nearly as prevalent and available as alcohol despite being illegal. Further, alcohol and heroin do have some things in common - namely that they both cause physical withdrawal symptoms which can be fatal.

    I have 1 pub, a package liquor store, 3 convenience stores, two grocery stores, a Wal-Mart, a Costco, and two pharmacies within a 3 mile radius of my house...all of those places sell beer, wine, and booze...and while I could certainly get some MJ if I so desired, it's not nearly as available or easy to get...like tonight, I'm just going to pop in and get myself a bottle of Scotch...no biggie...I'd have a much more difficult time popping in somewhere and picking up an 1/8th or something.

    I have nothing against weed at all and it should be legalized IMO...but I'm not buying that it's as readily available as alcohol unless you live somewhere like Colorado where you can just walk into a shop and purchase.
  • Rage_Phish
    Rage_Phish Posts: 1,507 Member
    science'd
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