There’s so much fake bro science surrounding alcohol, too. “Alcohol won’t change who you are, it will just make bring out the real person.” Sorry bros, but alcohol has a profound physiological and psychological impact over time when consumed in large quantities, and for many people it’s inevitable that they will consume ever increasing quantities over time due to its highly addictive properties and the fact that it’s one of the only drugs that can actually kill you in the withdrawals. I’d categorize it with the hard drugs like opioids and benzos.
This is really present in my mind right now because I quit drinking in 2017, and I recently feel like I’ve lost one of my closest discord buddies to alcohol. He had a vibrant server that I modded, but he’s gotten blazing drunk and burned it all down. I know it’s the alcohol because I recognize the pattern and behavior – that was me. I’ve lost a brother to alcohol. He’s technically still alive, but not really. Not really there anymore at all.
I stick to things like weed and coffee. Alcohol sucks donkey ass. I’ve never seen a good thing come from alcohol.
Weed is personality warping too. Granted it’s better than alcohol and won’t make you violent, but it can sap your energy, motivation, cause memory issues, and even alter/damage brain chemistry especially in younger people whose brains are not done developing.
Well sure, lots of things are potentially harmful, but I’d be hard pressed to call cannabis a hard drug when it’s probably more harmful to drink a large soda. I’ve got a history of addiction, but weed has never been something I feel compelled to use regularly. I can go months without even thinking about it.
Weed can certainly be addictive or cause dependency. That is a fact. I do not think painting weed as something innocent is helpful because people think it’s a “safe” choice. It’s simply harmful in different ways. It’s better than a myriad of other drugs, but we should not lose sight of its drawbacks. FWIW I feel compelled to smoke daily.
Ok, but I’m talking about hard drugs here, such as heroin and alcohol
Edit: I feel compelled to elaborate, hopefully to discourage more responses like that above.
First, I’ve already admitted cannabis has some unwanted side effects. For example, we have already mentioned childhood development. My comment assumed an audience of adults. There are many things I wouldn’t recommend to children. For example, I wouldn’t recommend that children use welding equipment, but when I see my neighbor, an adult, welding – well, I’m not going out of my way to tell him it’s bad for children, I just kinda assume. I’d also never recommend using heavy machinery while using cannabis, which goes for many substances that we consider beneficial in certain situations. Then there’s the smoke damage to lungs. It all comes down to weighing the benefits against the drawbacks and determining if it’s worth the risks. My doctor put me on Zoloft, and I’m one of the unlucky few who experienced suicidal thoughts as a side effect, but I’d not go around saying Zoloft is bad, since it improves the QOL for many users. On the other hand, barring external applications such as disinfection, alcohol is universally harmful to all users.
Imagine you mentioned that Snickers bars contain sugar and contribute to obesity. Now, imagine I respond that carrots also contain sugar and can contribute to obesity. While technically correct, it would be absurd for me to say so.
In addition to admitting there are undesirable side effects with cannabis, I’ve also admitted that I rarely use it. I’ve never understood the appeal, recreationally. It makes me feel unpleasantly disoriented and then puts me to sleep. While it’s helped with occasional insomnia, it’s not a thing I particularly enjoy.
Conversely, my husband consumes it every day and has a medical card. Why? He has ADHD, PTSD, and chronic pain (bulging disc). He used to be on three or four medications, which had some nasty side effects. Now, he’s on cannabis. I’m trying to talk my dad into getting a card and at least trying it for his Parkinson’s because he has some pretty nasty side effects as well. In my husband’s case, it has greatly improved his QOL. Sure, there are certain unwanted side effects, such as disorientation, but the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks.
“But you stoners always talk like it’s a miracle drug with no bad effects,” I sense someone typing. I’m not a stoner, and I’ve admitted to these effects. It’s not a miracle, it’s not a panacea, but it is my carrot to your Snickers. Moreover, most of the supposedly harmful effects we associate with cannabis are based on racist and xenophobic lies, and that’s a historic truth.
I am addicted to soda. tried to quit on many occasions. sorta have but stress tends to drive me back. literally had to go through headache weekends when I do cold turkey. It has physical withdrawal symptoms.
