Are We Too Relaxed About Cannabis?

[@baliorne]

I'd like to once again congratulate drugs, for winning the war on drugs.

[@billlyons7024]

Hey I helped too!

[@romanlegion5837]

Shoutout to drugs for always keeping peoples spirits high

[@AmberAmber]

Drugs make me not want to expire from life! XO hooray drugs!!!

[@onion2102]

FLM

[@OkRake]

@@billlyons7024 Fellow soldier I see ;)

[@christianmccauley7340]

The “would you like some coke with that” line was gold. It’s compelling little things like that that make this channel worth watching

[@DodgeThatAttack]

Almost as good as the line I had last night 😏

[@flowerpower7288]

@@DodgeThatAttack 🤣

[@SquashyPan]

If one day he says that he made that video with the only goal to say that line I wouldn't blame him...

[@redneckshaman3099]

I'm addicted to pigger nussy 🤠

[@generaltom6850]

When? Can you give me a timestamp?

[@BrantleyJd]

I'm from Colorado, and the worst thing that happened when cannabis was legalized was that housing got super expensive from everyone wanting to move here.

[@rs72098]

Crime also went up quite a bit in Colorado after legalization. The reason is the state also attracted lots of vagrants who were looking to cash in on the emerging black market. Since marijuana prosecutions were down and it was difficult to distinguish if marijuana was purchased legally or not, black market dealers were able undercut legal dispensaries with very littie repercussions. This happened in California as well.

[@KFrost-fx7dt]

I've noticed a marked increase of zombies living here. People are in a stoned, miserable-looking daze. Often very young people. It's sad. We were lied to about this substance. From my experience it's not much better than alcohol, if it's better at all.

[@SmurfAcc-ow7zm]

🦋 effect 😆

[@Tijopi11]

Hi fellow Coloradian, don't forget our roads got hellblasted with new traffic from all the people moving here.

[@apollodos]

@@rs72098you notice you're taking this doom and gloom approach whereas 2 (two) Coloradans helpfully noted that their states are not the hellhole doomscapes that you seem to paint

[@NataliesChatalie]

In my experience it's been an anti-gateway drug. It may be anecdotal but I've known numerous people who have used it to get off of worse addictions. Hell I'm right now scaling down usage really easily and enjoying it just as much as before. Unlike other drugs, it's tolerance resets extremely quickly. It's a pain reliever that's so much less intense than others

[@EnglishTeaDrinker5]

I used to do some pretty harmful stuff including huffing straight solvents. Stupid af i know. I was depressed and anxious. Ive been using weed occasionally to ward off some of my more paranoid delusions alongside weekly therapy. Ive stopped drinking daily and now smoke weed about once a week. It gave me the ability to start pulling myself together. I never want to touch harder drugs outside psychedelics.

[@Tijopi11]

I was getting worried about my growing dependency on alcohol. I'm a small woman but I have a high tolerance, so I was worried about my liver. I had no idea how to kick the habit, seemingly nothing was working. I took exactly one edible and I've barely given a shit about alcohol ever since.

[@rrrrrjjjjj]

I am definitely quite relaxed on cannabis. I mean on cannabis. I mean on cannabis

[@zacharyjordan399]

lmao

[@grapespace]

This is the best possible comment for this video 🤣

[@EugeneParallax]

You can't make a better comment for this headline. My hat's off to you, sir :)

[@tempestive1]

You mispelled cannabis. I think.

[@WavyThunder67]

You could call the fridge door the gateway that cannabis opens for me...

[@octavio2895]

The whole "gateway drug" argument lies flat on its face. Sure, those who tries harder substances probably had weed before. But those who had weed probably also tried alcohol before, therefore you can classify alcohol as a gateway drug too. Reductio ad absurdum. It is not the weed made them try harder drugs. It is that those who are predisposed to compulsive/dangerous behavior and are on hard drugs, probably had weed long ago.

[@sheadoherty7434]

Honestly drinking leads me to harder drugs. I need to sober up? I'll have some coke. I want go out without starting a fight? I have an e. I want my booze to hit harder? I'll have some special K. The only thing weed ever led me to was the desire to eat a load of calories and find Big Lez funny

[@GS-lq2is]

Yeah, exactly. A person who hasn’t yet been willing to get drunk or smoke a joint is not going to be up for snorting coke or shooting up.

[@vladtheemailer3223]

Alcohol is a gateway drug, just like weed and nicotine. Gateway drug simply means that it MAY lead to trying harder drugs. Ignore the popular media definition.

[@GS-lq2is]

@@vladtheemailer3223 but the cause and effect is backwards, ime. Using pot doesn’t “ lead” to doing other drugs, it’s just that someone prone to try mood altering substances will almost certainly start with lighter things first.

[@vladtheemailer3223]

@@GS-lq2is right, although I'm sure there are a handful of people that would be led to try harder drugs. The whole thing was distorted by the media years ago. Using a gateway drug isn't the end of the world.

[@h4724-q6j]

The idea that the property of being a "gateway drug" is enough to classify a substance as class A would logically lead to the obsolescence of the classification system entirely.

[@danielthompson2561]

It wouldn’t be a gateway drug if it was legal… so there’s that

[@42617a]

True lmao

[@pinball1970]

@@danielthompson2561 It is a dangerous drug.

[@danielthompson2561]

Didn’t say it wasn’t. All substances are in one way or another - but to say it’s dangerous because it is a “gateway drug” is super two faced. It’s only a gateway because it gets you in touch with, and used to, deals with illicit drug dealers - that wouldn’t happen if you could buy it at Boots. Nothing natural to Weed makes you want to take cocaine - in fact, it naturally makes you paranoid. In order for it to be a natural gateway drug, it’d need to make you confident and stupid. Like alcohol…

[@pinball1970]

@@danielthompson2561 A drug has biochemical effects, cannabis on the brain. Habitual use of strong cannabis in the UK where Alex is from is causing problems with young people. That makes it dangerous. This is ZERO to do with legality, crime or gateway. Studies demonstrate there is a concrete link between strong cannabis and psychosis. It's in scholar, key words, Oxford academy cannabis psychosis, also NHS, Bath University, Priory clinic.

