4 ms·

I don't think it's a stretch or generalization to mention mental health services to people who may be struggling with mental health issues.

benatkin 5y ago
The sweeping generalization I was referring to is "the substances are only a crutch". Your comment also suggests that you assume the author of the comment you replied to isn't pursuing therapy. People can do both at the same time. A lot of things can be a crutch, but cannabis provides meaningful relief for many.
- halfmatthalfcat 5y ago
  I never argued it doesn't provide relief, what I'm arguing is that relief is somewhat of an illusion if you're suffering from persistent mental health issues, hence a crutch.
  - amanaplanacanal 5y ago
    In your mind, does this only apply to cannabis, or any mental-health related medication?
    - halfmatthalfcat 5y ago
      There are people who need to use prescribed medications to help regulate their mental health (usually in addition to psychotherapy), however I don't include cannabis in that realm. Cannabis (THC) has properties that (in some, not all and sometimes the reverse) reduce anxiety however, from what I've seen and experienced, cannabis is by in large used to self-medicate instead of seek real treatment.
      - nwienert 5y ago
        We all need relief. You have your television, others have a substance that makes them more relaxed, introspective, creative, and appreciative of art and life. Life is tough, it’s not hard to understand that a substance that has the above effects with less side effects than most popular drugs could be enjoyed responsibly.
  - nwienert 5y ago
    Only a person who doesn’t drink caffeine, alcohol, or any other drug (including aspirin and other non psychoactives) can approach making this claim. Hell, you could say the same thing to someone who enjoys a small dessert every night. Or a bath. So long as they’d feel sad to not have it, they are then avoiding a problem, right? Or… humans just really enjoy having diverse things to do, and all find different balances of what those things are. And THC suits very well to certain brain physiologies much like a bubble bath does for others.
    - halfmatthalfcat 5y ago
      I'm not going to go into the nuances of prolonged THC exposure and how it affects brain chemistry, especially under the guise of self-medication but you're not acting in good faith of our discussion by comparing THC to taking a bath.
      - nwienert 5y ago
        I could link to a handful of very positive studies for THC, and a handful of negative. Here's a fun recent one showing that THC has potential mTOR1 activation and CNS myelination effects. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32956517/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32956517/ I could similarly link to about 10 pretty scary studies for caffeine, especially effect on brain structure and sleep quality. Or should we do sugar? The dose makes the poison for anything, it's not clear THC isn't beneficial at a lower dose. It's medically prescribed for cancer pain relief, and for a segment of people its anxiolytic effects are incredible.
      - hirvi74 5y ago
        > I'm not going to go into the nuances of prolonged THC exposure and how it affects brain chemistry I'm not even apart of this debate, and now I am curious. Do you mind sharing what you have found?
    - galaxyLogic 5y ago
      And there's really nothing wrong with crutches. If your leg hurts they help you get around. I don't get all this anti-crutches rhetoric
projectazorian 5y ago
I'm quite sure that most HN posters are aware that mental health services are available. Did you provide any helpful tips for making use of such services, or just make low IQ lazy generalizations about substance users?
- halfmatthalfcat 5y ago
  I would challenge your assumption as I have many friends in the HN world who are either skeptical, ambivalent or unaware of what mental health services are available or the benefits they can provide. I'm not here to diagnose or mentor people with potential health issues but I thought it might be meaningful to post a small comment about how I thought the exact same way once and how it turned out I wasn't actually helping myself but sabotaging myself. If the OP is curious enough about addressing their mental health issues, that's on them but I'd rather at least post something that might spur some thought instead of play into the "weed is inherently good and causes no issues" hivemind that is incredibly prevent on the internet (and on HN) today.
- mikestew 5y ago
  I'm quite sure that most HN posters are aware… Now I’m confused; who is it again who’s making the low-effort generalizations?

benatkin 5y ago

The sweeping generalization I was referring to is "the substances are only a crutch". Your comment also suggests that you assume the author of the comment you replied to isn't pursuing therapy. People can do both at the same time. A lot of things can be a crutch, but cannabis provides meaningful relief for many.

halfmatthalfcat 5y ago
I never argued it doesn't provide relief, what I'm arguing is that relief is somewhat of an illusion if you're suffering from persistent mental health issues, hence a crutch.
- amanaplanacanal 5y ago
  In your mind, does this only apply to cannabis, or any mental-health related medication?
  - halfmatthalfcat 5y ago
    There are people who need to use prescribed medications to help regulate their mental health (usually in addition to psychotherapy), however I don't include cannabis in that realm. Cannabis (THC) has properties that (in some, not all and sometimes the reverse) reduce anxiety however, from what I've seen and experienced, cannabis is by in large used to self-medicate instead of seek real treatment.
    - nwienert 5y ago
      We all need relief. You have your television, others have a substance that makes them more relaxed, introspective, creative, and appreciative of art and life. Life is tough, it’s not hard to understand that a substance that has the above effects with less side effects than most popular drugs could be enjoyed responsibly.
- nwienert 5y ago
  Only a person who doesn’t drink caffeine, alcohol, or any other drug (including aspirin and other non psychoactives) can approach making this claim. Hell, you could say the same thing to someone who enjoys a small dessert every night. Or a bath. So long as they’d feel sad to not have it, they are then avoiding a problem, right? Or… humans just really enjoy having diverse things to do, and all find different balances of what those things are. And THC suits very well to certain brain physiologies much like a bubble bath does for others.
  - halfmatthalfcat 5y ago
    I'm not going to go into the nuances of prolonged THC exposure and how it affects brain chemistry, especially under the guise of self-medication but you're not acting in good faith of our discussion by comparing THC to taking a bath.
    - nwienert 5y ago
      I could link to a handful of very positive studies for THC, and a handful of negative. Here's a fun recent one showing that THC has potential mTOR1 activation and CNS myelination effects. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32956517/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32956517/ I could similarly link to about 10 pretty scary studies for caffeine, especially effect on brain structure and sleep quality. Or should we do sugar? The dose makes the poison for anything, it's not clear THC isn't beneficial at a lower dose. It's medically prescribed for cancer pain relief, and for a segment of people its anxiolytic effects are incredible.
    - hirvi74 5y ago
      > I'm not going to go into the nuances of prolonged THC exposure and how it affects brain chemistry I'm not even apart of this debate, and now I am curious. Do you mind sharing what you have found?
  - galaxyLogic 5y ago
    And there's really nothing wrong with crutches. If your leg hurts they help you get around. I don't get all this anti-crutches rhetoric

projectazorian 5y ago

I'm quite sure that most HN posters are aware that mental health services are available. Did you provide any helpful tips for making use of such services, or just make low IQ lazy generalizations about substance users?

halfmatthalfcat 5y ago
I would challenge your assumption as I have many friends in the HN world who are either skeptical, ambivalent or unaware of what mental health services are available or the benefits they can provide. I'm not here to diagnose or mentor people with potential health issues but I thought it might be meaningful to post a small comment about how I thought the exact same way once and how it turned out I wasn't actually helping myself but sabotaging myself. If the OP is curious enough about addressing their mental health issues, that's on them but I'd rather at least post something that might spur some thought instead of play into the "weed is inherently good and causes no issues" hivemind that is incredibly prevent on the internet (and on HN) today.
mikestew 5y ago
I'm quite sure that most HN posters are aware… Now I’m confused; who is it again who’s making the low-effort generalizations?