4 ms·
[I'm not talking about most parts of the US, where weed is harder to obtain; I'm talking about most poor countries, where it is readily available] I've seen ma
by artagnon 13y ago
[I'm not talking about most parts of the US, where weed is harder to obtain; I'm talking about most poor countries, where it is readily available]
I've seen many of my friends waste years of their college lives running around like stoned hippies, overeating junk food, and watching absolute trash with loud sounds and bright colors. To make things worse, it's considered a great "social activity", much like going to a bar to get sloshed with friends. Only weed is _much_ easier to get hooked onto, because it's much cheaper than alcohol, and you don't need much more than rolling paper (as opposed to refrigerator, soft drinks etc).
That said, many of them have had very eye-opening experiences where they learn a lot more about the world and themselves. They have formed strong social bonds on the basis of meaningful experiences, and have learnt moderation. They've also found it to be an extremely good analgesic and laxative. Ofcourse, there are sections of society that need it more than anything: chemotherapy patients take it for increased appetite, and people with chronic headaches take it to reduce occurrences (although LSD has been shown to work with an even more extreme form: cluster headaches).
Every substance in the world has a potential for abuse: there are plenty of "sugar junkies" who will live horrible lives and die a painful death, for instance. All in all, the issue is that of education: we need to legalize all these substances, and objectively explain how people can practice moderation. In general, enforcing hard-abstinence is a very poor solution; only repressive regimes should practice them.
- mikeash 13y agoWeed is easier to get hooked onto than alcohol? Do you mean in some hypothetical universe where weed is legal and widely available? Because that's definitely not the case right now.
- artagnon 13y agoIt's illegal in most places, but it's quite widely available in many poor countries; not everyone lives in the US.
- mikeash 13y agoMight have been good to mention you weren't talking about the US, given that the article is entirely about American policy.
- thedigitalengel 13y agoI'm from the same place as the artagnon. Anti-weed laws are almost never enforced, and weed is incredibly cheap (you'll get enough weed to get 10 people stoned out of their minds for the price of a bottle of beer). And the ease of storage means you can easily maintain a huge stash.
- Raphmedia 13y agoIn my opinion, alcohol is very much easier to get hooked on to. Why? Because it's legal. Want a beer? Sure, grab a pack when you get back from work. Buy a bottle of wine while you are at it too!
- artagnon 13y agoTrue, but let's factor out the current state of availability of weed in most parts of the US for a second here.
- hanley 13y ago"Only weed is _much_ easier to get hooked onto, because it's much cheaper than alcohol, and you don't need much more than rolling paper (as opposed to refrigerator, soft drinks etc)." Stop spewing bullshit. You clearly don't know what you're talking about. A gram of marijuana costs $10-20 and that will get 4 people properly stoned with some even left over. Meanwhile, I could go to a liquor store and buy a handle of shitty vodka for under $20. A handle will get you 40+ shots, which will definitely get more than 4 people drunk.
- jlgreco 13y agoFurthermore, that bottle of vodka can kill a full grown man. That gram of weed? It couldn't even kill a scrawny teenager; not a chance in hell.