God. Some people stink of weed.

PLOP · February 1

I quite like the smell, and I use it fairly often. I never really smoke though, I roll one to take when I go wild camping for a night in the middle of nowhere because enjoying that as the sun sets by a camp fire after eating the stew you just cooked is heavenly. Then you get to stare at the night sky, if I’m lucky enough to be able to get some mushrooms too then I may be able to lie on the ground and see the whole universe unfold before me…

But when I’m at home I use a little vape. Practically smell-less, I’ve used it in the same room as people before and blew it out a window and they said they couldn’t smell it at all.

As for people saying it’s way stronger now… is it? Like in the 70s I’m sure the quality was worse generally but it can’t be that much different. The stuff I can get easily now comes to around 16-19%. If it was really that much stronger than it used to be I don’t think I would be able to smoke a full J to myself and still be able to function (obviously high, but not totally gone. The people you see in the town centres in a trance have not been using weed, but more likely spice, which is a synthetic weed which only exists because of the prohibition in this country)

Kurtis · February 1

I get the point of a shop not wanting people thinking it's them that's been smoking, fair enough that.

I would argue though that there are plenty of people that smoke regularly that are very productive, so it's maybe not just weed that is the problem in some cases.
The problems are generally over reported. You can't ignore the fact that alcohol and cigarettes are far worse.
People can basically get in to a state with anything though, that's people.

The industry, organised crime side, is a problem but that's really a political/legalisation issue. I think they've made a bit of an arse of this bit in America.
Also legalising it allows chemists to study it properly for potential medical uses. Same with psychedelics, lsd, mdma (which was why mdma was invented in the first place, and can have positively life changing results ). All banning these things did was put research back decades while doing nothing to change recreational use.

The war on drugs is costing billions and destroying people's lives.

distressed · February 1

Kurtis said:

You can't ignore the fact that alcohol and cigarettes are far worse

This.

But alcohol is somehow rooted in tradition in most western countries. It's perfectly socially acceptable getting wasted every weekend, and drinking 2-3-x beers or half a bottle of wine everyday. "I can handle it, no problem".

robgilmo · February 1

To be fair, people suffered from side effects all through history, to say its new and related to 'modern' weed is totally missleading, to call it 'psychosis' is also missleading.
As for the actual difference? A short google learned me this, back in 'the day' weed was seeded, the plants were pollinated and produced seeds, this caused the plant to stop producing THC and other compounds, 'modern' weed isnt seeded, it isnt pollinated, its 'sensimilla' , often called sensi, Im sure bob often referred to it as sensi? Anyhow, this is why its got more THC and stinks , apparently something called terpes? makes it stink.
Now the grind is in production, mostly when it is harvested, if harvested early its chemical compounds are imbalanced, it can make the user feel anxious, if the plant is allowed to mature before harvesting this usually makes the user feel more relaxed.

So, in my limited view its not the plant, its the people growing it that causes problems in end user consumption.

Please take the above with a pinch of salt, I am no expert, I dont smoke the stuff and havent for decades, it was just a short google that the above info came from.

DrCornelius · February 1

robgilmo said:

To be fair, people suffered from side effects all through history, to say its new and related to 'modern' weed is totally missleading, to call it 'psychosis' is also missleading.
As for the actual difference? A short google learned me this, back in 'the day' weed was seeded, the plants were pollinated and produced seeds, this caused the plant to stop producing THC and other compounds, 'modern' weed isnt seeded, it isnt pollinated, its 'sensimilla' , often called sensi, Im sure bob often referred to it as sensi? Anyhow, this is why its got more THC and stinks , apparently something called terpes? makes it stink.
Now the grind is in production, mostly when it is harvested, if harvested early its chemical compounds are imbalanced, it can make the user feel anxious, if the plant is allowed to mature before harvesting this usually makes the user feel more relaxed.

So, in my limited view its not the plant, its the people growing it that causes problems in end user consumption.

Please take the above with a pinch of salt, I am no expert, I dont smoke the stuff and havent for decades, it was just a short google that the above info came from.

What I will say from experience is that there is such a thing as medium / long term drug induced psychosis and skunk (certainly from my experiences) can trigger this - especially in young people

EDIT - a quick Google found this summary/exerpt from a Lancet paper - https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1R02V2/#:~:text=Skunk contains more THC, or,potency skunk is commonly available.

