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Both are drugs that can be abused.
The damaging physical effects of alcohol are much more severe than those of marijuana, and can include death-either immediate from alcohol induced CNS depression, or slowly due to long term organ damage caused by chronic abuse. Marijuana can only kill you if a ton bale of it falls on your head.
Both can change one's perception of one's internal and external world.
Each affects different people in different ways, and at different times.
Alcohol seems to make one's perception of things more blurry and dull.
Marijuana seems to make one more hyper-aware of thoughts and sensations, and one's interpretation of them is altered. Then again, bear in mind that marijuana is a hallucinogen, so all of those thoughts, feelings and sensations have more than a trace of the illusory to them. Especially the feeling that one is "more conscious."
In general, having had vast experience with both of these substances in the past, I would say that alcohol is more of a "Body High", while marijuana is more of a "Mind High."
It's been a long while since I've smoked (think an ounce for $25) but I always loved how it made me feel. I became aware of areas in my body that were holding tension, and would stretch to relieve that tension. If I had some type of issue in my life I needed addressed, it gave me some profound insight. I felt energized and creative - favorite things to do when smoking was to clean the house, exercise, or tackle an artistic project.
I don't like to drink, and rarely do. I also don't like to be around drinkers, as I don't care for alcohol induced behavior. I've never come across a mean pot smoker, but have met plenty of mean drunks.
Marijuana can only kill you if a ton bale of it falls on your head.
So you are saying it doesn't cause brain damage? I know it can alter a young persons personality (to the detriment) and causes interrupted mental development. Then there are the effects on the lungs which be no different from cigarettes I suppose.
Heavy drinking versus heavy cannabis smoking - which is worse?
Moderate drinking versus moderate cannabis use - which is worse?
It is claimed that light to moderate alcohol consumption has health benefits. There is a list of benefits including lowering blood pressure and lowering stress.
NO. As a long time smoker(6-7 years almost daily light use(i.e, smoking a quarter ounce every 2-ish weeks, as opposed to an ounce a week) absolutely no, it does not make you more conscious. I quit not too long ago for just this reason. I'm tired of the perennial mental fog, the vague sense of disconnection from reality. It sneaks up on you.
Compared to booze, yes, it lets you retain most of your consciousness, booze is awful in that regard. But compared to being sober, no. This a great fallacy of pot, that it grounds you and connects you and makes you more present. Sober meditation/awareness work does that, not marijuana.
The first 15-30 minutes throw you into a place that could be called more conscious, but after that it is a downward spiral into dullness and disconnection. Then you keep packing more bowls trying to chase that first energized state or just spend the rest of the day a little bit "off". The problems show up when you keep smoking, never giving yourself a period of sobriety to recover.
I still think it should be legalized due to the damage caused to society by it's illegality, but it definitely isn't some wonder drug that benefits your life when smoked all the time. Once a week, fine.
Check out this link and if your still curious, the link in the footnotes. This is what people report coming out of heavy use, so keep that in mind. Occasional use is much different.
The part about being in a mental fog from overuse is definitely true. I was headed down this path for a while until I seriously cut back. Now I don't smoke more than two bowls in a single day, and I never do dabs of hash oil except on weekends. I feel much better now. I can get high more and feel normal the rest of the time, which ends up making the whole smoking experience better, generally.
I'm not picking on you personally, but in general I see a theme of demonizing alcohol to support marijuana. I see no need for that. There's no need to put down something to prop up another.
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It's interesting and seems contradictory that with everything you've said here, you ultimately don't believe marijuana helps you be more creative.
No, I get it. I don't want to ban alcohol or anything, it's just I've had way more negative experiences personally with alcohol than with MJ, (although I've only really done MJ a handful of times, so it's not entirely fair to alcohol) and I drink at least 1 time every couple of months.
And yeah, MJ has made me feel good, but never (musically) creative. It wasn't really meant to contradict, but rather I find myself to be a musical person, and MJ hasn't helped me with that.
Are you saying they become duller permanently or just the more they smoke at a given time?
All of the time I's say from my observations. I thought my son was getting duller but that may have been from him being in a state of stress and depression at the time. I associated with a group of cannabis users when I was a young man and they all became duller on dope but I can't say they were duller in between. It's heavy users I came across in the workplace that seemed generally dulled in there appearance and behaviour. One of they group from my younger days ended up in a psychiatric hospital with full blown schizophrenia. That's one of the negative effects of cannabis.
It's been a long while since I've smoked (think an ounce for $25) but I always loved how it made me feel. I became aware of areas in my body that were holding tension, and would stretch to relieve that tension. If I had some type of issue in my life I needed addressed, it gave me some profound insight. I felt energized and creative - favorite things to do when smoking was to clean the house, exercise, or tackle an artistic project.
I don't like to drink, and rarely do. I also don't like to be around drinkers, as I don't care for alcohol induced behavior. I've never come across a mean pot smoker, but have met plenty of mean drunks.
So you are saying it doesn't cause brain damage? I know it can alter a young persons personality (to the detriment) and causes interrupted mental development. Then there are the effects on the lungs which be no different from cigarettes I suppose.
Heavy drinking versus heavy cannabis smoking - which is worse?
Moderate drinking versus moderate cannabis use - which is worse?
It is claimed that light to moderate alcohol consumption has health benefits. There is a list of benefits including lowering blood pressure and lowering stress.
Absolutely alcohol is worse. I speak as someone who's worked in health care for 18 years. Alcohol causes liver damage and severe damage to the brain (it's so common in older drinkers (50+) is has a name, "Alcohol-Induced Dementia). It can cause Diabetes as well. There are no known permanent adverse effects from pot for adults (which, when we speak about legalization, adults are all we are talking about) and many possible benefits. yes, you can get lung damage if you smoke, but many people are using vaporizers now, which produce no smoke and have no adverse effects on the lungs.
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