[m1rr0r dash]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

but anyway... yeah. lacan is useless anyway.

use value is over-rated.

[tesla69]

Originally Posted by screamingskull

You have to remember the stuff we are smoking now is sooooo much stronger than the stuff our parents were smoking.

the elites keep asserting this, but hash is hash, you can't make it stronger, so I think this theory is somewhat overhyped; as well, current breeding has selected for THC over other psychoactive chemicals within the plant, so the chemicals that tended to relax the user are bred out and those that make the user excited and nervous amplified. So its really a different plant than our grandparents were using in the 50's and 60's.

Kind of like rattlesnakes - the human in his wisdom kept killing rattlesnakes when he heard the rattle so those rattlesnakes that were born without rattles lived and bred and now there are all these rattlesnakes without rattles...

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by m1rr0r dash

use value is over-rated.

william james would say otherwise, but i hate lacan regardless.

(hi, savage clone!)

[Green_mind]

Interesting post tesla69, I liked the rattlesnake analogy. What are the names of the other psychoactive chemicals within cannabis? I've only heard of THC myself.

I found some health information about cannabis in the vaults of erowid:

"Addiction Potential:
Regular use of cannabis can lead to psychological habituation for some people making it difficult for them to quit. Studies have estimated that between 5 and 10% of those who try smoking cannabis will become daily users sometime during their life, but most of these smokers will have given up the habit by age 30 and few remain daily smokers after age 40. Most people do not experience signs of physical addiction, but with regular daily use use, mild to medium withdrawal symptoms usually occur for less than a week, but can extend for as long as 6 weeks.

Long Term Health Problems:
The most common negative health impact of regular cannabis smoking are lung and throat problems including: coughing, increased frequency of throat and lung infections, and reduced lung capacity. There are concerns about possible long term carcinogenic (cancer causing) effects of cannabis smoking, but the results are still somewhat controversial. It can be safely said, however, that health risks increase with frequency and duration of smoking anything.

Poisoning:
There are no confirmed, published deaths from cannabis-only poisoning. There are a small number of people who report serious cannabis allergies which cause unexpectedly intense reactions, throat & lung irritation, etc.

Heart Issues:
Because cannabis increases heart rate, it could potentially increase risks of heart problems in those at risk of heart disease. One study found that cannabis use increased the risk of heart attack in men over 40, but its findings were weak and based on a very small number of individuals. In a large study of 65,000 individuals in California by Sidney et al in 1997, cannabis was not found to increase mortality rates among users under 50.

Mental Illness:
Several studies have indicated that cannabis use (like many other strong psychoactives) can precipitate neuroses or psychoses in those who are already at risk. Studies have also shown that cannabis use does not appear to increase the risk of psychosis in otherwise healthy individuals."


Edit: The drug geeks had also answered my question, "The active ingredients in cannabis are called cannabinoids. There are many cannabinoids synthesized by the plant including tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinolidic acid, cannabigerol, and cannabichromene. Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol is thought to be responsible for most of the psychoactive effects of cannabis and is the active ingredient in synthetic thc pills such as marinol."

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

let us not forget the discovery in 1992 of endocannabinoids, which suggest that human evolution and cannabis are interconnected.

(this is wikipedia because finding simple info on these neurochemicals is impossible these days, all of the research has become super specific.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endocannabinoid_system

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

let us not forget the discovery in 1992 of endocannabinoids, which suggest that human evolution and cannabis are interconnected.

(this is wikipedia because finding simple info on these neurochemicals is impossible these days, all of the research has become super specific.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endocannabinoid_system

yes of course there endocannabinoids, just like there are endorphins. but you're not going to say heroin and human evolution are interconnected, are you? your extrapolations are unscientific and wrongheaded.

there are a myriad substances in the animal and vegetal world that mimic the function of elements of our neural system. the fact that there are endocannabinoids in the human body is enough reason not to fuck with them with external ingestions, just like it's better to exercise and generate your own endorphins than to consume opiates.

when you smoke weed you're basically fucking with a complex and delicate system of communication so that you can get fucked up and temporarily forget your pain. but no matter what lies you tell yourself, there are negative consequences attached.

from the very article you posted:

Originally Posted by read for comprehension

Memory

Mice treated with tetrahydrocannabinol show suppression of long-term potentiation in the hippocampus - a process that is essential for the formation and storage of long-term memory [22]. These results concur with anecdotal evidence suggesting that smoked preparations of Cannabis Sativa attentuates short-term memory [23]. Indeed, mice without the CB1 receptor show enhanced memory and long-term potentiation indicating that the endocannabinoid system may play a pivotal role in the extinction of old memories. Interestingly, recent research reported in a 2005 Journal Of Clinical Investigation article [24] indicate that the high-dose treatment of rats with the synthetic cannabinoid, HU-210 over a period of a few weeks resulted in stimulation of neural growth in the rats' hippocampus region, a part of the limbic system playing a part in the formation of declarative and spatial memories.

