Medical How bad is marijuana for your health?

[leroyjenkens]

How bad is marijuana for your health? Every time I talk to someone who smokes it, they always say the same thing; "It's never killed anybody ever since the beginning of time". I find that hard to believe. People have died from everything, why is marijuana an exception? At the very least there has to have been one person out of several billion who has had a fatal allergic reaction.

On another note, they're getting more and more lenient on marijuana over the years. Why not just go ahead and make it legal, which would create more jobs, which at this point they're trying to do anyway, and open up a whole new market?
The government is doing the same thing with gay rights. Eventually they're going to get their rights anyway, regardless of the bigots, so go head and get it over with.

 

[cronxeh]

Well I'm sure Monique can chime in more about the merits of legalizing marijuana

If it was legal I'd smoke it. Simple as that. As it stands right now, marijuana may not have been the cause of marijuana related deaths, its usually blamed on alcohol. But the driver is impaired, high on weed/crack/alcohol/pcp and driving recklessly.

 

[AverageJoe]

I know people with asthma have the risk of dieing, I think medical problems with lung issues are the primary things, but then you could just snack on some cookies or whatever.
There is also the issue of a preexisting issue of funky brain chemistry which may lead you to suicide, this however is almost a moot point because you would have to be a quirky individual in the first place, the kind that shouldn't be around intoxicants...like ever, of any kind.

Yeah don't smoke and drive, especially if you haven't smoked in a long time 'cause you'll be trippin your balls off.

It was made illegal for money and it will remain illegal because of money. Plain and simple. The illegal growers don't want to legalize it because they don't want regulation and taxes, and the government doesn't want to legalize it because...well it's employs most the DEA, and I'm sure ICE gets a hefty chunk too. Then there are the outragous corporatist prison systems that just loooove being overcrowded. Not to mention there is all the bs where they get to invade privacy with the NSA and all sorts of goodies like that. It's all control. Or rather out of control.
I'm not sure about other countries but this here is a fairly comprehensive history of the legal issues with marijuana in the US.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_history_of_cannabis_in_the_United_StatesDoes it make you lazy? Well it's complicated. If you're an inherently lazy person then yeah it amplifies that, but if you like doing stuff then it's like this weird kinda (lack of)(super)concentration. Some moment's you're way into whatever you're doing and then you're doing something all-together different and then you're watching Adult Swim eating hotpockets.

Is it bad for you? Well jees, salt and water will kill you if you consume too much so this argument is kinda bunk right off the bat. Some argue that it gives you cancer, but I mean cmon...everything gives you cancer these days.

 

[Pythagorean]

How bad is marijuana for your health? Every time I talk to someone who smokes it, they always say the same thing; "It's never killed anybody ever since the beginning of time". I find that hard to believe. People have died from everything, why is marijuana an exception? At the very least there has to have been one person out of several billion who has had a fatal allergic reaction.

Well first, it's a fallacy to say people have died from everything. "Everything" would be difficult to inventory and affirm. Of course, that's not to say that a lot of seemingly harmless things haven't ended people's lives.

I think most people are referring to overdosing when they preach the safety of marijuana. It has been shown very difficult to get lethal quantities of marijuana into your system.

As for marijuana-related accidents, I wouldn't eject it from the realm of possibility. Marijuana is a provoker of dumbass attacks. A dumbass attack at the wrong time and place could be lethal. However, the most fit (in the Darwinian sense) smoker's know to make the time and place conducive to a "good trip" beforehand.

 

[gravenewworld]

The LD50 value for THC is absolutely ridiculous. Yeah, it's pretty safe to say no one has ever died directly from smoking MJ. That's not saying though that someone has never died from doing something stupid while high after smoking.I did medicinal chemistry research full time for 3 years on cannabinoids. I would fully support the legalization of marijuana. I think the pros outweigh the cons.

 

[DaveC426913]

I think most people are referring to overdosing when they preach the safety of marijuana.

I disagree. I think the bigger issues are about
- the fact that it is a mind-altering and judgement-impairing substance.
- the claim that is a gateway drug to stronger, more dangerous substances.

 

[leroyjenkens]

I think most people are referring to overdosing when they preach the safety of marijuana. It has been shown very difficult to get lethal quantities of marijuana into your system.

But then they'll compare it to the total amount of deaths from cigarettes (very few of which are from overdosing, if any).

As for marijuana-related accidents, I wouldn't eject it from the realm of possibility. Marijuana is a provoker of dumbass attacks. A dumbass attack at the wrong time and place could be lethal. However, the most fit (in the Darwinian sense) smoker's know to make the time and place conducive to a "good trip" beforehand.

I'm not including accidents. I'm talking about deaths directly from using the drug.
If you only count overdoses and accidents, cigarettes are pretty safe too.

The LD50 value for THC is absolutely ridiculous. Yeah, it's pretty safe to say no one has ever died directly from smoking MJ.

Apparently overdosing is the only way to die in this world.

 

[DaveC426913]

If you only count overdoses and accidents, cigarettes are pretty safe too.

