Cannabis, Good or bad?

[dingodan]

"Cannabis is not a health problem, the problem is that it promotes social values and attitudes that are unwelcome in capitalist, market based societies. It is just that simple.

A drug like coffee, with a horrendous health profile when compared to Cannabis, is completely welcomed into the market place and the home and the lifestyle of modern people.

We value certain states of mind and we fear and suspect others."

Terence McKenna


Study Finds No Cancer-Marijuana Connection - washingtonpost.com

Marijuana might cause new cell growth in the brain - health - 13 October 2005 - New Scientist

Cannabis destroys cancer cells... reveals research at Barts and The London, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry Queen Mary, University of London

BBC NEWS | Health | Cannabis compound 'halts cancer'

 

[Seagull27]

Interesting article on some celebrities' views today:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13625241

 

[gullshark]

My issue with it is that by generally buying illegal drugs you are generally funding other criminal activities... Probably less so than if you buy some class a drugs but there is more to it than the stoner sat in his pants infront of the tv.

 

[Icy Gull]

i accept that. but its not "new" and there are other strains that are higher. its a word the tabloids have picked up on, to make it different from the joints they and their readership had in their youth, so they can pretend not to be hypocrites.

Quite how suggesting that a much stronger form of dope is not for me makes me a hypocrite I'm not sure. I would have never taken up smoking dope if I'd had to smoke skunk that has been made available to me, not because I'm being judgemental but because I didn't enjoy being stoned on it.

 

[Seagull27]

My issue with it is that by generally buying illegal drugs you are generally funding other criminal activities... Probably less so than if you buy some class a drugs but there is more to it than the stoner sat in his pants infront of the tv.

What if it was legalised?

This would also mean a level of quality control, so it being mixed with other unknown drugs would be less common.

 

[Bakero]

As with anything, moderation is key. Although you're less likely to get attacked by someone who's overindulged on weed than a drunkard. A pot head's also less of a drain on the NHS than someone who's more than a little partial to pies.

Skunk is stronger than the weed of the 70s, this is true. Whisky is also stronger than beer. Do you drink pints of whisky? No? Perhaps stoners have come up with a similar idea.

 

[Icy Gull]

this local man is the best anti cannabis advert there is.

Is that Martin Brundle relaxing after a Grand Prix?

 

[beorhthelm]

Quite how suggesting that a much stronger form of dope is not for me makes me a hypocrite I'm not sure.

the hypocrite thing was really aimed at the media, they shake their fist as dope smoking then remember their readers probably did it when they were teens. where did we get the idea that skunk is stronger and therefore bad from, other than them? surely if its stronger, you could just use less, that was the philosophy when i was around it? we dont think 14% wine is worse for social problems than 4% lager - indeed the effects of drinking the weaker seems to be more harmfull socially.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

I think the best advert for the anti-dope argument is that welsh c*** Howard Marks, f*cking mess.

My old chum, Howard, a mess? He never used to be.

But I guess that's what years in prison can do for you.

 

[Icy Gull]

. where did we get the idea that skunk is stronger and therefore bad from, other than them?

I got that opinion from smoking it, time was (for me) you'd roll a joint, some were stronger than others but you'd just get stoned sometimes very, sometimes mildly. Three hits on some skunk joints I've been given and I ended up with palpitations 10 minutes later. Now I reckon I'd have to partake of three or four joints in the 70's to get into that state. Sure part of it could be because I was older and didn't smoke much but at the time I spoke to quite a few people I was smoking around and found that they had actually stopped smoking skunk because of the effect it had on them, and they were quite young in comparison to me..

I may be wrong but I would imagine that regular smoking of skunk could lead to all sorts of problems the earliest sympton probably being paranoia and I'd say that is bad.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Whilst I have no issues with it's use it's a pity that there aren't more sophisticated ways of detecting it's use by drivers who are under the influence behind the wheel.

This is one of the big problems because it stays in the system for a couple of days. Germany had tested a sweat test taking sweat off a brow and testing it but I'm not sure if it is widely used yet.

