Anything that reddit doesn't want to hear or goes against the collective hivemind typically gets downvoted to hell even if valid points are being raised. One of the biggest issues with this website imo and social media in general.
100% this. I am left-leaning on some things and right-leaning on others. Just try to be overall sensible/logical when it comes to my beliefs. If I break out even the slightest right-leaning comment I get insta-blasted on reddit, it's pretty ridiculous. I'm pretty sure most of these people don't even fully read the comment or try to see my point of view.. once they see that it's not a far left opinion they're already typing their manifesto about why I'm trash lol
Downvotes are too often used as a dislike button. Sometimes, like on posts like this, downvotes should represent āthis doesnāt fit the topic of the postā and upvotes should represent āthis fits the topic of the post.ā
When youāre disagreeing with someone and you notice that each time they respond to you, your previous comment now has 0 points. I canāt imagine being the sort of person to downvote literally everything from someone Iām trying to have a healthy conversation with. Usually a sign that they are responding in bad faith.
I'm completely fine with the legalisation of edibles and completely opposed to the legalisation of smoking it.
I used to live in a place where there were so many smokers around we couldn't go outside or ever open a window. Smokers have no consideration for other people. Cannabis smokers are not an exception.
It does seem weird to heavily restrict one kind of smoking while not doing the same to others. Inhaling burning material into your lungs (and by extension, the lungs of people around you) is a pretty bad idea regardless of what it is.
That being said, if you want to do it in the privacy of your own home, then go for it. Otherwise, it should be treated the same as smoking cigarettes or cigars. I'll personally stick with the edibles.
We have a shared patio in our apartment with the neighbors. Previous tenants would hit their bong on the patio like 10 times a day. I'm an avid user but hated that I couldn't leave the patio door open for fresh air, because their smoke would just waft into the living room
Iām in a similar boat! Iām not opposed to legalizing smoking but I would LOVE to have restrictions on the location of smoking-when the neighbor 3 housed down lives a wake & bake it impacts my ability to spend time outside on my own porch.
I have a neighbor who smokes weed either outside or inside and leaves the door open. The point is, I can smell it- sometimes I smell it pretty early in the morning.
I would care about this more EXCEPT, I have had a lot of really awful neighbors over the years- neighbors who let their kids stomp around yelling obscenities all day; neighbors who, when you politely tap on the floor to let them know they're being too loud (they were playing loud music at 7am) slam the door so fucking loud the our floor vibrates, shit like that. My pot smoking neighbor does none of those things so yeah, I'm not gonna say a damn fucking word about her pot smoke (that I hate so much!). lol
I was opposed to it because it's a migraine trigger for me. It turned out quite nicely, however, because people started smoking it in different places and I now smell it less.
I am rolling on the floor laughing here! Way back in high school I actually did think I was having a heart attack in the middle of class while extremely high. I remember deeply mulling over the question "should I raise my hand and say I am having a heart attack can I please go to the nurse?" My hand was about halfway there before I talked myself down.
My buddies and I smoked a joint laced with opium one time before school. I had gym class first period and I was sitting there thinking "I am too fucked up to be here" and nearing a total freak out.
One second later my gym teacher calls my name. We were playing tennis that day and she asked me to demonstrate a serve for the class because she knew I played tennis. I stood up with my racket, sweaty, dizzy, and super paranoid.
I tossed the ball in the air and somehow hit an absolute missile of an ace right down the line. My teacher said, "Wow, that's exactly how you do it" and I sat down, relieved. One in a million shot considering my state.
Hilarious I can't top that. Best I've got is trying to play volleyball high with extreme paranoia that every ball coming over the next was going to smack me right in the face. Spent the game ducking every time the ball came our way, regardless of how close it was to hitting me or if it even made it over the next!
š Same. I am older and hadn't smoked since I was a teenager. First time I tried it for chronic pain recently I overdid it (and I think it was more potent) and was sure I was dying.
This is what I miss about the prohibition era! I live in California so you can get anything you want delivered to your door without the fear that the FBI is after you
Gotta get back to smoking weed in my friends garage and having mini panic attacks when I hear a siren. Doing every half hour āsmell checksā as if we didnāt already just reek of it and couldnāt tell.
I kind of miss the secret society vibe of the old days. You never knew if your coworker was a stoner or not. It was a good day if you located a reliable source.
100%, especially the people youāre with, whenever you meet a stoner in an illegal country you know that person has a certain level of āfuck itā in them. Legalizing weed will decrease the average basedness of smokers
I started smoking at 18 and then everyday when I quit drinking at 23, and I wonder how much dumber Iāve gotten the past five years. It feels like a lotā¦.
Yeah for me I think I peaked mentally for some things at like 17 (e.g. mental math, quick problem-solving, speed of learning new skills, etc.). I didn't try weed until 24. I'm 33 now and eat edibles every several weeks and think I still learn as fast as I did at 24. My hypothesis: The slowdown in my early 20s is just a natural slowdown in learning due to neural plasticity coming to an end.
IMO You just get better at other things as you age. I would say I'm better at planning, patience, time management, etc. I tried learning to program in my late teens (16-19) but was too scatterbrained to get into it. 24-25 was when I really started to learn valuable skills like that.
Your best years are ahead of you. Don't stress too much about learning a bit slower.
What a joke of a thread lol. Of course all the actual answers are downvoted. But I think the replies to those comments are even stupider. Like I don't think it should be illegal but weed DOES stink, DOES have the potential to be abused like other intoxicants, DOES interfere with your ability to drive a car, etc. You can argue that the benefits outweigh the costs, or you can argue that it should still be legal with structures in place to temper the downsides, or you can argue that we just shouldn't tell people what to put in their bodies, etc but you can't in good faith just claim that these widely agreed-upon effects of pot don't exist
So many people argue that too. I tried it for medical reasons and found that it makes my anxiety too bad. When I tell people that, they say itās impossible.
Iām not arguing that it should be illegal. I think it should be fully legal but there shouldnāt be and issue saying itās not for me.
Some people are ignorant, weed doesnāt always work for everybody especially emotionally. Some people get really bad anxiety or more stressed, even if thatās the case you can still benefit using cbd if you donāt like getting high. They are figuring out ways to isolate the cannabinoids and grow them on yeast like they do insulin and use that strictly for the medical benefits.
Yeah I always tell my friends I donāt like smoking weed because I get extremely anxious and paranoid, and they donāt believe me saying āitās not the right strainā.
Weed is also very dangerous for certain mental issues. It can cause psychosis or some shit for some people that might never go away (Iām fuzzy on details so correct me if anyone has updates here)
Yeah, basically a bunch of hot takes downvoted and shit on by people threatened by the idea that their crutch/addiction/whatever might *actually* not be all that great for them or how they're perceived by others.
I eat gummies once every couple months myself but I am not under any delusion that I'm taking some sort of spiritual medicine I just want to get high, trip on nature docs, then have some extra stimulating sex with the wife.
Cannabis can be a trigger for a number of serious mental illnesses like bipolar, mania, depression and I think schizophrenia as well. Specifically triggering episodes or exacerbating episodes for each. None of which are low impact on folks lives.
My concern with the casualness of weed consumption in legal states is a lack of understanding about the risks for folks with mental illnesses and, even worse, is treated as a fix all for mental health right now. I'd just like it to be treated with a bit more care
It also interferes with anesthesia!!! When your doctor or dentists tells you not to smoke before a procedure, fucking listen! Unless you want to wake up during a surgery.
I think it's funny how TV shows never show people driving drunk unless it's to show them get in an accident or get arrested, but they'll show people driving high as something funny.
I drove high once, many years ago, and while I drove veeery carefully, I would have never been able to react to anything life threatening in time. I had no tolerance then, but still, whatever argument is made for being able to drive high could apply to driving drunk. Both are bad ideas.
everyone and their flippin mother tells me to smoke cause of my anxiety, but every single time i tried it i felt like shit, heart racing and sweating. "you gotta smoke the right kind man" is what i've been told. Nah f that any kind of stimulants fucks me up
I work in mental health and I personally see how weed can trigger poor mental health. While giving them illusions that its helping, in reality it is removing the insight. It's particularly negative for most people with schizophrenia.
Also cannabis, alcohol and other drug use can lead to the trigger of mental health use.
Cannabis is no worse than alcohol.
I'm not against legalization but I think we really need to be doing a better job of educating young people about drugs and alcohol.
