Is Marijuana harmless?
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Feral Youth
Banned
Tyrone Slothrop said:
Huh? Red eye linked? I'd assume that your eyes going red after smoking shit isn't a good thing in the long run.
Looks like there could be some good business in training guide dogs in the future then.
Always-honest
Banned
new studies say you have a higher risk of ball cancer when you use a lot over a long period....
i'm at a high risk
i'm at a high risk
wayward archer
Member
Ikuu said:
Yes, marijuana does have beneficial effects on alleviating symptoms of people suffering from cancer and undergoing various treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy, this is well documented, so much so that a legal version (Marinol) has been developed to try and cultivate some of the beneficial effects (many patients and doctors will tell you it doesn't work as well as the real thing).
As for lung cancer, walking outside for ten minutes within 20 miles of a large city is probably worse for your lungs than smoking a joint. No reputable studies on long term effects have been done, since the federal government will prosecute anyone who publishes a study that has empirical data where they admit to using marijuana to study it (kind of a hilarious stance if you think about it... "It's harmful because we say so, not because we'll allow people to prove that it is"). Public knowledge of scientific studies that show alcohol and nicotine are 10x as bad as marijuana would be devastating to their stance on the drug, which they want you to continue to think is on the same level as something like heroin.
Nexus Zero
Member
Don't forget if you smoke tobacco in your spliff it's unfiltered. That's my biggest worry.
I just saw on my local news last week that they think smoking pot may cause testicular cancer..
Oh hey i found a link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20090209/hl_hsn/marijuanalinkedtoaggressivetesticularcancer
Have fun with no balls you crazy pot heads you :lol
lol jking I used to smoke pot like crazy
Oh hey i found a link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20090209/hl_hsn/marijuanalinkedtoaggressivetesticularcancer
Have fun with no balls you crazy pot heads you :lol
lol jking I used to smoke pot like crazy
It's not harmless, but not really harmful.
Getting stoned as shit frequently will clearly mess with your state of mind, but the same is true for pretty much everything. I've cut down my frequency of use by a large amount because of how apathetic it makes me. Use wisely, but don't be afraid of it. Weed's got a bad rep because of a lot of dumb stoners and government FUD.
Getting stoned as shit frequently will clearly mess with your state of mind, but the same is true for pretty much everything. I've cut down my frequency of use by a large amount because of how apathetic it makes me. Use wisely, but don't be afraid of it. Weed's got a bad rep because of a lot of dumb stoners and government FUD.
Futureman said:
What needs to be understood is that "smoke" is not created equal - there are considerably more harmful toxins in cigarette smoke than in marijuana smoke, with the differences becoming even greater depending on what device you use to partake.
Every drug on earth, legal or otherwise, has negative side effects which some think are outweighed by the positives. The question isn't "is it bad for you?". It is. The question is "is it as bad for you?" In the case of marijuana, studies and stats show far have shown that it is generally far less harmful than cigarettes and alcohol, as well as a multitude of other legal drugs that can actually cause severe physical/mental impairment and/or death.
Who says you have to smoke marijuna? Maybe cook it or vapor it?qcf x2 said:
medical marijuana. not everybody buys weed to get high, some people buy it cos they NEED it to help them survive. And no no everyone is instantly intoxicated when smoking marijuana. Depends on your body and also your tolerence.Buckethead said:
Lost Fragment
Obsessed with 4chan
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/cri/c...e_key_statistics_for_testicular_cancer_41.asp
8,090 out of 300 million? I like the odds either way.
web01 said:
This is so true. A friend of my parents is a youth psychologist and she told me most of her patients have mental issues because of pot. It is very likely to trigger some kind of paranoia or just overall dullness.
Im 28 now and Ive seen many examples for this. Also two deaths of friends of mine during our school years that were certainly linked to heavy usage of marijuana. Nothing against a spliff now and then, but people who say its harmless are idiots.
riskVSreward
Member
I can't believe how many people are trying to spread this "weed is physically addicting" FUD. It is in no way physically addicting. I tried to quit smoking cigarettes once, I had withdrawal symptons for almost 2 days before I broke down and smoked again. I was hot then cold, sweaty with mind numbing headaches, couldn't sleep, couldn't sit still. I can only imagine what coke, crack or heroin withdrawal is like after experiencing that.