 

[Max Paper]

still waiting for that pm guys

 

[beorhthelm]

I got that opinion from smoking it,

apologies, i made the assumption you were going by the daily outrage, rather than experience which is too often absent from the debate. i have no illusion that cannabis in its many forms is harmless, different people have different tolerances and different physiologies. the risks arent mitigate by banning it, that obvious to a blind man, acepting some might partake and regulating, controlling and educating properly are the better option.

 

[cannedheat]

Smoke the stuff by all means but if you end up a neurotic waste of space why should the NHS help you.

And watching 50 and 60+ year old's smoking it is a joke the poor old sad fuckers are just hanging in desperation to there past.

 

[Seagull27]

Smoke the stuff by all means but if you end up a neurotic waste of space why should the NHS help you.

And watching 50 and 60+ year old's smoking it is a joke the poor old sad fuckers are just hanging in desperation to there past.

Couldn't you say the same about anyone who smokes/drinks/eats unhealthily? Infact, I'm reasonably confident all three of those cost far far more to the NHS.

 

[cannedheat]

Couldn't you say the same about anyone who smokes/drinks/eats unhealthily? Infact, I'm reasonably confident all three of those cost far far more to the NHS.

The subject is cannabis.

 

[dingodan]

The subject is cannabis.

The subject of that post was the use of the NHS. Fact is pissheads, tobacco smokers, burger eaters and coffee drinkers cost the NHS more than cannabis smokers do, and by some considerable margin too.

Cannabis changes ur values. Thats why it is not welcome in our society. Period.

 

[Rowdey]

I got that opinion from smoking it, time was (for me) you'd roll a joint, some were stronger than others but you'd just get stoned sometimes very, sometimes mildly. Three hits on some skunk joints I've been given and I ended up with palpitations 10 minutes later. Now I reckon I'd have to partake of three or four joints in the 70's to get into that state. Sure part of it could be because I was older and didn't smoke much but at the time I spoke to quite a few people I was smoking around and found that they had actually stopped smoking skunk because of the effect it had on them, and they were quite young in comparison to me..
.

I agree - back in the 80's it was mainly just 'bush/weed' and actually was quite a nice toot, and you could carry on about your business.
(I was never good on resin, no matter what)
I remember having rolled up leaves tied with a bit of string from India, very nice and very mild.
Just can't deal with the 'normal' skunk that about nowadays, so don't bother at all.
So, to answer the OP - used to be good, but now bad..

 

[BadFish]

I started smoking in the late 80's, mainly resin and weed and i enjoyed it. Then came skunk and it just made me quiet paranoid and freaked. The people i smoked it with handled it better than me and i stopped. I noticed pretty early on how some people could continue their day and get stuff done, I never could.

I think it causes less social problems than other drugs and it should be down to personal choice. I also think that people should be careful when using it because it undoubtedly magnifys the mental health problems.

 

[perseus]

Did Queen Victoria have a bong?

OECD figures (take with a pich of snuff) for cannabis and marijuana

Cannabis use statistics - countries compared worldwide - NationMaster

Different contrasting figures

The number of problematic long-term users of heroine/cocaine/crack/amphetamines per 1000 inhabitants in the Netherlands is 2.2 to 4.3. In the UK the figures are 8.9 to 9.7, Spain: 7.1 to 9.9, Austria: 5.4 to 6.1, Sweden 4.5 (Sweden has a high percentage of amphetamine users), France: 3.8 to 4.8, and Germany: 1.2 to 3.0.

Of the Dutch population aged 15 to 64, 3.3 percent used cannabis last month, reveals Kerssemakers. “If you compare this figure with other countries you see that in Spain 8 percent of the population between 15 and 64 used cannabis last month, in Austria 4 percent of the same population, in Ireland 3 percent, in Belgium 3 percent, in Norway and Finland 2 percent, and in the US 10 to 14 percent,” he says.


Dealing with drugs the Dutch way < Expats Amsterdam | Expatica The Netherlands

It is still a minority recreation

Most interesting:
BBC NEWS | Programmes | Panorama | Timeline: the use of cannabis

1890 Queen Victoria is prescribed cannabis for period pains. Her personal doctor claims: "It is one of the most valuable medicines we possess."