7 ms·

Interesting. This really got me thinking: "Dependence on pot isn’t a minor thing—imagine stalling the careers of a tenth of the U.S. workforce for a year—and w

by gailees 13y ago

Interesting. This really got me thinking: "Dependence on pot isn’t a minor thing—imagine stalling the careers of a tenth of the U.S. workforce for a year—and we should certainly consider it in the negative side of the ledger when contemplating reform in drug policy."

mikeash 13y ago
Imagine what Steve Jobs could have done if he hadn't gotten into drugs! I bet Barack Obama could have gone so much further in life if he hadn't smoked weed.
- chopsueyar 13y ago
  How many more gold medals would Michael Phelps have won?
- paulhauggis 13y ago
  I will gladly get further ahead in life than people in my industry that are chronic pot smokers (that continue to deny the effects). Smoking pot does effect the drive of many people, whether you would like to believe it or not. Some people are better at functioning under the influence than others. Two examples of people that dabbled in drugs does not make your case. I could give you two examples of couples that have sex without protection every day and have never gotten pregnant. Does this mean everyone can do it with the same outcome?
  - mikeash 13y ago
    I agree that two examples doesn't mean much, but it means more than an unsourced assertion.
Lost_BiomedE 13y ago
Yeah, and family too, what a drag on the career! Vacations?, forget about it. I mean hobbies?, that isn't going to do anything for corporate. When it comes to lifestyle, choice trumps IMO, and no, I don't smoke.
ralfn 13y ago
Because the purpose of life is to work, produce as much as possible? Talk about an addiction, an unhealthy dependence, obsession with a metric that has nothing to do with either happyness or fullfilment. Almost as if we're actually craving enslavement. As if chasing promotions, or wealth as if we're gaining XP or coins in a videogame, is a better way to spend our time, health and energy on. Im not saying there is no pot abuse, or working is evil, or other hippy logic, i just wanted to point out that this particular argument is flawed.
- jetblackio 13y ago
  Being a little dramatic aren't we? Some people thoroughly enjoy they're jobs, bringing them great satisfaction. And it is certainly true that people have lost those same jobs from the use of illicit drugs.
  - ralfn 13y ago
    Is this because of the drug, or because of cultural values about that drug? In the latter case, i could rephrase it the other way around. Some people thoroughly enjoy their drugs, bringing them great satisfaction. And it is certainly true they had to give up on those drugs because of the usage of illicit invasive labour practises. There is this assumption, mostly in the states, that one should sacrifice almost anything to be as productive as possible. I disagree strongly. Im proud to say im about 60% as productive as i could be. The other 40% of my energy is poured into other things that matter to me. Like family, friends, free time, being allowed to be myself, and just enjoying life in general. I could sacrifice many of these things to be more produtive. But i am not a slave. And the notion of limiting the freedom of people, because as a society we decided their output volume should be higher, is at the very least unhealty, and perhaps even a tad fascist.
- lelandbatey 13y ago
  I've found that far and away the most satisfying long term activity that I can do is to learn, grow my skills and produce things that have value to me and others.
w1ntermute 13y ago
In that case, we should ban alcohol and tobacco as well.
InclinedPlane 13y ago
What evidence is there that marijuana use "stalls careers"? That seems like a stereotype rather than anything based on real-world data. A lot of incredibly successful people have been marijuana users.
r0s 13y ago
The only reason pot stalls careers is potential felony. As entertainment, it's no worse or distracting than television; and miles away from alcohol.
- badgar 13y ago
  Nobody in this thread knows what they're talking about. You might as well have said "As entertainment, food is no worse or distracting than television." Look, not everybody gets addicted to pot, in fact most folks don't. But it's psychologically addictive like everything chemically active you put in your body, and being constantly stoned because you're addicted is a miserable way to live. I know, because I've been trying to quit all year. I've failed twice since February and I'm on my third go of it right now. And I only smoked a half-ounce a week for a year or so. That's probably a lot to the people reading this, but it's really not much as far as potheads go. I'm sick of thinking so much slower than I know I can, being so much dumber than I used to be. I can't do my job nearly as well and I take pride in my work, so being too dumb to do my job has been really upsetting. I almost wish I were still addicted to cocaine, because at least then I kicked ass and took names when it came to thinking/analyzing/working in general. I'm tired of being too lazy to leave my apartment all weekend, of the food I eat when I'm stoned, of not being present around my friends, family and co-workers, of needing to smoke when I wake up because it's so uncomfortable to be lucid. My motivation to pursue new ideas, to eat healthy and go to the gym, to meet new friends and pursue new women is all through the floor. My body desperately wants pot right now and I'm anxious and depressed as hell and my body is tugging at me to reach for any alternative, like alcohol or cigarettes. Every drug taken to extreme can seriously hurt your life. Even weed. Stop trivializing it because you smoked a few joints in college. Edit: and now I'm slowbanned, for sticking up for myself when someone kicked me while I was down. Time to roll a new account, I guess.
  - riffic 13y ago
    my uncle died of a pot overdose :( edit: look, I'm entirely sorry about the appeal to ridicule. It's a shitty way to get a point across and I just look like an asshole by doing it. I get that addiction is no joke, however your problem is not the same problem caused by the drugs in the article, and your failure to quit the pot is entirely of your own pattern of behavior. Find another peer group to associate with. I guess what I'm frustrated with is the on-going prohibition, which was brought about by the same exact type of alarmist bullshit. So you have problems with your choices in life, that does not mean that everyone else has that issue, or even a significant sample. Let others have the freedom to make their own decisions, the same sort of freedom that was decided during the first great experiment with Prohibition. We all know what happened there. I think people are starting to realize what's happening now.
riffic 13y ago
That line was absolute garbage; conjecture based on lies and myth.