I typically smoke weed once a day, after work while I play games or watch the tube or whatever. I get it once a week and there are many times when my "dude" simply can't get it that week. Boom, a whole week without weed. It doesn't affect me negatively in the least, except for the fact that I wish I could get high. My room mate went to the doctor once because his chest was hurting, the doc told him to quit smoking so he did cold turkey. He was able to immediately drop weed (something he smoked several times a night) but had to slowly ween off the cigarettes.
I could give a lot more testimony to this, yet it's all ultimately anecdotal. But seriously, I'm half laughing and half sad about all the misinformation about the addictiveness of weed.
I typically smoke weed once a day, after work while I play games or watch the tube or whatever. I get it once a week and there are many times when my "dude" simply can't get it that week. Boom, a whole week without weed. It doesn't affect me negatively in the least, except for the fact that I wish I could get high. My room mate went to the doctor once because his chest was hurting, the doc told him to quit smoking so he did cold turkey. He was able to immediately drop weed (something he smoked several times a night) but had to slowly ween off the cigarettes.
I could give a lot more testimony to this, yet it's all ultimately anecdotal. But seriously, I'm half laughing and half sad about all the misinformation about the addictiveness of weed.
The Lamonster
Member
In the sense that you're asking about, yes it is harmless.
It's no more harmful than McDonald's, Hershey's and Foldger's.
It's no more harmful than McDonald's, Hershey's and Foldger's.
The Lamonster
Member
Sorry bro, your parents' friend is wrong. I've been a 'stoner' for a decade and I have about 20 other friends in the same spot. We're all doing fine now thank you very much.Fritz said:
3.0 average GPA at a four-year college and currently rocking a full time job for two years so far.
So basically you shouldn't be spreading filth and lies (whether you realize it or not).
Fritz said:
Most people who let something like Marijuana take over their lives would have probably had something else do the same in its absence. If you get yourself actually addicted to marijuana to the point where you are more than annoyed when you can't get it then you either have a predisposition or are probably an idiot.
How did they die from heavy marijuana usage? Please tell me that.
Lost Fragment
Obsessed with 4chan
Read back and see if you can find anyone saying it's physically addictive. I went back and checked just to be sure and couldn't find anyone.
Something that's hilarious to me is how, every time I get in a debate about marijuana and say something like "it's cool just as long as you don't get addicted to it and live your life for it," someone always takes the bait and goes on an angry rant about how it's not physically addictive.
The word "addiction" covers more than just the physical withdrawal symptoms of something like heroin or alcohol, don't cha know. And while it's not as physically bad for you as say, alcohol or cigarettes, I'd bet a million dollars that pot is more psychologically addictive than a lot of other recreational legal drugs.
The Lamonster
Member
Yeah, wait a second. Death from heavy marijuana usage??? :lol
riskVSreward
Member
Yeah, maybe their joint up and shanked them.
Fine, maybe no one exactly said "physically addictive," but I don't think I took any bait. There's still an overwhelming general doom-n-gloom being spread in here. It's fine though, GAF can be pretty immature.Lost Fragment said:
Lost Fragment said:
Yeah and if you get yourself addicted to marijauna then you need to get some fucking will power. The worst I've ever felt "addicted" to weed was when I smoked for 2 months every day non-stop and then stopped for a month. The first day was annoying and I wished that I'd had some but the next day I didn't even think about it. Oh no!
Just wondering, what if the factor of smoking marijuana is taken out? I can understand the smoke being an irritant and causing lung damage but there other ways of taking the drug. It is possible to be ingested. I have a friend who claims to have had some brewed in a tea. I'm sure if you wanted to, you could create a patch for it.
All of the studies I have seen in this thread failed in a few key ways.
1) A non-smoking method of taking marijuana
2) None seemed to claim to be using "pure" marijuana versus some sort of mixed hash which could easily have a dozen other things affecting the study.
