-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
"Facts" about Marijuana, according to my friend
- Thread starter SD-Ness
- Start date
- Status
Kuramu
Member
I've heard that it's not phisically addictive. Anecdotally, i'd say that's true, as i used to smoke 3 times a day, but i got my fill and don't anymore... except on special occasions
edit:
edit:
same thing could be said about anything you do repeatedly. You could call Video Games an addiction if you use the word loosely enough
LoL.... This freaken forum parallels my life. Yesterday my friend was spouting this crap too hahahahhaa. You guys freaken read my mind. This has happened a couple times already. Something funny happens the night before and I check this message board and the freaken exact topic is here.
SlickWilly223
Time ta STEP IT UP
Pot really isn't addictive though, I don't get urges to smoke or anything unless I just feel like getting high after a hard day's work, which isn't very often 
. I try and smoke only on the weekends, and usually I'm pretty strict about it (Not lately though, what with the holiday season and all). I don't even like the actual smoking part, unless you're with friends having a nice conversation while doing the "puff-puff-pass, cuz that's always fun."
And if you use a vaporizer, would you get the same negative affects as smoking pot? (As in, lung damage)
. I try and smoke only on the weekends, and usually I'm pretty strict about it (Not lately though, what with the holiday season and all). I don't even like the actual smoking part, unless you're with friends having a nice conversation while doing the "puff-puff-pass, cuz that's always fun." And if you use a vaporizer, would you get the same negative affects as smoking pot? (As in, lung damage)
pot is addictive, at least much more so than alchohol.
Old Pot smoke stinks, and lingers.
A person can accidentally drink a small bit of bong water, and trust me, that shit will make you feel like puking for a few weeks, as it stays in your mouth and throat that long.
Everclear is cheaper and lasts longer than any weed, unless you grow it yourself, then theres always the arguement that you can distill the everclear yourself as well.
Pot is illegal, liquor isn't.
But if a person can control thier useage of pot , be safe/cautios with it, and not be addicted, I say go for it, but not everyone can. In fact I'd be inclined to say most can't, but there are certainly some who can and do.
Old Pot smoke stinks, and lingers.
A person can accidentally drink a small bit of bong water, and trust me, that shit will make you feel like puking for a few weeks, as it stays in your mouth and throat that long.
Everclear is cheaper and lasts longer than any weed, unless you grow it yourself, then theres always the arguement that you can distill the everclear yourself as well.
Pot is illegal, liquor isn't.
But if a person can control thier useage of pot , be safe/cautios with it, and not be addicted, I say go for it, but not everyone can. In fact I'd be inclined to say most can't, but there are certainly some who can and do.
Crow357 said:
I used to smoke weed every day too, then one day i decided i wanted to focus on my schoolwork so i just stopped. Just like that- no cravings or anything. Weed isn't physically addictive, only psychologically. It's like how some people can smoke their first cigarette and immediately become pack-a-day smokers, whereas other people can smoke a cigarette occasionally (like once or twice a month) and never really get addicted.
I started smoking pot about the same time I started smoking cigarettes, it took me 2 years of trying my damndest to quit smoking ciggs, but pot, it took about a month. So, pot if it's addicting, is nothing like cigarettes. I believe I've heard that whole "pot isn't chemically addicting, but cigarettes are" thing before. Anyway, God doesn't make mistakes, or so I've often heard.
Wow. So much intelligent discussion in this topic, backed up by so many facts. Oh wait, it's GAF OT.
And i used to smoke 5 times a week in college, and then I graduated and haven't touched the stuff in over 8 months. Won't ever again, either.
Pot is "addicting" like gambling is addicting. Or MMORPGs are addictive. It's a behavioural addiction. There is no scientific evidence that it is chemically addictive. In fact, THC, the active ingredient, actually mimics a naturally occurring substance in your brain - it's naturally created to help control memory retention and pain regulation. Go read scientific american - you might learn something.
Crow357 said:
And i used to smoke 5 times a week in college, and then I graduated and haven't touched the stuff in over 8 months. Won't ever again, either.
