7 ms·

There's lots of pro-cannabis and pro-LSD comments everywhere. My cynical view is that the "power" wants us all sedated, and it's investing its media to promote

There's lots of pro-cannabis and pro-LSD comments everywhere. My cynical view is that the "power" wants us all sedated, and it's investing its media to promote the "new" batch of drugs to get another generation hooked up. I do think that there are probably quite beneficial uses of drugs, but probably not in a ludic way as most people prefer to use them.

pushpop 7y ago
I share some of your cynicism but I think the “sedated” comment is a massive leap to make. However I do sometimes wonder if there has been a push from tobacco manufacturers as a way to booster profits now that smoking has fallen out of vogue. Admittedly I’ve done zero research to back up this suspicion. Personally I do think laxer drug laws are a good thing. Those that want to get high will always find a way so it’s better to regulate the market than push it underground.
swiley 7y ago
My first thought when I saw this was of all the people and corporations investing in CBD and whatnot. Most corporations seem to be using adtech and social media (which are really the same) to perform mass manipulation. When that’s combined with all the crazy financial tools people can make a lot of money. I think if lawmakers actually wanted people using drugs for the effects then drugs would be legal, I would argue they instead want the ability to arrest and incarcerate people at will.
- catalogia 7y ago
  What lawmakers want isn't some single coherent thing; you're talking about a profession perhaps most famous for getting in fights with each other. Some politicians may want draconian drug laws because they're involved with the prison industry or prison workers union, while other politicians with different interests might want drug legalization for reasons like those described in the grandparent comment. The distribution of politicians across this policy continuum may change quickly, or slowly. Not all change is quick. Here is my pet theory: many politicians have historically opposed cannabis use because they believed cannabis use makes people lazy and believe widespread use of cannabis could suppress economic productivity. This is the sort of believe that could be challenged with evidence to the contrary; currently several states have legal cannabis and in doing so are putting many beliefs to the test. If/When fears relating to economic suppression are dispelled, some politicians who once opposed it may decide they no longer care.
  - non-entity 7y ago
    > Here is my pet theory: many politicians have historically opposed cannabis use because they believed cannabis use makes people lazy and believe widespread use of cannabis could suppress economic productivity. Or y'know, this: https://www.forbes.com/sites/eriksherman/2016/03/23/nixons-drug-war-an-excuse-to-lock-up-blacks-and-protesters-continues/#f0076ad42c88 https://www.forbes.com/sites/eriksherman/2016/03/23/nixons-d...
    - smileysteve 7y ago
      It's both or all 3. 1. Corporate interests want to reduce hemp use for oil and material to help their dino oil products 2. People buyin that its bad 3. Politicians use it as a way to think people are bad 4. One generation later and the reason is whatever is most expediant. I believe that 80+% of politicians today that oppose legalization do so genuinely because they grew up being told it was bad and a gateway drug. And they're too ignorant to consider the Nixon quote or that their government has always been bought and paid for to maintain a status quo
      - non-entity 7y ago
        > I believe that 80+% of politicians today that oppose legalization do so genuinely because they grew up being told it was bad and a gateway drug. That's fair, and makes the most sense, I suppose
- shkkmo 7y ago
  I would personally find it more likely that these tweets are part of the ramp up phase of trying to attract real followers to then spread other messages. These are the sort of tweets that I would imagine are fairly popular with a certain segment and lead to the retweets and followers that give bots more reach. The market for cannabis is so undeveloped and unstable that it seems unlikely that such marginal market growth tactics would see as much return as they do in more established markets.
  - kortex 7y ago
    Ding ding ding. People are getting savvy to bots (used here to mean all variety of inauthentic social media accounts). The one-track tweets approach doesn't cut it anymore, you need a modicum of authenticness. That's why we are seeing Deepfake profile pics and much more effort going into fleshed out bot accounts, getting friends and followers, and multifaceted story feeds. It's a classic infiltration technique. Get in, silently grow your roots under the radar, before deploying the payload.
pjc50 7y ago
Not really consistent with it all being illegal, is it?
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
fiblye 7y ago
I think at least with regards to HN, it's that the average user is, just being honest, wealthy and from a very privileged background without too much lifetime difficulty. There's a disproportionate number of people here who can and did walk into Silicon Valley and said something along the lines of "give me 10 million dollars and I'll make a phone app", then have the free time and comfortable fall back to write a failure report about "their journey." I'm not saying that's all or even most of the people here, but it's a larger proportion compared to probably any other community on the internet. I mention this because many of the strongest "let's decriminalize (or even legalize) all drugs" commenters have similar backgrounds. Comfy financial situation and room to experiment with the peace of mind knowing that they have people to help dust them off should they get a little sloppy with their drug use. These people can afford to take a week to enjoy an ayahuasca resort, follow it up with a beach vacation and a little MDMA, then return home to a daily bowl of weed to relax from their hard month of partying and pop a couple addies to get focused and pull an all-nighter on their new web app. They can financially and mentally afford to use drugs as mood and mental enhancers. Loads of people who aren't so comfortable use drugs to numb the rough edges of life. Having been on this site for over a decade, I've seen loads of comments that make many users here seem completely out of touch with what average people go through--many HN users on another plane of existence. I think a considerable number of people who promote drugs everywhere have good intentions, but they don't really consider the effects for most people. The aspect of being locked up for drugs does do a lot to tarnish lives, but the mere act of having easily available mind-altering substances is also enough to ruin the lives of many.
- bigfudge 7y ago
  If alcohol were not legal your comment would make sense. As it is, we reserve the most dangerous (as in, causes most harm both personally and socially) for those least able to cope. Prohibition makes recreational soft drug use less common among those with fewer resources than it otherwise would be, despite the fact that this would be safer than abusing alcohol.
- tartoran 7y ago
  Anything that can be abused is finds its population to do so. Banning is not a solution though, but more research and education on the subject. Think about how alcohol abuse and even sugar abuse are treated by society: people are aware of the dangers yet some can’t stop having them.
scottlocklin 7y ago
Certainly one of the things that gives me the creeps are the CBD quiosques freaking everywhere selling what amounts to CBD weed, CBD lotions, CBD potions, CBD whatever; I've seen them in airports, in tourist locations and in shopping malls. Mostly completely unpatronized, with a sullen presumably CBD anesthetized employee manning the desk. Just for the rent and employees we're talking something like a hundred millions a year in money flying out the window. To what end? Nobody is buying this shit (outside of tourist locations afaik). Someone is paying for it to happen. It reminds me of when the Israeli spooks were selling toys in shopping malls in 2001 (rounded up after 911 and memory holed)[1]. Maybe it's just RJR ramping up to sell actual weed everywhere, but it sure is creepy. [1] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/1387069/US-arrests-200-young-Israelis-in-spying-investigation.html https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel...
- zer0tonin 7y ago
  Do you have a source on the fact that "nobody is buying this shit"? Here in Paris the few attempts at opening CBD shops (now closed by police) were extremely popular.
  - scottlocklin 7y ago
    My own lying eyes tell me this. Though there were a lot of takers in the Lisbon tourist location; I see literally dozens of these across the US northeast with zero customers, ever. Was just staring at the one in the Manchester NH airport. In a freaking airport! "Gee I have to get me some CBD cookies and massage oil to take on the airplane with me."
    - catalogia 7y ago
      > "Gee I have to get me some CBD cookies and massage oil to take on the airplane with me." Where they THC cookies, they'd probably make the plane flight a lot less uncomfortable with a lot of people. I'd wager they're trying to cell CBD to people who hate flying and are willing to try anything to make it less unpleasant. That their products are ineffective, at least in this application if not in general, kind of takes a backseat.
susijdjdjxa 7y ago
LSD is sedating? Spoken like someone who never tried LSD.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