[@MaxVliet]

I have bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, PTSD, ADHD, and probably more mental health issues tucked away in my noggin. I've spent the last 12 years on various medication and NOTHING has worked for me. I've barely been able to leave my flat for a whole decade. I started vaping cannabis earlier this year and the difference is night and day. I'm finally able to go outside and do things for myself. I finally have some semblance of independence again and it has given me hope that life isn't over for me yet. My current problem is that cannabis is illegal, and that makes it difficult to get a steady supply of good quality herb of a strain that suits me. I have considered growing for my own consumption but it is a no-go because I don't think i would survive in prison. I am hopeful to spend this Christmas with my family for the first time in over a decade, and I could not have done this without cannabis.

[@FabiusPyromanus]

Best of luck and strength to you.!

[@adejn10]

Yes this comment! I'm autistic and thus have poorer sleep & difficulty relaxing. I have ADHD and thus poorer sleep & difficulty relaxing. I have PTSD and thus poorer sleep & difficulty relaxing. Psychiatry missed (even gaslit me on) my AuDHD and early burnout syndrome but gave me various other Dx's like GAD & SAD as my psyche was failing from constant stress, etc... I have a prescription for codeine due to my gut (IPAA), but can't afford even legal CBD. Legalised cannabis would help remedy most of my pharmacologic needs and help with my health problems and disability. Psychiatry prescribed lots of unhealthy drugs most of which have an LD50. Cannabis (low on THC) would help me a long way! There is no medication available to me to help me relax & sleep which doesn't make me chronically drowsy. Cannabis could improve this and I've just been kept waiting to get to fully function my whole life.

[@SobrietyandSolace]

@@adejn10 I do not think it is a coincidence that so many neurodivergent people find cannabis works when nothing else does

[@eduardobroekman]

Talk about labeling yourself

[@nxhu.]

You can apply for a cannabis card In uk if you’ve been prescribed more than 2 different drugs for your illness and they’ve not worked. You can then legally grow up to 3 plants for personal use

[@monochromeboy]

In middle school they told us weed could kill you. So, I decided that it was the easiest sewerslide method I could get my hands on. Instead I just got very high, and found a new hobby. I still smoke today. Only drug I can do. I can't even drink alchohol.

[@SluttyPhone]

what a story!

[@JDMOON55555]

W

[@DV-zv4ox]

Same. Alcohol turns me from a quiet, shy introvert into a loud, boisterous and depending on the crowd, sometimes aggressive douchebag. Weed just chills me out and gets me thinking about the origins and nature of the universe.

[@jamesklark6562]

I was just gonna freeze myself to death in the winter cold, decided I would buy my first ever edible assuming it'd make me too loopy to find my way back home, ended up having the best snowday of my life and figured I'd just enjoy myself for a few weeks so I could think things out without stress or a gloomy disposition, feel like I'm making some actual progress in my life now.

[@staid4969]

@@DV-zv4ox This! I used to drink pretty heavily and would do things I'd never do sober and that scared the hell out of me. When I switched to weed I felt so much more in control and chilled out and have been told I'm far more fun to be around since I switched. My health also improved (both physical and mental) And yet some people would say I graduated onto a more dangerous drug, it's ridiculous

[@rasmusn.e.m1064]

The point about the gateway of breaking the law being stronger than the gateway between disparate drugs is so good.

[@niceguy191]

It's famously a big reason why the DARE program was such a failure. If you categorize all drugs to the extreme with no nuance, then people are more likely to experiment once they've "broken the seal"

[@hibernopithecus7500]

…ish. If someone abstains from weed until they go somewhere it’s decriminalised, they’re more likely to try harder drugs when they come home. They didn’t break a legal barrier by smoking weed in, say, Amsterdam, but they’ve broken a social one.

[@brickbybrick4692]

@@hibernopithecus7500 everyone breaks a social barrier when they start drinking alcohol all day too, or black out one too many times.

[@hibernopithecus7500]

@@brickbybrick4692 Right. Except when it comes to social barriers, if everybody’s breaking it, then there’s nothing there to break.

[@rasmusn.e.m1064]

Which is why decriminalisation is a good idea in the first place. At least if you agree that decriminalisation could lead to the disestablishment of the taboo around weed. That way, there are no social barriers to be broken by evading the law. I suspect you look at this through a global lens, so you are afraid of a global increase in the abuse of hard drugs as a result of the bottleneck created by a few countries allowing gateway drugs while most other countries stay where they are, but if you think about this as a government who is trying to limit the amount of, let's say, heroin overdoses just within its own country, then it only makes sense to decriminalise weed given that it removes legal barriers and, in time, social barriers. It's one of those rare cases where every government being a rational actor actually helps out everybody because it makes it impossible to evade and break the law, which in return invalidates the social/legal slippery slope. This is of course all assuming that it is a true slippery slope and solely focused on that aspect. There could be some other negatives to being the only place where the stuff is legal, as someone who lives in Amsterdam can probably attest to.

[@malgrosskreuz01]

“I would rather my children be stoners than alcoholics.” As the niece of a former alcoholic, I definitely agree. I’ve seen the affects of alcoholism via my uncle and would never wish that on anyone. Thankfully he’s sober and now works with alcoholics and drug addicts

[@fingmoron]

Yup stoners are usually just harmless people who loaf around and don't reach their full potential, alcoholics are self destructive people whos life and body fall apart before your eyes. Scary shit tbh.

[@zootsoot2006]

I'd rather my child be an alcoholic than a schizophrenic.

[@yoloswaggins7121]

@@zootsoot2006 Okay?