Pot is "addicting" like gambling is addicting. Or MMORPGs are addictive. It's a behavioural addiction. There is no scientific evidence that it is chemically addictive. In fact, THC, the active ingredient, actually mimics a naturally occurring substance in your brain - it's naturally created to help control memory retention and pain regulation. Go read scientific american - you might learn something.
My F*cking Grandpa said:
Seriously, it's like a fucking joke. People just regurgitate the same tired crap that they read in a textbook, or read from government news sources. Pot is classified as a drug that has "no medicinal value" in the US, thus making it almost impossible to study (unless, of course, your stated goal is to study how it negatively impacts you - most positive research in the US has only resulted from studies that had a stated goal to study it's negative effects). But whatever, the idiots running this country are holding up stem cell research too. It's like scientific progress has become some sort of negative in America.
LakeEarth said:
Well, every drug has to artificially boost or mimic some type of naturally occuring substance in your body for it to have an effect on you (or just kill you ...). The point is that THC mimics a substance that is VERY prevalent in the human body. Hell, taking Prozac might affect you more. The point is we don't know because it's one of the least-studied drugs we have. And no studies have proven it's biologically addictive - but yet somehow it's become commonly accepted fact that it is. This is contrary to cocaine, which has been proven to be biologically addictive.
way more
Member
The natuarally occuring THC in the brain you are referring to are known as cannabinoids. Recent studies show one of the many activities they preform is to help one forget traumatic events.
Not addictive? Safe? What if alcohol or methamphetamines were non-addictive and were not assciated with any health problems, would you still think people were safe to do either everyday?
Not addictive? Safe? What if alcohol or methamphetamines were non-addictive and were not assciated with any health problems, would you still think people were safe to do either everyday?
dem
Member
from my experience..
Pot really isnt addictive. Its like being addicted to Lays chips or something. Youve got to be one weak willed pussy bastard to get addicted to pot.
Alcohol will fuck you up 10x more than any joint will. I smoked alot of weed one summer.. and you never get anything close to the stumbling/puking/dizzy mess that alcohol can turn you into. Mostly you just there and laugh about stupid stuff. As a plus you dont get the sick hangover either.
Pot really isnt addictive. Its like being addicted to Lays chips or something. Youve got to be one weak willed pussy bastard to get addicted to pot.
Alcohol will fuck you up 10x more than any joint will. I smoked alot of weed one summer.. and you never get anything close to the stumbling/puking/dizzy mess that alcohol can turn you into. Mostly you just there and laugh about stupid stuff. As a plus you dont get the sick hangover either.
mac said:
What about Prozac? What about other antidepressents? Some are medically proven to increase the risk of suicide, yet millions of people take them any day. I think the problem is you are misconstruing my argument. Everything you put into your body will affect you. The point I am simply making with THC is that we know basically next to nothing about it. We know it's not chemically / biologically addictive. We know it mimics a naturally occurring substance in the brain that you produce to control your body's reactions to certain things (ex: long distance runners produce lots of cannabanoids to deal with the pain). Clearly, if you want to be 100% healthy, don't do it. You shouldn't smoke cigarettes OR drink alcohol either. Hell, it's a carcinogen (you do smoke it) - you're kidding yourself if you want to argue it's "safe and healthy". I'm just saying open up a little about it. The acceptance level of alcohol versus other mind-altering substances is hypocritical and absurd.
Ristamar said:
Yeah same here, i'm glad it never happened to me. Most of the people i know who were "addicted" got over it and were fine eventually, but one of my brother's friends stole 6 huge plants (taller than he is and probably wider too) and smoked about two of them himself.... it gave him "drug induced psychosis" which is basically schizophrenia for him, and now his life is completely fucked... he was a really nice guy too, it's really sad to see him in his current situation. He was never really completely normal, he was always a bit strange, but it wasn't really noticeable....all that weed REALLY fucked him up though, poor guy.
