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scalliano
Elite
Posts: 1095
Yup, that's me
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Yeah, saw this today. I wouldn't dismiss the findings out of hand, but I'd be highly surprised if the same couldn't be said for underage drinking. In fact, lots of things can make you stupid over time, but they're not all illegal.
IMO all this does is fuel the argument for legalization. With legalization comes regulation, and it would be much tougher for kids to get their hands on the stuff. Granted, it's not a fullproof solution, counterfeit cigs and alcohol are still rife today, but it would ceratinly close some of the channels, particularly where the harder stuff is concerned.
I, for one, never said marijuana was harmless. The conventional method of consumption is through smoking it, which is dangerous in and of itself. It's also carcinogenic, and it's already been established that excessive use can cause mental health problems later in life. None of which had anything to do with my quitting.
I smoked a lot of weed in my early-mid 20's - mainly bongs as I don't smoke smoke - but I sort of grew out of it naturally. My piece hasn't been used now in over a year, and the last time was about a year before that. I guess I just got used to thinking again. Moderation is the key.
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PSN ID: scalliano
The Arena knows no gender, colour or creed, only skill.
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Thomas Mink
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Yeah, saw this today. I wouldn't dismiss the findings out of hand, but I'd be highly surprised if the same couldn't be said for underage drinking. In fact, lots of things can make you stupid over time, but they're not all illegal. Maybe it's just my area, but I'd say drinking in general. Everyone's always looking to get 'wasted' and 'shitfaced'.. hitting up liquor stores for a bottle after work. The underage kids and the adults are equal around here. Just makes me groan. And yes, I know, I judge people. I can't help it. |
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J3E125
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Everyone's always looking to get 'wasted' and 'shitfaced'
I agree with scalliano, "Moderation is the key" |
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Phoenix
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And yes, I know, I judge people. I can't help it. Everyone judges. It's a fact of life. It's also necessary to a degree. If judgements about behavior were never made, societies would tolerate the intolerable. Murder, rape, theft - such actions tend to be universally condemned because people almost universally judge those behaviors to be unacceptable. Most behaviors inhabit more of a grey area of acceptability, both from a moral and legal standpoint. My concern over certain behaviors, such as the partaking of cannabis, is strictly in regards to the physiological harm that it may or may not inflict upon the partaker.
I view this with a similar mindset to alcohol consumption. It is legal, but it can be harmful. Too much, or mixed with the wrong kind of drugs and it is fatal. Intoxication while driving or operating machinery puts lives at risk. Excessive consumption over time destroys the liver. Certain people become easily addicted to it. If there was a human equivalent to catnip - something that gave people an emotional high with no negative side effects - I certainly would not care about it, anymore than I would care about someone eating chocolate or having an ice cream cone. I've seen the harm that misuse of alcohol can do. One very close friend was nearly killed by a drunk driver. He also knows two individuals who have died due to alcohol-related complications, one being the accidental but fatal mixing of prescription medications with alcohol. His father nearly died of alcohol poisoning at a young age. He is a teetotaler himself as a result of his life experiences. I myself would not touch alcohol as it is toxic to birds, just as chocolate is. No it cannot kill Phoenix, but it could make Phoenix very, very sick for a while. Plus I cannot stand the smell of anything fermenting, but I digress...
My point is that, while others have rightly said that moderation is key, awareness is what enables a person to be responsible about what they do. There's also the issue of what someone has done in the past. How many people may have used cannabis of some sort while young and not known that they could have suffered damage as a result? A lot of things that may seem harmless at the time can be found after the fact to be damaging. Radium "treatments" were used on some people, often children, during the 1940's to shrink tonsils and swollen nasal passages. It was later discovered that these treatments were lethal later in life in a majority of the cases as people developed cancer, and that the problems they were treating went away naturally during development over time. If they had known that prior they never would have done so. Sometimes you learn these things after the fact. Still, knowing after the fact is better than never knowing at all. It is knowing that enables people to make informed judgements, as opposed to making prejudices. |
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  I fly into the night, on wings of fire burning bright...
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fourier
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I have never drank or done any drugs in my life, and it's almost offensive to some people. "What?! You don't drink? Here let me make you drink this." It's funny how people react to that by being compelled to get me to drink, typically ending in, "You're no fun" because I don't waiver. Beer smells disgusting to me, period, so I would never drink it. I have no moral issue with drinking, I just choose not to.
I never liked the idea of inebriation, since I like being intelligent, rational, practical, etc -- all things which decrease the more you drink. I know you can have a bit to get a small buzz, but it seems like a waste of money. I guess I just never got the why of it, and it never has appealed to me.
From what I understand, the best tasting drinks are the ones with juice or various other ingredients added -- it doesn't taste that good by itself, it's mostly for the buzz. Why not just have juice or a soda like beverage if you like carbonation? Because they want the buzz! "It's good for stress relief and unwinding" people say. Well if I can do those things without becoming dependent on a liquid to accomplish them, then why would I opt for the dependency?
This whole line of discussion is considered "un-fun" by most people. The funny thing is that though this line of thinking may be boring to these people, my in person sense of humour and various forms of wit is usually very interesting and fun for people. In other words, as long as one doesn't make it serious, one won't have a boring conversation with me.
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death_stalker
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Heh... I know too many that fit that "stereotype" in that article and are nothing like that. But then again that could be a rarity that might not happen that often. Those and other studies really kill me sometimes.  <--- sometimes they are doing just that. ugh  |
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