[@WillieMcphee]

@@zootsoot2006 so whats gonna make your child into a schizophrenic?? it ain't cannabis!.. but if you look into it the alcohol is more likely to cause psychological issues, never mind the alcoholic blackouts, temporary impairment of motor skills, liver disease, long term effects on relationships and employment, etc... etc...

[@pinball1970]

@@WillieMcphee Citation please

[@NeutralSlimeGwen]

5:54 "Would you like some coke with that" that's a great line damn-

[@williamappleford148]

love how you're tackling more political topics and areas you wouldn't normally in your videos. keep up the amazing work!

[@onlinetruth9979]

Hopefully he talks about assisted dying and the Meacher bill

[@TangentFuture41]

This is how impartial voices become politically radicalized by consumerism

[@snapgab]

Yeah I really like that too, I actually despise "philosophers" who refuse to talk directly about actual current political issues, all of philosophy has very serious political implications, anyone who doesn't talk about that has no right to consider themselves a philosopher or even a student of philosophy.

[@TheREVISISLAND24]

@@snapgab Exactly

[@joewilson3575]

@@snapgab well said

[@fredericdouglas3574]

Trauma, especially childhood sexual trauma, is the gateway to abuse of hard drugs.

[@HighStakesDanny]

Totally, finally someone said it.

[@SirBojo4]

@@HighStakesDanny Stop whining like a fragile snowflake LMAO 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Is the fact that many people think and behave as such a kind of gateway drug?

[@boianko]

Yep, those who feel like they have nothing to lose aren't going to be stopped by some law.

[@Adanosiam]

So True. I remember when i was a kid and had hard times, i would search the house for cash to buy candy. At 5 years old. Later on in life i found out this was an addict behavior. Maybe sugar is the biggest gateway drug, and abuse the motive.

[@wrathofainz]

Father Flanigan is the gateway to hard drugs, confirmed.

[@adelbatal5224]

As an ex weed addict, I completely agree with everything you've said. After years of addiction, I managed to convince myself that it is not for me, so I quit for good. However, I still hang out with stoner friends who as it seems, weed does not affect their lives the way it affected mine, and by the way, non of them uses any kind of any other drug.

[@sndn7733]

Congrats. I only smoke weed after quitting drinking, Smoking multiple times, and chewing tobacco. I've also quit smoking weed before and I eventually went back to it. It's nice to have some vice and weed is alright.

[@randomgamerdude98]

@@sndn7733 everything in moderation my friend

[@DinsAFK]

It definitely effects them, they just don't care. Every one of my stoner buds is stuck in the same mindset, same place, same job, same everything for YEARS. nothing seems to change in their lives. This is why I quit after binging a year, I noticed I grew comfortable with being stuck in the same place (due to weed) and I need to start progressing through adulthood (25)

[@Hubcool367]

It's kind of funny because, according to Allan Carr (author of a best-selling book on how to stop smoking cigarettes), cigarettes, which are totally legal, are THE actual gateway drug. He notices that every single heroin addict he had ever met (I think he mentions a couple hundreds if not more than a thousand) was also a smoker. Yet a whole lot didn't smoke weed (had never even smoked it?). I don't know, I have no idea how scientific those observations are, but if there's any truth to it, it does sound like most people using the gateway drug talking point don't actually really care about if a substance is an actual gateway drug or not. If they did they'd also want to ban cigarettes and alcohol, which, in all likelihood, are the biggest gateway drugs according to at least a few metrics. And of course, that's before we even start talking about how (in)valid a gateway drug argument is or isn't in the first place.

[@DinsAFK]

@@AnaniAnime don't get me wrong, i enjoy it too and can be productive on it. I would usually smoke a bunch before prepping a dnd session to help with the creativity aspect of it. It's just when I would end up abusing it. Like "ok, im off work, time to smoke some weed". I would find myself never like... applying for new jobs, trying out new hobbies. I wouldn't abuse it as hard as my buddies do that stay stoned 24/7, but I would rather not encourage them to continue that lifestyle.

[@doobasaurus]

Weed in moderation is okay however from experience I can tell you for a fact that it is possible to grow reliant on it. I was at the point where I was smoking a gram j and not getting too high from it. I also noticed when I wasn't smoking I'd lose patience quickly or just be pretty hyper which I didn't like. When I stopped for about 2 days I felt like shit and after that I felt like a new man, being way more productive, happy etc. Still smoke it occasionally with friends, however I'm trying to avoid falling into that cycle of just sitting at home and smoking throughout the day. I guess the best way to avoid this is to stay busy.

[@_Xds_]

It's called building a tolerance my g 😂

[@Ghosty2004]

only reason i'd ever do it is with friends just for that one time experience because i know i'll be addicted otherwise

[@doobasaurus]

@@_Xds_ Wow really there’s such a thing as building a tolerance? Joking everyone knows that good job stating the obvious goofy

[@doobasaurus]

@@Ghosty2004 I try to avoid doing it by myself at home as well, sometimes I have a long day and come back to blaze a little rarely I’ll smoke during the day when I have nothing to do and on a day I’m not going to go gym

[@_Xds_]

@@Ghosty2004 lmao wht did ur parents tell u?

[@billglenn10]

I remember my downfall… It all started with mothers milk and then soda. Before I knew it, I had a beer… That proves the gateway theory 😊

[@Raiden-the-Goat32]

Beer is for chump's but Crown royal is for men lol 😆

[@terranhealer]

Mother’s milk is highly addictive and you become dependent on it! Withdrawal could kill you!

[@dp2404]

@@terranhealer it actually has substances that resemble morfin. It keeps the child close to mom

[@sparshjohri1109]

Actually, your downfall began even earlier. It started with breathing air, and then with drinking water. The substances are highly addictive; the withdrawal symptoms have a 100% death rate.

[@nova_supreme8390]

As a famous Finnish politician once said: "Even the very first cannabis injection can be lethal."

