> One of the basic premises of the legalization movement is that marijuana, if not harmless, is pretty close to it—arguably much less dangerous than alcohol. Bu

> One of the basic premises of the legalization movement is that marijuana, if not harmless, is pretty close to it—arguably much less dangerous than alcohol. But much of the weed being sold today is not the same stuff that people were getting locked up for selling in the 1990s and 2000s The comments saying “just smoke less” are missing the point here I think. There’s a widely held belief among many users that all warnings about cannabis use and potency are bullshit. This is understandable given the decades of demonization and actual lies about the harms of cannabis. But this is a problem because many people who end up experiencing the negative effects (ranging from habitual use that is hard to stop to full-on hyperemesis syndrome) are often fully convinced that negative outcomes are extremely unlikely. Many struggle to get support because people don’t believe them. People don’t take the addiction potential seriously and chalk it up to mental problems on the part of the user. And it’s not just high THC flower. It’s also the even higher concentrations in vape pens, higher still in concentrates, etc. A common recommendation among users who’ve experienced these downsides is to “avoid carts and concentrates, stick to flower”, which is good advice, but the point here is that flower is often looked at as the “low THC” option because realistically it currently is, relative to the other products on the market. While I agree that “smoke less” is probably still the right thing to do, the problem is that there isn’t a wide enough understanding of the potency problem for people to realize this is what they should be doing for their own safety. There isn’t a wide enough understanding of what “less” actually is, concretely. And the “you can’t OD on this stuff” position is technically true but wrong in practice. You may not die, but it’s shockingly easy to overconsume without realizing it, and overconsumption comes with real risks. I still think it should be legal, but this space desperately needs two things: 1. Updated educational campaigns that focus on debunking lies and keeping people aware of real risks 2. More low THC strains. If I could easily find 10-15% strains, that’s all I’d ever buy