There’s so much fake bro science surrounding alcohol, too. “Alcohol won’t change who you are, it will just make bring out the real person.” Sorry bros, but alcohol has a profound physiological and psychological impact over time when consumed in large quantities, and for many people it’s inevitable that they will consume ever increasing quantities over time due to its highly addictive properties and the fact that it’s one of the only drugs that can actually kill you in the withdrawals. I’d categorize it with the hard drugs like opioids and benzos.
This is really present in my mind right now because I quit drinking in 2017, and I recently feel like I’ve lost one of my closest discord buddies to alcohol. He had a vibrant server that I modded, but he’s gotten blazing drunk and burned it all down. I know it’s the alcohol because I recognize the pattern and behavior – that was me. I’ve lost a brother to alcohol. He’s technically still alive, but not really. Not really there anymore at all.
I stick to things like weed and coffee. Alcohol sucks donkey ass. I’ve never seen a good thing come from alcohol.
Weed is personality warping too. Granted it’s better than alcohol and won’t make you violent, but it can sap your energy, motivation, cause memory issues, and even alter/damage brain chemistry especially in younger people whose brains are not done developing.
Well sure, lots of things are potentially harmful, but I’d be hard pressed to call cannabis a hard drug when it’s probably more harmful to drink a large soda. I’ve got a history of addiction, but weed has never been something I feel compelled to use regularly. I can go months without even thinking about it.
Coffee, on the other hand…
Weed can certainly be addictive or cause dependency. That is a fact. I do not think painting weed as something innocent is helpful because people think it’s a “safe” choice. It’s simply harmful in different ways. It’s better than a myriad of other drugs, but we should not lose sight of its drawbacks. FWIW I feel compelled to smoke daily.
Ok, but I’m talking about hard drugs here, such as heroin and alcohol
Edit: I feel compelled to elaborate, hopefully to discourage more responses like that above.
First, I’ve already admitted cannabis has some unwanted side effects. For example, we have already mentioned childhood development. My comment assumed an audience of adults. There are many things I wouldn’t recommend to children. For example, I wouldn’t recommend that children use welding equipment, but when I see my neighbor, an adult, welding – well, I’m not going out of my way to tell him it’s bad for children, I just kinda assume. I’d also never recommend using heavy machinery while using cannabis, which goes for many substances that we consider beneficial in certain situations. Then there’s the smoke damage to lungs. It all comes down to weighing the benefits against the drawbacks and determining if it’s worth the risks. My doctor put me on Zoloft, and I’m one of the unlucky few who experienced suicidal thoughts as a side effect, but I’d not go around saying Zoloft is bad, since it improves the QOL for many users. On the other hand, barring external applications such as disinfection, alcohol is universally harmful to all users.
Imagine you mentioned that Snickers bars contain sugar and contribute to obesity. Now, imagine I respond that carrots also contain sugar and can contribute to obesity. While technically correct, it would be absurd for me to say so.
In addition to admitting there are undesirable side effects with cannabis, I’ve also admitted that I rarely use it. I’ve never understood the appeal, recreationally. It makes me feel unpleasantly disoriented and then puts me to sleep. While it’s helped with occasional insomnia, it’s not a thing I particularly enjoy.
Conversely, my husband consumes it every day and has a medical card. Why? He has ADHD, PTSD, and chronic pain (bulging disc). He used to be on three or four medications, which had some nasty side effects. Now, he’s on cannabis. I’m trying to talk my dad into getting a card and at least trying it for his Parkinson’s because he has some pretty nasty side effects as well. In my husband’s case, it has greatly improved his QOL. Sure, there are certain unwanted side effects, such as disorientation, but the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks.
“But you stoners always talk like it’s a miracle drug with no bad effects,” I sense someone typing. I’m not a stoner, and I’ve admitted to these effects. It’s not a miracle, it’s not a panacea, but it is my carrot to your Snickers. Moreover, most of the supposedly harmful effects we associate with cannabis are based on racist and xenophobic lies, and that’s a historic truth.
I am addicted to soda. tried to quit on many occasions. sorta have but stress tends to drive me back. literally had to go through headache weekends when I do cold turkey. It has physical withdrawal symptoms.