Kurtis · February 1

DrCornelius said:

robgilmo said:

To be fair, people suffered from side effects all through history, to say its new and related to 'modern' weed is totally missleading, to call it 'psychosis' is also missleading.
As for the actual difference? A short google learned me this, back in 'the day' weed was seeded, the plants were pollinated and produced seeds, this caused the plant to stop producing THC and other compounds, 'modern' weed isnt seeded, it isnt pollinated, its 'sensimilla' , often called sensi, Im sure bob often referred to it as sensi? Anyhow, this is why its got more THC and stinks , apparently something called terpes? makes it stink.
Now the grind is in production, mostly when it is harvested, if harvested early its chemical compounds are imbalanced, it can make the user feel anxious, if the plant is allowed to mature before harvesting this usually makes the user feel more relaxed.

So, in my limited view its not the plant, its the people growing it that causes problems in end user consumption.

Please take the above with a pinch of salt, I am no expert, I dont smoke the stuff and havent for decades, it was just a short google that the above info came from.

What I will say from experience is that there is such a thing as medium / long term drug induced psychosis and skunk (certainly from my experiences) can trigger this - especially in young people

EDIT - a quick Google found this summary/exerpt from a Lancet paper - https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1R02V2/#:~:text=Skunk contains more THC, or,potency skunk is commonly available.

It's certainly not without problems, very little is. I'd say there are certainly people that should be warned against using it, but it's a matter of choice really.
Alcohol indused psychosis is pretty common. Amphetamine induced psychosis too is common and we give that to our kids.

Some adhd medication is molecularly almost identical to meth. Oxy almost identical to heroin.

robgilmo · February 1

DrCornelius said:

robgilmo said:

To be fair, people suffered from side effects all through history, to say its new and related to 'modern' weed is totally missleading, to call it 'psychosis' is also missleading.
As for the actual difference? A short google learned me this, back in 'the day' weed was seeded, the plants were pollinated and produced seeds, this caused the plant to stop producing THC and other compounds, 'modern' weed isnt seeded, it isnt pollinated, its 'sensimilla' , often called sensi, Im sure bob often referred to it as sensi? Anyhow, this is why its got more THC and stinks , apparently something called terpes? makes it stink.
Now the grind is in production, mostly when it is harvested, if harvested early its chemical compounds are imbalanced, it can make the user feel anxious, if the plant is allowed to mature before harvesting this usually makes the user feel more relaxed.

So, in my limited view its not the plant, its the people growing it that causes problems in end user consumption.

Please take the above with a pinch of salt, I am no expert, I dont smoke the stuff and havent for decades, it was just a short google that the above info came from.

What I will say from experience is that there is such a thing as medium / long term drug induced psychosis and skunk (certainly from my experiences) can trigger this - especially in young people

EDIT - a quick Google found this summary/exerpt from a Lancet paper - https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1R02V2/#:~:text=Skunk contains more THC, or,potency skunk is commonly available.

Im not debating that it causes issues, I am sure it can, I am debating that not all issues are psychosis, psychosis is a fairly dangerous psychological illness and not a term to be thrown around to describe any illness brought on by drug use. The missuse and blanket terms pigeonholing people is dangerous in itself.

Skunk is another term thrown around by people who dont really know what they are talking about, its a blanket term to either describe a strain of cannabis or sensimilla, neither of which are or have to be anymore potent than any other strain, I think a lot of 'experts' should at least try to inform them selves of these distinctions.

Now Im not defending the 'drugs arnt dangerous' side of the debate, I think we can all agree that drugs 'can' be dangerous, and usually are in most instances, but I do think both sides need to meet in the middle and learn from eachother.

‘Skunk Weed’: A Beginner’s Guide to Skunk - Sensi Seeds

Kurtis · February 1

The cbd side of things is pretty massive now too. There's loads of strains with basically no thc.

Where it's legal you can usually get any type or strength you like. The strong ones are just more popular, mainly by illegal growers, it seems.