3) A comparison point. How harmful is it compared to say an addiction to chocolate? Alcohol? Coffee? Anything really. Everything can be considered a poison if the dose is high enough.
Honestly, I don't know if there isn't something I would ever consider completely harmless. You have to look at things and determine if its an acceptable risk. Judging by the fact there it isn't physically possible to overdose and die from marijuana that alone could make it one of the safest things out there.
Edit:
I actually never heard of that. I tried googling it just now and I'm getting vague references to such a thing but no actual source. Any chance you can get a bit more detail of it?
All of the studies I have seen in this thread failed in a few key ways.
1) A non-smoking method of taking marijuana
2) None seemed to claim to be using "pure" marijuana versus some sort of mixed hash which could easily have a dozen other things affecting the study.
3) A comparison point. How harmful is it compared to say an addiction to chocolate? Alcohol? Coffee? Anything really. Everything can be considered a poison if the dose is high enough.
Honestly, I don't know if there isn't something I would ever consider completely harmless. You have to look at things and determine if its an acceptable risk. Judging by the fact there it isn't physically possible to overdose and die from marijuana that alone could make it one of the safest things out there.
Edit:
mernst23 said:
I actually never heard of that. I tried googling it just now and I'm getting vague references to such a thing but no actual source. Any chance you can get a bit more detail of it?
The Lamonster
Member
In one of my college courses my professor said that if you don't smoke it (vaporizer or tea or food etc), THC affects your brain about as much as a cup of coffee except caffeine is way worse for you than THC.Holepunch said:
edit: it affects your brain to that degree either way. Just saying that if you smoke it there's obvious lung damage vs. no lung damage if you use another method.
Lost Fragment
Obsessed with 4chan
Xeke said:
Agreed.
Xeke said:
I don't know if you're trying to present your case as being accurate for everyone here or soemthing, but if so, then I'm personally more inclined to take my brother's story to heart. Not as a testament for everyone, obviously, but as one towards the possibilities.
Anyway, I think you and I actually agree 100% here. Pot is fine just as long as you don't lose yourself in that world and neglect important responsibilities as a consequence. I just think for some people, smoking pot can awaken latent selfishness and other things that are better left repressed.
I smoke weed, but I'll call a spade a spade too.
Fenderputty
Banned
Buckethead said:
That's not totally true. If I smoke an entire bowl, I'll be ripped. If I take a hit or two, I'll just calm down and loosen up a bit. Same thing with drinking if I have more then two drinks I get a buzz where as with one or two I just calm down and loosen up a bit. I have a little bit of a tolerance though.
What I wonder about the is affects of putting smoke into ones lungs. Is it as bad as cigarettes? People who smoke cigs, put A LOT more smoke into their lungs. It's filtered though.
Fenderputty
Banned
web01 said:
Really ... care to provide the details to it's "Very Harmful" nature?
The Lamonster
Member
Pot smoke is not nearly as bad as cigarettes. Do you realize how much shit is in cigarettes?Fenderputty said:
CharlieDigital
Banned
~Devil Trigger~ said:
You could apply that logic to anything.
No [insert-something] is "harmless".
riskVSreward
Member
No dildo is harmless.
Lost Fragment
Obsessed with 4chan
No message board is harmless. GAF done scarred Denis Dyack's fragile ego 
riskVSreward
Member
My former room mate did that all the time. He claimed he couldn't study as efficiently sober. And he is a fucking actuary.Xeke said:
Fenderputty
Banned
The Lamonster said:
I realize how much crap gets stuck in my pipe and bong. :lol
I don't remember where but, I've also read that pot smoke has as much crap in it as cigs. Pot is generally unfiltered too. However, the amount of smoke that goes into my lungs is much much less. Even a light cig smoker will smoke a half a pack a day. The sheer amount of smoke from 10 cigs compared to one bowl has to mean something.
The Lamonster
Member
You have to think of it like tar vs. chemicals.Fenderputty said:
Tar is bad but it's not what gives you lung cancer. The chemicals in cigarettes, however, are bad news.