[edit] Appetite

Those who use cannabis are familiar with its appetite-enhancing effects. Emerging data suggests that THC act via CB1 receptors on hypothalamic nuclei, thus directly increasing appetite[25][26]. It is thought that hypothalamic neurons tonically produce endocannabinoids that work to tightly regulate hunger. Interestingly, the amount of endocannabinoids produced is inversely correlated with the amount of leptin in the blood[27]. For example, mice without leptin not only become massively obese but have higher-than-normal levels of hypothalamic endocannabinoids [28]. Similarly, when these mice were treated with an endocannabinoid antagonist, such as Rimonabant, food intake was reduced[29]. When the [CB1] receptor is knocked out in mice, these animals tend to be leaner and less hungry than wild-type (or "normal") mice While there is need for more research, these results (and others) suggest that exogenous cannabinoids (as from smoking marijuana) in the hypothalamus activates a pathway responsible for food-seeking behavior [30].

[atari 2600]

It is a medicinal herb with mild psychoactive properties, and not a dangerous drug by any means.

"The Emperor Wears No Clothes" was researched and written a long time ago, folks.
(homepage of the author Jack Herer who led the charge for factual info on cannabis http://www.jackherer.com/)

Check out these pages too; there's pros and cons and more.
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.co...-of-marijuana/

(excerpt)
Dr. Lester Grinspoon, associate professor of psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School, author of Marihuana Reconsidered, and coauthor of Marijuana, the Forbidden Medicine:

I began my study of marijuana in 1967 because I was concerned that young people were harming themselves by ignoring authorities’ warnings about a dangerous drug. I had hoped to write a paper that would definitively establish a scientific basis for this concern, and publish it in a widely read medium.
It was not long before I realized that despite my training in science and medicine, I had, like almost every other citizen of this country, been brainwashed by the United States government into believing that cannabis is a terribly dangerous drug. By 1971, the year Harvard University Press published Marihuana Reconsidered, I knew that, far more harmful than any inherent psychopharmacological property of this substance, was the way we as a society were dealing with its use. While marijuana is, in fact, remarkably free of toxicity, the consequences of annually arresting 300,000 mostly young people were not. Once I grasped the absurdity of this prohibition, I became devoted to the cause of changing these laws.
The development of marijuana laws began with the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, which was based on the same myths as the movie Reefer Madness — myths which have long since been abandoned. The prohibition itself should have been discarded after the publication in 1972 of the report of the Nixon-appointed National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse. The report was titled “Marihuana, A Signal of Misunderstanding,” and it affirmed the lack of a sound basis for prohibition. The Commission recommended the elimination of all penalties for personal possession and use of marijuana by adults, and for the not-for-profit transfer of small amounts of marijuana between adults. Instead, marijuana laws and their enforcement have become increasingly severe, buttressed by “new” myths dressed in scientific costume such as the present notion, developed largely in England and Australia, that marijuana causes schizophrenia.
The marijuana sector of the Drug War has seen annual increases in both its cost (now estimated to be about $11 billion) and the number of arrests. Marijuana arrests now constitute nearly 44 percent of all drug arrests in the U.S. The Uniform Crime Report figures for 2006 reveal that 829,625 people were arrested on marijuana charges, nearly a 15 percent increase from 2005. Nine out of ten were arrested for mere possession. More than 10 million people have been arrested on marijuana charges since 1990, and 75 percent of them were 30 or younger at the time of arrest.
Despite the increasing number of arrests, the growing demands of employers for urine tests, and the ubiquity of misinformation purveyed by the government and anti-marijuana organizations, the number of Americans who experiment with or regularly use this substance continues to grow. A December 2002 CNN/Time magazine survey found that 47 percent of American adults had tried marijuana. The number of people who use it regularly has increased to about 15 million.
This expanding use can no longer be dismissed as simply a youthful fad. It is a clear sign that adults who have a desire or need to stretch their consciousness are discovering that the least costly agent of this kind of experience is offered by marijuana. If used properly, it leads to a gentle alteration of consciousness, there is very little risk to health, the experience does not lead to any kind of antisocial behavior, and it is relatively (or would be, without the prohibition tariff) inexpensive. Marijuana has become part of our culture, and it is here to stay.
There are two other categories of use as well: medicine and enhancement, both of which overlap to some extent with each other and with recreational uses. Enhancement refers to that capacity of the marijuana high to add to the strength, worth, beauty, or other desirable qualities of experiences ranging from food and sex to creativity and appreciation of the natural world (see here for more information). So many people in the last decade have discovered its remarkable and versatile uses as a medicine that twelve states have now adopted legislation or initiatives which allow for its medicinal use. Unfortunately, the federal government, insisting that it has no medical utility, continues its merciless crackdown on patients, their doctors, and the people who grow this medicine within the legal limitations specified by the particular state.
The many thousands of patients who use marijuana for the treatment of a number of symptoms and syndromes do so because they find it to be as or more effective, and generally less toxic, than the conventionally prescribed medicines it replaces, plus it is less expensive, even at prohibition-inflated prices. Despite the federal government’s insistence that marijuana is more of a poison than a medicine, more states are now considering legislation or initiatives to make it available as a medicine, and some are considering initiatives to decriminalize it by reducing penalties for possession of small quantities.
Whatever interim changes we decide to take, ultimately we will have to cut the knot by giving marijuana the same status as alcohol — legalizing it for all uses, and largely removing it from medical and criminal control systems.