My F*cking Grandpa said:
I have no idea how they do it, but i know a lot of people who do. I guess they just wait till theres nobody home and jump the fence into the backyard. When my brother was growing plants here he put fishing wire+hooks all over them so if anyone came to try and rip them out it would tear their hand up too :lol. Actually i think i remember hearing something on the news awhile ago about some guy who got his hand torn up while trying to steal plants with fishing hooks, and he was sueing the guy who owned the plants, and i thought that shit only happened in America :lol
Optimistic
Member
LOL. Zero, your friend is, generally speaking, correct. pot ISN'T addictive, and is more "healthy" than alcohol, provided you don't smoke it every day (but then, if you drunk every day it'd still be worse than bud). Also, stoned people are usually much more chilled out than drunks, and are less likely to hurt themselves or others. Obviously though, whether one is worse than the other depends upon the person. There are different variables, ie: (non-)/addictive personalities, family history of mental illness, and so on.
HOWEVER, the fact of the matter, neither is particuarly harmful if done in moderation.
p.s. I smoked pot throughout year 10, 11 and 12 (in moderation; ie: every 1 to 3 months, more or less depending upon varying circumstances), did well in school, and early this year (first year of uni), I started smoking a lot more (almost every day). it was fun for a while but it really started to affect my mental state so guess what? I QUIT. Furthermore, I quit cold turkey, no problems. It was easy to do and I didn't miss it. Moral of the story: everything's fine in moderation; don't overdo it.
HOWEVER, the fact of the matter, neither is particuarly harmful if done in moderation.
p.s. I smoked pot throughout year 10, 11 and 12 (in moderation; ie: every 1 to 3 months, more or less depending upon varying circumstances), did well in school, and early this year (first year of uni), I started smoking a lot more (almost every day). it was fun for a while but it really started to affect my mental state so guess what? I QUIT. Furthermore, I quit cold turkey, no problems. It was easy to do and I didn't miss it. Moral of the story: everything's fine in moderation; don't overdo it.
Have any of you actually read the Laguardia Commission done in the 1930's about Marijuana?
It claimed back then. that cannibus was less addictive then tobacco was.
Im 28 years old, ive been smoking Marijuana for almost 14 years. Memory loss in short term shows some effects. I was diagnosed manic Bi-polar about 6 years ago after I had quit smoking for almost a year for my wifes sake. I went on Paxil and Prozac, all they gave me was a grim outlook and a limp dick to boot.
After about 6 months of that she had enough of it and earged me to try other medications, legal or illegal for not only her sake but for my sanity. It works, not only in my art and ambition to work but in my understanding of the things around me on a level that surpassed any happyness that Paxil or Prozac provided me or will ever provide me. Im content with life and have stayed content with life, 2 kids and and awsome marrage have allowed me to second guess social acceptence.
Now dont forget that ciggeretts and perscription drugs are the biggest tax dollars that the government has. To surplant these staples of american monitary consumption would require a revolution.
Marijuana is not illegal because of what it does to the body, it is illegal because the american government cannot make more money with it legal then they could it being illegal. The war on drugs in american may be a monitary falure in the books of red and blank ink, but what those books do not show you is the revinue generated by seizure due to this drug being illegal.
The government may spend 2-3 billion on the war on drugs a year but its foolish to think they dont suppliment that 10x on seizures.
That and the tobacco companys dont want something displanting there huge profit gains either. The government makes huge gains off your addiction to cigs. but does little to regulate the addictive chemicals put into these items because its a catch 22. acouple of frivolious lawsuits, some minor bantor and alot of dickstroking to create laws and regulations that do nothing to hinder the overall consumption of the one product responcible for american health issues in the next 100 years.
Not only that but I spend around $150-200 less a month on weed then I would if I were still on Paxil/prozac. My doctor even has stated to me privately that patiants of his who regularly smoke weed instead of the norm anti-depressent drugs, show greater gains in social acceptance and normal living structure and functionality.
Go figure... You do what you have to do to lead a normal life in a unnormal fucked up society.
It claimed back then. that cannibus was less addictive then tobacco was.