DrCornelius · February 1

Kurtis said:

DrCornelius said:

robgilmo said:

To be fair, people suffered from side effects all through history, to say its new and related to 'modern' weed is totally missleading, to call it 'psychosis' is also missleading.
As for the actual difference? A short google learned me this, back in 'the day' weed was seeded, the plants were pollinated and produced seeds, this caused the plant to stop producing THC and other compounds, 'modern' weed isnt seeded, it isnt pollinated, its 'sensimilla' , often called sensi, Im sure bob often referred to it as sensi? Anyhow, this is why its got more THC and stinks , apparently something called terpes? makes it stink.
Now the grind is in production, mostly when it is harvested, if harvested early its chemical compounds are imbalanced, it can make the user feel anxious, if the plant is allowed to mature before harvesting this usually makes the user feel more relaxed.

So, in my limited view its not the plant, its the people growing it that causes problems in end user consumption.

Please take the above with a pinch of salt, I am no expert, I dont smoke the stuff and havent for decades, it was just a short google that the above info came from.

What I will say from experience is that there is such a thing as medium / long term drug induced psychosis and skunk (certainly from my experiences) can trigger this - especially in young people

EDIT - a quick Google found this summary/exerpt from a Lancet paper - https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1R02V2/#:~:text=Skunk contains more THC, or,potency skunk is commonly available.

It's certainly not without problems, very little is. I'd say there are certainly people that should be warned against using it, but it's a matter of choice really.
Alcohol indused psychosis is pretty common. Amphetamine induced psychosis too is common and we give that to our kids.

I'm all for getting information out there to people to make choices rather than bans tbh

If you are under 24 then I'd recommend you steer clear of strong weed because it can literally cause brain damage which can lead to further complications in brains that are still developing.

I end up talking to quite a few young people on a ward who are sectioned because of drug induced psychosis and often they are totally clueless to the dangers but also how modern weed is 'created' ( 'It's natural mate, it can't do me any damage')

I know other drugs are equally dangerous, I know alcohol over a longer period of time can cause serious problems but I think there is a gap in understanding from a lot of young people who are underestimating the longer term damage (sometimes irreversible) skunk can cause

robgilmo · February 1

Kurtis said:

The cbd side of things is pretty massive now too. There's loads of strains with basically no thc.

Where it's legal you can usually get any type or strength you like.

I dont think making it legal will help, I think it would open the flood gates to allow any tom dick or harry to grow dangerous weed, I think education is needed, but looking at 'experts' who really know very little about the actual plant its clear that both sides need educating. Imagine making guns legal all of a sudden?

Kurtis · February 1

DrCornelius said:

Kurtis said:

DrCornelius said:

robgilmo said:

To be fair, people suffered from side effects all through history, to say its new and related to 'modern' weed is totally missleading, to call it 'psychosis' is also missleading.
As for the actual difference? A short google learned me this, back in 'the day' weed was seeded, the plants were pollinated and produced seeds, this caused the plant to stop producing THC and other compounds, 'modern' weed isnt seeded, it isnt pollinated, its 'sensimilla' , often called sensi, Im sure bob often referred to it as sensi? Anyhow, this is why its got more THC and stinks , apparently something called terpes? makes it stink.
Now the grind is in production, mostly when it is harvested, if harvested early its chemical compounds are imbalanced, it can make the user feel anxious, if the plant is allowed to mature before harvesting this usually makes the user feel more relaxed.

So, in my limited view its not the plant, its the people growing it that causes problems in end user consumption.

Please take the above with a pinch of salt, I am no expert, I dont smoke the stuff and havent for decades, it was just a short google that the above info came from.

What I will say from experience is that there is such a thing as medium / long term drug induced psychosis and skunk (certainly from my experiences) can trigger this - especially in young people

EDIT - a quick Google found this summary/exerpt from a Lancet paper - https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1R02V2/#:~:text=Skunk contains more THC, or,potency skunk is commonly available.

It's certainly not without problems, very little is. I'd say there are certainly people that should be warned against using it, but it's a matter of choice really.
Alcohol indused psychosis is pretty common. Amphetamine induced psychosis too is common and we give that to our kids.

I'm all for getting information out there to people to make choices rather than bans tbh

If you are under 24 then I'd recommend you steer clear of strong weed because it can literally cause brain damage which can lead to further complications in brains that are still developing.

I end up talking to quite a few young people on a ward who are sectioned because of drug induced psychosis and often they are totally clueless to the dangers but also how modern weed is 'created' ( 'It's natural mate, it can't do me any damage')

I know other drugs are equally dangerous, I know alcohol over a longer period of time can cause serious problems but I think there is a gap in understanding from a lot of young people who are underestimating the longer term damage (sometimes irreversible) skunk can cause

OK, but it kind of sounds like you are making out its a major problem when, relatively, it's not.