pushpop 7y ago

I share some of your cynicism but I think the “sedated” comment is a massive leap to make. However I do sometimes wonder if there has been a push from tobacco manufacturers as a way to booster profits now that smoking has fallen out of vogue. Admittedly I’ve done zero research to back up this suspicion. Personally I do think laxer drug laws are a good thing. Those that want to get high will always find a way so it’s better to regulate the market than push it underground.

swiley 7y ago

My first thought when I saw this was of all the people and corporations investing in CBD and whatnot. Most corporations seem to be using adtech and social media (which are really the same) to perform mass manipulation. When that’s combined with all the crazy financial tools people can make a lot of money. I think if lawmakers actually wanted people using drugs for the effects then drugs would be legal, I would argue they instead want the ability to arrest and incarcerate people at will.

catalogia 7y ago
What lawmakers want isn't some single coherent thing; you're talking about a profession perhaps most famous for getting in fights with each other. Some politicians may want draconian drug laws because they're involved with the prison industry or prison workers union, while other politicians with different interests might want drug legalization for reasons like those described in the grandparent comment. The distribution of politicians across this policy continuum may change quickly, or slowly. Not all change is quick. Here is my pet theory: many politicians have historically opposed cannabis use because they believed cannabis use makes people lazy and believe widespread use of cannabis could suppress economic productivity. This is the sort of believe that could be challenged with evidence to the contrary; currently several states have legal cannabis and in doing so are putting many beliefs to the test. If/When fears relating to economic suppression are dispelled, some politicians who once opposed it may decide they no longer care.
- non-entity 7y ago
  > Here is my pet theory: many politicians have historically opposed cannabis use because they believed cannabis use makes people lazy and believe widespread use of cannabis could suppress economic productivity. Or y'know, this: https://www.forbes.com/sites/eriksherman/2016/03/23/nixons-drug-war-an-excuse-to-lock-up-blacks-and-protesters-continues/#f0076ad42c88 https://www.forbes.com/sites/eriksherman/2016/03/23/nixons-d...
  - smileysteve 7y ago
    It's both or all 3. 1. Corporate interests want to reduce hemp use for oil and material to help their dino oil products 2. People buyin that its bad 3. Politicians use it as a way to think people are bad 4. One generation later and the reason is whatever is most expediant. I believe that 80+% of politicians today that oppose legalization do so genuinely because they grew up being told it was bad and a gateway drug. And they're too ignorant to consider the Nixon quote or that their government has always been bought and paid for to maintain a status quo
    - non-entity 7y ago
      > I believe that 80+% of politicians today that oppose legalization do so genuinely because they grew up being told it was bad and a gateway drug. That's fair, and makes the most sense, I suppose
shkkmo 7y ago
I would personally find it more likely that these tweets are part of the ramp up phase of trying to attract real followers to then spread other messages. These are the sort of tweets that I would imagine are fairly popular with a certain segment and lead to the retweets and followers that give bots more reach. The market for cannabis is so undeveloped and unstable that it seems unlikely that such marginal market growth tactics would see as much return as they do in more established markets.
- kortex 7y ago
  Ding ding ding. People are getting savvy to bots (used here to mean all variety of inauthentic social media accounts). The one-track tweets approach doesn't cut it anymore, you need a modicum of authenticness. That's why we are seeing Deepfake profile pics and much more effort going into fleshed out bot accounts, getting friends and followers, and multifaceted story feeds. It's a classic infiltration technique. Get in, silently grow your roots under the radar, before deploying the payload.