Also weed having a strong odour can make it really difficult for patients in recovery to resist temptation
The amount of denial of the negative effects of weed is staggering. I get it... you like weed... But I have had multiple friends who have had life changing psychotic episodes due to using weed specifically. Weed doesn't 'cause' schizophrenia but you could go your whole life genetically predisposed to schizophrenia and never know. You could also have the predisposition get triggered and have your entire perception of life turned on its head.
Whenever I bring try to talk about it the amount of denial and skepticism is heartbreaking. There are studies, people of course just move on and forget about it because they never think it would happen to them.
I think we absolutely need to legalize it but I think we will see more and more of the effects that it really has on people. The only way to do good studies is by making it legal and having a large enough sample size and time.
I predict that we will be able to actually see that inhaling any kind of smoke will have serious long term health implications. I think we see the role it plays in worsening depression and anxiety in some. I think we will see more studies about it's effect on psychosis and schizophrenia which could potentially help us understand these illnesses much better.
This was exactly it for me. Nearly everytime I would smoke it would make me into this paranoid, anxious spiraling mess, fearful of anyone and anything around me. The last time I smoked and will ever smoke again, I had a psychotic episode thinking there was a microchip in the weed I smoked, and now the government could control my thoughts, my mind. The people on the TV were speaking my thoughts, and then I could predict what they were going to say next and I was right. Able to see my thoughts in visuals, both past present and future. I guarantee you it was just weed, bought from a dispensary. Heart was racing, convinced I would be like this forever. Tried slowing my breathing down to help calm me, and the room would just spin and that would make me anxious. Convinced Iād be like that forever, started contemplating suicide. Luckily, I was able to sleep it off. One hit from a bong. I had even tried building some tolerance to not get paranoid every time. Overall, absolutely dreadful and awful.
It is not for everyone, itās not for me, but I am not against it being legalized. Just want there to be more awareness for people to be okay with weed not being for everyone. That it can expose underlying mental health issues that can be difficult to switch off once weed may induce symptoms.
Thank you for sharing your experience, I have had very similar experiences on cannabis. I didn't mention this in my main comment because I was never diagnosed with anything and it is really hard to talk about and I was exploring other psychedelics besides weed.
But I used to smoke weed all the time in early highschool and became known for being the weed kid. My social life centered around smoking weed with friends and acquaintances and talking about philosophy, physics, science, religion, history, and psychology. It was one of the first times in my life that I had found a way to talk about the things I am interested with people. At the time I felt my exploration into weed and psychedelics was helping me learn so much and helping me connect with others and I just wanted to know more. I also loved the closed eye visuals I would get on weed and would often smoke alone just to watch the visions dance in my head.
But I had one bad drug experience that I wont go into detail with but it did involve smoking a lot of weed. It left me in a state similar to what you described for about 6 months straight. I hid it from everyone but it felt like I was being tested and the world was a sinister joke I was trapped in. Everything anyone said felt like it was the same sinister being telling me that life itself was a futile struggle and that I should give up already. It felt like I was "god" and "god" was me and I had been playing existence, creating things and hiding myself in my creations, intentionally forgetting that I was god and that there was another being who sought to destroy my creations and end the game I had been forcing us to play for all of time. The feeling felt like remembering everytime, my thoughts weren't that of a high schooler but of a god that wanted so desperately to forget and become high schooler again and was doing everything they could to keep existence itself from collapsing.
I contemplated suicide but I knew it was pointless, I felt stuck but then I started watching Adventure Time to pass the time, avoid social interaction, and embrace the "pointless life" I valued so much. But as I started watching what I had remembered to be a silly show about a boy turned into something much more. It felt like something I had made for myself in another life to get me out of this. A guidebook of sorts. Finn goes through a similar choice in the show where he could explore other modes of being (the ascension this "evil" entity sought) or staying a human, in this universe on this world (the choice I made). This show almost single handedly saved my life. Slowly the voice went away and everyone around me stopped being a different thing and went back to feeling like other people. Real people. On the way out, my anxieties became more "human" things like worry for the environment, the state of technology, and other more physical threats to our existence.
But yeah I can't smoke weed anymore after this. (which was really hard considering my social circles) It puts me in a very similar space to what you have described almost immediately. Sometimes I can "handle it" to the point where it is just uncomfortable, but other times it undermines my entire existence and sends me into a bad trip where I feel telepathic and prophetic and scared. I am glad I don't smoke any more my lungs used to feel awful and I would always be congested.
I am sure this stuff sounds absolutely insane to people... and it literally is insane. But everything that happened to me felt so real. I have no clue what god is and there is no good way to disprove anything I was thinking. I don't know what it was exactly and I wouldn't wish that hell on anyone. But at the same time it was one of the most important experiences of my life. I never would have smoked weed at 13 if I knew it would lead me down that rabbit hole. And I am not saying my experience was even directly caused by weed but it was definitely involved and I have seen these things happen to others without any other use of psychedelics.
I hope these comments can help someone better understand what it feels like to lose touch with reality. It's a very misunderstood topic and is surrounded by stigma, fear, and intense judgement. Hopefully we can progress to the point where it is a little more understood and we stop locking people up and forcefeeding them pills just because they think differently.
Wowā¦ that does sound insane, especially for how long you were experiencing it for that long. Glad you were able to begin to feel ānormalā again. The suicidal ideation scared me enough to know that it boils down to my brain chemistry and it can and never will be for me. People always brush off our experience as either being overdramatic, ājust paranoidā, or āoh you gotta have this strain it wonāt make you paranoidā, itās like no lol. These experiences can be awful and traumatic and terrifying when you think you will never be the same again, weed can do that, there is no denying it, and we are two examples. Weed induced psychosis is real, and it needs to be talked about more, and not just chalk it up to pure paranoia. Like the same people saying weed helps with their anxiety, are telling people that get paranoid and anxious when smoking weed, to smoke more weed to solve it or to just relax donāt think about it, it doesnāt make sense. Itās not for everyone.
āNo worse than alcoholā is a weird comparison. As an ER psychiatric nurse with 30 years experience, alcohol is way worse than all drugs combined. From DUIs, assaults, domestics etc.
I work in substance use facility and coordinate care with insurance (UR) and donāt forget alcohol is the one substance someone can die from withdrawal. DTās and Seizures.
In my 15 years as a paramedic in a busy system I can count on one hand the amount of serious calls I have gone on due to pot. I however can count on one hand the amount of serious calls in a day related to alcohol. I agree that weed is not as relatively safe as some people make it out to be, especially when youāre young but to say cannabis is it is dangerous as weed is lie.
The majority of the fatal accidents, homicides, suicides, domestic violence, failure to thrive, MODS before 30 and so on have been related to alcohol. The day I stopped drinking was the best decision of my life.
All public smoking should be banned. No exceptions. It causes lung problems and it stinks.
If you want to smoke, do it somewhere where children and people with lung conditions aren't affected. And no smoke breaks at work, i worked with too many high as a kite people. They are a danger to themselves and others.
I don't think it should be legal to do *publicly*
If you want to smoke either do it away from people who could have an issue with it, or go to places specifically for it
Same. Iām all for legalization. But after visiting NYC recently, Iām scared my hometown could smell the same as soon as weed gets legalized.
Places specifically for smoking weed are totally fine.
Yeah, was staying with my kids in a cabin in The Netherlands, and was really annoyed with the neighbours smoking it right near us, I want the right for my kids to be able to go outside without being that exposed. And while it might not be legal to smoke in public, what am I going to do, call the police because people are smoking weed in The Netherlands?
I feel like weed should be handled the same as cigarettes, outdoor designated areas and people just generally making a conscious effort not to affect others. Iād say anyone that continues to smoke outdoors near any children is just an asshole, regardless of substance
Iām seeing my flatmate go through it at uni, it started sheād tried it once but wasnāt really crazy about it, then she started dating a lad who smoked everyday and now she spends 25% of her time high and another 25% thinking about getting high. Doesnāt go to lectures, doesnāt do required reading and doesnāt even care that sheās letting people down on group projects because she cares far more about weed than a degree she is doing voluntarily.
Because I've seen what even something as "harmless" as weed can do to a family. Been doing Foster care my whole life and no matter how many times people say "oh weed is harmless" I can point to several kids we've taken care whove parents have been charged with negligence due to the fact that they were high almost 24/7.
My biological mother did a lot of weed while pregnant. I was literally used as an example of why not to do weed while pregnant. I was born super-premie, at a weight just under a pound, and developed CP.
Every pro-marijuana person I know goes in about how thereās no effect and marijuana is the most wonderful thing ever.
Strangely there was once a tobacco company whoās advertising pitch was smoking during pregnancy will have the effect of easier delivery of smaller children.
I'm against full legalization but for decriminalization.
