from the I-endeavor-to-be-accurate-Captain dept.
AlterNet reports
A new report, by the journal Scientific Reports,[1] finds that marijuana is far safer than other recreational drugs, including and especially alcohol.
Pot may be as much as 114 times safer than booze, say the researchers. The study also maintains that past research into alcohol has systematically underestimated the risks associated with its use.
The study sought to quantify the risk of death associated with the use of common recreational drugs. Alcohol, they found, was the deadliest substance, followed by heroin and cocaine. The safest drug was marijuana; it was also the only drug in the study that had a low mortality risk for users.
Unlike other studies into drug toxicity, the study did not use historical death counts associated with recreational drug used to come to its findings. Instead, the study weighed the potential lethal doses of a substance compared with the amount a typical user might consume. Booze posed the greatest risk to its users when comparing a fatal dose to typical recreational use.
This is not the first study to find that marijuana is significantly safer than other recreational drugs, including booze. A 2003 study by the School of Behavioral and Organizational Science at Claremont Graduate University produced similar results and rankings.(PDF)
[1] The link in the article is crap.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 28 2015, @12:31AM
So they didn't use any actual data, just potential data....
(Score: 3, Interesting) by bob_super on Saturday February 28 2015, @12:36AM
And they violate the Bob rule of "three digits for perceived credibility"
(Score: 3, Interesting) by tathra on Saturday February 28 2015, @01:33AM
the problem with using the "recreational drug death counts" is that they're completely invalid. if you're walking down the street after smoking a joint and get run over by a drunk driver, your death will be marked as caused by marijuana. ok, maybe not that extreme, but regardless of what the actual cause of death is, if an illegal drug is found during an autopsy the death will be blamed on that drug, so the "data" on drug deaths/toxicity is far from accurate (and of course, since its illegal to study schedule 1 drugs because they're schedule 1 its extremely difficult to show that they're not nearly as toxic/deadly as the falsified data claims).
(Score: 2) by frojack on Saturday February 28 2015, @07:38AM
We are seeing that kind of reporting in Washington state already.
Regardless of the type of accident, police are sure to mention any use of marijuana, even if it occurred one or two days prior.
Sort of like the reporting in prior years that a cyclist who was run completely over by a semi was not wearing his helmet.
And the goofy press piles it on, without ever questioning the validity of what they are reporting.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by cubancigar11 on Saturday February 28 2015, @03:41PM
Calling press 'goofy' is punishable naive. To quote, "The validity of the story derives from the authority of the source. The expert... is on hand to add dimension or clarity. Truth flowed one way: from the official source, through the anchor, past the expert, and onward into the great sea of viewerdom." [1]
1. http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/02/jeff-wise-mh370-theory.html [nymag.com]
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Saturday February 28 2015, @03:36AM
What data? The basic premise is all wrong, so how do you support that premise with data?
"We want to do something that is illegal, and we want to make it legal. Why don't we take some meaningless data, so that we can compare our illegal substance to a known deadly substance? THAT will convince everyone that our stuff should be legal!"
A much better, much more convincing tack, is to promote the medicinal value of cannabis. Alcohol has a long track record of having some medicinal value, and a lot more placebo value. So, keep plugging away on the medicinal values of marijuana.
I just don't give a small damn if alcohol or hemp rots your brain out. You should have made an informed decision before you started using. Your decision was less than informed? Tough shit - especially for Americans. You had ample opportunity to get an education, and to study just about anything you may have ever wished to study.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 28 2015, @07:21AM
> What data? The basic premise is all wrong, so how do you support that premise with data?
What premise do you think they are supporting?
I'm getting the distinct impression that you are one of those people who think that only the most trivial and obvious application of the scientific method qualifies as science such that narrow and highly specific applications don't count because, well, its all greek to you.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 28 2015, @05:14PM
Only if you have money. The rest of us can't afford more than basic education, and practically half the population has been fighting to ensure we never will be able to.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Sunday March 01 2015, @02:39AM
That is a preposterous statement.
Perhaps you can't afford a formal education at an Ivy League college. Maybe you can't even afford to take some classes at a community college. But, you CAN afford internet, can't you? You're posting in response to my comments after all.
I think it safe to say that at least 3/4 of the net sum of human knowledge is available on the internet, for free. If you are willing and able to PAY FOR IT, that fraction will go up considerably.
