It’s always good to hear what the experts have to say on these matters.
There are bad outcomes to cannabis use. It can kick off schizophrenia and depersonalization disorder, it actually can lower your IQ, and ending up in hospital because of palpitations from the high doses in gummies also happens, as well as cannabis hyperemesis, and it can affect sexual health and cause long term changes in the brain. This podcast did some great research https://www.psychiatrypodcast.com/psychiatry-psychotherapy-podcast/2019/5/1/marijuana-and-mental-health
Do I think recreational use is any more risky than alcohol? No. But using alcohol every day isn’t great and neither is cannabis. A drink or two, a joint on the weekend? Not a big deal. Have some fun.
I think legalization in Canada is a bit mixed, dispensing with arresting and prosecuting people for having a little pot was a waste of time, and I don’t really care if people relax with it. But there is a demonstrated increase in adverse outcomes from cannabis with legalization on the studies. And the 90 zillion weed stores in every city is overkill. Literally one on every block.
I don’t use cannabis, the two times I’ve tried it it just made me tired so I don’t see the point, but I don’t care if people do. I just don’t think it’s wise not to know the risks.
While I think that legalisation, or at least decriminalisation, for personal use is probably the right policy decision I agree with Elton to a degree.
Currently there is a fairly well established cultural belief at least in English speaking countries that marijuana is not addictive, not dangerous to health, and not problematic at all.
The belief that marijuana is largely harmless persists despite the fact that we all know people who smoke excessively to the point of making their lives worse and if they come to this realisation they find it incredibly difficult to stop.
Criminalisation of marijuana, especially combined with over policing of specific communities as occurred in the USA, is a disaster. But not recognising the very real harms that marijuana does to some peoples lives is also a disaster.
I smoked a lot of weed, is addictive to a point but after 3 days sober it’s not hard to not smoke weed. I haven’t smoked weed in years. Nicotine on the other hand has it’s claws deep in my soul. I could smoke weed tonight and not touch it again for 3 years, if I was years off of not having nicotine and I had a couple vapes I’d be back to a full time nicotine user within a week. That’s both something that has happened and a hypothetical because of have to not currently be a nicotine user.
Noted drug scientist Elton John? Or the musician? Because I don’t give a fuck what some entertainment celebrity has to say about that.
Shut up and play your piano, redcoat.
I agree that it could be considered addictive. But same could be said about booze. Prohibition is horseshit.
Yeah, having nuance on the Internet is hard.
It can make sense if you flesh it out. The headline and two lines the musician said about it are shallow, but there’s a grain of truth in there.
I do believe that overuse of marijuana is going to be a negative. Kids under 24 using marijuana is going to be a negative. And both of those are going to increase with legalization.
Neither are as harmful as prohibition, but they’re still harmful.
Potheads don’t need to be on quite the same level as alcoholism, but it should be closer than it is. If you’re not acknowledging the harm of using the legal system to enforce this, his quote makes sense. He may not have stated it well.
Issue being that legalization always leads to less and safer use.
Safer, sure. Less? Absolutely not. More people will use marijuana when it’s legal.
Factually incorrect across the U.S. in legal states.
And yet in Canada after legalization use has infact remained the same.
I only found sources claiming usage frequency remained the same but the amount of users has increased.
nice.
But OP’s feelings say otherwise!
Stupid old bonger meddling in North American affairs.
Says the American
It is very habit forming but that’s hardly a reason for it to be illegal.
It’s no more or less habit forming than actual grass in a very literal sense.
Moreover caffeine is proven to be far more harmful and orders of magnitude more habit forming than most illegal drugs.
Right. Eating is addictive. Drinking of course. And for a lot of people so is running, lol.
It’s not nearly as addictive as nicotine or ethanol…
Or sugar.
Okay but seriously, he’s entitled to his opinions. Besides, if he’s successfully gone through rehab, he’s not exactly going to be pro-drugs after that.
Having been hooked on cocaine and then implicitly or explicitly equating it with weed, sounds like some sort of internal “reefer madness” 24 hour movie-thon playing in his head.
