Could I have Been Wrong About Drug Legalization?

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I went to Colorado to try some marijuana having never really done it through college. Didn't know what to expect, but got some candy at the dispensary. When it hit, it hit hard. Got really paranoid, would see things, couldn't sleep, extremely dizzy, it was bad. For a couple of weeks after I felt detached. Hard to explain, I just didn't think anything was real.

Eventually I got better but I haven't tried MJ since. I absolutely think it should be legal though, people are responsible for their own health. For whatever reason, I just can't handle it.

Sorry you had a bad experience. You got in over your head for the first time. In general, most edibles are way over powered so, you were either mislead by the seller or, a victim of your own ignorance. I urge you to educate yourself further and give it another try.

 

[WHAMPOM]

So let me get this straight, you think schizophrenia can be caused by smoking cannabis?

More likely one was paranoid, the other schizophrenic and they both attempted to self medicate with pot.
Medical and mental conditions are a undiagnosed cause of many drug addictions.

 

[disappoint]

There are certainly a lot of rational explanations proposed. What if it is the pot, though?

Another possibility in some cases may be that they might be mentally ill to begin with, and use pot to self medicate.

 

[pmv]

The fact that you think I was irate is funny. Have you read a single study or just a few articles? Be honest, did you use google to find something to post?

And yet your very post here further emphasises how oddly touchy you are about this topic!

What I've 'read' is numerous media reports over the last decade or so (no need to google for it, it's widely reported), all pointing to studies showing some correlation between heavy use of skunk and later development of schizophrenia. It's not a specialist subject of mine because I don't really give a toss, so surprisingly enough, I haven't spent much time in medical libraries reading journals about it.

I really don't care if you smoke the stuff. I find it vaguely amusing some friends who smoked a lot got really 'whole foods' about it, being very insistent on only having 'the natural' herb, and none of that dodgy skunk stuff ('full of chemicals' they'd declare). But it's possible they have a point, as the ones who had bad effects were all heavy skunk users.

Edit - and boy is that stuff well named. I notice people have taken to putting up signs in the corridors here, telling youths to go smoke somewhere else and stop stinking up our building.

 

[Jhhnn]

I went to Colorado to try some marijuana having never really done it through college. Didn't know what to expect, but got some candy at the dispensary. When it hit, it hit hard. Got really paranoid, would see things, couldn't sleep, extremely dizzy, it was bad. For a couple of weeks after I felt detached. Hard to explain, I just didn't think anything was real.

Eventually I got better but I haven't tried MJ since. I absolutely think it should be legal though, people are responsible for their own health. For whatever reason, I just can't handle it.

I'm sorry you had a bad experience. Edibles are problematic. I wouldn't advocate them for beginners at all. Dosage control is much easier & more precise with smoking or vaping. Onset is slow with edibles, leading people to think (erroneously) that they need to do more. Duration of effect is also much longer.

A good article on the subject-

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobs...rijuana-edibles-problemand-mine/#3fd76b0c3958

 

[Jhhnn]

And yet your very post here further emphasises how oddly touchy you are about this topic!

What I've 'read' is numerous media reports over the last decade or so (no need to google for it, it's widely reported), all pointing to studies showing some correlation between heavy use of skunk and later development of schizophrenia. It's not a specialist subject of mine because I don't really give a toss, so surprisingly enough, I haven't spent much time in medical libraries reading journals about it.

I really don't care if you smoke the stuff. I find it vaguely amusing some friends who smoked a lot got really 'whole foods' about it, being very insistent on only having 'the natural' herb, and none of that dodgy skunk stuff ('full of chemicals' they'd declare). But it's possible they have a point, as the ones who had bad effects were all heavy skunk users.

Edit - and boy is that stuff well named. I notice people have taken to putting up signs in the corridors here, telling youths to go smoke somewhere else and stop stinking up our building.

Meh. In terms of mental health, I figure that smoking pot won't send you anywhere you weren't already going.

 

[zzyzxroad]

And yet your very post here further emphasises how oddly touchy you are about this topic!

What I've 'read' is numerous media reports over the last decade or so (no need to google for it, it's widely reported), all pointing to studies showing some correlation between heavy use of skunk and later development of schizophrenia. It's not a specialist subject of mine because I don't really give a toss, so surprisingly enough, I haven't spent much time in medical libraries reading journals about it.

I really don't care if you smoke the stuff. I find it vaguely amusing some friends who smoked a lot got really 'whole foods' about it, being very insistent on only having 'the natural' herb, and none of that dodgy skunk stuff ('full of chemicals' they'd declare). But it's possible they have a point, as the ones who had bad effects were all heavy skunk users.

Edit - and boy is that stuff well named. I notice people have taken to putting up signs in the corridors here, telling youths to go smoke somewhere else and stop stinking up our building.

I'd recommend you stop reading media reports and read actual studies (good rule of thumb on any subject). I've read the "skunk" study you're referencing and it's garbage.

I'm highly interested in cannabis research because an immediate family member suffered a stroke and now is plegrd by frequant seizures. There is a chemical in cannabis that seems to have great potential in helping treat seizures but research up until recently was stifled by years of lies.

Out of curiosity do you know what skunk is?

 

[Thebobo]

I'd recommend you stop reading media reports and read actual studies (good rule of thumb on any subject). I've read the "skunk" study you're referencing and it's garbage.

I'm highly interested in cannabis research because an immediate family member suffers a stroke and now is plegrd by frequant seizures. There is a chemical in cannabis that seems to have great potential in helping treat seizures but research up until recently was stifled by years of lies.

Out of curiosity do you know what skunk is?

?

 

[Victorian Gray]

?

 

[dank69]

Reefer madness, obviously.

 

[Victorian Gray]

Reefer madness, obviously.

Watch out for the 2nd hand smoke

 

[interchange]

Another possibility in some cases may be that they might be mentally ill to begin with, and use pot to self medicate.

Addiction and other mental illness have quite a bond, although most marijuana users are not addicted. Still, if a substance is able to put off facing distress instead of confronting it, is this not a problem?

But we digress. The OP's question is valid if unanswerable. I merely think there is value in considering it instead of rationalizing it away.

 

[disappoint]

Addiction and other mental illness have quite a bond, although most marijuana users are not addicted. Still, if a substance is able to put off facing distress instead of confronting it, is this not a problem?

If we can agree that preservation of human life is our goal and the destruction of human life the greatest problem then whether a substance that delays distress is a problem or not depends on whether delayed distress or confrontation of distress would cause loss of life or the preservation of life.

In some cases confrontation of distress could cause a person to become suicidal or homicidal. In such a case I would advocate for delay of distress until such time that the person is able to handle such confrontation with minimal loss of life.

But we digress. The OP's question is valid if unanswerable. I merely think there is value in considering it instead of rationalizing it away.

The OP's question of whether legalization is the proper course of action I agree warrants our consideration. I'd pose the question of how well banning substances that may be harmful has worked out in the past.

It's interesting to note that prohibition of alcohol was not as effective in reducing consumption long term while nicotine use is on the decline rapidly despite never having been prohibited. Why is that?