Now - I've made a somewhat bold statement. I wonder how accurate it is. Has anyone done a study to determine how much of mankind's knowledge actually is available on the intartubez?
It matters little how accurate my statement is though. Virtually every one of the laws of physics is available. Geometry? Trig? Algebra? It's all there. Have you educated yourself in those areas of study?
How about history? Which portions of human history are unavailable to you?
Psychiatry? Medicine? Maybe those are a little harder to find serious work - but there is an awful lot out there.
What did YOU want to study, but were unable to?
I was taught very early in life - junior high school maybe - that school's primary purpose is to teach you how to think, or how to learn. Sitting in a classroom, putting in hours, does not make you educated. STUDY makes you educated. You can study anytime, anywhere. Stop watching television and movies, and pick up a book instead. Click a link to studies and data, instead of pornography. Learn to manipulate numbers in more meaningful ways than merely calculating which team has the best chance to win the world series, superbowl, or whatever.
If you are uneducated, it is your own fault.
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Sunday March 01 2015, @04:10AM
I think it safe to say that at least 3/4 of the net sum of human knowledge is available on the internet, for free.
If you are willing and able to PAY FOR IT
Parse error: invalid use of "free". Garbage collection fault imminent.
Dammit, Majel.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Sunday March 01 2015, @12:28AM
What data?
I just don't give a small damn if alcohol or hemp rots your brain out. You should have made an informed decision before you started using. Your decision was less than informed? Tough shit - especially for Americans. You had ample opportunity to get an education, and to study just about anything you may have ever wished to study.
So you're saying people should make an informed decision about something that lacks objective data?
This is the problem with being aware of shitty methodology in scientific studies. When you go to do research on something, you have a hard time finding trustworthy data.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday March 01 2015, @02:43AM
I'm saying that there is plenty of data on alcohol. The data on mary jane is often times biased, but there is plenty of data all the same. One bit of data that is glaringly obvious is, if you use cannabis, you will probably spend some short stints in jail, and may very well serve some extended prison time.
THAT much data is readily available to anyone capable of rational though processes.
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Sunday March 01 2015, @04:08AM
That's just due to the legal system, though. From the sound of your original comment, it sounded like you were talking about which objectively does more harm to you on a scientific level.
Telling people to choose a (greater scientific evil, lesser legal evil) in order to avoid a (greater legal evil, lesser scientific evil) sounds like a dubious idea to me.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday March 01 2015, @08:27AM
Maybe what I'm really saying is, that people should choose life.
Drink enough, and your liver will mutiny on you, and you will die. That's long term of course - drinking to much can get you killed in a car wreck very short term.
Smoke enough, and a biased legal system will curtail your freedom, after which you may find it very easy to die in prison, or to become Bubba's bitch, or any number of other undesirable circumstances.
An educated person doesn't risk his/her life for a little fleeting pleasure, now does he?
(Score: 5, Insightful) by c0lo on Saturday February 28 2015, @12:39AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 28 2015, @01:03AM
http://www.nature.com/srep/2015/150130/srep08126/full/srep08126.html [nature.com]
Some graphs list "Cannabis", others list "THC". THC has a very large margin of exposure. The estimated human intake seems to be based on using cannabis, not using pure THC.
(Score: 2) by Hartree on Saturday February 28 2015, @01:03AM
But can you afford a 5kg joint? ;)
(Score: 2) by SlimmPickens on Saturday February 28 2015, @05:58AM
But can you roll a 5Kg joint?
(Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Saturday February 28 2015, @09:53PM
It's been done: https://www.google.com/search?q=giant+joint&es_sm=93&biw=1920&bih=1099&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=oDjyVPOsDaTGsQSM_IJg&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ [google.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 28 2015, @03:27AM
and given that I can have about 50g of ethanol in a single go without serious adverse effect
I, for one, have a much lower tolerance for his posts. Especially when he's drunk. Again.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Saturday February 28 2015, @04:06AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 28 2015, @07:35AM
> does this mean I can safely smoke a 5kg+ of weed joint?
No, you'll pass out and end up lighting your couch on fire.
Spilling a litre of vodka on a couch never killed anyone so alcohol is definitely safer than pot.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 28 2015, @07:58AM
Depends... I had a couple of friends that would kill you for the sacrilege of spilling vodka.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 28 2015, @12:52AM
This means that if I take 12 drinks in an hour, I might die.