[@infinemyself5604]

True that. No one should inject cannabis 😌

[@gaminggeckos4388]

Even the very first broccoli injection can be lethal, you know. It definitely a highly dangerous substance.

[@Blessed_V0id]

People are so stupid. Rip Mary Jane, just like the pagans she's always being bullied

[@differentbutsimilar7893]

TBF, I do believe that if you were to inject a bunch of insoluble mass directly into your bloodstream, you'd likely die quickly. Yes.

[@xhantTheFirst]

Wait until you hear about the mortality rate of the first alcohol injection

[@squeegybeckenheim2489]

"Would you like some coke with that?" 😂 This made me laugh out loud. I love this man.

[@chairwood]

Lmao hilarious double meaning there

[@Nissenov]

Nahh, I'll take a Pepsi 😜

[@SAHarry]

That was quality.

[@franklynonyia1449]

Ikr🤣

[@Lightning_Lance]

I'll take the Happy meal discount 🤪

[@brianwahome5789]

I dumped alcohol for edibles. Got my sleep schedule on track and stopped needing a glass of wine every evening. I gained an appreciation for a chill evening on the couch high, gaming with friends. No more late nights. Over time, I even reduced the edible intake, and allowed my body to sleep following its natural pattern, occasionaly using melatonin on week days and edibles once or twice a week. Cannabis has also helped with anxiety since I now have a reference of what a calm state of mind is for me and have a clear sense of how my body acts when I am not anxious. This has helped me be in touch with my mental health, flagging harmful states as they happen. I also use CBD in lieu of Adderal and the like to curb my ADHD when what I need is to calm down rather than excessive focus. Here I am keeping my intake of adderal at a minimal, and barely using any chemicals all thanks to the Cannabis plant. I come from a very conservative society but Cannabis has been an incredibly revolutionary addition to my life. No regrets whatsoever.

[@caitymullen1776]

It's actually been shown that alcohol, not weed, is the best predictor of future drug use! It's the real gateway drug~

[@KFrost-fx7dt]

THC disrupts sleep patterns.

[@GreyPunkWolf]

@user-it3lc1ox1w They specifically mentioned cbd for regular use, and edibles once or twice a week, which is far from what you're referring to. THC causes issues in regular use and high quantities. Even a little joint a day isn't going to do much. Big quantities of very strong weed will have side effects in the long run, and those can be way worse than just a f'd up sleep schedule.

[@KFrost-fx7dt]

@@GreyPunkWolf any thc at all fucks some people up bad. Personally edibles once a week would insure that I never got anything done on the weekends and lived in a constant state of brain fog. It's been that way since the very first time I used. CBD is wonderful but using cannabis to get high does no one any good.

[@erlannderrantem6972]

Have to criticize your use of the term chemicals here, i think what you mean is synthetic chemicals, since everything is made out of chemicals. Cannabinoids (THC,CBD), terpenes and cellulose are all chemicals and you’ll find them in Cannabis. Now, there is another fallacy, that synthetic chemicals are bad and natural chemicals are good, which is plain out wrong. There are literally millions of chemicals in all kind of plants that will put you in severe discomfort, if not outright kill you, while there also is a plethora of synthetic chemicals, that are very beneficial to humans, even to the extend of saving peoples life.

[@lucia_guedan]

Is surprising how my all my friends in their teen years have abused alcohol (blacking out, vomiting, ending up in hospital) and their parents would be fine with it. But if they were found smoking weed, they were going to rehabilitation

[@EvilTaco]

I have a friend who recently told me that he doesn't do any drugs, because you can't be a serious person if you do. Yet he regularly drinks alcohol and gets drunk.

[@dirkmoras]

@@EvilTaco A serious person should know that alcohol is a drug.

[@EyeLean5280]

Entire cultures can have an alcoholic mentality. Look at my family's place of origin - Ireland.

[@n1ppe]

@@EvilTaco well he obviously meant illegal drugs. Usually when people talk about drugs they mean the illegal ones.

[@RenaissanceEarCandy]

@@n1ppe Dirk knows that, but it's a moot point.

[@maskingtables]

Great video. I'm a person who has been severely damaged by the use of cannabis. I developed a heavy addiction that impaired my thinking and functioning in almost every way of my life. However, this addiction was psychological (not saying it is easier to deal with). Cannabis itself had nothing to do with my dependance when compared to the several traumas and experiences I was trying to run from. I noticed that every person has different experiences with substances and that it is easy to point at a broken person that consumes a certain substance and blame it on the substance. It is not good for me, I know that. But it might be good for many others. Something I always think about is that if cannabis had not been there I could have easily fallen for heavier drugs. It did not help me, but it acted as a wall of satisfying numbness that kept me away from coke, heroin, etc... Luckily in Canada where I live, weed was already completely legal when this happened. If I had been in touch with the underworld of illegal drugdealers I would have been a way easier target, especially in the mentally vulnerable state I was in. Addiction is a disease that is generally not caused by the substance but by the circumstances around the person's life.

[@Julia99lol]

"Addiction is a disease that is generally bot caused by the substance but by the circumstances around a persons life" This is so well said

[@mandrean8]

my god i feel like this is me writting what you just have. i have a dependency on cannabis and i feel like for so many years i though is just weed but it has hinder me in so many way and is a way of running from my problems. I feel the exact same way the way you say it did not help you but it gave you numbness and also kept you away from hard drugs, i know if i have hard drungs i will become addictive

[@UndeadChallenges]

@@mandrean8 I myself am free of weed finally after years of dependence. Its very possible to quit i know you can do it

[@maskingtables]

@@mandrean8 anything that gives you any sort of pleasure can become an addiction if you exploit it pass the healthy limits. My biggest and most difficult addiction to battle with was pornography. The way to get away from these behaviours is being kind to yourself, treat yourself like you would treat your addicted best friend. You will have relapses, you will feel defeated, just keep steadily battling it. It will require a lot of extra effort and it will be mentally exhausting for months. It is a process. Talk to people, they will understand. No shame in having issues with substances, the majority of people have addiction issues with something. A key factor is to stay away from it. Reject environments where the substance will be available. Many people fall for the fallacy of "I must excercise my self control", but every single study shows that there is a higher rate of success on those people who simply lock themselves away from the substance and make it so it is no longer available for them.

