Not signed in (Sign In)

WorldWeird: [Closed] NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (Closes 17th June)

Bottom of Page

141 to 160 of 220

  1. <
  2. 1
  3. ...
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. >
    • CommentAuthorKosmopolit
    • CommentTimeJun 8th 2012 edited
     (10678.141)
    Nelzbub, you're right.

    Marijuana ranks pretty low on the scale of poetential harm - below alcohol and tobacco and somwhere not very far above caffeine.

    But the pot-heads who insist that it can't ever under any circumstances lead to harm are just as wrong as the anti-drug warriors who claim a single puff on a joint will turn you into a psychotic.
    •  
      CommentAuthornelzbub
    • CommentTimeJun 8th 2012
     (10678.142)
    ^ agreed.
    • CommentAuthorWood
    • CommentTimeJun 8th 2012
     (10678.143)
    I've never smoked pot, but that was mostly because I was more afraid of the tobacco in the joints than of the Moroccan Hashish they sell around here.
    • CommentAuthorFlabyo
    • CommentTimeJun 8th 2012
     (10678.144)
    I tried to give up caffeine once. Worst month of my life.
  5.  (10678.145)
    @Nelzbub - That said, it is certainly possible for people to become psychologically addicted to the detriment of their regular lives. As far as links with mental illness are concerned research is very unclear and often overblown by the conservative media. Some research has shown that some people with underlying, often undiagnosed, mental health issues, seem to choose to attempt to self medicate with cannabis often with disastrous results and leading to parents/media blaming the drug for the illness.

    Absolutely. Although I believe there has been some research suggesting that some individuals can have a genetic propensity to mental illness, and that intoxicants of any kind - consumed at foolishly high levels - can kick it into gear. This would fit with what happened to the friend I mentioned - although it is possible he was having metal health issues before he started smoking, and just kept it to himself.
    • CommentAuthorKosmopolit
    • CommentTimeJun 8th 2012 edited
     (10678.146)
    A further point to consider about drugs and their health effects: in the latest New Scientist a researcher talks about how virtually all research into illegal drugs is prohibited. For example, we have virtually no idea of what areas of the brain cannabis actually affects because there's never been a functional MRI study done of people while they're using cannabis.

    He also points out, for example, that the moderate paranoia some people experience while using might give useful clues as to the underlying biology of some mental illnesses.

    We just don't know.

    Because drugs are Bad.
    • CommentAuthorFishelle
    • CommentTimeJun 8th 2012
     (10678.147)
    This is really interesting to read about, and I truly appreciate the response to my curiosity. But It's probably best if we don't derail the thread any further. If someone wants to start a thread about drugs and the misconceptions surrounding them, that be cool, though.
  8.  (10678.148)
    Caffeine is actually pretty hardcore stuff, and no joking. Ironically although I know a great many pot users, I've never heard the gateway theory thing of them going for harder stuff because pot doesn't cut it for them anymore - but I have one story where someone went from coffee to popping caffeine pills to speed. There is also the case of a person managing to kill himself with a prolonged massive caffeine use, popping caffeine pills by the handful in his last months. And no, these are not urban legends but people with names. Then there's the whole thing of caffeine making anxiety disorders and in some cases depression worse, causing nasty stuff with heart arrythmias etc.

    Finnish people are pretty hardcore coffee junkies and I've gone through cold turkey caffeine withdrawals a few times, and jesus motherfuck it takes a weekend to get functional, easily. After a while I started synchronizing them with horrible hangovers - if I'm going to spend a day sweating, with a terrible migraine type headache and vomiting anyway, why not get some good out of it >.>
  9.  (10678.149)
    - Ha! So true. Once again Janos, you put it better than I could.
    [Disclaimer: I'm currently drinking about 4/5 cups of coffee a day to get my novel finished by the time I'd like it finished and if I take a day where I drink even just 2 cups of tea instead, I go from getting an average of 2500 words done per day to 650. In short, coffee's a mean slave-master.]
  10.  (10678.150)
    I've gone down to maybe one bottle of caffeinated soda a month. Getting out from under caffeine was harder than quitting drinking and smoking cigarettes combined, for me.

    Smoking, all it took was getting a really bad infection to decide to quit. Drinking, and technically, I didn't completely quit alcohol, but maybe I have a beer or two every other month or so since we don't keep it in the house anymore, wasn't too difficult to quit since I just had to have all the nags rice effects thrown in my face all at once in a pretty dramatic manner.

    But quitting Dr. Pepper? In Texas, where it's like The State Beverage? That shit is hard.
    •  
      CommentAuthorAlan Tyson
    • CommentTimeJun 9th 2012
     (10678.151)
    At Fishelle's suggestions, I made a thread for talking about this sort of thing. I, for one, am fascinated as hell by it, mostly because my own experience with illicit substances consists of coffee, alcohol, a brief romance with cigarettes, and... three? maybe four times trying to smoke pot, to no effect.
    •  
      CommentAuthornelzbub
    • CommentTimeJun 9th 2012
     (10678.152)
  13.  (10678.153)
    So, is this evidence of God's great plan? If so, what does it say about God? Discuss.
  14.  (10678.154)
    @argos Flint won't trigger detectors either, a plot device Neal Stephenson used in Snowcrash (And something I've thought about a lot as a prehistorian) You can produce flint weapons in moments, ending up a blade sharper than steel. Of course all the checks for weapons is bullshit as you can buy duty free in glass bottles after security (Which you can use to produce blades as it conchoidally fractures like flint. Though I'm guessing anyone likely to start a fight on a plane is more likely to just smash the bottle across someone's head.)
  15.  (10678.155)
    @Steve Toaste: To be picky, Snow Crash blade was industrial glass that had been knapped like flint.
  16.  (10678.156)
    @Cat Yep you're right. Reminds me of an article I read about aborigines in Australia using ceramic telegraph insulators to knap spar-points, leading to glass bottles being left at the foot of the telegraph poles as an alternative to stop the telegraph lines goingf dead.
    • CommentAuthorKradlum
    • CommentTimeJun 10th 2012
     (10678.157)
    A friend of mine at Uni used to knap glass blades for surgeons
  18.  (10678.158)
    I don't know if you guys enjoy reading prison news as much as I do but-

    Texas Inmate Loses Civil Rights ‘Vampire’ Suit
    Texas prisoner who argued he was being barred from practicing religious beliefs related to vampires.
    In the filing, Royal described himself as “Vampsh Black Sheep League of Doom Gardamun Family Circle Master Vampire High Priest.”
  19.  (10678.159)
    @Government Spy. I read that headline and was picturing a suit in black and red velvet.
    • CommentAuthorWood
    • CommentTimeJun 10th 2012
     (10678.160)
    Does the court have to motivate their rejection? If so, I'd really like to read their arguments.

141 to 160 of 220

  1. <
  2. 1
  3. ...
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. >