[tesla69]

Originally Posted by Green_mind

Interesting post tesla69, I liked the rattlesnake analogy. What are the names of the other psychoactive chemicals within cannabis? I've only heard of THC myself.."

some of them are del9THC, CBD, THCA, THCV, CBA, CBC, CBG, and CBN - it seems the ratio between THC:CBD is what is generally monitored. (I see your edit now)

>>Poisoning:
>>There are no confirmed, published deaths from cannabis-only poisoning. >>>There are a small number of people who report serious cannabis allergies >>which cause unexpectedly intense reactions, throat & lung irritation, etc.
I've posted this before I thinhk, but there is a story about some geniuses who decided to cook down their weed and shoot it up and they died.

[atari 2600]

"The Emperor Wears No Clothes" was researched and written a long time ago, folks. It's where it was first published that there has never been a reported death associated with overdose.

(homepage of the author Jack Herer who led the charge for factual info on cannabis and started the entire hemp movement http://www.jackherer.com/)

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

yes of course there endocannabinoids, just like there are endorphins. but you're not going to say heroin and human evolution are interconnected, are you? your extrapolations are unscientific and wrongheaded.

there are a myriad substances in the animal and vegetal world that mimic the function of elements of our neural system. the fact that there are endocannabinoids in the human body is enough reason not to fuck with them with external ingestions, just like it's better to exercise and generate your own endorphins than to consume opiates.

First, yes endorphins imply that human evolution and morphine are interconnected. what makes more sense, that human brains evolved and produced by coincidence neurochemicals, that are nearly identical to other naturally occurring opiates, that work in a complicated neurological system controlling emotion and physical pain, or that that human during the process of evolution, came in contact with these naturally occurring opiates which, contact over time with these opiates, evolved their neurochemistry? It’s not like I made this up, I don’t necessarily believe in evolution the way it is presently explained...

secondly, I believe you are ignorant to the importance of the endocannaninoid system. its function in the body is threefold:
moderate pain supression, mood regulation, and the most important, triggering immuno-responses to cancer cell growth.

http://books.google.com/books?id=BxfLB4n3uoMC&pg=PA451&lpg=PA451&dq=endoca nnabinoids+and+cancer&source=web&ots=R4Xj5RhJdN&si g=kX4B7uqKUdtZ9VAYfwBsqnBLRCk

http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/v8/...m0602-547.html

[finding nobody]

I remember seeing a video in 8th grade that pretty much said that smoking bud will eat half you brain away. Hilarious..

[cryptowonderdruginvogue]

I ate some pasta that was made with thc oil last night
I'm still high
I was not able to get any sleep last night

[m1rr0r dash]

i've smoked hash oil in a vaporizer, but never eaten it... never eaten brownies either... how did the pasta taste?

[batreleaser]

yes weed is a drug blah blah who cares. people who are gonna do drugs are gonna do em pretty much not caring what the consequences are. i was one of them, and untill 5 months ago i was using lots and lots of drugs for the previous 2 and a half years. do i regret it? dunno, it was certainly an experience and some valuable life lessons have been learned because of it, but i duno, one thing i know is that im better off without it personally. but anyways, im rambling, people who are gonna use and drink are gonna use and drink, if they need to do it to see what the hypes about theyll do it.