5 ms·

>The draft set the minimum age required to buy cannabis at 21 21? Haven't we as a society progressed past this pernicious discrimination!

duxup 5y ago
At some point you pick a number, it will always seem somewhat arbitrary.
- galangalalgol 5y ago
  How about the same number that lets you vote, and decide where you live, or get drafted, and get married without parental consent, and get medical care without parental consent?
  - anoonmoose 5y ago
    we should be increasing some of those numbers to 21 too
  - yupper32 5y ago
    Voting, moving out, getting medical care, and marriage generally don't negatively impact your body and brain. Alcohol, weed, cigarettes, etc. all do some kind of damage to your body. If anything we should raise cigarettes to 21. And yes, even weed, especially smoking weed, does damage to your body, even if it's massively less than the other two I said. (And getting drafted... well that should just go away all together).
    - easton 5y ago
      Cigarettes are 21 in the US as of three years or so ago.
      - yupper32 5y ago
        Holy hell you're right. How did I not know that/forget that? Guess it shows how much smoking cigarettes has been reduced in society (or how out of touch I am...).
    - tester756 5y ago
      then coca cola and energy drinks like monster/red bull should be for 21 too?
      - yupper32 5y ago
        Banning sugar and caffeine would be tough. For sugar, what do you actually ban? Added sugar? There's plenty of sugar in fruits, especially when you juice them. How do you enforce this? Seems like a nightmare to figure out. Caffeine is interesting. It's actually physically addictive. I can't find any studies on long term effects of caffeine in children, though. And, of course, there's exactly 0 support to do any of that, which can't be ignored. Probably a better use of everyone's time to improve health education.
  - duxup 5y ago
    If we want to go down the human developmental discussion ... not sure that results in more options or less for those under 21...
- NoSorryCannot 5y ago
  I say leave the number-choosing to the states. Regulate medical marijuana like any other non-scheduled drug and leave cultural decisions concerning recreational use to the states, where it belongs. Use federal funding stipulations as leverage when needed.
  - duxup 5y ago
    Pick a number and it is still arbitrary, doesn't matter who does it ;)
    - NoSorryCannot 5y ago
      I didn't mean to imply that it was any less arbitrary (the arbitrariness of the numbers is disputed in other threads), only that I view the feds setting that number as overstepping.
vortico 5y ago
The brain is developing until around 25, so if anything, the age should be higher if the intent is to prevent unsafe use.
- cronix 5y ago
  That would also then apply to other legal drugs, such as alcohol, no? Does alcohol not affect a developing brain in people under 25?
  - vortico 5y ago
    Yes, alcohol has an effect on developing brains as well, although the brain is less malleable as you approach that age. https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24173194 https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24173194
    - cronix 5y ago
      All I ask and hope for is consistency in the law. We shouldn't use reasons like "it's a forming brain" to shoot it down in one drug context while ignoring it in another, totally legal drug context. Alcohol is a drug, period. A very destructive drug, and it's completely legal for anyone of age. If cannabis is too destructive to young minds to be legalized, so is alcohol and we have way more scientific evidence in that case. Let's just be consistent.
      - vortico 5y ago
        If you like consistency, then you'll like this bill. It sets the legal age of buying cannabis to 21, the same as alcohol.
tyre 5y ago
The brain is still developing at that age and marijuana has well documented effects on brain development.
jimbob45 5y ago
Weed is still somewhat dangerous to smoke because of lung cancer and we regulate cigarettes so there's some precedent here. On the other hand, there are methods with which to use weed that confer 0% risk of lung cancer and my anecdotal evidence suggests more and more people are using those methods.
- cronix 5y ago
  Vaporizing, or using edibles, or other concentrates, eliminates that as you aren't burning/combusting anything, which is where most of those harms come from. There are plenty of ways to ingest now without actually smoking it. You can even get chocolates and gummy bears in legal places.
  - Sohcahtoa82 5y ago
    At the weed shop I've gone to a couple times, the people there said over half their customers are buying edibles. Most people don't want to inhale smoke, not just because of the health concerns, but because of the lingering smell. I smoked it once, and I hated the taste. It left a lingering taste in the back of my throat.