But if I smoked 1 joints, or 24 joints or whatever, then I most likely will *not* die.
So weed is safe for human consumption, compared with alcohol, right? Well, for that one scenario, yes. In general, I don't think it proves much.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 28 2015, @12:57AM
Not everyone can afford 81 blunts a day. And there has never been an "overdose" of weed.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 28 2015, @01:35AM
Weed is safe for human consuption. We *only* have studies that show those who have a predisposition to mental illness smoke weed more. There is no study showing anyone overdosing on THC via weed, no study that shows long term body damage, no study that shows withdrawal literall killing you like alcohol can do.
Alcohol's social ills are long documented.
The fact weed is illegal is one huge bit of hypocracy when alcohol literally kills thousands a year, let alone the other damage it causes.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 28 2015, @07:46AM
88 thousand deaths per year in the US. [cdc.gov] Three times as deadly as those firearms everyone is trying to get rid of.
In Europe the problem is far, far worse. It is closer to 300,000 deaths per year, nearly twice as high as it was a decade ago though it is going down in select countries. An estimated 5 million people in the EU proper, or about 1% of the population has alcohol related birth defects or mental conditions due to their mother drinking. It just goes and goes. There is an absurd amount of literature about this stuff yet nobody seems to care.
We revel in alcohol. We are proud of it. We show off how cultured we are based on how much, how often, and how expensive our drinking habits are. How absurd this situation is where other, benign drugs can put you in prison while the most destructive one is a social expectation.
There is just an overwhelming amount of data on this. Here is a decent place to start. [who.int] The quote at the bottom of the page is particularly apt, "Hacker's Law: The belief that enhanced understanding will necessarily stir a nation to action is one of mankind's oldest illusions."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 28 2015, @08:05AM
An estimated 5 million people in the EU proper, or about 1% of the population has alcohol related birth defects or mental conditions due to their mother drinking.
1% is the estimated rate for the US. [medscape.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 28 2015, @04:32PM
Do you mean .1%?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 28 2015, @09:33AM
Don't forget rope. You guys always like to point out that hemp makes great rope.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 28 2015, @07:26AM
So weed is safe for human consumption, compared with alcohol, right?
Well, for that one scenario, yes. In general, I don't think it proves much.
Because binge drinking is such a rare practice. [cdc.gov]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 28 2015, @05:19PM
Don't forget that alcohol is the date rape drug. Women who get drugged with it and raped even shrug and laugh it off like they were expecting to get raped and its no big deal
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 28 2015, @02:48AM
I sometimes miss getting high. But i don't miss the people one damm bit.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday February 28 2015, @03:31AM
How true. Of course, you'll never meet a brain dead wino who pisses on himself in the alley where he sleeps off a good binge.
Your post only exposes your own personal preferences and prejudices, and contributes nothing to the discussion.
(Score: 3, Informative) by mrcoolbp on Saturday February 28 2015, @05:55AM
I find those people everywhere, and the vast majority don't partake in the weed. Some of the most intelligent people I know smoke pot. Just saying anecdotes are just that.
(Score:1^½, Radical)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 28 2015, @08:52AM
Frankly the people that like getting high are mostly truly chill when high.
There are far, far too many add alcohol get asshole people. And people wonder why I dont like being around drunk people.
(Score: 0, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 28 2015, @04:00AM
Skunkweed is OK.
Maui Wowi is good.
Kona Gold is better.
Great Dane is killer.
(Score: 0, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 28 2015, @04:08AM
I have always preferred alcohol to weed, just a personal preference after enough experience to make that determination. My one BAAAD experience was going to a party with my pot smoking room mate who wanted to "convert" me to his "side". At his bidding I smoked some hash oil, which (IIRC) is weed boiled to make it more concentrated. I freaked out, blacked out, and the next thing I remember I was drooling all over myself and hugging a lamp post outside in 10 degree weather. The few people who walked by would stare at me and then move on. I could not let go under my own power. I could not form a sentence with my stoned mouth to ask for help. Lucky for me one of my fraternity brothers walked by and recognized me and carried me to his nearby apartment and dropped me on his couch. Otherwise (in all odds) they would have had to chisel frozen me off that lamp post the next morning. So, yeah, middle aged now and beer is my poison of choice. And under very certain circumstances IMO pot can indeed kill.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 28 2015, @05:13AM
Sounds similar to what would happen if someone who has never had alcohol before went all in with a fresh bottle of Everclear.