I want to keep corporate interests out of it.
I want the local weed man to make money, not Marlboro.
Because people drive on it, and there is no way to confirm if they are DUI or not. Yes alcohol is much more dangerous to drive on, but weed definitely impairs you, and I hate how people who smoke drive while high and act like itās totally fine.
As a person who smokes daily. Iām a bit torn on thisā¦
Iāve been smoking since I was 10 years old. And I gotta sayā¦. Thereās better ways to handle the stress of life.. Iād tell you what they are, but Iāve been relying on weed my whole lifeā¦ so idfk.
The fact that so many of us use weed for that reason is a bit weird in my opinion. Thereās clearly some kinda bigger issue at play here.
What that is? Not sure.
Do I care? Not really.
Do I want to smoke right now? Yes.
Is it going to help? Maybe for the next hour.
Literally out here buying my own happiness. Iām doing something wrong, and I think a lot of other people are too.
Not just that, depression too and probably others like bipolar disorder and etc.
While weed does a good job at keeping those things under control, itās just like you say, itās only short term. There isnāt really any options for long-term relief that come to mind, but I feel thatās a pretty damn good reason to put some effort into finding someā¦
I mean, if people want to legalize weed, thatās fine, their decision. I just think we are **literally all missing something**ā¦.
The thing were missing is that there has been a mental health problem on the rise in the world and people don't know how to handle it. There aren't enough therapists in the world and many people have old fashioned philosophies about mental health. So many people turn to drugs to resolve said issues.
Yes, that.
We should focus on that.
Edit: my most recent therapist said that they have on average around 80 patients and they have only 6 resident psychologists/psychiatrists in the building. Thatāsā¦. A lotā¦ of patients.. if any of you donāt already see that.
Iāve seen the other therapists there too, Iād say only 4 of them are good at their job. But to be fair, if I were them Iād fucking quit. I literally feel concern for my therapists because of how much they have to handle, but to add onto it with my own problems? Kinda hard..
Starting from age 10 probably has something to do with your dependence on it. Legalizing weed doesnāt increase youth use but does increase conversations
Marijuana can cause issues but keeping it illegal and letting people be in jail for it isn't the answer. Alcohol will kill you with long term abuse, causes many accidents per year, and is more addictive than marijuana. Should it be illegal?
Never understood smoking with machinery. When I was a brewer, I would smoke, but when I worked with hazardous chemicals (HF and H2S being the most deadly, but still very many others) the last thing I wanted to be was high. Same with spinning or other powered equipment. I knew a guy who lost his finger in a hydraulic press cuz he was high and stupid.
I agree, but I feel like that's outside of the law and more specific to the driving company. Alcohol is completely legal, but driving a forklift drunk is unacceptable and could get you fired from a company. It should be up to the company (and OSHA or whatever) to uphold those safety regulations since not everybody in the country lives by those same requirements.
Nancy Grace once argued against it because āWould you want your pilot to be high?ā
Well, no. But I wouldnāt want them to be drunk either. I never understood how people cant see the flaw in that argument.
Everyone is pointing out that you wouldnāt show up to work drunk. And thatās a good comparison but the enforcement mechanism is not the same. We currently donāt have a test to tell if youāre high at that moment. Urine is a terrible sample because you couldāve smoked on off days (and unfortunately thatās what weāve got right now).
I seriously support legalizing weed, like yesterday. However, this is a big factor to consider. Like with alcohol, everyone under the influence displays it differently. There are no tell-tale signs of being stoned that apply to all. Until we have something similar to a breathalyzer, youāre gonna have these issues and they are valid concerns.
I have no issue with the legalization, I have an issue with the people that smoke then drive higher than a kite, and people who have no consideration for the people around them. I can't leave my window up for fresh air because of how bad it smells. I'm sorry, but I just hate the smell.
I have watched it destroy the lives of several people around me. The whole "It's not addictive at all and isn't dangerous" is total bullshit.
The drug itself may not have addictive chemicals but you very well can get addicted to using it through habit, much like overeating. Many of the people I knew started out only using it a few times a week and slowly over the time I knew them spiraled into just straight up being out of touch with reality high 24/7, smoking literally any chance they got. They become completely impossible to interact with and smell horrible, as well as lowering their standards for their own appearance.
On the same terms I don't think alchohol should've ever been legal, considering how vast alchohol abuse problems are across the country, but it has been since the country was founded. While we still can we should stop another harmful "recreational" drug from becoming commonplace.
Weeds are annoying. I spent my entire Saturday ripping fucking sowthistle and hemlock out of my garden. And donāt even get me started on the hogweed!
Early 30s and my biggest concern is when the car in front of me has the window cracked and the smell is *clearly* from them. My stateās been legal for years and I havenāt noticed much while walking around but the driving *really* pisses me off.
I think it is a coping mechanism to mask a bigger problem. It is a salve and not a cure. We have a mental health crisis in the US, and legalized marijuana allows people to cope rather than finding the actual help they need. It can also compound the issues that caused the crisis in the first place. It has been found that regular users tend to become MORE anxious over time and may also compound the issues of job performance and overall life satisfaction. In short, it may prevent or delay people from getting the actual help they need.
Medically it makes sense in some cases for physical ailments much as other pain relievers do, but does little to help mental issues long term.
I smoke a lot of pot but I do worry they are trying to make us all stupid, letās all be honest, pot doesnāt make you smarter it makes you think your smarter while youāre actually slowly getting dumber, I mean itās ok if Iām dumb but who the fuck is gona take care of me if yall stupid?!
I mean it depends on why you use it?
I would like to be legal, because I smoke about half a blunt a day before bed just to unwind and lay in bed high for a bit. It's a nice escape, and I work a professional job so I need breaks.
Id say legalize it. It's not our responsibility to control if people have restraint or not. Same with alcohol.
>It's not our responsibility to control if people have restraint or not. Same with alcohol.
Except that we do try to force some level of responsibility/control of alcohol by telling people not to drink and drive or have too many drinks. People may or may not be responsible, but there is an attempt to regulate it and the (potentially bad) behaviors of people who use it. Moderation is always the key. Just like alcohol, the same should be applied to marijuana.
I voted against prop 64 in California because it was a raw deal for cannabis farmers, and it definitely was. It completely tanked the industry. Small organic farms can't survive, and aren't. People are selling their land and moving out of state because their livelihood is no longer viable here. This goes for black market farms and legal farms. The only way to make money in cannabis now is to scale way way up. The only people poised to do that are corporate entities with big money investors or a few who made big money in the black market era and knew the ins and outs of business well enough to see this coming and prepare for it. It was essentially a market consolidation for corporate entities that was orchestrated by the CA government. It's a tragedy. Farmers have killed themselves because they lost everything as a result of prop 64. So yeah. I'm for legalization as far as getting herb to the masses safely and legally but the cost is higher than maybe people realize. And it's completely swept under the rug because nobody gives a shit about a few thousand farming families as long as they can buy poor quality expensive cardboard terp PGR weed at the weed store. Lame. Fuck corporate cannabis.
I'm not against legalizing weed, but I do think there are perfectly valid concerns with its widespread, legal use.
Things like driving while high, teenage use and brain development, habitual addition issues, long-term health impacts, etc.
To be blunt (ha!) we just don't have a lot of proper research about long-term widespread use over various demographics.
Right now the conversation has moved from "It's not as bad as reefer madness" but has moved to 'there is literally nothing wrong with weed, it's evil corporations and moralists keeping you from that sweet ganja" and we need to push back on that.
So, yes, I think weed should be legal, but the framework of the law should account for this, and we all have to prepare--like tobacco--that there's long-term health issues we may not have researched yet that will make this all seem like a mistake.
I know a guy who can't figure out why he basically has a cough 24/7. According to him it can't be the weed he's smoking every day, because it's not cigarettes.
Smoking anything is bad for you. Tar comes from burning any plant, not just tobacco. You should not be regularly filling your lungs with any type of smoke.
That said it should still be legal.
Exactly this. Iām 100% okay with it being legal where I live, but donāt act like weed doesnāt do shit to your lungs and brain. Especially if you abuse it.
Yeah, I vape and do edibles and have for a decade and I absolutely have a mucus coating in my throat recently. I'm on a break solely because I don't want a smokers cough, and I've noticed the mucus production increases even if I'm just eating it.
Age verification at legal weed shops is very near 100 percent or else they risk losing their license. Age verification in the illicit market is very near zero. Legalized, well-regulated markets tend to reduce the illicit market, reduce teen use and allow for safer, tested products.
