4 ms·

> weed is certainly the weakest of drugs (including alcohol) wrt harm for the body. is the brain a part of the body? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles

> weed is certainly the weakest of drugs (including alcohol) wrt harm for the body. is the brain a part of the body? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3930618/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3930618/ https://www.apa.org/monitor/2015/11/marijuana-brain https://www.apa.org/monitor/2015/11/marijuana-brain

caleb-allen 7y ago
Your first source states in the abstract that causality between marijuana use and altered brain function was not determined edit: if anything I think more research is needed to inform effective regulation. I'm astonished how little there is on this drug
- CocaKoala 7y ago
  Getting permission to do research on a schedule 1 drug is pretty tricky, from what I understand? Since marijuana is schedule 1 it's termed as having a) no medical benefit and b) a high potential for abuse, which puts you in something of a catch-22 situation: you can't justify the research on medical grounds because the drug has no medical benefit (or it wouldn't be sched 1), and you can't justify research for exploratory purposes because of the potential for abuse (or else it wouldn't be sched 1), and then it becomes hard to find research that says "Actually, weed has medical uses and isn't nearly as abusable as heroin" because no research can be conducted. Edit: To clarify, that's not to say that marijuana _should_ be schedule 1, only that it _is_ schedule 1 and moving something out of sched 1 is challenging because the research position is tricky.
  - lostgame 7y ago
    >> Since marijuana is schedule 1 it's termed as having a) no medical benefit Eye. Roll. I always thought this was the most absolutely bullshit, patently false thing I'd seen in law for time. The medical benefits of THC have been well-established for decades. The sheer idea that there were ever arrests related to this plant is a disgusting mark on how shitty humanity can be, and how unwilling it is to acknowledge when it is wrong.
    - CocaKoala 7y ago
      Yeah, you can definitely look at the list of schedule 1 drugs and get a strong sense of "one of these things is not like the other".
  - mahgnous 7y ago
    There's plenty of research out of Israel on it.
ipnon 7y ago
Alcohol and cannabis are both detrimental to brain development.
Pigo 7y ago
I know people who are extremely dependent on weed, who will have anxiety attacks without it. It's less dangerous than most drugs, but there are people who are important to me that I wish could function without it. I'm talking grown adults, with families, who do nothing but play video games. Their problems would exist without the weed, but it seems to play a part in their stagnation. I guess I just don't know that many people who will just occasionally smoke it, it seems to turn into a lifestyle as much as any other drug.
- double0jimb0 7y ago
  Not my experience observing others. Do you by chance live in a state where marijuana is not yet legalized?
- Broken_Hippo 7y ago
  "... who will have anxiety attacks without it." Honestly, I've met many daily smokers in my life. Heck, I've been one off and on and tend to like to do it most weekends. I greatly prefer it to alcohol.Most folks can quit quite easily: At most, a few weeks of decreased appetite and trouble falling asleep. The worst effects wear off in the first week. The few folks I've met that have trouble without it have mental health issues, such as anxiety attacks. The worst thing about that situation is that one has to be able to find decent medical care and risk getting anxiety attacks - which I've read are horribly scary - to feel comfortable giving up smoking. And even then they might find that the smoking helps the best with the fewest side effects...unfortunately. Also, most adults I've met who smoke regularly do all the family stuff just fine. They work, they play with their kids (more happily when a little stoned!), and so on. I mean, sure, it makes you more happy with a slightly messier house and more happy just being, but the other thing with that lowered happiness thresh hold is being happier when going on walks or playing boring kids games. Sure, happier with a slightly messier house but also happier to do the cleaning. Happier to eat more healthily, and so on.
  - Pigo 7y ago
    I'm definitely not trying to blame weed, if people can use it responsibly I say great! The problem is people who have conditions like anxiety who become dependent on it to get by. Some people become alcoholics because they have stuff going on that they can't deal with, and that doesn't mean I think alcohol should be illegal. But just like them, I wish the drug wasn't a numbing agent that prevents them from dealing with the underlying problem.
draw_down 7y ago
> is the brain a part of the body? It sure is. Now go look up what alcohol does to the brain.
mnm1 7y ago
So which recreational drug would you say is safer than marijuana then and why? I could see making a case for psilocybin and psilocin. Is that what you're arguing? That the psilocybin and psilocin contained in magic mushrooms are safer than the THC and other cannabinoids contained in marijuana? I would agree with that. If not that, then which drug would you say is safer?

