Question for those of you living in a country where marijuana is legal. What are the positive sides, what are the negatives?
If you could go back in time, would you vote for legalising again? Does it affect the country’s illegal drug business , more/less?
OP, please change the title to make it less vague what the question is about without having to open it.
@oyzmo@lemmy.world
Done, thanks 🙂
Legalize all drugs. Addiction is a severe mental health disorder, not a crime. Literally end of discussion.
I wouldn’t say it’s a mental disorder (not all at least), but 100% not a crime. We didn’t ask to come into this world, let us do to our bodies and minds what we want.
substance use disorders are absolutely a mental disorder and it’s damaging to treat them as anything else. too long they’ve been considered moral failings and people are fucking dying because of it. when a substance gets in the way of life, that’s a disorder.
as for doing what you want… im not arguing for sobriety or abstinence, that’s another approach to addiction that KILLS PEOPLE. you can still do what you want.
Addiction or not, who are you to say what people can or can’t do? Drugs, caffeine, sugar, why are you concerned with that rather than just providing options?
Can you show me what makes you think it’s a mental health issue?
Alcoholism is the only one I’m aware of, which can be hereditary and genetic.
I’m sorry, hold up, what do you think I’m doing here? When someone comes to me for a drug and alcohol eval, I dont tell them what to do. I ask what they want, if they think their use is a problem, if they want treatment, etc. All I do is provide options. That’s what individualized person-centered care is.
What makes you think i do anything different?
I can provide you resources on substance use disorders if you really want but I do this for a living so I’m not eager to. I would say look into ASAM. Addiction Medicine is a developing field but we’re finding more empowering ways to help people through validation and support.
the problem in the language here is really what does mental disorder really mean? it isn’t about genetics. a disorder just means life is out of order. etiology is irrelevant. is the framing of it as a mental disorder somehow uncomfortable to you? it might seem critical if you still think of MH issues as “mental illnesses”, but that’s not what’s going on. identifying problematic behavioral patterns as a psychological problem enables us to treat it appropriately instead of with stigma.
and to be clear, no one is expected to do what they don’t want to do.
I’m happy with legalization and would do it again.
- the health impact is similar enough to alcohol and cigarettes so we should treat them similarly
- even before I agreed with legalization, the legal consequences seemed cruel and unusual, way out of proportion
- law enforcement needs to focus on things with more impact on our safety
- for-profit prisons? wtf
- I don’t know about medical benefits but how was pit so illegal that we could never even investigate such claims?
- smoking is a serious health hazard but now it’s easier to get marijuana products that do t involve smoking
The one thing I’d do differently is stricter regulations against secondhand smoke. Now that cigarettes have seriously declined, it’s easier to appreciate just how much they stink. But we’ve backslid: smoking pot stinks worse, and has a lot of the same second hand smoke hazard.
Disagree on first and last point. MJ is NOT comparable to cigarettes. At all. This is coming from someone who has partaked in both. Both produce smoke but are not equal.
Cigarettes are WAY worse for your chest, and far more addictive, and easier to access/cheaper.
I am happy with the legalization. I’ve never smoked weed or even drunk alcohol despite being legally able to do so. And I still think weed legalization was a huge benefit for many reasons.
- Reduction of organized crime around weed.
- Cops are less able to do illegal searches on you because they “””””smell marijuana”””””
- Weed is shown to be vastly less harmful than alcohol, so I always found it hypocritical that we allow one but not the other. Especially since alcoholism is so much worse and far more prevalent than weed addiction.
- Less people rotting in jail for non-violent crimes.
- Better access to weed for medical reasons across the board, leading to an overall improvement in many people’s quality of life.
Like. Why was this bs ever illegal in the first place?
Like. Why was this bs ever illegal in the first place?
Us answer:
I believe Nixon realized they couldn’t make it illegal to be against the war and otherwise left wing, but they could make things correlated with that illegal. And thus the war on drugs was born. It also lets the state enforce white supremacy.
Recommend reading “the new Jim Crow” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Jim_Crow
Logically, if tobacco and alcohol are legal, there’s no health-related reason for marijuana to be illegal. Both alcohol and weed impair your judgement, and both smoking tobacco and smoking weed are harmful to your lungs. Everything else about alcohol or tobacco vs weed is worse. And giving criminals easy ways to make money is a bad idea.
