Most people safely enjoy alcohol. No one is pushing a narrative that alcohol is universally healthy and safe, and pushing accounts of alcoholism and other forms of maladaptive use under the rug. Nor do we blame alcoholics for the genes that make them susceptible.
I strongly believe that cannabis should be legal, but also find it quite problematic that many users and advocates will quickly bristle the moment the downsides that many experience are described.
I think the horrific levels of injustice prior to legalization has had a pendulum effect on conversations about safety and downsides.
If someone describing their own negative experiences and belief that those experiences warrant more controls is so bizarre, it might be worth exploring why that is.
That doesn’t mean one has to agree that controls are needed, but this notion that “well that’s just your problem, leave me alone” is an unhelpful attitude that does very little to illuminate the reality of the situation.
The reality is that some people form a habitual/addictive relationship with cannabis. The reality is that cannabis severely disrupts REM sleep. The importance of REM sleep is a growing concern as we learn more about the process of sleep and how a lack of it predicts serious mental deterioration later in life.
To be clear, I use cannabis regularly and find that it helps me deal with some aspects of C-PTSD. At the same time, I also find that it reduces the quality of my sleep.
This is a tradeoff I accept because the alternative is less sleep overall, which is worse than the degraded sleep I’m getting now. But if I could otherwise sleep normally, adding cannabis to the mix is something I’d be more cautious about.
The point behind that anecdote is simply that using cannabis involves tradeoffs.
I don’t think access should be further controlled, but I do think education needs to be prioritized.