As someone who hasn’t had a drink for 23 years one of the big issues with former addicts and alcoholics is the same “if it’s not good for me it’s not good for you” attitude we see everywhere else.
It’s yet more exceptionalism where we mistake the phenomenon of our perception and experience as a direct stand in for everyone else’s.
Even more problematic that it comes from someone with (and I’m willing to step out on a ledge here) a self-professed disease (alcoholics often refer to “their disease”.) That’s fine, but you don’t see diabetics recommending everyone constantly monitor their blood glucose and take insulin.
Like yes, I understand that when my wife has her first beer it doesn’t set off the trigger I have where I need all the beer (and liquor and whatever drugs you have on you) in the world until I don’t remember who I am.
you don’t see diabetics recommending everyone constantly monitor their blood glucose and take insulin
To be fair, being aware of your glucose level isn’t a bad thing. Insulin is probably not an “everyone” thing but if monitoring blood glucose wasn’t so cumbersome, I would suggest it to anyone. It has similar value to monitoring weight, blood pressure or temperature.
Besides, if he’s successfully gone through rehab, he’s not exactly going to be pro-drugs after that.
Wanting cannabis to be legal isn’t necessarily “pro-drug.” No more than wanting alcohol to be legal is.
Ah yes. The dreaded marijuana rehab I presume.
I get paranoid from weed.
But I do like myself some ketamine, cocaine, LSD, DMT, GHB, and MDMA :D
Be careful with ketamine. Matthew Perry died of it in a terrible way. This was after he had a colostomy because his colon burst from opioid use. I don’t want it to get away on you like that.
I tried GHB for first time a couple weeks ago and hit me wrong, my friends took care of me, but it was a dower. For some reason I started crying lmao. They blamed it on the LSD I took before, but I’m not sure that was the problem.
Yeah I don’t see it being the best of mixes. GHB works on your serotonin receptors. That’s why they also call it liquid ecstasy. But on the other hand it also gets you wasted like booze does. It’s hard to dose and easily knocks people out. (I did drug education and one of the things we teach is how to position somebody who passes out from GHB so they don’t choke on their vomit or tongue.) Besides that it’s pretty fun, but I wouldn’t mix it when tripping.
All I see here is the common kneejerk reaction to anything remotely criticizing marijuana. Elton John is a dry alcoholic and has been supporting other people with substance abuse issues for many years now. To him trivialization of any sort of drug use is negative. Calling it “the greatest mistake” is just some hyperbole to highlight the issue he sees. And he’s not wrong in that there are many people, like in this comment section, who act as if there are no negative side effects to consuming cannabis. That is not only wrong but dangerous, because it is a drug and like all drugs it has its downsides that people need to be aware of. Still, personally I think decriminalization was the right thing. But stop acting like cannabis can do no evil.
How are you the only level-headed person in this thread?
The others have smoked too much.😛
I believe the risks of cannabis are significantly less than nearly every other recreational drug out there. Hell, I am a huge psychedelic proponent, which in many cases causes less physical damage than most other drugs but also comes with its own list of caveats.
But yeah, I see what you are saying and agree. It is important to understand the correct risks of just about anything in life.
Some dry alcoholics love their soapbox though. I’ll occasionally bash alcohol, but I honestly try to keep my opinion to myself unless I am with other recovering alcoholics. (Repetitive negative reinforcement has a place, believe it or not.) What I am saying is that it is easy for someone in perpetual recovery to get a hair preachy. It’s a thing. (Also guilty here, btw.)
I would wager marijuana, even eating it rather than smoking, is more harmful than coffee. I’m not totally certain, since I don’t drink coffee. I do consume marijuana.
The toxicity level of caffeine is going to be much higher and cause some nasty cardiovascular issues at higher dosages. (I was hospitalized as a teen for a caffeine overdose, actually. It’s not a fun time.)
This is a rough estimate, as I didn’t send too much time looking, but 1.2g of pure caffeine is enough to cause seizures with an estimate I saw of 5-10 grams to be lethal.
