6 ms·

I despise getting involved in threads like this, because they always descend into whataboutism ("Oh, but alcohol is worse!, etc.), but here we go with my anecdo

I despise getting involved in threads like this, because they always descend into whataboutism ("Oh, but alcohol is worse!, etc.), but here we go with my anecdotal evidence. Me, personally, not a huge fan. I dabbled and experimented like a good chunk of Americans, decided it wasn't for me. Not necessarily because I didn't enjoy it - although I was involved in quite a bit of team sports at the time and was worried about the health impacts - but because I saw the impact it was having on friends of mine. YMMV (of course), but I simply saw too many ambitious, energetic people suddenly become very boring, and very comfortable with doing nothing. I have absolutely no doubt that it's a drug with tons of applications medicinally to treat everything from glaucoma to social anxiety to PTSD, but for purely recreational purposes, it appeared to be quite damaging and "Oh, alcohol is too!" just isn't a strong enough argument for me to be celebrating recreational legalization.

throwaway2048 8y ago
Good thing that the fact it was illegal stopped all those people from trying huh?
webkike 8y ago
I guess putting thousands of minorities in jail is worth it because your friends didn't start venture capital funds
- exogeny 8y ago
  I think you're most likely smart enough to know that wasn't the point I was making, and most likely have enough interests in your life not to waste your own time being a pedantic, obtuse dick to strangers on HN.
  - webkike 8y ago
    I do but this is my day job.
ttul 8y ago
It’s not about whether using cannabis is a good idea. It’s about whether having it be a severe criminal offense is a good way to discourage use. That approach quite obviously hasn’t worked, and has resulted in various serious externalities such as criminal enterprises.
- exogeny 8y ago
  Can't disagree with that. I sort of feel like there's a middle ground between the two, but if I had to pick one, this is the correct solution.
- OskarS 8y ago
  I think that this point gets a bit lost, though: I wholeheartedly support cannabis legalization (for all the good reasons we're all aware of) but it seems like in every discussion of the issue people act like smoking cannabis is a perfectly healthy past-time. It's not, it's clearly unhealthy. That doesn't mean it should be illegal (lots of unhealthy stuff is legal!), but it does mean that it's a very good idea to avoid it.
aoeusnth1 8y ago
I share your opinion about THC, but not about legalization. People who say pot is harmless (or even beneficial!) on average to most people are kidding themselves. But a substance doesn’t need to be harmless to be good to legalize it - as long as legalization is a net boon for society’s health, wealth and safety, it’s a good idea. Pot legalization checks all of those boxes.
jimcsharp 8y ago
There's that recent news about Mindfulness Meditation influencing people in similar ways. I don't think we should mourn the 'loss' of your boring, comfortable friends. You Only Live Once
inscionent 8y ago
Lots of people overuse cannabis, full stop. This has been the byproduct of a prohibition culture, where discussion and research in the public sphere has been impossible. There is no control for your acquaintances, but there are many examples of ambitions and creative recreational cannabis users. Most people get older and boring, that is the way of the world. The idea of protecting the ambition and energy of friends is noble but extremely paternalistic. "...it appeared to be quite damaging..." isn't a strong enough argument for me to be denied my autonomy to use cannabis responsibly.

throwaway2048 8y ago

Good thing that the fact it was illegal stopped all those people from trying huh?

webkike 8y ago

I guess putting thousands of minorities in jail is worth it because your friends didn't start venture capital funds

exogeny 8y ago
I think you're most likely smart enough to know that wasn't the point I was making, and most likely have enough interests in your life not to waste your own time being a pedantic, obtuse dick to strangers on HN.
- webkike 8y ago
  I do but this is my day job.

ttul 8y ago

It’s not about whether using cannabis is a good idea. It’s about whether having it be a severe criminal offense is a good way to discourage use. That approach quite obviously hasn’t worked, and has resulted in various serious externalities such as criminal enterprises.

exogeny 8y ago
Can't disagree with that. I sort of feel like there's a middle ground between the two, but if I had to pick one, this is the correct solution.
OskarS 8y ago
I think that this point gets a bit lost, though: I wholeheartedly support cannabis legalization (for all the good reasons we're all aware of) but it seems like in every discussion of the issue people act like smoking cannabis is a perfectly healthy past-time. It's not, it's clearly unhealthy. That doesn't mean it should be illegal (lots of unhealthy stuff is legal!), but it does mean that it's a very good idea to avoid it.

aoeusnth1 8y ago

I share your opinion about THC, but not about legalization. People who say pot is harmless (or even beneficial!) on average to most people are kidding themselves. But a substance doesn’t need to be harmless to be good to legalize it - as long as legalization is a net boon for society’s health, wealth and safety, it’s a good idea. Pot legalization checks all of those boxes.

jimcsharp 8y ago

There's that recent news about Mindfulness Meditation influencing people in similar ways. I don't think we should mourn the 'loss' of your boring, comfortable friends. You Only Live Once

inscionent 8y ago

Lots of people overuse cannabis, full stop. This has been the byproduct of a prohibition culture, where discussion and research in the public sphere has been impossible. There is no control for your acquaintances, but there are many examples of ambitions and creative recreational cannabis users. Most people get older and boring, that is the way of the world. The idea of protecting the ambition and energy of friends is noble but extremely paternalistic. "...it appeared to be quite damaging..." isn't a strong enough argument for me to be denied my autonomy to use cannabis responsibly.