pjc50 7y ago

Not really consistent with it all being illegal, is it?

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

fiblye 7y ago

I think at least with regards to HN, it's that the average user is, just being honest, wealthy and from a very privileged background without too much lifetime difficulty. There's a disproportionate number of people here who can and did walk into Silicon Valley and said something along the lines of "give me 10 million dollars and I'll make a phone app", then have the free time and comfortable fall back to write a failure report about "their journey." I'm not saying that's all or even most of the people here, but it's a larger proportion compared to probably any other community on the internet. I mention this because many of the strongest "let's decriminalize (or even legalize) all drugs" commenters have similar backgrounds. Comfy financial situation and room to experiment with the peace of mind knowing that they have people to help dust them off should they get a little sloppy with their drug use. These people can afford to take a week to enjoy an ayahuasca resort, follow it up with a beach vacation and a little MDMA, then return home to a daily bowl of weed to relax from their hard month of partying and pop a couple addies to get focused and pull an all-nighter on their new web app. They can financially and mentally afford to use drugs as mood and mental enhancers. Loads of people who aren't so comfortable use drugs to numb the rough edges of life. Having been on this site for over a decade, I've seen loads of comments that make many users here seem completely out of touch with what average people go through--many HN users on another plane of existence. I think a considerable number of people who promote drugs everywhere have good intentions, but they don't really consider the effects for most people. The aspect of being locked up for drugs does do a lot to tarnish lives, but the mere act of having easily available mind-altering substances is also enough to ruin the lives of many.

bigfudge 7y ago
If alcohol were not legal your comment would make sense. As it is, we reserve the most dangerous (as in, causes most harm both personally and socially) for those least able to cope. Prohibition makes recreational soft drug use less common among those with fewer resources than it otherwise would be, despite the fact that this would be safer than abusing alcohol.
tartoran 7y ago
Anything that can be abused is finds its population to do so. Banning is not a solution though, but more research and education on the subject. Think about how alcohol abuse and even sugar abuse are treated by society: people are aware of the dangers yet some can’t stop having them.

scottlocklin 7y ago

Certainly one of the things that gives me the creeps are the CBD quiosques freaking everywhere selling what amounts to CBD weed, CBD lotions, CBD potions, CBD whatever; I've seen them in airports, in tourist locations and in shopping malls. Mostly completely unpatronized, with a sullen presumably CBD anesthetized employee manning the desk. Just for the rent and employees we're talking something like a hundred millions a year in money flying out the window. To what end? Nobody is buying this shit (outside of tourist locations afaik). Someone is paying for it to happen. It reminds me of when the Israeli spooks were selling toys in shopping malls in 2001 (rounded up after 911 and memory holed)[1]. Maybe it's just RJR ramping up to sell actual weed everywhere, but it sure is creepy. [1] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/1387069/US-arrests-200-young-Israelis-in-spying-investigation.html https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel...

zer0tonin 7y ago
Do you have a source on the fact that "nobody is buying this shit"? Here in Paris the few attempts at opening CBD shops (now closed by police) were extremely popular.
- scottlocklin 7y ago
  My own lying eyes tell me this. Though there were a lot of takers in the Lisbon tourist location; I see literally dozens of these across the US northeast with zero customers, ever. Was just staring at the one in the Manchester NH airport. In a freaking airport! "Gee I have to get me some CBD cookies and massage oil to take on the airplane with me."
  - catalogia 7y ago
    > "Gee I have to get me some CBD cookies and massage oil to take on the airplane with me." Where they THC cookies, they'd probably make the plane flight a lot less uncomfortable with a lot of people. I'd wager they're trying to cell CBD to people who hate flying and are willing to try anything to make it less unpleasant. That their products are ineffective, at least in this application if not in general, kind of takes a backseat.

susijdjdjxa 7y ago

LSD is sedating? Spoken like someone who never tried LSD.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]