So, as another response said, legalize it, regulate it, tax it.
It’s sad to see a lot of the misinformation here that says there are no downsides to weed. In fact, weed has a ton of downsides that need to be considered in how marijuana is handled in a society.
If you are a visual/ audio learner, here’s a well researched video on the downsides of weed, from a source that acknowledges their staffs personal biases lean towards legalization.
Kurzgesagt, "We Have to Talk About Weed
Basically, we need to recognize that due to having criminalized weed for so long, we are only now getting the research into the negative effects of weed, but as it’s coming out we are seeing how weed is not all sunshine and rainbows.
THC potency has increased dramatically since the 60s, and that has led to increased risks of paranoia, psychosis, and panic attacks. It also increases the risk of Cannabinoid Hypermesis Syndrome, where ingesting weed will make you vomit, nauseous, and have horrible abdominal pain.
My roommate just got this and she is not having fun. Her doctor told her this may be a 6 month T-break, but it’s also possible this is permanent, and best to avoid weed altogether.
I also am sad to see “weed is not addictive” being thrown around. Cannabis Use Disorder (weed addiction) is very real and a quick look up says 10% of users become addicted. Personally I consider myself stuck on a habit since I can control my use to keeping it after 8pm, but I still have trouble not getting high daily. I have a friend who is now 100 days sober, but when he had a relapse last year, it ruined his life.
That’s not to say it’s bad, I have another friend who needs weed to help him get through the day with his PTSD. We just need to recognize one person’s medicine is another person’s poison.
Most all of the major issues with weed tend to show up with people who began smoking in adolescence. I think a reason I’m somewhat I’m control and my other friend is not is that I started smoking at 22 in college, and he started at 16. I imagine if I waited until I was 25 I’d have no problem making it a weekend thing.
That said
My experience and the pain many have dealing with the health issues associated to weed are no where near comparable to the damage that criminalized weed has had on marginalized communities as weed has historically been used to target and oppress minorities by our US government. I also agree to the points that having a black market is FAR worse than having legal weed that needs regulation.
Personally I’m pro-legalization, but I think we need to be careful at how we are messaging weed to the youths and handling the negative consequences, as the myths of weed just being an innocent plant are super harmful.
I honestly agree 100%. While I don’t do weed, I have a lot off friends that do and the amount of rhetoric I’ve heard about it’s lack of downsides and addictiveness is baffling. I can’t exactly say anything either, because they’re clearly looking for a “yes” answer and anything else won’t be accepted (I don’t want to say some of them are addicted, but smoking it near-daily for years isn’t a good sign)
I’m a medical student, so I’ve looked at quite a few studies, and they seem to align with what you’re saying: that you’re at a much higher risk of developing psychiatric disorders, as well as abdominal or lung diseases depending on your form of intake if marijuana is taken chronically
I think that this is a very balanced and thoughtful take that I agree with. As someone who has been smoking daily for the better part of 4 years now, weed has helped a lot but it has also hurt me a lot. At my peak i could easily kill a quad a day, although now I’m down to a gram a day if that. I would’ve been in a much better position financially if I never started smoking, and I’m sure my health would’ve been a lot better. That being said, smoking has helped me through some very difficult times and has given me community. I started smoking in highschool but stopped until I graduated and started again right before college. I’ve stopped having my own supply at points (not stopped smoking altogether but gone mostly sober), but especially in this day and age it’s very helpful to have it. It doesn’t help that where I am, a lottttttt of people are cali sober (me included).
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That’s a bit of a false dilemma though. The two options aren’t “it’s a magical elixir with absolutely no downsides” and “people deserve to be locked in a cage and have their life ruined for possessing it”. Plenty of legal things can cause harm. 35% of people are lactose intolerant, do we ban dairy?
Did you read the whole comment? OP finishes his comment addressing exactly what you question, they say the good outweighs the bad, and it should be legal.
Weed is no “addictive”, but it can be habit forming. Addiction is very specific and we don’t typically use it correctly in day day speech. You won’t have physical withdrawal symptoms like opioid, alcohol, or caffeine.