Im 28 years old, ive been smoking Marijuana for almost 14 years. Memory loss in short term shows some effects. I was diagnosed manic Bi-polar about 6 years ago after I had quit smoking for almost a year for my wifes sake. I went on Paxil and Prozac, all they gave me was a grim outlook and a limp dick to boot.
After about 6 months of that she had enough of it and earged me to try other medications, legal or illegal for not only her sake but for my sanity. It works, not only in my art and ambition to work but in my understanding of the things around me on a level that surpassed any happyness that Paxil or Prozac provided me or will ever provide me. Im content with life and have stayed content with life, 2 kids and and awsome marrage have allowed me to second guess social acceptence.
Now dont forget that ciggeretts and perscription drugs are the biggest tax dollars that the government has. To surplant these staples of american monitary consumption would require a revolution.
Marijuana is not illegal because of what it does to the body, it is illegal because the american government cannot make more money with it legal then they could it being illegal. The war on drugs in american may be a monitary falure in the books of red and blank ink, but what those books do not show you is the revinue generated by seizure due to this drug being illegal.
The government may spend 2-3 billion on the war on drugs a year but its foolish to think they dont suppliment that 10x on seizures.
That and the tobacco companys dont want something displanting there huge profit gains either. The government makes huge gains off your addiction to cigs. but does little to regulate the addictive chemicals put into these items because its a catch 22. acouple of frivolious lawsuits, some minor bantor and alot of dickstroking to create laws and regulations that do nothing to hinder the overall consumption of the one product responcible for american health issues in the next 100 years.
Not only that but I spend around $150-200 less a month on weed then I would if I were still on Paxil/prozac. My doctor even has stated to me privately that patiants of his who regularly smoke weed instead of the norm anti-depressent drugs, show greater gains in social acceptance and normal living structure and functionality.
Go figure... You do what you have to do to lead a normal life in a unnormal fucked up society.
http://www.drugsense.org/mcwilliams/www.marijuanamagazine.com/toc/addictiv.htm
Sum it up:
Sure, marijuana is addicting. As addicting, for instance, as the internet is or a MMORPG is. There have been reported extremely short-term minor withdrawl symptoms, such as restlessness. Restlessness has also been connected to internet addiction.
These reports, published in Time magazine's article "Is Nicotine addicting?" shows that even caffeine is more addicting than marijuana.
Come to your own conclusions.
Sum it up:
Sure, marijuana is addicting. As addicting, for instance, as the internet is or a MMORPG is. There have been reported extremely short-term minor withdrawl symptoms, such as restlessness. Restlessness has also been connected to internet addiction.
These reports, published in Time magazine's article "Is Nicotine addicting?" shows that even caffeine is more addicting than marijuana.
Come to your own conclusions.
facts about mary jane:
it's good for you
it tastes like candy
your parents don't want you to do it
if you smoke it, santa will descend from the sky in his chariot of fire and give you money, just for being so awesome
if you insert a sprig into your ear, you can use the mind control waves it emits to compel attractive members of any sex (your choice) to mate with you
you can get it in pill form
really, what's not to love?
it's good for you
it tastes like candy
your parents don't want you to do it
if you smoke it, santa will descend from the sky in his chariot of fire and give you money, just for being so awesome
if you insert a sprig into your ear, you can use the mind control waves it emits to compel attractive members of any sex (your choice) to mate with you
you can get it in pill form
really, what's not to love?
LakeEarth said:
cocaine doesn't actually mimic the effects of any neurotransmitters it's a blocker of re-uptake and degradation of those neurotransmitters. what it does is allow for more monoamines to stay in your postsynaptic cleft longer. but it's not actually mimicking a neurotransmitter, which would mean it would bind to the receptors for those neurotransmitters and provoke the same response. it allows the more of the neurotransmitter to provoke its own response.
Megafoo Chavez
I love EGM
damn weed. why are you so good!
The best definition I've heard for "addiction" is this: Addiction is when a specific behavior persists despite mounting negative consequences.