I'm not saying it's not serious for the people involved, of course it is, but people do dangerous shit all the time but we don't stop people driving because people die every year.

I really don't think there's much of an argument from that point of view. If you come from a harm stance there are many things that should come before. Education is good, but you'll never stop the demand for cannabis.

DrCornelius · February 1

Kurtis said:

DrCornelius said:

Kurtis said:

DrCornelius said:

robgilmo said:

To be fair, people suffered from side effects all through history, to say its new and related to 'modern' weed is totally missleading, to call it 'psychosis' is also missleading.
As for the actual difference? A short google learned me this, back in 'the day' weed was seeded, the plants were pollinated and produced seeds, this caused the plant to stop producing THC and other compounds, 'modern' weed isnt seeded, it isnt pollinated, its 'sensimilla' , often called sensi, Im sure bob often referred to it as sensi? Anyhow, this is why its got more THC and stinks , apparently something called terpes? makes it stink.
Now the grind is in production, mostly when it is harvested, if harvested early its chemical compounds are imbalanced, it can make the user feel anxious, if the plant is allowed to mature before harvesting this usually makes the user feel more relaxed.

So, in my limited view its not the plant, its the people growing it that causes problems in end user consumption.

Please take the above with a pinch of salt, I am no expert, I dont smoke the stuff and havent for decades, it was just a short google that the above info came from.

What I will say from experience is that there is such a thing as medium / long term drug induced psychosis and skunk (certainly from my experiences) can trigger this - especially in young people

EDIT - a quick Google found this summary/exerpt from a Lancet paper - https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1R02V2/#:~:text=Skunk contains more THC, or,potency skunk is commonly available.

It's certainly not without problems, very little is. I'd say there are certainly people that should be warned against using it, but it's a matter of choice really.
Alcohol indused psychosis is pretty common. Amphetamine induced psychosis too is common and we give that to our kids.

I'm all for getting information out there to people to make choices rather than bans tbh

If you are under 24 then I'd recommend you steer clear of strong weed because it can literally cause brain damage which can lead to further complications in brains that are still developing.

I end up talking to quite a few young people on a ward who are sectioned because of drug induced psychosis and often they are totally clueless to the dangers but also how modern weed is 'created' ( 'It's natural mate, it can't do me any damage')

I know other drugs are equally dangerous, I know alcohol over a longer period of time can cause serious problems but I think there is a gap in understanding from a lot of young people who are underestimating the longer term damage (sometimes irreversible) skunk can cause

OK, but it kind of sounds like you are making out its a major problem when relatively it's not.

I'm not saying it's not serious for the people involved, of course it is, but people do dangerous shit all the time but we don't stop people driving because people die every year.

I really don't think there's much of an argument from that point of view.

Lets see how major a problem it is in 10 years - I hope you are right Kurtis but I have a feeling that unless people are fully aware of the risks then people like me will still be trying to help young people on psychiatric wards undo the damage done. I'm all for allowing people to make choices but with strong weed more than most drugs there seems to be a growing perception in the public that its less dangerous than alcohol and that its a safe high.

Alcohol might lead to you falling over, having a punch up , long term use may leads to liver damage , early onset of various diseases / illnesses etc

Strong weed/Skunk even over a comparatively short period of time may lead to long term mental illness

robgilmo · February 1

Kurtis said:

DrCornelius said:

Kurtis said:

DrCornelius said:

robgilmo said:

To be fair, people suffered from side effects all through history, to say its new and related to 'modern' weed is totally missleading, to call it 'psychosis' is also missleading.
As for the actual difference? A short google learned me this, back in 'the day' weed was seeded, the plants were pollinated and produced seeds, this caused the plant to stop producing THC and other compounds, 'modern' weed isnt seeded, it isnt pollinated, its 'sensimilla' , often called sensi, Im sure bob often referred to it as sensi? Anyhow, this is why its got more THC and stinks , apparently something called terpes? makes it stink.
Now the grind is in production, mostly when it is harvested, if harvested early its chemical compounds are imbalanced, it can make the user feel anxious, if the plant is allowed to mature before harvesting this usually makes the user feel more relaxed.

So, in my limited view its not the plant, its the people growing it that causes problems in end user consumption.