Good one.

 

[Pythagorean]

I disagree. I think the bigger issues are about
- the fact that it is a mind-altering and judgement-impairing substance.
- the claim that is a gateway drug to stronger, more dangerous substances.

You're talking about people preaching about the dangers of marijuana though. I was talking about people defending it and calling it safe. I think their view is limited to direct OD when they claim it is safe and not thinking about it's ability to impair judgment.

 

[DaveC426913]

I was talking about people defending it and calling it safe. I think their view is limited to direct OD when they claim it is safe and not thinking about it's ability to impair judgment.

Well, I guess we'd have to hear that from the horse's mouth.

 

[Pythagorean]

But then they'll compare it to the total amount of deaths from cigarettes (very few of which are from overdosing, if any).

I'm not including accidents. I'm talking about deaths directly from using the drug.
If you only count overdoses and accidents, cigarettes are pretty safe too.

Apparently overdosing is the only way to die in this world.

But that's exactly the point that I made that you and DaveC are missing! I'm saying the people defending marijuana are only considering overdose.

 

[DaveC426913]

But that's exactly the point that I made that you and DaveC are missing! I'm saying the people defending marijuana are only considering overdose.

We're not missing it, we're just not granting it.

You may be putting words in someone else's mouth.

Can you back it up?

 

[Pythagorean]

We're not missing it, we're just not granting it.

You may be putting words in someone else's mouth.

Can you back it up?

No, not with anything but anecdotes from my high-school peer group.

But I'm willing to listen if you want to backup your claim. Unfortunately, the topic has become so political that both sides are grabbing for any supporting argument they can that supports their conclusion so we'll probably find every angle out there. Because of the information overload, I fear our searches will be biased towards whatever we're searching for.

But alas, I'm thinking more of your ever day user that doesn't go around lobbying and making "informative" websites, though. Like my high school peer group, for instance.

 

[AverageJoe]

Because of the information overload, I fear our searches will be biased towards whatever we're searching for.

You mean...like...standard old research? There are plenty of papers out there that exemplify this.
http://www.physorg.com/news183466246.html

I disagree. I think the bigger issues are about
- the fact that it is a mind-altering and judgement-impairing substance.
- the claim that is a gateway drug to stronger, more dangerous substances.

Ok, after writing this it kinda sounds like I'm ranting. I'm not. I'm just pissed at people who groupthink. It's lazy and pathetic.

First off there is no proof for either of those claims conclusively. Just because a bunch of people claim 2+2=5 does not make it true.
Not until extensive research is put into it can these claims be properly made, but nobody can do that research when it's illegal. It's a purposefully designed catch 22.

I personally in my own, er, "research experiments" have found it to make me far more of a cautious person. All the clutter drops out and I focus in on one thing intensely. This is why I refrain from driving, it doesn't impair my judgment at all, but rather limits my ability to juggle multiple tasks at once. Does it make you do stupid stuff? No, you are just a stupid person to begin with, you're only going to do what you're already going to do. THIS is why we have correctional institutions. Unfortunately the entire system has been severely abused by politicians aiming to stay in power.
Does this stuff cloud up your mind and lower critical thinking skills? Yes. That's why people call it "clearing the fog from the 'nog", continuously being under the influence is just pure stupidity, and all you have to do is turn on the tv to see that you can never fix stupid.

I'll grant you the mind altering part if you accept that Coffee is equally mind altering. Maybe not 1:1 but it's pretty close. Ever drink double brewed Colombian? That stuff will get you jazzed. This is probably about the equivalent of smoking the 15-30% THC buds. You trip out because you mind can't handle all that crap thrown in there.

Now I'm not advocating everybody go out there and chief it up, I have met many people that can't handle it, mostly because the drug results in inducing a lack of self control. Obviously that person's personality becomes a major factor here because some people are just angry, apathetic, paranoid, etc. and when that is focused, bad things can happen.
However the majority of people are decent enough to not freak out, they just consume more food and think a little slower.

But this is the case with every drug out there. Very little numbers of drugs have little or no side effects. That's just life, but punishing people (jail time) who can utilize a drug to benefit many other people is hypocritical and wrong. Case in point, Erdős.

As for the gateway drug claim, this is entirely false. If Marijuana was legalized while cocaine, heroine, etc. remained illegal or at least extremely regulated (doctor's orders after everything has failed) then it would no longer lead kids into doing the harder stuff.
The common thought process is this: "Well if pot is like this, what are these other things considered to be as equally terrible?"
That is why it is a "gateway" drug. Lies. Pot is just as difficult to quit as alcohol, heroine on the other hand is a whole new deal. I agree with severely limiting the hard stuff, we live in a dangerous world, but the important thing to keep in mind is that it is impossible to bubble wrap it.

Lemme end this post with this:
I enjoy being sober. I really like being able to remember things and have a fully functioning problem solving skill set. This is my choice in life and it's what I want to be. MY choice. You can't force people to do things and expect everything to work out, utopias can't exist, the human species' psyche is far too diversified. People will always find a way to do what they want.