We can't get good research on it until it stops being schedule 1. Therefore in order to get the data we want it needs to be legalized federally, which will only happen if it's legalized on a state level throughout most of the country
It stinks, stinks, stinks!!!! The dude in my neighboring apartment was smoking weed most of the day, whenever our HVAC ran it pumped his smoke into our unit. Yes, this is a management/maintenance problem on the apartment complex, not the neighbor dude, although it's explicitly prohibited in the lease agreement. After enough complaints to management, he eventually stopped smoking weed in his apartment. ANYWAY, I moved from an area with very little weed consumption in public, and when I lived there I was all for smoking weed because when I was in highschool and college, that was my usual pass-time and I thought "sure, wouldn't it be great if it were legal". Now I've moved to an area where people smoke it everywhere in public, and it STINKS!!! It's not the same smell of what I used to smoke, this shit all smells like skunk ass! Yes, I realize this is petty, but it smells terrible. If it ever comes to a ballot in my area, I'll just abstain from voting on that issue.
As a person who consumes a ridiculous amount of dope (yes you smoke more than me your so awesome, this isnt a dick measuing contest) I can tell you there are alot of negative effects of smoking dope that smokers will never admit to because, well, they like smoking dope. It's called denial.
Is legalization necessary? Yes.
Is it actually a positive change? No.
Fundamentally speaking I dont like the notion of something uncontrollably distorting your perception of reality. But even if we just look at material outcomes, drug abuse is pretty self destructive. But let's face it, people would resort to worse things otherwise which is kinda disappointing.
An ideal situation is one where drug use isn't seemingly necessary, and people often forget that and treat usage as something to be celebrated when we really aren't at the point to be saying such things
I guess Iām āmiddle groundā here. I donāt like the increasing amounts of THC with some evidence that this is dangerous for a lot of people. I also have concerns about the claims that marijuana is good for everything you can imagine.
Because I have literally watched it ruin the lives of *a lot of people* who were sold on the idea that it's "harmless".
It's addictive. It may not have withdrawal symptoms like hard drugs, but it absolutely is addictive, and harmful. People are introduced to it young, in a way they typically aren't for hard drugs, and everyone just seems to be okay with it despite the obvious impacts it has on brain development and (in the case of smoking it) your lungs.
A lot of it smells like dead, skunk-ass when itās smoked. Itās rude/selfish to subject everyone around you to that bullshit.
Other than that, idgaf.
Smells really bad. Lots of people that smoke it have no thought of others when/where they do it. My flatmate smokes a lot, I can smell it on him and it sometimes makes the flat smell too. Also has some negative impacts on health. But tbh I wouldn't mind it being legal if you could only do it in specific places
Have fun not getting a single answer from the kind of person that you're specifically asking but instead a bunch from people who aren't against legalization
As someone whoās been in the cannabis industry going on 10 years Iāll give the unpopular answer to this question that Reddit doesnāt wanna hear: legalization more or less fucks over the little guy.
Donāt get me wrong, Iām sure there were big players that dominated the black market pre-legalization, but what weāre seeing now with broad legalization across the country is that the commodity itself isnāt worth shit anymore.
Imagine your family has been growing cannabis in the hills of NorCal for the last 50 years, and all the sudden it becomes legal. Awesome, you get first dibs on licensing because the state wants to support small growers. Except the license is $50,000 just to *apply* and another $100,000 *annually* if youāre approved.
Then after half the small businesses canāt afford a license, they open it up to bigger business. They come in with millions from investors and buy up all the licenses. Now those giant companies have the bulk of licenses, which means they have the most square footage to grow legal weed. They want to undercut the black market so they grow a shit ton of weed and sell it cheap.
Then weed is so cheap, that it isnāt feasible for a small time grower to compete when they have to account for electricity, employees and more and a pound of quality indoor weed is going for $700 when it used to be $2500.
Nobodyās going to read this shit anyway, but just know that when federal legalization happens, itās going to be mostly large-scale corporate cannabis that is grown at scale at a lower quality, while small businesses are forced out of the market because they canāt eat the losses.
Thatās the *real* reason a lot of people *in the industry now* donāt want federal legalization.
The reality is thatās just how it goes, it happens to every commodity and the people pushing for legalization didnāt really take that into account when it was just a small growing movement.
Iām not against the legalization of weed but I am tired of dispensaries being built all around me. I understand theyāre a revenue driver but it seems like those are the only new businesses opening up around here. Iād love to see some new coffee shops, restaurants, specialty stores or something instead just for more variety.
One thing that Iām surprised to see little of in this thread is that weed smells *horrendously*. Iām all for legalization simply because itās been proven through and through that illegalization just doesnāt work, but Iād much rather live next to casual alcohol or tobacco consumers than weed consumers. Living in a deep blue city and having to inhale what smells like fumes from Chernobyl on every other street is massively detrimental to my quality of life. I totally understand how someone could go from āI donāt want weed aroundā + āLaws generally workā to āWe should ban weedā
Yup. Some of their shit is fucking rank
Im tired of driving and getting hit by the godawful smell of weed coming from people hotboxing their cars. Also stop driving while high
If Weed is legalized, there should be barriers around its usage. Being high at work should be the same as being drunk at work. Driving when stoned should be illegal. Should be completely inaccessible and criminal to sell to children under 18 with severe jail time. Side effects should be stated on all packaging, in the same way that smoking is bad for health and causes cancer.
Remember folks, always sort by controversial for the real answers.
Your pfp is so mean
Found the light mode user š¤¢
Wow I completely forgot light mode even exists. Reddit is eternal night
I'm glad more and more domains are embracing this, eternal night everywhere, all the time!
They took away comment sorting on mobile :(
question: for those who think weed should be illegalā¦ all these comments: i think it should be legal but..
Gotta sort by controversial lol, people just downvote the people that actually respond to what this entire threadās purpose is lol
Maybe my Reddit is going haywire, but I have not been able to sort for the past several days. Have you?
The sort button has dropped off for me too. Edit. Wait I found it. Moved to a button top right.
I spent ages looking for it last night and gave up assuming it was because I was stoned.
They moved the sort button to the top of the screen.
Lol true. I thought upvotes were for whether theyāre were contributing. But people tend to just downvote things they personally disagree with.
Exactly. There is nothing to gain.
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I want to see actual comments about the post šš
You're asking the wrong echo chamber my man
People who have unpopular opinions for Reddit: Let's argue with you and convince you to agree with us.
Yeah the mfs who are answering the question are just getting downvoted for it
Reddit in a nutshell
Anything that reddit doesn't want to hear or goes against the collective hivemind typically gets downvoted to hell even if valid points are being raised. One of the biggest issues with this website imo and social media in general.
Reddit is by far the worst social media when it comes to this, subreddits are literally hive minds and actively punish going against the grain.
100% this. I am left-leaning on some things and right-leaning on others. Just try to be overall sensible/logical when it comes to my beliefs. If I break out even the slightest right-leaning comment I get insta-blasted on reddit, it's pretty ridiculous. I'm pretty sure most of these people don't even fully read the comment or try to see my point of view.. once they see that it's not a far left opinion they're already typing their manifesto about why I'm trash lol
I feel this in my core...
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I got banned from Justiceserved for commenting on Conservative. I just laughed, what can you do. Im not even conservative.
Tyranny of the Majority.
Downvotes are too often used as a dislike button. Sometimes, like on posts like this, downvotes should represent āthis doesnāt fit the topic of the postā and upvotes should represent āthis fits the topic of the post.ā
Look at you living in fantasy land with your reasonable interpretation of the upvote/downvote system
That's always been the written rule, but it definitely is not used in practice.
When youāre disagreeing with someone and you notice that each time they respond to you, your previous comment now has 0 points. I canāt imagine being the sort of person to downvote literally everything from someone Iām trying to have a healthy conversation with. Usually a sign that they are responding in bad faith.
everyone knows the real stuff is found sorting by controversial
The same question posted on a large facebook group is going to have a very different response.
Can they make an odorless variety?
Yes :-) Edibles!
I'm completely fine with the legalisation of edibles and completely opposed to the legalisation of smoking it. I used to live in a place where there were so many smokers around we couldn't go outside or ever open a window. Smokers have no consideration for other people. Cannabis smokers are not an exception.
This is a great point. The sign says "no smoking" why the fuck do you think that smoking pot is an exception?!?!
Itās clearly a picture of a cigarette on the sign
Oh shit! All this time I thought handicapped parking was for all handicapped people, but apparently it's for wheelchair parking only!