[@bugjams]

@@maskingtables Perfectly said. All these studies that say shit like "Weed causes anxiety/depression!" are stupid. People do weed _BECAUSE_ of those things... smh.

[@kirkmarshall2853]

I have been a pot smoker since I was 15. I got into pills when my mom and doctor gave me OxyContin for headaches but when I tried abstinence only recovery I could not stay clean for more than 6 months. Using pot and the study of philosophy along with rational emotive behavioral therapy has allowed me to stay clean for 3 years. Thank you for your work. This is important!!!

[@vegeta9501]

Congrats for getting off oxys 🎉 i dont know u but im proud of u 🙏🏽

[@lonesome3958]

Weed and philosophy sounds like an either existential crisis-inducing trip or finding the meaning life

[@kirkmarshall2853]

@@lonesome3958 I have existential crises three times a day before breakfast sometimes but I’m a weird guy. I’m pretty sure the meaning of life is to seek meaning in your life. Meaning is a sweater we must knit for ourselves to quote a philosopher who made quite a few mistakes in his personal life.

[@lonesome3958]

@@kirkmarshall2853 thats a cool quote

[@jensjensen9035]

So you just switched addictions? Smoking weed and being sober is an oxymoron

[@hendrixtimestwo]

Your take on cannabis being a gateway drug due to its illegality is an interesting one. Maybe true for some people, but I think you'd find that most people acquire cannabis for the first time through friends or siblings, e.g., at a party or hangout. I would argue that in these cases, it's the actual effect of the drug that opens people's minds to experimenting with other drugs. This has been my experience at least - I don't think I dealt with a drug dealer until I was in my late teens, but had done many drugs up to that point, simply because they felt great and my friends were doing them.

[@hendrixtimestwo]

Moreover, at least in Australia, drug dealers aren't a 1-stop-shop for all drugs. Weed dealers tend not to sell anything else, so unless you happen to know a pill or coke dealer, you're shit out of luck. It's the fact that you've experimented with other substances, e.g., weed or alcohol, and the fact that your friends are doing it, that tends to lead you in that direction

[@aidancooke8966]

I'd agree with you if it weren't for the second point, that the unjust demonization of cannabis for the past several decades has still likened it's 'dangers' to that of actual hard drugs. I know in my case, I originally graduated from cannabis to ecstasy and cocaine as a naive teenager simply because I'd been told they were equally as harmful - if a joint is as mellow as this, then surely there's not much more harm in grabbing a bag of coke, right, I mean the consequences to using either are pretty much equal.

[@hendrixtimestwo]

@@aidancooke8966 Interesting. Obviously I can't speak to your experiences, but for me personally, the dangers associated with the drug were the least of my concerns. Perhaps that did happen at a subconscious level though, who knows. Thanks for commenting

[@BlaireBlaireBlaire]

but thats because your perception of weed is associated with those other hard drugs because weed is illegal. if it was legal most people would put it over in the category with alcohol, cigarettes and caffeine. if your sibling gave you some vodka you wouldnt be interested in trying illegal drugs would you?

[@hendrixtimestwo]

@@BlaireBlaireBlaire Actually I think it was underage drinking that led to me trying weed for the first time. Any state-altering substance, whether it be nicotine or alcohol, in my opinion, primes you for other substances. But who knows really, you might have a point

[@juliet4093]

I watched this high as a kite and let me just say I found it very enlightening I never even considered the gateway thing had any credibility but you pointed out the legal aspect of breaking the law being the gateway and I feel it makes a lot of sense and I definitely feel more attention needs brought to it

[@SobrietyandSolace]

Yup and this is why I’m grateful for being able to get it legally delivered via Royal Mail or DPD now, it’s a step. I lost everything to a scammer/fake dealing when I had upcoming surgery years ago. They extorted me for a month. I have also had other drugs pushed on me and found myself being pressured for sex by dealers as well. Take away the criminality and stop exposing cannabis users to scummy crooks

[@busmanjim126]

Yo bro smashed myself lol and yeah great comment mate

[@yourboi1842]

Most of the weed plugs sell slightly harder but still safe substances or just weed. Some go down the route of selling everything.

[@juliet4093]

@@yourboi1842 nah a lot of street carts and shit are nasty nasty chemicals, it’s fucking awful

[@yourboi1842]

@@juliet4093 yes I am very researched on the subject of every ingredient that goes into street carts. It’s ashamed how thin margins are cut.

[@Twi66e]

It really makes you feel disconnected from the rest of society when you’re classed as a criminal just for relaxing on the sofa after work.

[@ashblossomandjoyoussprung.9917]

I think the big thing is that cannabis makes you relax, and only want to relax (if you're smoking indica, sativa makes you wanna do stuff). Trouble is, that can easily make you a burden on society. You make wake up one day after smoking weed to discover that you can't do anything and haven't accomplished anything.

[@minaDesuDesu]

I myself have went to rehab cause of cannabis. And I know a lot of friends who started smoking, then gradually stealing/selling their stuff for weed. Their only purpose in the day was to get high and smoked liked 3 grams per day, which over here costs 60€. Some of them have ended up in jail, some have died of various other reasons. One of them froze to death in winter while drunk and tripping on LSD. I know it is more of a lifestyle thing, but it mostly started from smoking weed in middle school.