caleb-allen 7y ago

Your first source states in the abstract that causality between marijuana use and altered brain function was not determined edit: if anything I think more research is needed to inform effective regulation. I'm astonished how little there is on this drug

CocaKoala 7y ago
Getting permission to do research on a schedule 1 drug is pretty tricky, from what I understand? Since marijuana is schedule 1 it's termed as having a) no medical benefit and b) a high potential for abuse, which puts you in something of a catch-22 situation: you can't justify the research on medical grounds because the drug has no medical benefit (or it wouldn't be sched 1), and you can't justify research for exploratory purposes because of the potential for abuse (or else it wouldn't be sched 1), and then it becomes hard to find research that says "Actually, weed has medical uses and isn't nearly as abusable as heroin" because no research can be conducted. Edit: To clarify, that's not to say that marijuana _should_ be schedule 1, only that it _is_ schedule 1 and moving something out of sched 1 is challenging because the research position is tricky.
- lostgame 7y ago
  >> Since marijuana is schedule 1 it's termed as having a) no medical benefit Eye. Roll. I always thought this was the most absolutely bullshit, patently false thing I'd seen in law for time. The medical benefits of THC have been well-established for decades. The sheer idea that there were ever arrests related to this plant is a disgusting mark on how shitty humanity can be, and how unwilling it is to acknowledge when it is wrong.
  - CocaKoala 7y ago
    Yeah, you can definitely look at the list of schedule 1 drugs and get a strong sense of "one of these things is not like the other".
- mahgnous 7y ago
  There's plenty of research out of Israel on it.

ipnon 7y ago

Alcohol and cannabis are both detrimental to brain development.

Pigo 7y ago

I know people who are extremely dependent on weed, who will have anxiety attacks without it. It's less dangerous than most drugs, but there are people who are important to me that I wish could function without it. I'm talking grown adults, with families, who do nothing but play video games. Their problems would exist without the weed, but it seems to play a part in their stagnation. I guess I just don't know that many people who will just occasionally smoke it, it seems to turn into a lifestyle as much as any other drug.

double0jimb0 7y ago
Not my experience observing others. Do you by chance live in a state where marijuana is not yet legalized?
Broken_Hippo 7y ago
"... who will have anxiety attacks without it." Honestly, I've met many daily smokers in my life. Heck, I've been one off and on and tend to like to do it most weekends. I greatly prefer it to alcohol.Most folks can quit quite easily: At most, a few weeks of decreased appetite and trouble falling asleep. The worst effects wear off in the first week. The few folks I've met that have trouble without it have mental health issues, such as anxiety attacks. The worst thing about that situation is that one has to be able to find decent medical care and risk getting anxiety attacks - which I've read are horribly scary - to feel comfortable giving up smoking. And even then they might find that the smoking helps the best with the fewest side effects...unfortunately. Also, most adults I've met who smoke regularly do all the family stuff just fine. They work, they play with their kids (more happily when a little stoned!), and so on. I mean, sure, it makes you more happy with a slightly messier house and more happy just being, but the other thing with that lowered happiness thresh hold is being happier when going on walks or playing boring kids games. Sure, happier with a slightly messier house but also happier to do the cleaning. Happier to eat more healthily, and so on.
- Pigo 7y ago
  I'm definitely not trying to blame weed, if people can use it responsibly I say great! The problem is people who have conditions like anxiety who become dependent on it to get by. Some people become alcoholics because they have stuff going on that they can't deal with, and that doesn't mean I think alcohol should be illegal. But just like them, I wish the drug wasn't a numbing agent that prevents them from dealing with the underlying problem.

draw_down 7y ago

> is the brain a part of the body? It sure is. Now go look up what alcohol does to the brain.

mnm1 7y ago

So which recreational drug would you say is safer than marijuana then and why? I could see making a case for psilocybin and psilocin. Is that what you're arguing? That the psilocybin and psilocin contained in magic mushrooms are safer than the THC and other cannabinoids contained in marijuana? I would agree with that. If not that, then which drug would you say is safer?