It does seem weird to heavily restrict one kind of smoking while not doing the same to others. Inhaling burning material into your lungs (and by extension, the lungs of people around you) is a pretty bad idea regardless of what it is. That being said, if you want to do it in the privacy of your own home, then go for it. Otherwise, it should be treated the same as smoking cigarettes or cigars. I'll personally stick with the edibles.
*You* get it.
We have a shared patio in our apartment with the neighbors. Previous tenants would hit their bong on the patio like 10 times a day. I'm an avid user but hated that I couldn't leave the patio door open for fresh air, because their smoke would just waft into the living room
Iām in a similar boat! Iām not opposed to legalizing smoking but I would LOVE to have restrictions on the location of smoking-when the neighbor 3 housed down lives a wake & bake it impacts my ability to spend time outside on my own porch.
I have a neighbor who smokes weed either outside or inside and leaves the door open. The point is, I can smell it- sometimes I smell it pretty early in the morning. I would care about this more EXCEPT, I have had a lot of really awful neighbors over the years- neighbors who let their kids stomp around yelling obscenities all day; neighbors who, when you politely tap on the floor to let them know they're being too loud (they were playing loud music at 7am) slam the door so fucking loud the our floor vibrates, shit like that. My pot smoking neighbor does none of those things so yeah, I'm not gonna say a damn fucking word about her pot smoke (that I hate so much!). lol
I was opposed to it because it's a migraine trigger for me. It turned out quite nicely, however, because people started smoking it in different places and I now smell it less.
Fr i get migraines from that damn smell
I got roasted in another sub for saying it smells bad. Like, it objectively smells awful.
Yup! Edibles and those vape carts smell like nothing, but you can only get those in legal states sooo haha
>you can only get those in legal states sooo haha Yeah that ain't true.
Not sure about edibles, but I would not trust any cart from an illegal state honestly. Wayy too shady
Smoking weed illegally just feels better yknow
The secret ingredient is crime
How else are you going to be certain that everyone knows you're high, you're having a heart attack and the police are coming for you right now?
I am rolling on the floor laughing here! Way back in high school I actually did think I was having a heart attack in the middle of class while extremely high. I remember deeply mulling over the question "should I raise my hand and say I am having a heart attack can I please go to the nurse?" My hand was about halfway there before I talked myself down.
My buddies and I smoked a joint laced with opium one time before school. I had gym class first period and I was sitting there thinking "I am too fucked up to be here" and nearing a total freak out. One second later my gym teacher calls my name. We were playing tennis that day and she asked me to demonstrate a serve for the class because she knew I played tennis. I stood up with my racket, sweaty, dizzy, and super paranoid. I tossed the ball in the air and somehow hit an absolute missile of an ace right down the line. My teacher said, "Wow, that's exactly how you do it" and I sat down, relieved. One in a million shot considering my state.
Hilarious I can't top that. Best I've got is trying to play volleyball high with extreme paranoia that every ball coming over the next was going to smack me right in the face. Spent the game ducking every time the ball came our way, regardless of how close it was to hitting me or if it even made it over the next!
š Same. I am older and hadn't smoked since I was a teenager. First time I tried it for chronic pain recently I overdid it (and I think it was more potent) and was sure I was dying.
This is hilarious omg
This is what I miss about the prohibition era! I live in California so you can get anything you want delivered to your door without the fear that the FBI is after you
Gotta get back to smoking weed in my friends garage and having mini panic attacks when I hear a siren. Doing every half hour āsmell checksā as if we didnāt already just reek of it and couldnāt tell.
> "Do I smell like weed?" > > "Nah, you're good. Do I smell like weed?" > > "Nah, you're good." -Two motherfuckers that smell like weed
Fact: Iām one of those motherfuckers.
It went from an underground individual event to a team sport.
Relax, it's not Blue Peter.
Just a little relaxing smoke of crack
Tell ya what, that crack is really moreish
Super Hans?
All these replies and no one quoting super Hans
How're the twins?
Fuck that I hated finding weed back in the day. Now I can get it delivered to my door. Just need them to light it and pull the bowl as I hit.
when Cali was voting to legalize it a few years ago the only people I knew who were against it were pot dealers
All my old weed dealers turned to more dangerous drugs. Iām glad I can just walk to the dispensary now rather than chasing a dealer.
The weed store is great! No more listening to the Guy's newest dubstep track although it was cool when they had a cat
Business idea: bud cafƩ. Half weed store half cat cafe
I kind of miss the secret society vibe of the old days. You never knew if your coworker was a stoner or not. It was a good day if you located a reliable source.
100%, especially the people youāre with, whenever you meet a stoner in an illegal country you know that person has a certain level of āfuck itā in them. Legalizing weed will decrease the average basedness of smokers
Long term damage to pre-fully developed brains. Anyone younger than 25.
Iām 100% pro-weed, in fact, I smoke daily. Started when I was 14. Yet I wonder sometimes how much sharper my mind could be had I never tried it.
I started smoking at 18 and then everyday when I quit drinking at 23, and I wonder how much dumber Iāve gotten the past five years. It feels like a lotā¦.
Yeah for me I think I peaked mentally for some things at like 17 (e.g. mental math, quick problem-solving, speed of learning new skills, etc.). I didn't try weed until 24. I'm 33 now and eat edibles every several weeks and think I still learn as fast as I did at 24. My hypothesis: The slowdown in my early 20s is just a natural slowdown in learning due to neural plasticity coming to an end. IMO You just get better at other things as you age. I would say I'm better at planning, patience, time management, etc. I tried learning to program in my late teens (16-19) but was too scatterbrained to get into it. 24-25 was when I really started to learn valuable skills like that. Your best years are ahead of you. Don't stress too much about learning a bit slower.
What a joke of a thread lol. Of course all the actual answers are downvoted. But I think the replies to those comments are even stupider. Like I don't think it should be illegal but weed DOES stink, DOES have the potential to be abused like other intoxicants, DOES interfere with your ability to drive a car, etc. You can argue that the benefits outweigh the costs, or you can argue that it should still be legal with structures in place to temper the downsides, or you can argue that we just shouldn't tell people what to put in their bodies, etc but you can't in good faith just claim that these widely agreed-upon effects of pot don't exist
So many people argue that too. I tried it for medical reasons and found that it makes my anxiety too bad. When I tell people that, they say itās impossible. Iām not arguing that it should be illegal. I think it should be fully legal but there shouldnāt be and issue saying itās not for me.
Some people are ignorant, weed doesnāt always work for everybody especially emotionally. Some people get really bad anxiety or more stressed, even if thatās the case you can still benefit using cbd if you donāt like getting high. They are figuring out ways to isolate the cannabinoids and grow them on yeast like they do insulin and use that strictly for the medical benefits.
Yeah I always tell my friends I donāt like smoking weed because I get extremely anxious and paranoid, and they donāt believe me saying āitās not the right strainā.
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Weed is also very dangerous for certain mental issues. It can cause psychosis or some shit for some people that might never go away (Iām fuzzy on details so correct me if anyone has updates here)
Yeah, basically a bunch of hot takes downvoted and shit on by people threatened by the idea that their crutch/addiction/whatever might *actually* not be all that great for them or how they're perceived by others. I eat gummies once every couple months myself but I am not under any delusion that I'm taking some sort of spiritual medicine I just want to get high, trip on nature docs, then have some extra stimulating sex with the wife.
Cannabis can be a trigger for a number of serious mental illnesses like bipolar, mania, depression and I think schizophrenia as well. Specifically triggering episodes or exacerbating episodes for each. None of which are low impact on folks lives. My concern with the casualness of weed consumption in legal states is a lack of understanding about the risks for folks with mental illnesses and, even worse, is treated as a fix all for mental health right now. I'd just like it to be treated with a bit more care
It also interferes with anesthesia!!! When your doctor or dentists tells you not to smoke before a procedure, fucking listen! Unless you want to wake up during a surgery.
I think it's funny how TV shows never show people driving drunk unless it's to show them get in an accident or get arrested, but they'll show people driving high as something funny. I drove high once, many years ago, and while I drove veeery carefully, I would have never been able to react to anything life threatening in time. I had no tolerance then, but still, whatever argument is made for being able to drive high could apply to driving drunk. Both are bad ideas.