I would love see a study on lo g term effects. We won’t due to ethics. So far every study is either users have no long term side effects but it can make existing problems worse, or weed makes you try hard drugs and we should all know that is not real.
Heya, I’d love to follow up with you on some of this stuff. This actually isn’t accurate for the current understanding of addiction. Substance use disorders are more than just dependence, tolerance, and withdrawal. There are a number of other factors that constitute “addiction” (aka, SUDs). Check out the DSM criteria for cannabis use disorder for starters.
It turns out that, while not medical emergency level akin to ethanol or benzo w/d, cannabis does have some seriously addictive properties.
Really the trouble is that we misunderstand addiction itself. It’s not about chemicals. It’s about context, and overall life functioning.
As someone who recently had to quit cold turkey from being a heavy daily user due to job change and a drug test (I had 6 weeks to be clean), I can confirm that physical withdrawal symptoms exist and are not pleasant. Includes night sweats turning into nightmares, upset stomach with loose stools, and loss of appetite. Lots of warm baths to combat the fatigue of withdrawal. Heightened paranoia due to the situation.
Would not recommend. If you’re a heavy user and need to stop/T-break, taper down first, or work with a mental health provider.
I’m gonna be honest, I’ve been a heavy smoker for close to 10 years, many times have I stopped for either a t-break, a drug test, or for just being broke. I have never once experienced anything like you said. Not saying you’re lying, but I’m gonna point out that your anecdote doesn’t apply to everyone.
Weed is addictive and has physical withdrawal symptoms.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7146100/
We need to treat weed like we do alcohol. It’s not the devil but it isn’t a saint either.
Thailand legalized it not too long ago and I’d say it’s 90% positive.
- loads of direct and indirect business opportunities
- reduction in alcohol related issues. Stones are generally much more chill than drunks and impairement for vehicle operation etc is much lesser.
There were a few populist issues like catching kids with weed etc but imo that’s actually a positive as people starting to actually talk about kid safety when previously they had all these drugs and worse.
Personally I’d say the only danger is high concentrates which are illegal here and not very desired by the market either way. Mostly tourists and locals just want to smoke normal mid tier weed and enjoy the nature and thai food which is a win-win for everyone. I’ve seen some gravity bongs and a bit of oils (never seen anyone dab) but I’d say 90% of users just smoke mid tier 5$/g weed of 28% thc or so mostly mixed with tobacco too.
My favorite change is just the culture shift. Stoned tourists are just so much nicer and the party scene has changed a lot around this.
Legal weed as been huge for business here. Thai people are incredible entrepreneurs and were really quick to develop the industry to the point where the government tried to reverse legalization a year later but it was too late already.
I’m going to go against the grain here a little. First of all, it should absolutely be decriminalized. No one should spend time behind bars for using or selling it, obviously.
But it got legalized here back in 2022 and while it was great at first, weed sort of sucks now. Because of legal limits to how many plants you can grow, CBD disappeared. Every strain is somewhere between 20-30 percent THC and just makes your brain numb, doesn’t get you high the same way. Everything is way more expensive because every few years they vote to increase taxes on it, so strains that were 5 bucks a g when it was illegal are 10-11 now. Edibles have concentration limits so you’re paying out the ass now for 100 mg, which someone would before make in their kitchen and give away for cheap.
Not to mention that there is one. On. Every. Street. Corner.
It’s insane. Every business that closes down turns into a dispo and the added competition does not lower prices. Out town is losing cafes, art stores, all sorts of businesses because the cancer that is a dispensary keeps spreading. On a personal note, I’ve been trying to cut back for years and honestly I think if I still had to call “my buddy” to pickup i would have stopped a long time ago, but now it’s in my face everywhere and tbh, it just sucks. It just gets you high. That’s it. I can’t explain it, it lost so much heart.
Now it’s probably cleaner, safer, more ethical. But from a consumers perspective, it kind of sucks now.
The taxes are a benefit though. While I agree pot should be legal, it is a vice and vice taxes seem like a good approach to discouraging a bad habit.
