5 ms·

It's not about the legitimate/medical/supervised usage, it the recreational use that kills. Marijuana (MJ) is used a lot recreationally; if people to use MJ ins

by cies 4y ago

It's not about the legitimate/medical/supervised usage, it the recreational use that kills. Marijuana (MJ) is used a lot recreationally; if people to use MJ instead of Fentanyl the OD cases would not pile up like they do today.

tiffanyh 4y ago
It's just weird logic to say "X causes more deaths than Y, Y should be legal then". E.g. car accidents kill more people per year than marijuana. Does that mean driving a car should become illegal, and marijuana legalized? https://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/LeadingCauses.html https://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/LeadingCauses.html https://www.huffpost.com/entry/marijuana-deaths-2014_n_56816417e4b06fa68880a217 https://www.huffpost.com/entry/marijuana-deaths-2014_n_56816...
- TheOtherHobbes 4y ago
  That's not comparing like for like. For better or worse driving is considered to have huge social utility. Fent addiction has huge negative utility for everyone - except its manufacturers and their investors. MJ is probably more or less neutral. In terms of broad social effects, refined sugar is probably the deadliest of all drugs, but its direct effects - especially in sodas - are much smaller than its indirect contribution to obesity and diabetes. And unlike a dramatic overdose death, it's very slow-acting. So it's barely considered a problem.
- mitchdoogle 4y ago
  > Does that mean driving a car should become illegal, and marijuana legalized? Honestly, yes. Or at least driving a car should require a much more strict licensing process. My daughter got a license during the pandemic and all that was required of her was driving around a parking lot once and then parking parallel. Skills which can be acquired in a couple of hours just prior to the test. Yes there is usually a written test as well, so there is some reason to believe people know what the basic road signs mean, but to let people loose on public roads traveling at 70 mph after a 5 minute driving test is just asking for widespread vehicle collisions.
vorpalhex 4y ago
That is not supported by the research, marijuana use seems independent from opiod deaths (neither harming nor helping).
- cies 4y ago
  Hard line policing is the problem, not MJ/opiates itself. If you get in as much trouble doing/buying/selling/etc MJ as Fentanyl, you might as well do the latter. If MJ is legal, many would stick to that. Same for MJ-to-alcohol: and the alc producers know it, they lobbied fiercly against legal MJ and when it became legal (like in Canada) they were the first to invest heavily in it.
  - vorpalhex 4y ago
    Why not just do alcohol then? It's much stronger than pot, legal and cheap.
    - pksebben 4y ago
      it's a lot worse for your health, for one. also, they don't have remotely similar effects
      - vorpalhex 4y ago
        The argument though was that fent/meth users would stop using fent/meth if pot was legal. If that argument is true, wouldn't fent/meth users just use alcohol since that is legal? Alcohol is much better for you than meth and both are cns depressents.

by cies 4y ago

tiffanyh 4y ago

It's just weird logic to say "X causes more deaths than Y, Y should be legal then". E.g. car accidents kill more people per year than marijuana. Does that mean driving a car should become illegal, and marijuana legalized? https://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/LeadingCauses.html https://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/LeadingCauses.html https://www.huffpost.com/entry/marijuana-deaths-2014_n_56816417e4b06fa68880a217 https://www.huffpost.com/entry/marijuana-deaths-2014_n_56816...

TheOtherHobbes 4y ago
That's not comparing like for like. For better or worse driving is considered to have huge social utility. Fent addiction has huge negative utility for everyone - except its manufacturers and their investors. MJ is probably more or less neutral. In terms of broad social effects, refined sugar is probably the deadliest of all drugs, but its direct effects - especially in sodas - are much smaller than its indirect contribution to obesity and diabetes. And unlike a dramatic overdose death, it's very slow-acting. So it's barely considered a problem.
mitchdoogle 4y ago
> Does that mean driving a car should become illegal, and marijuana legalized? Honestly, yes. Or at least driving a car should require a much more strict licensing process. My daughter got a license during the pandemic and all that was required of her was driving around a parking lot once and then parking parallel. Skills which can be acquired in a couple of hours just prior to the test. Yes there is usually a written test as well, so there is some reason to believe people know what the basic road signs mean, but to let people loose on public roads traveling at 70 mph after a 5 minute driving test is just asking for widespread vehicle collisions.

vorpalhex 4y ago

That is not supported by the research, marijuana use seems independent from opiod deaths (neither harming nor helping).

cies 4y ago
Hard line policing is the problem, not MJ/opiates itself. If you get in as much trouble doing/buying/selling/etc MJ as Fentanyl, you might as well do the latter. If MJ is legal, many would stick to that. Same for MJ-to-alcohol: and the alc producers know it, they lobbied fiercly against legal MJ and when it became legal (like in Canada) they were the first to invest heavily in it.
- vorpalhex 4y ago
  Why not just do alcohol then? It's much stronger than pot, legal and cheap.
  - pksebben 4y ago
    it's a lot worse for your health, for one. also, they don't have remotely similar effects
    - vorpalhex 4y ago
      The argument though was that fent/meth users would stop using fent/meth if pot was legal. If that argument is true, wouldn't fent/meth users just use alcohol since that is legal? Alcohol is much better for you than meth and both are cns depressents.