Please take the above with a pinch of salt, I am no expert, I dont smoke the stuff and havent for decades, it was just a short google that the above info came from.

What I will say from experience is that there is such a thing as medium / long term drug induced psychosis and skunk (certainly from my experiences) can trigger this - especially in young people

EDIT - a quick Google found this summary/exerpt from a Lancet paper - https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1R02V2/#:~:text=Skunk contains more THC, or,potency skunk is commonly available.

It's certainly not without problems, very little is. I'd say there are certainly people that should be warned against using it, but it's a matter of choice really.
Alcohol indused psychosis is pretty common. Amphetamine induced psychosis too is common and we give that to our kids.

I'm all for getting information out there to people to make choices rather than bans tbh

If you are under 24 then I'd recommend you steer clear of strong weed because it can literally cause brain damage which can lead to further complications in brains that are still developing.

I end up talking to quite a few young people on a ward who are sectioned because of drug induced psychosis and often they are totally clueless to the dangers but also how modern weed is 'created' ( 'It's natural mate, it can't do me any damage')

I know other drugs are equally dangerous, I know alcohol over a longer period of time can cause serious problems but I think there is a gap in understanding from a lot of young people who are underestimating the longer term damage (sometimes irreversible) skunk can cause

OK, but it kind of sounds like you are making out its a major problem when relatively it's not.

I'm not saying it's not serious for the people involved, of course it is, but people do dangerous shit all the time but we don't stop people driving because people die every year.

I really don't think there's much of an argument from that point of view. If you come from a harm stance there are many things that should come before. Education is good, but you'll never stop the demand for cannabis.

No, ethical production, education among producers, distributers and end users, getting it off the streets and into the hands of sensible producers and sellers, thats what I think is needed. Look at Canada and what they did?

Look at booze, imagine if you could only buy it through black markets? poteen, moonshine, strong unregulated and somewhat dangerous alcohols being bought by young people to suppliment their fun on a night out.

ALR · February 1

I’m glad I never bothered with it.

Kurtis · February 1

DrCornelius said:

Kurtis said:

DrCornelius said:

Kurtis said:

DrCornelius said:

robgilmo said:

To be fair, people suffered from side effects all through history, to say its new and related to 'modern' weed is totally missleading, to call it 'psychosis' is also missleading.
As for the actual difference? A short google learned me this, back in 'the day' weed was seeded, the plants were pollinated and produced seeds, this caused the plant to stop producing THC and other compounds, 'modern' weed isnt seeded, it isnt pollinated, its 'sensimilla' , often called sensi, Im sure bob often referred to it as sensi? Anyhow, this is why its got more THC and stinks , apparently something called terpes? makes it stink.
Now the grind is in production, mostly when it is harvested, if harvested early its chemical compounds are imbalanced, it can make the user feel anxious, if the plant is allowed to mature before harvesting this usually makes the user feel more relaxed.

So, in my limited view its not the plant, its the people growing it that causes problems in end user consumption.

Please take the above with a pinch of salt, I am no expert, I dont smoke the stuff and havent for decades, it was just a short google that the above info came from.

What I will say from experience is that there is such a thing as medium / long term drug induced psychosis and skunk (certainly from my experiences) can trigger this - especially in young people

EDIT - a quick Google found this summary/exerpt from a Lancet paper - https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1R02V2/#:~:text=Skunk contains more THC, or,potency skunk is commonly available.

It's certainly not without problems, very little is. I'd say there are certainly people that should be warned against using it, but it's a matter of choice really.
Alcohol indused psychosis is pretty common. Amphetamine induced psychosis too is common and we give that to our kids.

I'm all for getting information out there to people to make choices rather than bans tbh

If you are under 24 then I'd recommend you steer clear of strong weed because it can literally cause brain damage which can lead to further complications in brains that are still developing.

I end up talking to quite a few young people on a ward who are sectioned because of drug induced psychosis and often they are totally clueless to the dangers but also how modern weed is 'created' ( 'It's natural mate, it can't do me any damage')

I know other drugs are equally dangerous, I know alcohol over a longer period of time can cause serious problems but I think there is a gap in understanding from a lot of young people who are underestimating the longer term damage (sometimes irreversible) skunk can cause

OK, but it kind of sounds like you are making out its a major problem when relatively it's not.