And yes as someone who moderately drinks, I whole heartedly agree the same is true with alcohol. Let’s increase those vice taxes. And cigarettes. And gasoline. And drink cans
Legalize it
Tax it
Regulate it
Why tax it? Treat it like anything else. High taxes just make people go back to the black market.
Yes legalize. It shouldn’t have been banned to begin with. It makes more sense to ban alcohol than cannabis if we’re just talking from a public safety perspective. It was actually banned because the lumber industry wanted to chop down trees for paper rather than letting hemp take the lead.
That’s a new take for me, I’ve heard it was an aspect of Reagan’s war on drugs, it was an obstacle in the Vietnam war, it was amn attack against the black and Jamaican community, was big pharma wanting to clear the way for over the counter pain killers, and that the tobacco companies weren’t allowed to grow it so they made sure no one else would.
Thanks for adding to the list lol
It’s all of the above. It’s always been a useful folk devil when one was needed.
This. The hemp paper stuff was just the final nail in the coffin. It’s why Hearst got behind a big anti-cannabis propaganda campaign.
Pretty sure weed causes far less harm than organised criminal groups.
Pro: Everywhere it’s legal has seen a drastic reduction in the amount of violent drug-related crime, lower incarceration rates for non-violent offenders, and less abuse of prescription painkillers. Plus an incredible rise in quality when pot is regulated.
Con: Your straight edge friends who’ve never touched a joint in their lives start smoking regularly, since it’s legal. Your 30+ year old friends will start talking like junior highschoolers who just smoked oregano for the first time and think they’re high.
I tried it first when I was 30+, and tried it a few times at parties. Got a good laugh once and then a weird trip once… All other times were just meh, and since I never smoked anything, my throat hurt. The result was, that I stopped and then convinced my friends to stop it as well
I think it’s much easier to handle when you are an adult.
So, additional plus - when it’s legal, it’s easier to restrict access for a certain age group (let’s make it at least 21+. I heard it’s particularly dangerous for teens)
I love that since it’s become legal where I live I don’t really have to maintain any shady contacts with lazy guys who always say they’re on their way.
I just swing by the shop on the way home and pick up whatever I want with access to 10x the variety and quality of product. I love it and I’m happy it’s working so well everywhere it’s tried.
Your straight edge friends who’ve never touched a joint in their lives start smoking regularly, since it’s legal.
That’s not what straight edge means
Yeah, straight edge people still don’t drink or smoke cigarettes, even though they’re legal. I doubt anything would change regarding the straight edge crowd.
Thank you for all the answers! :) It seems like most replies are positive to legalisation. The (amount of) stores is mention by a few to be one of the negatives. Perhaps government-owned stores (Like those some Nordic countries have for alcohol) could be a better solution? They have trainer employees and very strict rules both for opening times and age controls.
Government stores is how it works in Quebec Canada and I found that to be the best experience for sure
Legalise it, regulate the growing and selling of it and kill the green market.
Scientifically speaking, the pros outweigh the cons everytime.
Public Safety should not be done with the assumption that the public is made up of stupid children that would kill themselves at every possible opportunity (though some people are like that) rather it should come with the assumption that adults are smart enough and have the right to make decisions about them selves.
The government should work towards education so that the public can be better informed and only restrict extreme situations where a reasonable mistake can lead to unreasonable consequences or harm to others. And “Gateway drugs” is as stupid as saying that teaching people how to use a knife would lead them to seek out sharper and bigger knives until they stab themselves and die.
I love that rhetoric but it reminds me of reddit discussion about mother suing the zoo after she dopped her children into…I think it was hyena pen?
People got pissed that it was ZOO that was at fault, not her. There was a barrier if I recall correctly, waist-level one, and the pen was lower than the walk to separate animals from humans, but parents liked to held their small children over the barrier for…reasons. Well, she lost hers.
And people absolutely blamed ZOO for not idiot proofing more. As if it was us that should be kept in pens xD
Oh yeah, my second foremost wtf with modern society: let’s build everything around what idiots are gonna do, with even fucking courts seing no problem with forcing companies to pay money to dumbasses (who do things like using electric stoves as cutting boards). Guess I will long be dead by the time this shit gets reversed