duxup 5y ago

At some point you pick a number, it will always seem somewhat arbitrary.

galangalalgol 5y ago
How about the same number that lets you vote, and decide where you live, or get drafted, and get married without parental consent, and get medical care without parental consent?
- anoonmoose 5y ago
  we should be increasing some of those numbers to 21 too
- yupper32 5y ago
  Voting, moving out, getting medical care, and marriage generally don't negatively impact your body and brain. Alcohol, weed, cigarettes, etc. all do some kind of damage to your body. If anything we should raise cigarettes to 21. And yes, even weed, especially smoking weed, does damage to your body, even if it's massively less than the other two I said. (And getting drafted... well that should just go away all together).
  - easton 5y ago
    Cigarettes are 21 in the US as of three years or so ago.
    - yupper32 5y ago
      Holy hell you're right. How did I not know that/forget that? Guess it shows how much smoking cigarettes has been reduced in society (or how out of touch I am...).
  - tester756 5y ago
    then coca cola and energy drinks like monster/red bull should be for 21 too?
    - yupper32 5y ago
      Banning sugar and caffeine would be tough. For sugar, what do you actually ban? Added sugar? There's plenty of sugar in fruits, especially when you juice them. How do you enforce this? Seems like a nightmare to figure out. Caffeine is interesting. It's actually physically addictive. I can't find any studies on long term effects of caffeine in children, though. And, of course, there's exactly 0 support to do any of that, which can't be ignored. Probably a better use of everyone's time to improve health education.
- duxup 5y ago
  If we want to go down the human developmental discussion ... not sure that results in more options or less for those under 21...
NoSorryCannot 5y ago
I say leave the number-choosing to the states. Regulate medical marijuana like any other non-scheduled drug and leave cultural decisions concerning recreational use to the states, where it belongs. Use federal funding stipulations as leverage when needed.
- duxup 5y ago
  Pick a number and it is still arbitrary, doesn't matter who does it ;)
  - NoSorryCannot 5y ago
    I didn't mean to imply that it was any less arbitrary (the arbitrariness of the numbers is disputed in other threads), only that I view the feds setting that number as overstepping.

vortico 5y ago

The brain is developing until around 25, so if anything, the age should be higher if the intent is to prevent unsafe use.

cronix 5y ago
That would also then apply to other legal drugs, such as alcohol, no? Does alcohol not affect a developing brain in people under 25?
- vortico 5y ago
  Yes, alcohol has an effect on developing brains as well, although the brain is less malleable as you approach that age. https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24173194 https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24173194
  - cronix 5y ago
    All I ask and hope for is consistency in the law. We shouldn't use reasons like "it's a forming brain" to shoot it down in one drug context while ignoring it in another, totally legal drug context. Alcohol is a drug, period. A very destructive drug, and it's completely legal for anyone of age. If cannabis is too destructive to young minds to be legalized, so is alcohol and we have way more scientific evidence in that case. Let's just be consistent.
    - vortico 5y ago
      If you like consistency, then you'll like this bill. It sets the legal age of buying cannabis to 21, the same as alcohol.

tyre 5y ago

The brain is still developing at that age and marijuana has well documented effects on brain development.

jimbob45 5y ago

Weed is still somewhat dangerous to smoke because of lung cancer and we regulate cigarettes so there's some precedent here. On the other hand, there are methods with which to use weed that confer 0% risk of lung cancer and my anecdotal evidence suggests more and more people are using those methods.

cronix 5y ago
Vaporizing, or using edibles, or other concentrates, eliminates that as you aren't burning/combusting anything, which is where most of those harms come from. There are plenty of ways to ingest now without actually smoking it. You can even get chocolates and gummy bears in legal places.
- Sohcahtoa82 5y ago
  At the weed shop I've gone to a couple times, the people there said over half their customers are buying edibles. Most people don't want to inhale smoke, not just because of the health concerns, but because of the lingering smell. I smoked it once, and I hated the taste. It left a lingering taste in the back of my throat.