I'm not saying it's not serious for the people involved, of course it is, but people do dangerous shit all the time but we don't stop people driving because people die every year.

I really don't think there's much of an argument from that point of view.

Lets see how major a problem it is in 10 years - I hope you are right Kurtis but I have a feeling that unless people are fully aware of the risks then people like me will still be trying to help young people on psychiatric wards undo the damage done. I'm all for allowing people to make choices but with strong weed more than most drugs there seems to be a growing perception in the public that its less dangerous than alcohol and that its a safe high.

Alcohol might lead to you falling over, having a punch up , long term use may leads to liver damage , early onset of various diseases / illnesses etc

Strong weed/Skunk even over a comparatively short period of time may lead to long term mental illness

Educate away, I'm all for it! (Tbh I think most people that use weed are pretty clued up about the dangers, same as drink, the fact is most of them won't be effected to any large degree.) they're willing to take the risk.

The war on drugs isn't working though.

DrCornelius · February 1

The war on drugs isn't working though.

On that point we are in strong agreement :-)

robgilmo · February 1

DrCornelius said:

Kurtis said:

DrCornelius said:

Kurtis said:

DrCornelius said:

robgilmo said:

To be fair, people suffered from side effects all through history, to say its new and related to 'modern' weed is totally missleading, to call it 'psychosis' is also missleading.
As for the actual difference? A short google learned me this, back in 'the day' weed was seeded, the plants were pollinated and produced seeds, this caused the plant to stop producing THC and other compounds, 'modern' weed isnt seeded, it isnt pollinated, its 'sensimilla' , often called sensi, Im sure bob often referred to it as sensi? Anyhow, this is why its got more THC and stinks , apparently something called terpes? makes it stink.
Now the grind is in production, mostly when it is harvested, if harvested early its chemical compounds are imbalanced, it can make the user feel anxious, if the plant is allowed to mature before harvesting this usually makes the user feel more relaxed.

So, in my limited view its not the plant, its the people growing it that causes problems in end user consumption.

Please take the above with a pinch of salt, I am no expert, I dont smoke the stuff and havent for decades, it was just a short google that the above info came from.

What I will say from experience is that there is such a thing as medium / long term drug induced psychosis and skunk (certainly from my experiences) can trigger this - especially in young people

EDIT - a quick Google found this summary/exerpt from a Lancet paper - https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1R02V2/#:~:text=Skunk contains more THC, or,potency skunk is commonly available.

It's certainly not without problems, very little is. I'd say there are certainly people that should be warned against using it, but it's a matter of choice really.
Alcohol indused psychosis is pretty common. Amphetamine induced psychosis too is common and we give that to our kids.

I'm all for getting information out there to people to make choices rather than bans tbh

If you are under 24 then I'd recommend you steer clear of strong weed because it can literally cause brain damage which can lead to further complications in brains that are still developing.

I end up talking to quite a few young people on a ward who are sectioned because of drug induced psychosis and often they are totally clueless to the dangers but also how modern weed is 'created' ( 'It's natural mate, it can't do me any damage')

I know other drugs are equally dangerous, I know alcohol over a longer period of time can cause serious problems but I think there is a gap in understanding from a lot of young people who are underestimating the longer term damage (sometimes irreversible) skunk can cause

OK, but it kind of sounds like you are making out its a major problem when relatively it's not.

I'm not saying it's not serious for the people involved, of course it is, but people do dangerous shit all the time but we don't stop people driving because people die every year.

I really don't think there's much of an argument from that point of view.

Lets see how major a problem it is in 10 years - I hope you are right Kurtis but I have a feeling that unless people are fully aware of the risks then people like me will still be trying to help young people on psychiatric wards undo the damage done. I'm all for allowing people to make choices but with strong weed more than most drugs there seems to be a growing perception in the public that its less dangerous than alcohol and that its a safe high.

Alcohol might lead to you falling over, having a punch up , long term use may leads to liver damage , early onset of various diseases / illnesses etc

Strong weed/Skunk even over a comparatively short period of time may lead to long term mental illness

I think that comparison is very dangerous, its not the same or even remotly related to alcohol, both can be dangerous for very different reasons.

Can I ask, of the young people you treat, how many might you think were sensible in other aspects of life? is there a common profile such as backgrounds, education, aspirations , attitudes etc? Is there a common demoninator among them?