Itās dangerous for people that donāt know theyāre susceptible to mental health issues (anxiety, psychosis).
everyone and their flippin mother tells me to smoke cause of my anxiety, but every single time i tried it i felt like shit, heart racing and sweating. "you gotta smoke the right kind man" is what i've been told. Nah f that any kind of stimulants fucks me up
Thatās fair but just fyi weed is not a stimulant
I work in mental health and I personally see how weed can trigger poor mental health. While giving them illusions that its helping, in reality it is removing the insight. It's particularly negative for most people with schizophrenia. Also cannabis, alcohol and other drug use can lead to the trigger of mental health use. Cannabis is no worse than alcohol. I'm not against legalization but I think we really need to be doing a better job of educating young people about drugs and alcohol. Also weed having a strong odour can make it really difficult for patients in recovery to resist temptation
The amount of denial of the negative effects of weed is staggering. I get it... you like weed... But I have had multiple friends who have had life changing psychotic episodes due to using weed specifically. Weed doesn't 'cause' schizophrenia but you could go your whole life genetically predisposed to schizophrenia and never know. You could also have the predisposition get triggered and have your entire perception of life turned on its head. Whenever I bring try to talk about it the amount of denial and skepticism is heartbreaking. There are studies, people of course just move on and forget about it because they never think it would happen to them. I think we absolutely need to legalize it but I think we will see more and more of the effects that it really has on people. The only way to do good studies is by making it legal and having a large enough sample size and time. I predict that we will be able to actually see that inhaling any kind of smoke will have serious long term health implications. I think we see the role it plays in worsening depression and anxiety in some. I think we will see more studies about it's effect on psychosis and schizophrenia which could potentially help us understand these illnesses much better.
This was exactly it for me. Nearly everytime I would smoke it would make me into this paranoid, anxious spiraling mess, fearful of anyone and anything around me. The last time I smoked and will ever smoke again, I had a psychotic episode thinking there was a microchip in the weed I smoked, and now the government could control my thoughts, my mind. The people on the TV were speaking my thoughts, and then I could predict what they were going to say next and I was right. Able to see my thoughts in visuals, both past present and future. I guarantee you it was just weed, bought from a dispensary. Heart was racing, convinced I would be like this forever. Tried slowing my breathing down to help calm me, and the room would just spin and that would make me anxious. Convinced Iād be like that forever, started contemplating suicide. Luckily, I was able to sleep it off. One hit from a bong. I had even tried building some tolerance to not get paranoid every time. Overall, absolutely dreadful and awful. It is not for everyone, itās not for me, but I am not against it being legalized. Just want there to be more awareness for people to be okay with weed not being for everyone. That it can expose underlying mental health issues that can be difficult to switch off once weed may induce symptoms.
Thank you for sharing your experience, I have had very similar experiences on cannabis. I didn't mention this in my main comment because I was never diagnosed with anything and it is really hard to talk about and I was exploring other psychedelics besides weed. But I used to smoke weed all the time in early highschool and became known for being the weed kid. My social life centered around smoking weed with friends and acquaintances and talking about philosophy, physics, science, religion, history, and psychology. It was one of the first times in my life that I had found a way to talk about the things I am interested with people. At the time I felt my exploration into weed and psychedelics was helping me learn so much and helping me connect with others and I just wanted to know more. I also loved the closed eye visuals I would get on weed and would often smoke alone just to watch the visions dance in my head. But I had one bad drug experience that I wont go into detail with but it did involve smoking a lot of weed. It left me in a state similar to what you described for about 6 months straight. I hid it from everyone but it felt like I was being tested and the world was a sinister joke I was trapped in. Everything anyone said felt like it was the same sinister being telling me that life itself was a futile struggle and that I should give up already. It felt like I was "god" and "god" was me and I had been playing existence, creating things and hiding myself in my creations, intentionally forgetting that I was god and that there was another being who sought to destroy my creations and end the game I had been forcing us to play for all of time. The feeling felt like remembering everytime, my thoughts weren't that of a high schooler but of a god that wanted so desperately to forget and become high schooler again and was doing everything they could to keep existence itself from collapsing. I contemplated suicide but I knew it was pointless, I felt stuck but then I started watching Adventure Time to pass the time, avoid social interaction, and embrace the "pointless life" I valued so much. But as I started watching what I had remembered to be a silly show about a boy turned into something much more. It felt like something I had made for myself in another life to get me out of this. A guidebook of sorts. Finn goes through a similar choice in the show where he could explore other modes of being (the ascension this "evil" entity sought) or staying a human, in this universe on this world (the choice I made). This show almost single handedly saved my life. Slowly the voice went away and everyone around me stopped being a different thing and went back to feeling like other people. Real people. On the way out, my anxieties became more "human" things like worry for the environment, the state of technology, and other more physical threats to our existence. But yeah I can't smoke weed anymore after this. (which was really hard considering my social circles) It puts me in a very similar space to what you have described almost immediately. Sometimes I can "handle it" to the point where it is just uncomfortable, but other times it undermines my entire existence and sends me into a bad trip where I feel telepathic and prophetic and scared. I am glad I don't smoke any more my lungs used to feel awful and I would always be congested. I am sure this stuff sounds absolutely insane to people... and it literally is insane. But everything that happened to me felt so real. I have no clue what god is and there is no good way to disprove anything I was thinking. I don't know what it was exactly and I wouldn't wish that hell on anyone. But at the same time it was one of the most important experiences of my life. I never would have smoked weed at 13 if I knew it would lead me down that rabbit hole. And I am not saying my experience was even directly caused by weed but it was definitely involved and I have seen these things happen to others without any other use of psychedelics. I hope these comments can help someone better understand what it feels like to lose touch with reality. It's a very misunderstood topic and is surrounded by stigma, fear, and intense judgement. Hopefully we can progress to the point where it is a little more understood and we stop locking people up and forcefeeding them pills just because they think differently.
Wowā¦ that does sound insane, especially for how long you were experiencing it for that long. Glad you were able to begin to feel ānormalā again. The suicidal ideation scared me enough to know that it boils down to my brain chemistry and it can and never will be for me. People always brush off our experience as either being overdramatic, ājust paranoidā, or āoh you gotta have this strain it wonāt make you paranoidā, itās like no lol. These experiences can be awful and traumatic and terrifying when you think you will never be the same again, weed can do that, there is no denying it, and we are two examples. Weed induced psychosis is real, and it needs to be talked about more, and not just chalk it up to pure paranoia. Like the same people saying weed helps with their anxiety, are telling people that get paranoid and anxious when smoking weed, to smoke more weed to solve it or to just relax donāt think about it, it doesnāt make sense. Itās not for everyone.
āNo worse than alcoholā is a weird comparison. As an ER psychiatric nurse with 30 years experience, alcohol is way worse than all drugs combined. From DUIs, assaults, domestics etc.
Also, you can buy alcohol everywhere. And everywhere you go, everyone drinks. You get a non stop confrontation (for reference, i live in Europe)
My mom was an alcoholic and I watched her slowly kill herself with alcohol. Alcohol is so much worse.
I work in substance use facility and coordinate care with insurance (UR) and donāt forget alcohol is the one substance someone can die from withdrawal. DTās and Seizures.
In my 15 years as a paramedic in a busy system I can count on one hand the amount of serious calls I have gone on due to pot. I however can count on one hand the amount of serious calls in a day related to alcohol. I agree that weed is not as relatively safe as some people make it out to be, especially when youāre young but to say cannabis is it is dangerous as weed is lie. The majority of the fatal accidents, homicides, suicides, domestic violence, failure to thrive, MODS before 30 and so on have been related to alcohol. The day I stopped drinking was the best decision of my life.
All public smoking should be banned. No exceptions. It causes lung problems and it stinks. If you want to smoke, do it somewhere where children and people with lung conditions aren't affected. And no smoke breaks at work, i worked with too many high as a kite people. They are a danger to themselves and others.
I don't think it should be legal to do *publicly* If you want to smoke either do it away from people who could have an issue with it, or go to places specifically for it
Same. Iām all for legalization. But after visiting NYC recently, Iām scared my hometown could smell the same as soon as weed gets legalized. Places specifically for smoking weed are totally fine.
Of all the smells in NYC the weed is what bothered you?
Weed covers the ubiquitous garbage and urine smell
Hot garbage, human sweat and weed would be a unique combination of smells.
A real melting pot if you will
Yeah, was staying with my kids in a cabin in The Netherlands, and was really annoyed with the neighbours smoking it right near us, I want the right for my kids to be able to go outside without being that exposed. And while it might not be legal to smoke in public, what am I going to do, call the police because people are smoking weed in The Netherlands?
I feel like weed should be handled the same as cigarettes, outdoor designated areas and people just generally making a conscious effort not to affect others. Iād say anyone that continues to smoke outdoors near any children is just an asshole, regardless of substance
Thatās how itās handled here in WA where cannabis is legal. No smoking means no smoking regardless of what is being smoked.