[@amb600cd0]

@@ashblossomandjoyoussprung.9917 you would've already been heading that direction, the vast majority of people function just fine, and there's incredibly little evidence weed can lead to that outcome. theres been no collapse in any of the US states that have legalized it recreationally. theres been no weed induced economic impact that weed has had in countries like Afghanistan and india and Morocco, countries with thousands of years of recorded cannabis use and cultivation. I genuinely dont see how weed could magically ruin you like that unless your already mentally unstable, and even then thats significantly better that weed is in that place as oppsed to alcohol. i really think your just repeating propaganda (although i do give you the benefit of doubt that your not purposely doing this)

[@pinball1970]

@@minaDesuDesu You can't say that! According to Alex cannabis is safe NOT a gate way drug and does not cause mental illness. According to Alex..

[@Zhohan-]

@@minaDesuDesu you shouldn’t have been doing it underage and it’s not right for there to be a blanket ban because some people lack the self control to use responsibly. It’s not like it being illegal stopped you anyway

[@I9BlackI1Knight]

New Dream unlocked: Sharing a legal joint with Alex and debating philosophical topics.

[@troyevitt2437]

You're not beholden to its legal status. OF COURSE legalization is the end-game, but in the meantime, you have NO DUTY to any law the violation of which doesn't produce an injured or defrauded party. Smoke up either way! The fact of a legislature's having issued a decree to its constituents is merely an abstract. Can that law's validity be quantified by the prevention of harm and/or the promotion of good?

[@otherssingpuree1779]

12:59 Just described most politicians. Looking good is more important than doing good.

[@willd6215]

Psylocybin is where it's at. Transformed my mental health for the better. Great for healing childhood trauma

[@DV-zv4ox]

It can cause serious issues for some people though. I know two guys first-hand who had a mushroom trip and they've never been the same since. Huge mental health issues.

[@willd6215]

@@DV-zv4ox how do you know it was the shrooms?

[@melonlabe]

psychedelics are so bad for your brain. you can develop ptsd and anxiety disorders lickety-split. obviously, the majority of people will probably be fine but my advice would be to never even try them because the risk is not worth whatever artificial feeling it gives you

[@willd6215]

@@melonlabe you got any evidence of these claims?

[@MrCmon113]

@@melonlabe The risk is miniscule. Classical psychedelics have a very strong bias to the positive and even when an experience is negative, consumers typically describe the overall trip as very helpful. "Artificial feeling" expresses your deep confusion. Either something is felt or not.

[@WadeAllen001]

I appreciate that you included caffeine on the screen in the legal side of drugs next to alcohol and nicotine. People always act like their caffeine addiction is totally benign and don't even consider it as a drug half the time.

[@ninjireal]

I’m 14. Finally drank the full 6 ounces of coffee I usually pour myself because I had the time for once, by 3rd period I couldn’t write because of how fidgety I was. Only thing I thought was “why is this legal?”

[@TooGumbica]

@@ninjireal Well its because of ur size and tolerance probably, and more things, that normal. But also thats not a problem of drugs, problem of drugs on this lvl is that its harmless to do it (to an extent), and it so IZI to become addicted. And when you do, then you have a problem... The harder the high, the more the chemical does, the faster it ruins you, the bigger the problem with being addicted.

[@Begeru]

Do you think caffeine addiction is bad? I’d consider it pretty benign. There aren’t any long term negative effects of daily caffeine consumption. At least nothing worse than weed.

[@ninjireal]

@@Begeru Sleep deprivation, feeling like shit constantly, fidgeting

[@WadeAllen001]

@@Begeru I'm not saying it's worse than weed. But the parts that I wouldn't consider so benign are the parts that come with any addiction, like the dependence. Many people require caffeine to feel functional, and I'd say that's not a good thing. Plus the financial cost of an addiction. How much money do coffee drinkers spend on coffee a month that they could otherwise be saving?

[@edmocat]

Excellent piece, Alex! Weed's been legal here in Canada since 2018. Guess what? Other than the fact that Toronto now has over 250 legal stores, life's pretty much the same. Maybe Reefer Madness wasn't a documentary after all! The stores are clean, friendly and informative, with a wide variety of strains and paraphernalia. I can't think of one negative aspect to the legalization, other than that the price is a bit higher now. To save money, we're allowed to grow our own - up to 4 plants per person. Legalization has created thousands of jobs across the country, as well as increased tax revenue for federal and provincial governments. Legalization has made it harder for kids to acquire it, since the cannabis stores strictly check ID of everyone who enters. Legalization has freed the police and the courts to pursue real criminality. I can't believe the UK is so backward on this issue. One has to ask: Other than criminal dope dealers, who is benefitting from the prohibition?

[@matturner6890]

I just realised that dispensaries are some of the cleanest buildings I see in the city I live in.

[@MarkusIfquil]

It's weird how Canada seems to have almost all its shit together while everyone else squabbles over petty things like Marijuana.

[@Anon.G]

How on earth is the price higher now when it's $3/4 per gram in Toronto

[@Anon.G]

@@MarkusIfquil we have absolutely nothing together

[@edmocat]

​@@MarkusIfquil Fortunately, the vast majority of Canadians are pretty much liberal-minded and tolerant. But let's face it: every country has it's share of assholes.

[@pttk9491]

Cannabis has been legal in Canada for a while, and the misnomer "the gateway drug" disappeared from the public discourse.

[@jkoblivion4175]

unfortunately Canada got a Justin Trudeau. it's a horrible price.

[@pttk9491]

@@jkoblivion4175 Respectfully, I don't agree. I don't think it is particularly wise to mix love or hate for a particular politician with some common-sense politics.

[@mitchjames9350]

Canada is also in a very poor state.

[@pttk9491]

@@mitchjames9350 If you say so!

[@mitchjames9350]

@neinnonon it’s in debt and has rampant corruption due to Trudeau.

[@G_Demolished]

They should look into milk as a gateway drug. More milk users moved on to hard drugs.