Excess with anything leads to bad situations and circumstances. In this case, you had no tolerance, so it was a bad idea to go for anything "more concentrated" or potent.
(Score: 2) by SlimmPickens on Saturday February 28 2015, @06:04AM
It's finely chopped weed gently simmered in oil, the oil dissolves most of the volatiles. It is more concentrated than weed.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 28 2015, @07:31AM
Is that you Maureen Dowd? [bbc.com]
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 28 2015, @04:32PM
Look gewg_ we get it. We get it, you want to get high. Fine. Move somewhere where it is legal. It is now legal in no less than 4 places in the united states and several European countries.
Please just stop with your 'its good for you'. Its not and you *know* it. You are putting crap in your body. Crap in crap out. You are wrapping 'happy words' around something that is bad for you. You are doing this to justify your stupid actions. Alcohol is just as bad if not worse. But guess what? Short of a constitutional amendment its mostly legal. It is also something you have a choice to buy and NOT buy. Which is what freedom is.
The thing is you just want a buzz. Fine. But can you please stop with the whiny stoner BS? Be honest with yourself and those around you. You will find your life a lot more 'chill' if you do that. You are using a drug to fix issues in your life. Notice how you keep having to use that drug to do so? Maybe you should fix the issue in your life that causes you to want to be baked? You will notice your 'close' friends are also all doing the same thing. As people tend to group together that do the same thing. You will notice those who seem to be doing decently in their lives treat drugs as what they are. Something to get a buzz with and move on.
Having attended a few drug classes with someone who is addicted to much harder stuff. I can safely say weed is the gateway (many stats/studies back me up on this). Some people stop there and never move on that is true (again stats). But out of all the hard core ones every last one started with weed (again stats). They are all looking to 'tune out' (their own words). They are unsatisfied with their lives and do not know how to change it. So they use drugs to escape (their own words). Dude cut you off in traffic. Smoke a joint (real life example). Dude said something rude to you in the line at mcd's? Pop a happy pill (real life example). You are medicating your life away. Those 'expansive' thoughts you are having are already there. You just dont let them out when you are not stoned for fear of something.
Another lie you are telling yourself is 'it does not affect me at all'. Is simply *NOT* true. Look no further than post after post after post you make. Look at the words coming from you. The 'man' is out to get you, the gov is not taking care of you enough, cops are going to crack your skull open, if only we could tax the rich to give to the poor. Notice how all of those things directly affect you alone. You are being greedy and selfish and only worrying about yourself while pretending to care for others. You are being paranoid and selfish (two well known side effects of habitual marijuana usage). Find that fear and let it go. You do not even post as yourself and you are one of the most prolific posters on this site. You are afraid of something. Let it go.
Most of my recovering alcoholic/stoner/heroin friends all say the same thing. 'we dont do it because it tastes good we do it because we like the effect'. Every. last. one.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 01 2015, @09:21AM
What you know about me is less than zero.
The moron who modded you up is even more stupid.
-- gewg_
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Sunday March 01 2015, @12:23AM
Is "A 114x safer than B" supposed to mean the same thing as "B 114x more dangerous than A"? So is that A = 114 * B or A = B^114?
Reminds me of the joke about two chicks where the guy offers the brunette anything she wants, but the blonde will receive twice as much of whatever she wishes for. The brunette, after thinking about it, says, "I wish to be drowned half to death."
Hate when food is labelled as "95% fat free", too. Either it has fat in it, or it doesn't.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 2) by ngarrang on Thursday March 05 2015, @07:33PM
You know your movement has become desperate to become legitimate when you resort to comparing your danger level to another toxic substance. Both alcohol and weed are bad for the body and brain.
"Hey, our drug is 500x safer than speed!"
"Hey, our drug is 300x safer than crack!"
How about comparing the toxicity/danger to not doing it at all? Such psychoactive drugs are simply not needed and end up being abused, regardless of the benefits they may provide in small, controlled doses in a medical situation. Because, it never just stops at the hospital. Psychoactive drugs are a slippery slope. Just say no from the start.