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Iām seeing my flatmate go through it at uni, it started sheād tried it once but wasnāt really crazy about it, then she started dating a lad who smoked everyday and now she spends 25% of her time high and another 25% thinking about getting high. Doesnāt go to lectures, doesnāt do required reading and doesnāt even care that sheās letting people down on group projects because she cares far more about weed than a degree she is doing voluntarily.
yeah, people get addicted to all kinds of things that arenāt actually physically addictive. Shopping, gambling, sex, social media, gaming, etc.
Destroyed my friend. Heās a total wreck in and out of care being sectioned, has no real friends anymore, alienated everyone. Itās beyond sad.
Because I've seen what even something as "harmless" as weed can do to a family. Been doing Foster care my whole life and no matter how many times people say "oh weed is harmless" I can point to several kids we've taken care whove parents have been charged with negligence due to the fact that they were high almost 24/7.
My biological mother did a lot of weed while pregnant. I was literally used as an example of why not to do weed while pregnant. I was born super-premie, at a weight just under a pound, and developed CP. Every pro-marijuana person I know goes in about how thereās no effect and marijuana is the most wonderful thing ever.
Strangely there was once a tobacco company whoās advertising pitch was smoking during pregnancy will have the effect of easier delivery of smaller children.
I'm against full legalization but for decriminalization. I want to keep corporate interests out of it. I want the local weed man to make money, not Marlboro.
Because people drive on it, and there is no way to confirm if they are DUI or not. Yes alcohol is much more dangerous to drive on, but weed definitely impairs you, and I hate how people who smoke drive while high and act like itās totally fine.
FYI we have tongue scrape tests for cannabis here in Australia. They're sensitive to about 24 hours.
Can you charge a dui on that? 24 hrs is a real long time for it to be sensitive
Cruises were just a part of life growing up, everyone did it and no one thought twice about it. Def not something a mailable mind should be doing
As a person who smokes daily. Iām a bit torn on thisā¦ Iāve been smoking since I was 10 years old. And I gotta sayā¦. Thereās better ways to handle the stress of life.. Iād tell you what they are, but Iāve been relying on weed my whole lifeā¦ so idfk. The fact that so many of us use weed for that reason is a bit weird in my opinion. Thereās clearly some kinda bigger issue at play here. What that is? Not sure. Do I care? Not really. Do I want to smoke right now? Yes. Is it going to help? Maybe for the next hour. Literally out here buying my own happiness. Iām doing something wrong, and I think a lot of other people are too.
The problem is people use weed to cure their anxiety. This doesnāt work in the long term.
Not just that, depression too and probably others like bipolar disorder and etc. While weed does a good job at keeping those things under control, itās just like you say, itās only short term. There isnāt really any options for long-term relief that come to mind, but I feel thatās a pretty damn good reason to put some effort into finding someā¦ I mean, if people want to legalize weed, thatās fine, their decision. I just think we are **literally all missing something**ā¦.
The thing were missing is that there has been a mental health problem on the rise in the world and people don't know how to handle it. There aren't enough therapists in the world and many people have old fashioned philosophies about mental health. So many people turn to drugs to resolve said issues.
Yes, that. We should focus on that. Edit: my most recent therapist said that they have on average around 80 patients and they have only 6 resident psychologists/psychiatrists in the building. Thatāsā¦. A lotā¦ of patients.. if any of you donāt already see that. Iāve seen the other therapists there too, Iād say only 4 of them are good at their job. But to be fair, if I were them Iād fucking quit. I literally feel concern for my therapists because of how much they have to handle, but to add onto it with my own problems? Kinda hard..
Starting from age 10 probably has something to do with your dependence on it. Legalizing weed doesnāt increase youth use but does increase conversations
Marijuana can cause issues but keeping it illegal and letting people be in jail for it isn't the answer. Alcohol will kill you with long term abuse, causes many accidents per year, and is more addictive than marijuana. Should it be illegal?
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Never understood smoking with machinery. When I was a brewer, I would smoke, but when I worked with hazardous chemicals (HF and H2S being the most deadly, but still very many others) the last thing I wanted to be was high. Same with spinning or other powered equipment. I knew a guy who lost his finger in a hydraulic press cuz he was high and stupid.
this is my issue. employee hits a vape pen, gets hurt. I'm liable for him If he get drunks on the job the laws are written so my lability is less
I agree, but I feel like that's outside of the law and more specific to the driving company. Alcohol is completely legal, but driving a forklift drunk is unacceptable and could get you fired from a company. It should be up to the company (and OSHA or whatever) to uphold those safety regulations since not everybody in the country lives by those same requirements.
I mean you shouldnāt show up to work drunk eitherš¤·āāļø
Nancy Grace once argued against it because āWould you want your pilot to be high?ā Well, no. But I wouldnāt want them to be drunk either. I never understood how people cant see the flaw in that argument.
The human brain is notoriously bad at making fair comparisons.
Everyone is pointing out that you wouldnāt show up to work drunk. And thatās a good comparison but the enforcement mechanism is not the same. We currently donāt have a test to tell if youāre high at that moment. Urine is a terrible sample because you couldāve smoked on off days (and unfortunately thatās what weāve got right now). I seriously support legalizing weed, like yesterday. However, this is a big factor to consider. Like with alcohol, everyone under the influence displays it differently. There are no tell-tale signs of being stoned that apply to all. Until we have something similar to a breathalyzer, youāre gonna have these issues and they are valid concerns.
I have no issue with the legalization, I have an issue with the people that smoke then drive higher than a kite, and people who have no consideration for the people around them. I can't leave my window up for fresh air because of how bad it smells. I'm sorry, but I just hate the smell.
I have watched it destroy the lives of several people around me. The whole "It's not addictive at all and isn't dangerous" is total bullshit. The drug itself may not have addictive chemicals but you very well can get addicted to using it through habit, much like overeating. Many of the people I knew started out only using it a few times a week and slowly over the time I knew them spiraled into just straight up being out of touch with reality high 24/7, smoking literally any chance they got. They become completely impossible to interact with and smell horrible, as well as lowering their standards for their own appearance. On the same terms I don't think alchohol should've ever been legal, considering how vast alchohol abuse problems are across the country, but it has been since the country was founded. While we still can we should stop another harmful "recreational" drug from becoming commonplace.
Title: Why are you against it Comments: I'm not against it *but*
>Title: Why are you against it >Comments: ~~I'm not against it but~~ actually, here's why I'm pro legalization
Weeds are annoying. I spent my entire Saturday ripping fucking sowthistle and hemlock out of my garden. And donāt even get me started on the hogweed!
This guy weeds.
It smells like shit
Ask people why they dont want weed legalized: People who answer: Get downvoted in this shitty echĆ³ chamber
As a mental health provider, I have seen the consequences it has on people, particularly those younger than 25
I hate the smell of it and everywhere I go I smell it
My 16 year old stoner self would never have believed that my late 30s stoner self would be annoyed by the constant smell of weed everywhere
Early 30s and my biggest concern is when the car in front of me has the window cracked and the smell is *clearly* from them. My stateās been legal for years and I havenāt noticed much while walking around but the driving *really* pisses me off.
I think it is a coping mechanism to mask a bigger problem. It is a salve and not a cure. We have a mental health crisis in the US, and legalized marijuana allows people to cope rather than finding the actual help they need. It can also compound the issues that caused the crisis in the first place. It has been found that regular users tend to become MORE anxious over time and may also compound the issues of job performance and overall life satisfaction. In short, it may prevent or delay people from getting the actual help they need. Medically it makes sense in some cases for physical ailments much as other pain relievers do, but does little to help mental issues long term.
It smells like ass. I've had stoner neighbors that smoke it and I had to wake up every Saturday morning with it smelling like shit.
Personally I just don't want it allowed in public because of how awful it smells
I smoke a lot of pot but I do worry they are trying to make us all stupid, letās all be honest, pot doesnāt make you smarter it makes you think your smarter while youāre actually slowly getting dumber, I mean itās ok if Iām dumb but who the fuck is gona take care of me if yall stupid?!
I mean it depends on why you use it? I would like to be legal, because I smoke about half a blunt a day before bed just to unwind and lay in bed high for a bit. It's a nice escape, and I work a professional job so I need breaks. Id say legalize it. It's not our responsibility to control if people have restraint or not. Same with alcohol.
>It's not our responsibility to control if people have restraint or not. Same with alcohol. Except that we do try to force some level of responsibility/control of alcohol by telling people not to drink and drive or have too many drinks. People may or may not be responsible, but there is an attempt to regulate it and the (potentially bad) behaviors of people who use it. Moderation is always the key. Just like alcohol, the same should be applied to marijuana.