[@davidevans3223]

It's a fact they might say got no weed but can drop off some pills happens alot

[@SavageHenry777]

@@davidevans3223 Nah bruv that doesn't make it a gateway drug. What a stupid standard... Whether or not your dealer sells other drugs lmao.

[@101perspective]

@@jaykline8550 See, this is why I have been pushing for making V8 illegal! lol jk

[@davidevans3223]

@@SavageHenry777 it's just true tho maybe not for you but for some ask yourself when you know people who have had drug's how many haven't had cannabis but have had other's it's rare

[@G_Demolished]

@@davidevans3223 You’re not thinking correctly. It’s about how many people have used cannabis without moving on to other drugs. My example was a jest to point that out but I guess it was insufficient.

[@hellohsaytin6813]

As an American who is living through the legalization of marijuana (something i thought was no more than a pipe dream), I truly feel for you in this matter. It is terrible that they want to make the restrictions greater. It makes no sense.

[@Alternity666]

It's still a pipe dream in the US as long as Cannabis is that high on the federal threat scale.

[@boianko]

Heh, "pipe dream"

[@wet-read]

The conservatives over here talk all about how they want to not live under "tyranny". Well, being arrested and prosecuted for marijuana possession and/or distribution sure sounds like tyranny to me. And I allow for the worst effects of marijuana use while saying that. The chief example of that is I do not think it is good or advisable to drive while high.

[@tyawesomejohnson1672]

I live in washington and we have cannabis stores in almost every city. Weed is more common than alcohol in some areas. It's so casual where I live that its crazy to me to see that it's treated like hard drugs in other countries when down here, even the house wives will sometimes take a little gummy after they drop their kids off at school. We also use a large portion of the tax revenue from cannabis for our schools too.

[@spicey-nugg6038]

Love this take I seriously need to move out there

[@636Knight]

@@spicey-nugg6038 I've booked our one way flights, hit me up. lmao

[@vetoedimpersonator4478]

@@636Knight down bad mf

[@636Knight]

@@vetoedimpersonator4478 stfu its been a year

[@OlugbemigaFalegan]

I can’t understand how anyone is fine with tobacco and alcohol but have a deep fear of weed

[@davidevans3223]

Because half the patients in mental hospital's have psychosis from cannibals it's not my opinion it's mental health worker's

[@metalrules6193]

Just type on youtube weed depersonalization and you will see why. If you drink from time to time and smoke tobacco you dont have to be afraid of getting anxiety disorders or psychosis.

[@Trve_Kvlt]

@@metalrules6193 Did you even watch the video? THC induced psychosis is exceedingly rare, so is developing anxiety disorders due to consumption of marijuana. But keep being willfully uniformed, I guess.

[@jeremyn4397]

@@Trve_Kvlt This may just be anecdotal, but many of my close friends and I all experienced hightend anxiety when sober after many years of smoking. There are probably far more people that this did not happen to, of course, but please don't fall into a false sense of ingorance to the problems. They are real and I don't think we should say "exceedingly rare". People should be allowed to make their own decisions and I am pro weed even though I no longer smoke, just tryin to spread awarness without fear mongering.

[@Trve_Kvlt]

​@@jeremyn4397 I also get paranoid/anxious after smoking on occasion, this is a very common side effect of marijuana. Getting paranoid and/or anxious while smoking is almost always temporary. Higher THC causes more pyschoactive effects and this includes paranoia, hunger, anxiety, restlessness, etc. The fact of the matter is issues like CIPD ARE exceedingly rare, anxiety isn't.

[@michaelnavarro9856]

We’ve entered into the Cosmic Stoner stage and I couldn’t be more here for it ☮️✌🏻

[@romanbrandle319]

That is a statistical fact , from surveys done with people subjected to clerical sexual abuse .

[@canchero724]

Stoner philosophy rebrand coming soon.

[@Ten_Thousand_Locusts]

Gross

[@Oldhandlewasabitcringe]

“Like why you got to be so religious …. *deep breath* …”maann”

[@Globbaglobglob]

@@Ten_Thousand_Locusts ur gross

[@Luraldir_Original]

Hell yes Alex.

[@macmac1022]

They are doing some really good research in the uk right now about it I heard. In sask canada where I live there were doing the first lsd experiments like it and having good results, then the government shut it all down.

[@rachelgrace2001]

You put everything into words that I’ve never been able to

[@IJustNukedMcDonalds]

You probably weren't able to put it into words because you smoke weed and you are stupid.

[@chriser3753]

I personally find weed to be the exact opposite of a gateway drug, weed was my gateway OUT of harder drugs. I've been suicidal since I was 11 and started drinking at 13-14 and by the time I was 16 I was already clubbing every weekend, getting ridiculously drunk and having sex with older men and putting myself in a lot of danger. By the time I was 19 I was fully into the harder drugs (quite often bought from bar staff and other clubbers) and was by that point a total druggy and alcoholic and I was sooooo unhealthy and felt shit all the time. So I started smoking weed and within a few months had broken that connection to alcohol and hard drugs. I did end up addicted to weed and would spend 300+ a month on it (imagine the possible taxes from that!), but I felt healthier and eventually once my mental health improved I kicked the weed too and now I'm totally sober and I'll thank weed for keeping me away from alcohol and hard drugs. Alcohol is the true evil and killer, that should 100% be class A. The world would be so much safer and nicer if everyone just had a joint instead of that bottle of vodka or wine. Alcohol is the gateway in, weed is the way out.

[@everrgreen122]

Happy to read you’re doing so much better! I 100% agree with you and have seen this same “pattern” with some people I know. One family member’s life was completely fucked up because of using way too many hard drugs. We only starting seeing progress once they started - only - smoking weed and just like yourself, that too turned in to very expensive habit. They were still way more productive back then and it has gotten even better by smoking less. I don’t see my family member stopping completely, they have a pretty serious case of ADHD and weed helps them calm down. Now that I think of it: a lot of people I know with similar experiences have ADHD. Is that something you recognize as well? I too have ADHD but weed fucks me up bad, I’m scared as fuck to smoke it, like ever again🥲

[@mareeeeeeeeeeeeeeee]

Based

[@pinball1970]

Anecdotes?