Kurtis · February 1

DrCornelius said:

The war on drugs isn't working though.

On that point we are in strong agreement :-)

I think it would be worth checking out some of the data from places like Spain.

It's been decriminalised some places for quite a while now.

DrCornelius · February 1

robgilmo said:

DrCornelius said:

Kurtis said:

DrCornelius said:

Kurtis said:

DrCornelius said:

robgilmo said:

To be fair, people suffered from side effects all through history, to say its new and related to 'modern' weed is totally missleading, to call it 'psychosis' is also missleading.
As for the actual difference? A short google learned me this, back in 'the day' weed was seeded, the plants were pollinated and produced seeds, this caused the plant to stop producing THC and other compounds, 'modern' weed isnt seeded, it isnt pollinated, its 'sensimilla' , often called sensi, Im sure bob often referred to it as sensi? Anyhow, this is why its got more THC and stinks , apparently something called terpes? makes it stink.
Now the grind is in production, mostly when it is harvested, if harvested early its chemical compounds are imbalanced, it can make the user feel anxious, if the plant is allowed to mature before harvesting this usually makes the user feel more relaxed.

So, in my limited view its not the plant, its the people growing it that causes problems in end user consumption.

Please take the above with a pinch of salt, I am no expert, I dont smoke the stuff and havent for decades, it was just a short google that the above info came from.

What I will say from experience is that there is such a thing as medium / long term drug induced psychosis and skunk (certainly from my experiences) can trigger this - especially in young people

EDIT - a quick Google found this summary/exerpt from a Lancet paper - https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1R02V2/#:~:text=Skunk contains more THC, or,potency skunk is commonly available.

It's certainly not without problems, very little is. I'd say there are certainly people that should be warned against using it, but it's a matter of choice really.
Alcohol indused psychosis is pretty common. Amphetamine induced psychosis too is common and we give that to our kids.

I'm all for getting information out there to people to make choices rather than bans tbh

If you are under 24 then I'd recommend you steer clear of strong weed because it can literally cause brain damage which can lead to further complications in brains that are still developing.

I end up talking to quite a few young people on a ward who are sectioned because of drug induced psychosis and often they are totally clueless to the dangers but also how modern weed is 'created' ( 'It's natural mate, it can't do me any damage')

I know other drugs are equally dangerous, I know alcohol over a longer period of time can cause serious problems but I think there is a gap in understanding from a lot of young people who are underestimating the longer term damage (sometimes irreversible) skunk can cause

OK, but it kind of sounds like you are making out its a major problem when relatively it's not.

I'm not saying it's not serious for the people involved, of course it is, but people do dangerous shit all the time but we don't stop people driving because people die every year.

I really don't think there's much of an argument from that point of view.

Lets see how major a problem it is in 10 years - I hope you are right Kurtis but I have a feeling that unless people are fully aware of the risks then people like me will still be trying to help young people on psychiatric wards undo the damage done. I'm all for allowing people to make choices but with strong weed more than most drugs there seems to be a growing perception in the public that its less dangerous than alcohol and that its a safe high.

Alcohol might lead to you falling over, having a punch up , long term use may leads to liver damage , early onset of various diseases / illnesses etc

Strong weed/Skunk even over a comparatively short period of time may lead to long term mental illness

I think that comparison is very dangerous, its not the same or even remotly related to alcohol, both can be dangerous for very different reasons.

Can I ask, of the young people you treat, how many might you think were sensible in other aspects of life? is there a common profile such as backgrounds, education, aspirations , attitudes etc? Is there a common demoninator among them?

None whatsoever unfortunately, just to be clear I work on an adult ward as well as in the community. I work in an NHS setting but also alongside Probation services so meet a broad cross section of people from bad boys to skaters, straight A students the lot. The people I usually support with drug induced psychosis are under 25.

its my job to manage a team of peer workers who have their own lived experience and who support people in their recoveries from MH issues.

I'm not clinically trained , my views are based on real feedback, real situations and from working with hundreds of people over 13 years in the role though.

Sorry if I wasn't clear on my previous post - I agree with you, its nothing like alcohol but some people see it as a safer alternative

uksaint7 · February 1

I bought a pedalboard on here that stunk of skunk, the smell didn't really dissipate even after a few months. I had to get rid of it super cheap to someone who didn't mind like I did.

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God. Some people stink of weed.

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