My take on it is that if you haven't started, don't do it. You'll be better off without it. Same with alcohol and cigarettes - stay away if you haven't started. I understand people have a need to justify what they do (be it, marijuana, alcohol, cigarettes, etc.). The problem I have with people defending it is that it might actually encourage (not intentionally) other people to take the plunge. And there is absolutely nothing convincing enough to me that would suggest life would be better with it than without. And as mentioned before, people have different tolerances, different risk levels for addiction, different predispositions that would incline them to experiment; if comments that put it in a positive light is enough to get one person addicted, then it's done more harm than good.
If you stay away (from any kind of drug), it's just one less thing to worry about and that's all there is to it for me.
If you stay away (from any kind of drug), it's just one less thing to worry about and that's all there is to it for me.
riskVSreward
Member
Your post would be good if it weren't cluttered with all that misinformation.
The Lamonster said:
cool that you think it's funny. I said "linked to". One was hit by a car while he tried crossing a street during lunch break after he got high. The other one got paranoia and comitted suicide. Now, I know that you could easily substitute it with alcohol or any other drug in those cases but I cant see how that makes marijuana any better.
I have no fancy data to support what Ive said before. So yeah, you won. Have fun, bye bye.
I am sure there are hippies that did lsd & other mind altering drugs back in the day and just grew out of it and led productive lives. then there are the ones you see homeless and/or locked up in a mental facility.
I would never smoke crack but I always felt if i tried it I would certainly get high but I doubt I would spend the rest of my life robbing, killing to maintain an addiction.
Certain folk drink on special occasions. Others must go to the bar every weekend or night.
Some folk have the temperament to wait until the weekend and in the comfort of their home and smoke some weed. Others have to smoke it on the way to or from work or school. Hence the cigar guts on the floor at the back of the bus or train.
Survival of the fittest(mind & body).
I would never smoke crack but I always felt if i tried it I would certainly get high but I doubt I would spend the rest of my life robbing, killing to maintain an addiction.
Certain folk drink on special occasions. Others must go to the bar every weekend or night.
Some folk have the temperament to wait until the weekend and in the comfort of their home and smoke some weed. Others have to smoke it on the way to or from work or school. Hence the cigar guts on the floor at the back of the bus or train.
Survival of the fittest(mind & body).
Snowman Prophet of Doom
Member
Zeni said:
If you enjoy it, there was nothing wrong with doing it in the first place.
We all have our vices; we pick our poisons every day. For the amount of harm done to you versus the enjoyability of the side effects, pot is a great deal; better than alcohol, for my money (I've never smoked a cigarette, so I can't make a claim on that). What you're saying is a claim that could be made about anything; by the logic that you've displayed in this post, nobody should ever try anything new to broaden their experiences because they might get addicted. Hell, there are people out there that have internet addiction, video game addiction, T.V. addiction, and every other kind that can be imagined.
riskVSreward said:
Ooh, a whole seven days! I can go (and have gone) years without eating certain types of foods that I like.:lol
There's a ton of anecdotal evidence and passionate reasonings being supplied in this thread, which is always the case when this issue is brought up.
Regular users are incredibly passionate about marijuana, to the point that it's pretty much impossible to get a non-scientific viewpoint without inherent bias.
I could give anecdotal evidence about how many people I know that smoke marijuana and how they've done it for years and they have said they would quit many times but they give in no more than two weeks later. But none of that is scientific. And the argument is not whether it's addictive, (and besides, what people say in confidence is often different from what they say when attempting to defend something).
However, nobody seemed to have a counter for my point about the immediate second hand effects of marijuana, which is a major point against legalization, especially when the "cigarettes are legal, so..." arguments pop up.
The Lamonster
Member
Why do you automatically think that marijuana was the reason your buddy got hit by a car and why do you automatically think marijuana was the reason your other buddy got all paranoid?Fritz said:
You're jumping to conclusions.
riskVSreward
Member
I've gone much longer. My point was, try going a week without cigarettes, heroin, crack, etc... You would be tearing your hair out. Just because your friends chose to smoke again doesn't make it indicative of any type of addiction.qcf x2 said:
What exactly is your argument? There aren't enough scientific studies on the subject? If so, I agree.
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