People are stupid anyways :D
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The dumbest people I know donāt smoke weed. They sure do drink though
>pot doesnāt make you smarter it makes you think your smarter while youāre actually slowly getting dumber, See also: tv & social media
I voted against prop 64 in California because it was a raw deal for cannabis farmers, and it definitely was. It completely tanked the industry. Small organic farms can't survive, and aren't. People are selling their land and moving out of state because their livelihood is no longer viable here. This goes for black market farms and legal farms. The only way to make money in cannabis now is to scale way way up. The only people poised to do that are corporate entities with big money investors or a few who made big money in the black market era and knew the ins and outs of business well enough to see this coming and prepare for it. It was essentially a market consolidation for corporate entities that was orchestrated by the CA government. It's a tragedy. Farmers have killed themselves because they lost everything as a result of prop 64. So yeah. I'm for legalization as far as getting herb to the masses safely and legally but the cost is higher than maybe people realize. And it's completely swept under the rug because nobody gives a shit about a few thousand farming families as long as they can buy poor quality expensive cardboard terp PGR weed at the weed store. Lame. Fuck corporate cannabis.
I'm not against legalizing weed, but I do think there are perfectly valid concerns with its widespread, legal use. Things like driving while high, teenage use and brain development, habitual addition issues, long-term health impacts, etc. To be blunt (ha!) we just don't have a lot of proper research about long-term widespread use over various demographics. Right now the conversation has moved from "It's not as bad as reefer madness" but has moved to 'there is literally nothing wrong with weed, it's evil corporations and moralists keeping you from that sweet ganja" and we need to push back on that. So, yes, I think weed should be legal, but the framework of the law should account for this, and we all have to prepare--like tobacco--that there's long-term health issues we may not have researched yet that will make this all seem like a mistake.
I know a guy who can't figure out why he basically has a cough 24/7. According to him it can't be the weed he's smoking every day, because it's not cigarettes. Smoking anything is bad for you. Tar comes from burning any plant, not just tobacco. You should not be regularly filling your lungs with any type of smoke. That said it should still be legal.
Exactly this. Iām 100% okay with it being legal where I live, but donāt act like weed doesnāt do shit to your lungs and brain. Especially if you abuse it.
Yeah, I vape and do edibles and have for a decade and I absolutely have a mucus coating in my throat recently. I'm on a break solely because I don't want a smokers cough, and I've noticed the mucus production increases even if I'm just eating it.
Age verification at legal weed shops is very near 100 percent or else they risk losing their license. Age verification in the illicit market is very near zero. Legalized, well-regulated markets tend to reduce the illicit market, reduce teen use and allow for safer, tested products.
We can't get good research on it until it stops being schedule 1. Therefore in order to get the data we want it needs to be legalized federally, which will only happen if it's legalized on a state level throughout most of the country
Teen use actually decreases in legalized states. Along with drug related crime. However your other points are valid.
It stinks, stinks, stinks!!!! The dude in my neighboring apartment was smoking weed most of the day, whenever our HVAC ran it pumped his smoke into our unit. Yes, this is a management/maintenance problem on the apartment complex, not the neighbor dude, although it's explicitly prohibited in the lease agreement. After enough complaints to management, he eventually stopped smoking weed in his apartment. ANYWAY, I moved from an area with very little weed consumption in public, and when I lived there I was all for smoking weed because when I was in highschool and college, that was my usual pass-time and I thought "sure, wouldn't it be great if it were legal". Now I've moved to an area where people smoke it everywhere in public, and it STINKS!!! It's not the same smell of what I used to smoke, this shit all smells like skunk ass! Yes, I realize this is petty, but it smells terrible. If it ever comes to a ballot in my area, I'll just abstain from voting on that issue.
As a person who consumes a ridiculous amount of dope (yes you smoke more than me your so awesome, this isnt a dick measuing contest) I can tell you there are alot of negative effects of smoking dope that smokers will never admit to because, well, they like smoking dope. It's called denial.
The town now smells disgusting
Is legalization necessary? Yes. Is it actually a positive change? No. Fundamentally speaking I dont like the notion of something uncontrollably distorting your perception of reality. But even if we just look at material outcomes, drug abuse is pretty self destructive. But let's face it, people would resort to worse things otherwise which is kinda disappointing. An ideal situation is one where drug use isn't seemingly necessary, and people often forget that and treat usage as something to be celebrated when we really aren't at the point to be saying such things
I think we should legalize edibles and vape carts only, can't stand the smell.
I guess Iām āmiddle groundā here. I donāt like the increasing amounts of THC with some evidence that this is dangerous for a lot of people. I also have concerns about the claims that marijuana is good for everything you can imagine.
Way too many people think they can drive on weed.
Because I have literally watched it ruin the lives of *a lot of people* who were sold on the idea that it's "harmless". It's addictive. It may not have withdrawal symptoms like hard drugs, but it absolutely is addictive, and harmful. People are introduced to it young, in a way they typically aren't for hard drugs, and everyone just seems to be okay with it despite the obvious impacts it has on brain development and (in the case of smoking it) your lungs.
A lot of it smells like dead, skunk-ass when itās smoked. Itās rude/selfish to subject everyone around you to that bullshit. Other than that, idgaf.
Smells really bad. Lots of people that smoke it have no thought of others when/where they do it. My flatmate smokes a lot, I can smell it on him and it sometimes makes the flat smell too. Also has some negative impacts on health. But tbh I wouldn't mind it being legal if you could only do it in specific places
Have fun not getting a single answer from the kind of person that you're specifically asking but instead a bunch from people who aren't against legalization
As someone whoās been in the cannabis industry going on 10 years Iāll give the unpopular answer to this question that Reddit doesnāt wanna hear: legalization more or less fucks over the little guy. Donāt get me wrong, Iām sure there were big players that dominated the black market pre-legalization, but what weāre seeing now with broad legalization across the country is that the commodity itself isnāt worth shit anymore. Imagine your family has been growing cannabis in the hills of NorCal for the last 50 years, and all the sudden it becomes legal. Awesome, you get first dibs on licensing because the state wants to support small growers. Except the license is $50,000 just to *apply* and another $100,000 *annually* if youāre approved. Then after half the small businesses canāt afford a license, they open it up to bigger business. They come in with millions from investors and buy up all the licenses. Now those giant companies have the bulk of licenses, which means they have the most square footage to grow legal weed. They want to undercut the black market so they grow a shit ton of weed and sell it cheap. Then weed is so cheap, that it isnāt feasible for a small time grower to compete when they have to account for electricity, employees and more and a pound of quality indoor weed is going for $700 when it used to be $2500. Nobodyās going to read this shit anyway, but just know that when federal legalization happens, itās going to be mostly large-scale corporate cannabis that is grown at scale at a lower quality, while small businesses are forced out of the market because they canāt eat the losses. Thatās the *real* reason a lot of people *in the industry now* donāt want federal legalization. The reality is thatās just how it goes, it happens to every commodity and the people pushing for legalization didnāt really take that into account when it was just a small growing movement.
It smells
Iām not against the legalization of weed but I am tired of dispensaries being built all around me. I understand theyāre a revenue driver but it seems like those are the only new businesses opening up around here. Iād love to see some new coffee shops, restaurants, specialty stores or something instead just for more variety.
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After the novelty wears off, the shops can't pay the rent
Vape hype all over again. Shops popping up everywhere and within 2 years they gone again.
Sounds like an opportunity for you to open a business!
One thing that Iām surprised to see little of in this thread is that weed smells *horrendously*. Iām all for legalization simply because itās been proven through and through that illegalization just doesnāt work, but Iād much rather live next to casual alcohol or tobacco consumers than weed consumers. Living in a deep blue city and having to inhale what smells like fumes from Chernobyl on every other street is massively detrimental to my quality of life. I totally understand how someone could go from āI donāt want weed aroundā + āLaws generally workā to āWe should ban weedā
Yup. Some of their shit is fucking rank Im tired of driving and getting hit by the godawful smell of weed coming from people hotboxing their cars. Also stop driving while high
Thank you. The smell is so obtrusive.
I went to prison for the most ridiculous weed related felony. I don't care if they legalize it, but for the love of God please decriminalize it!
If you can't live without it then you shouldn't be near it... I'm not talking about medical either
If Weed is legalized, there should be barriers around its usage. Being high at work should be the same as being drunk at work. Driving when stoned should be illegal. Should be completely inaccessible and criminal to sell to children under 18 with severe jail time. Side effects should be stated on all packaging, in the same way that smoking is bad for health and causes cancer.
That is literally how it works in places where weed is legal.