Comment by lettergram | Hacker News Reader

Comment by lettergram | Hacker News Reader

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To add to the antidotal evidence... Ive smoked a lot of weed for a long time, I finished college, have a job paying well above average, I work on projects / my startup, I have a wife, and am looking to start a family (at which point I'll stop smoking for a bit). Further, my startup is starting to make money and I'm up for promotion at work.

Then to tie this in nicely which the argument that people with issues will ignore them - I went through court during school for restraining orders, I worked a full-time job while in school, and started a small profitable business. All of that is insanely stressful and I would argue if weed would have caused issues, I would have had larger problems.

All that being said, I think people who smoke weed (or tobacco for that matter) are more likely to get into the "drug culture" of partying, carnivals / festival, climbing, etc. It's really no different than people who become alcoholics. It's probably a symptom of a larger issue when people abuse drugs and attempt to "opt-out" of society. That being said, perhaps some people want this, and it should be an option. I don't care one bit if people want to waste their life on drugs. I only care that I have to pay for them via tax dollars, so remove social welfare for them and I'm all for it!

I'd even expand my argument, and say any vice including videogames, cars, etc. Anything can get out of hand if people are trying to avoid a problem. Just like you can't blame a gun for murder, you can't blame a vice for a wasted life. At some point, if a person had choice, and knew what they were getting into it's their fault.

> It's probably a symptom of a larger issue when people abuse drugs and attempt to "opt-out" of society.

Let's not forget that it can also be a symptom of society itself. In a scenario where the majority is insane, behaving sanely makes you look crazy.

I understand the disgust for supporting human beings who are inert, but I suspect it's largely irrational. The idea that we should "all do our share" is becoming more and more impractical as technology progresses. There simply isn't a big enough share to keep everyone occupied, and the majority of jobs are completely unnecessary, if not detrimental to our collective welfare.

Let's face it: most of it is just status games and posturing. Anecdotally, cannabis dissolves the desire to participate in status games. My personal theory is that it tends to increase the creativity of people who find meaning in their work and the desire to "opt out" in those who don't. Unfortunately, out current economic system creates a surplus of the latter, because we are stuck with a system of health distribution that is based on human labor, which is increasingly irrelevant.

    All of that is insanely stressful and I would argue if weed would have caused issues, I would have had larger problems.

I did say "If you have your s... more or less together, you can probably use weed semi-regularly without too much damage."

    I'd even expand my argument, and say any vice including videogames, cars, etc. Anything can get out of hand if people are trying to avoid a problem.

People use many things as psychological crutches, yes. What I'm arguing is that some of the specific effects of weed (esp. the effects on cognition) make it more dangerous than other crutches.

I guess what I'm trying to relay, is that it doesn't appear to be more dangerous than other crutches. There is some evidence from research to support both sides, but in general it's agreed marijuana is less dangerous than say cocaine or heroine.

I'd be careful not to say it's bad, until that research is overwhelming. I say this because a large number of people I know who smoke(d) regularly end up in prison for it - which of course makes them way less productive.

It's just hard without a ton of evidence whether or not it is more dangerous inherently or if we make it more dangerous with our society.

     I think people who smoke weed (or tobacco for that matter) are more likely to get into the "drug culture" of partying, carnivals / festival, climbing, etc

Is climbing really associated with drug use?? I have never heard of such a connection. Would be very interested to hear more

I have seen casual weed consumption among outdoor climbers in some places in Europe. Nothing that I would call "drug culture". Maybe it's different in other places.

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