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Comment by bdw5204 | Hacker News Reader

This comes off as election year pandering but it also probably shouldn't be a crime to begin with.

I don't use that particular drug, have never used it and have no desire to use it but I'm fine with it being legal as long as there are some restrictions on where people can use it in public. I don't want to have to smell that unpleasant plant on the streets or public transit or other public places. There are appropriate and inappropriate places to smoke tobacco and something similar should be done for marijuana. Also, minors should not be allowed to use it just as they aren't allowed to use tobacco or alcohol.

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> This comes off as election year pandering but it also probably shouldn't be a crime to begin with.

Normally I would agree, though this has been a process, not just this quick vote grab.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/10/06/bide...

Edit to add: The timing of the process is probably for the benefit of votes and the like.

> I don't use that particular drug, have never used it and have no desire to use it but I'm fine with it being legal as long as there are some restrictions on where people can use it in public. I don't want to have to smell that unpleasant plant on the streets or public transit or other public places. There are appropriate and inappropriate places to smoke tobacco and something similar should be done for marijuana. Also, minors should not be allowed to use it just as they aren't allowed to use tobacco or alcohol.

I'm fairly certain that basically all places that have decriminalized/legalized marijuana have such regulations in place.

Downtowns wrecked by unhoused heroin and fentanyl addicts don't seem to have such regulations in place for that substance, so I wouldn't personally assume that's the case for cannabis, or alcohol for that matter.

Then your assumption would be wrong. There are of course regulations against it. Whether they're effectively enforced is another question (and a question that can be asked by all regulations).

> I don't want to have to smell that unpleasant plant on the streets or public transit or other public places.

If someone can be high in public without repercussion, bdw5204's desire not to smell it in public will unfortunately go unsatisfied.

> I don't want to have to smell that unpleasant plant on the streets or public transit or other public places.

I'd like that. Second-hand marijuana gives me a headache, often before I even consciously notice the smell (so I can't hold my breath or walk away).

That said, having non-smoking areas means we need to have dedicated smoking areas, otherwise it's just an indirect ban on smokers. Habit-forming drugs are hard to kick, so – at least until we have a readily-available way for people to take them without polluting the atmosphere – we need common, dedicated areas where people can take them, accessible within a few minutes' walk of most public spaces and workplaces.

That's really interesting, what would be the mechanism of action for a headache induced by consciously imperceptible levels of marijuana in the air? I see this comment often so I believe you, I just haven't been able to conceive of how that would actually work but such a strong physiological reaction from such a tiny amount is really interesting.

What happens if you are exposed to higher concentrations, is it a medical emergency of some kind? And what specifically happens? I'd love to learn more.

It's not consciously-imperceptible levels, it's just not a particularly salient sensation. I notice the headache, then I notice the smell, and my brain helpfully informs me "hey, you've been smelling that for, like, the past 30 seconds". If the air's really cold, sometimes I don't smell anything until I warm up the air I'm breathing – but that's not imperceptible levels, that's just my nose not working in the cold. If I'm paying attention to what I'm smelling, I can stop breathing before I get a lungful, and that usually avoids any negative effects. But there are a lot of smells in a city, and I haven't developed reflexes for marijuana like I have for tobacco.

When I'm exposed to higher concentrations, either I get a stronger headache, or the headache goes away and I get light-headed. I haven't died yet, so I don't think it's a medical emergency of any kind.

I don't even know if it's because of the marijuana. Perhaps the breeze is concentrating a load of (e.g.) carbon monoxide in certain places, and it just happens to also concentrate marijuana scent… but I think it's probably the marijuana. https://www.durham.ac.uk/research/current/research-news/thre... has some possible explanations:

> The chemicals that activate the smell signals in our brain (called odorants) can sometimes irritate our sinuses. Smoke, perfume and chlorine are some of the most common odorants that cause irritation.

> When [the trigeminal] pathway is stimulated it causes inflammation because it detects a threat that only the immune system can sort out. This, too, can lead to a headache. Chemical smells such as formaldehyde, certain cleaning products and cigarette smoke are all known to act directly on the trigeminal pathway.

Some cannabinoids are known to act on the trigeminal pathway, and I don't usually get headaches from smoke, so it might be that… but I haven't run any experiments, so who knows?

> I don't even know if it's because of the marijuana. Perhaps the breeze is concentrating a load of carbon monoxide in certain places, and it just happens to also concentrate marijuana scent… but I think it's probably the marijuana.

Could also be hypochondria. Hypochondria isn't a personal choice and there is no blame in that suggestion.

We don't get to choose what our brains do sometimes. "It's all in your head" is a dismissive explanation, except that we all have to live in our own heads, so if something is "in our head", it's a freaking big deal because we have to live with it rattling around in there. For someone with an mental disorder, the idea that wifi will cause cancer could force them to live on the fringes of society.

I have this reaction, but only when returning after a hard run. No exercise? Totally fine. Smells like skunky basil. If I've been on a run? Nausea, headache and it smells awful.

Frankly I think Japanese smokers have more freedom because there are designated places to do so. I walked into a Nissan dealership in Ginza just to use the smoking room and was invited to sit inside a special edition GT-R on the way out.

When I'm not using those spaces and smoke on the street, I get stopped and frisked (never happens to me in NYC tho as someone who is melanated).

To me, this reply insinuates that we shouldnt give Biden credit for doing this - am I reading into this too much?

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