Note that there is nothing in that definition to distinguish between physical and psychological withdrawal events (if any), and also note that negative consequences are a key part of the definition. If you are using something repeatedly without negative consequences, you're not addicted. Finally, it's quite possible to get addicted to anything, and yes, genetics (and possibly environmental factors) can be a huge determining factor.
Now, with that being said, there are often severe negative consequences which you are simply not aware of at the time. As mentioned, the contents of pot smoke will fuck up your lungs nicely, and the last time I checked, lung cancer was a pretty big negative consequence. I've also heard about studies which indicate that long-term pot use is tied with a serious amotivational syndrome -- you just don't feel like doing a damn thing -- leading to depression. Last but not least, I know people who can't get certain jobs they are otherwise qualified for because of a history -- even one or two times! -- of pot use. I'm not in a position to tell anyone how they ought to weight their short-term satisfaction versus their long-term job options, reputation, or health, but I suspect that people in general don't think about the consequences of their behavior a few decades from now.
Just to blow up one particularly stupid argument: Saying that pot is less addictive than cigarettes is NOT a meaningful statement. According to what I've read, nicotine addiction is second only to heroin addiction in difficulty to break. I would never wish either on anyone.
America needs to figure out what the balance is between individual rights and the good of society for once and for all. Every argument you can use for or against pot can be used almost verbatim if you substitute "alcohol" for "pot," with the one obvious except of legality. However, as noted by some other people, the issue is that the same kind of reasoning ("I'm an adult, this is my body and my choice") can be used for almost anything else which is potentially bad: cocaine, ecstasy, meth...hell, how about fast food? It's YOUR body and YOUR choice about what substances you put into it...until you smash into MY car on the highway, or MY face gets smashed because you're hopped up on speed and paranoid, or MY insurance rates go way up because YOU are in the hospital with a heart attack. It's a much larger issue to address, and hippie arguments about "but it's NATURAL!" are just (pardon the pun) a smokescreen around the core issue of rights vs. responsibility.
Note that there is nothing in that definition to distinguish between physical and psychological withdrawal events (if any), and also note that negative consequences are a key part of the definition. If you are using something repeatedly without negative consequences, you're not addicted. Finally, it's quite possible to get addicted to anything, and yes, genetics (and possibly environmental factors) can be a huge determining factor.
Now, with that being said, there are often severe negative consequences which you are simply not aware of at the time. As mentioned, the contents of pot smoke will fuck up your lungs nicely, and the last time I checked, lung cancer was a pretty big negative consequence. I've also heard about studies which indicate that long-term pot use is tied with a serious amotivational syndrome -- you just don't feel like doing a damn thing -- leading to depression. Last but not least, I know people who can't get certain jobs they are otherwise qualified for because of a history -- even one or two times! -- of pot use. I'm not in a position to tell anyone how they ought to weight their short-term satisfaction versus their long-term job options, reputation, or health, but I suspect that people in general don't think about the consequences of their behavior a few decades from now.
Just to blow up one particularly stupid argument: Saying that pot is less addictive than cigarettes is NOT a meaningful statement. According to what I've read, nicotine addiction is second only to heroin addiction in difficulty to break. I would never wish either on anyone.
America needs to figure out what the balance is between individual rights and the good of society for once and for all. Every argument you can use for or against pot can be used almost verbatim if you substitute "alcohol" for "pot," with the one obvious except of legality. However, as noted by some other people, the issue is that the same kind of reasoning ("I'm an adult, this is my body and my choice") can be used for almost anything else which is potentially bad: cocaine, ecstasy, meth...hell, how about fast food? It's YOUR body and YOUR choice about what substances you put into it...until you smash into MY car on the highway, or MY face gets smashed because you're hopped up on speed and paranoid, or MY insurance rates go way up because YOU are in the hospital with a heart attack. It's a much larger issue to address, and hippie arguments about "but it's NATURAL!" are just (pardon the pun) a smokescreen around the core issue of rights vs. responsibility.
Ninja Scooter
Member
addictive or not, can't we all agree that weed kicks ass?
- Status