by gailees 13y ago

mikeash 13y ago

Imagine what Steve Jobs could have done if he hadn't gotten into drugs! I bet Barack Obama could have gone so much further in life if he hadn't smoked weed.

chopsueyar 13y ago
How many more gold medals would Michael Phelps have won?
paulhauggis 13y ago
I will gladly get further ahead in life than people in my industry that are chronic pot smokers (that continue to deny the effects). Smoking pot does effect the drive of many people, whether you would like to believe it or not. Some people are better at functioning under the influence than others. Two examples of people that dabbled in drugs does not make your case. I could give you two examples of couples that have sex without protection every day and have never gotten pregnant. Does this mean everyone can do it with the same outcome?
- mikeash 13y ago
  I agree that two examples doesn't mean much, but it means more than an unsourced assertion.

Lost_BiomedE 13y ago

Yeah, and family too, what a drag on the career! Vacations?, forget about it. I mean hobbies?, that isn't going to do anything for corporate. When it comes to lifestyle, choice trumps IMO, and no, I don't smoke.

ralfn 13y ago

Because the purpose of life is to work, produce as much as possible? Talk about an addiction, an unhealthy dependence, obsession with a metric that has nothing to do with either happyness or fullfilment. Almost as if we're actually craving enslavement. As if chasing promotions, or wealth as if we're gaining XP or coins in a videogame, is a better way to spend our time, health and energy on. Im not saying there is no pot abuse, or working is evil, or other hippy logic, i just wanted to point out that this particular argument is flawed.

jetblackio 13y ago
Being a little dramatic aren't we? Some people thoroughly enjoy they're jobs, bringing them great satisfaction. And it is certainly true that people have lost those same jobs from the use of illicit drugs.
- ralfn 13y ago
  Is this because of the drug, or because of cultural values about that drug? In the latter case, i could rephrase it the other way around. Some people thoroughly enjoy their drugs, bringing them great satisfaction. And it is certainly true they had to give up on those drugs because of the usage of illicit invasive labour practises. There is this assumption, mostly in the states, that one should sacrifice almost anything to be as productive as possible. I disagree strongly. Im proud to say im about 60% as productive as i could be. The other 40% of my energy is poured into other things that matter to me. Like family, friends, free time, being allowed to be myself, and just enjoying life in general. I could sacrifice many of these things to be more produtive. But i am not a slave. And the notion of limiting the freedom of people, because as a society we decided their output volume should be higher, is at the very least unhealty, and perhaps even a tad fascist.
lelandbatey 13y ago
I've found that far and away the most satisfying long term activity that I can do is to learn, grow my skills and produce things that have value to me and others.

w1ntermute 13y ago

In that case, we should ban alcohol and tobacco as well.

InclinedPlane 13y ago

What evidence is there that marijuana use "stalls careers"? That seems like a stereotype rather than anything based on real-world data. A lot of incredibly successful people have been marijuana users.

r0s 13y ago

The only reason pot stalls careers is potential felony. As entertainment, it's no worse or distracting than television; and miles away from alcohol.

badgar 13y ago
Nobody in this thread knows what they're talking about. You might as well have said "As entertainment, food is no worse or distracting than television." Look, not everybody gets addicted to pot, in fact most folks don't. But it's psychologically addictive like everything chemically active you put in your body, and being constantly stoned because you're addicted is a miserable way to live. I know, because I've been trying to quit all year. I've failed twice since February and I'm on my third go of it right now. And I only smoked a half-ounce a week for a year or so. That's probably a lot to the people reading this, but it's really not much as far as potheads go. I'm sick of thinking so much slower than I know I can, being so much dumber than I used to be. I can't do my job nearly as well and I take pride in my work, so being too dumb to do my job has been really upsetting. I almost wish I were still addicted to cocaine, because at least then I kicked ass and took names when it came to thinking/analyzing/working in general. I'm tired of being too lazy to leave my apartment all weekend, of the food I eat when I'm stoned, of not being present around my friends, family and co-workers, of needing to smoke when I wake up because it's so uncomfortable to be lucid. My motivation to pursue new ideas, to eat healthy and go to the gym, to meet new friends and pursue new women is all through the floor. My body desperately wants pot right now and I'm anxious and depressed as hell and my body is tugging at me to reach for any alternative, like alcohol or cigarettes. Every drug taken to extreme can seriously hurt your life. Even weed. Stop trivializing it because you smoked a few joints in college. Edit: and now I'm slowbanned, for sticking up for myself when someone kicked me while I was down. Time to roll a new account, I guess.
- riffic 13y ago
  my uncle died of a pot overdose :( edit: look, I'm entirely sorry about the appeal to ridicule. It's a shitty way to get a point across and I just look like an asshole by doing it. I get that addiction is no joke, however your problem is not the same problem caused by the drugs in the article, and your failure to quit the pot is entirely of your own pattern of behavior. Find another peer group to associate with. I guess what I'm frustrated with is the on-going prohibition, which was brought about by the same exact type of alarmist bullshit. So you have problems with your choices in life, that does not mean that everyone else has that issue, or even a significant sample. Let others have the freedom to make their own decisions, the same sort of freedom that was decided during the first great experiment with Prohibition. We all know what happened there. I think people are starting to realize what's happening now.

riffic 13y ago

That line was absolute garbage; conjecture based on lies and myth.