The first result I saw for a lethal dose of THC was 1.2g/kg so for a 180lb (81.6kg) person that is about 100g. (That’s a lot of pure THC, btw.)
there are many people […] who act as if there are no negative side effects to consuming cannabis
Nah, I’ve had those negative side effects and I know them well, including depression from withdrawal, short term memory lapses and Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome. They sound bad but they don’t compare to other drugs in the slightest and in my case are incredibly manageable. None of these are permanent or life-changing and go away within a week after quitting cold turkey, which I’ve done many many times. Are you sure you’re not exaggerating the danger bit?
Just because other things are worse doesn’t mean cannabis is good. It’s definitely better in comparison, but it’s still a far cry from being harmless. That’s all I’m saying. I’d argue it should be treated similarly to alcohol, in that you’re not allowed to get it as a minor. And THC content should be better regulated, like alcohol content somewhat is. More THC only for adults, for example. It’s idiotic to demonize cannabis, especially with alcohol being such a big part of everyday life for so many people. But that doesn’t mean it’s fine for everybody to consume THC like it’s nothing.
What you are describing is legalization. The thing that Elton John is railing against here.
Yes. I disagree with him, but I also understand where he’s coming from.
I understand where he is coming from as well, but yes, I disagree with prohibition in general and it’s not for political reasons.
The best way to get someone to do something is to tell them they can’t do it or they shouldn’t do it. It’s human nature, especially during youth.
Yes. Anyone who has experienced physical drug addiction knows that not all drugs/addictions are created equal.
For example, you can literally die from alcohol withdrawal.
If anything, cannabis keeps me sane enough to not need to medicate myself with harder shit to escape this shithole reality.
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I tend to agree, but not for the typical reason…
I’m a cynic. Legal weed opens the door to a new industry with all the worst aspects of big pharma and big tobacco all rolled up into one.
What could possibly go wrong?
Sounds like the problem is capitalism then. Not weed.
Much less of an issue, so long as they also legalize home growers.
Any legalization will lead to the profitization of marijuana. Even if home growing is legal, that will first be marketed as a problem in comparison to good old fashioned, chemical laced, corporate weed. Then either lobbied away. The cynic has himself wrong, he is just observant.
What could possibly go wrong?
Sick people getting what they need?
Sick people being bled dry by the new big pharma… big weed.
I cannot agree there. I have yet to find a pharmaceutical that works as a better pain modifier. Believe me, I have tried. If I was not using it, I would be far less able to get through a day. And I pay less for it than I do my other pills on a per-day basis. My neurologist is fully aware of this too.
l get it, I really do, but you have to understand the cannabis industry at this point is in it’s infancy.
I’m thinking 50-60 years down the line where home grown is pushed out by the weed equivalent of Marlboro and big companies are using crossbreeding to make their weed more addictive, just like big tobacco did.
What I’m saying is, I don’t trust this new industry to not go down the road that big pharma and big tobacco did.
Soooooooooooo, Germany’s Legalization is fine then?
Okay good! (Join the BubatzGartenClub!)
Bin ich cool genug, einzuladen?
Na klar!
I’ve smoked weed for 21 years and have had zero desire to try other, harder, drugs.
Guess I’m just an outlier and all the studies disproving marijuana as a “gateway drug” are bullshit. 🤷🏻♂️
The only reason pot is a gateway drug is because it opens your eyes to altered mental states in a positive light and because the same person selling you the pot is highly likely to offer other things.
People generally want more, the user more intense effects and the dealer more money.
Nevermind that someone wanting to try drugs would just try them anyway if weed didn’t exist.
Marijuana being a gateway drug was just a very successful propaganda phrase
Ej isn’t an American so it’s none of his business really. Everyone likes thc when it becomes legal, Ive seen my very conservative family get stoned a bunch now and they love it. Sorta something the left and the right seem to overwhelmingly agree on
Even if it’s true, legalization would reduce that immensely because you don’t have to buy weed from a dealer who can give you a sweet deal on some harder drugs but grow it at home or get it from a store instead, where you won’t be upsold illegal substances.
where you won’t be upsold illegal substances
Maybe the term “gateway drug” isn’t a warning for users about their habits but a warning to users about the slippery slope of companies realizing the next drug needs to be legalized and put on the shelf next to weed for more of that sweet, sweet money.