[@jeremymunene5304]

I actually have a theory that weed acts as a sort of "immunity" drug that gets you off the harder ones. Like it's nature's way of getting you high in a safe way, like magic mushrooms. Personally on weed I never think of trying anything else, even alcohol. And I've heard many guys tell stories of how they used weed and stopped other stuff, or that they tried it first and that's all they used. It's a pretty cool drug imo.

[@pinball1970]

@@jeremymunene5304 What about the guys who only try weed and end up at NA? With CIP?

[@DanAddison]

Agree. I smoked too much skunk throughout my teens and it probably contributed to some mental health issues at the time, so I'm realistic about it, I fully recognise that it is not 'harmless' when abused, it's not for everyone and you should exercise some restraint. But making it illegal solves precisely nothing. It's illegality presented no barrier whatsoever to me obtaining weed. I imagine these days it's even easier for gen Z kids to get it hoverboarded frictionlessly to their houses via an app or whatever. A grown-up approach involving regulation and taxation would certainly not have made anything worse for me and we'd all have benefitted from the tax I'd have contributed. And I don't mean to say "it's bad, but the war on drugs is unwinnable, so no point fighting it". More accurately, it's absolutely great in moderation for most people, like paracetamol or cycling, so it is not a legitimate candidate for banning just because it's possible for the odd person to do themselves a mischief.

[@inigo9000]

I have exact the same opinion on it and also stopped with it because i noticed i was starting to feel uncomfortable around people when i was smoking, i think the weed was just getting way to strong over the years. And that's probably one of the biggest reasons why it should be legal and regulated, they did studies on this and have proofed that by even highering the CBD while keepin the same amound THC, the chance of feeling paranoia drops enormous and dropping the amount of THC would solve a lot of mental problems

[@alexw2154]

I am an odd person. Theres a possible because it was unregulated that it was grown in something or laced with something. All I know is that after being a heavy pot smoker for about 5 years, I can no longer do it as it makes my life unmanageable and sends me to the psych ward. For 5 years nothing bad happened and then I went through a period of grief and kept smoking and had full blown hallucinations and delusions. It was very scary stuff. It took me a while to quit. I didnt know that could've been a symptom or that I was at risk at all. It also doesn't affect everyone that way and I was probably abusing it as per my own body's standards. Moderation I suppose. This video was awesome.

[@delta9554]

Thank you! It’s done many great things for me and I love it to death but I’m realistic about the fact that I started too early and it caused many issues in my life that I’m still dealing with today. Everything in moderation ya know? And gotta wait until your brain develops a bit

[@newhumanoldbrain]

Yea you def more prone to schizophrenia and all that fun stuff if you start rewiring your brain early. But goes with any drug

[@melaniewilson1742]

I’ve done weed edibles a few times. Very relaxing, makes colours and images feel more “important”, if that makes any sense. I don’t do it often in order to avoid addiction and resistance, and due to a negative experience with my girlfriend passing out and chipping her tooth I always make sure to have sober people nearby. That being said, I’ve watched enough Breaking Bad and read enough about harder drugs to know they’ll ruin my life and I shouldn’t touch them with a ten-foot pole.

[@davidbray5982]

Nah homie breaking bad makes drugs look cool af. Not to use, but to make. Those edits of Walt and Jessie "cooking" were soo slick.

[@Foogi9000]

@@davidbray5982 Breaking Bad doesn't make Meth look cool. It ruined the lives of every character that used it and made it. Walter lost everything and discarded his humanity, Jesse watched the people he loved die.

[@charlieanderson5490]

@@davidbray5982 yeah, you have to edit the show to glamorize it. BB is not a pro drug show. Quite the opposite, it gave me a strong feeling of discomfort

[@bedro_0]

@@Foogi9000 cope

[@Foogi9000]

@@bedro_0 I saw what Meth can do first hand because my Uncle is an Addict. The way he withered away and started to have hallucinations isn't something that I'll forget, after my grandma died her trailer burned down and my Meth addicted uncle lived there for a long time. He used to be a Bodybuilder and in really good shape but the Meth changed him permanently.

[@ciankai]

Here's an honest opinion from someone who smoked Cannabis daily for 6 years (from 15-21). It should be legal, but ONLY for +25 year olds. Reason is brain is still developing until you are 25 and it does mess with your head if you smoke too much, at least it did for me at that age. I wish I never started back then, it was great at the beginning when we could have a joint between 4 of us and laugh our asses of all night. But when we started smoking 5-10 a day everyday? It slowly took a toll on my mental health, and quite a few mates experienced the same too. I personally got anxiety and paranoia, didn't even want to leave my home due to it. What's worse is I spent 2 years wanting to stop smoking but couldn't, I was so deep into the habit that it proved hard to break. I was addicted to it at that point. Some may think well if it happens to a small amount of people only, who cares? That for me is enough reason to regulate it. You can't really guarantee a youngster is going to smoke it responsibly. I certainly didn't. Now, this anxiety took a while to develop and I had many good times in between, but the point is, it did. Eventually, whenever I'd smoke it would feel worse. If any young person reads this. By all means, smoke some on a night out, but if you ever feel dependant on it, and have to smoke it daily, the sooner you get over it the better, trust me. If you ever feel anxious because you haven't got any weed left, that's when you know you've got a problem occurring. I'm 26 now. I spent 5 years without smoking but recently went to Amsterdam and had a few puffs in a coffee shop, enjoyed my day out and my holiday with friends. That's how it should be in my eyes. Moderation. If you can moderate it, it's fine. Just don't go overboard.

[@billmcdonald4335]

Well done, Alex. I'm extremely familiar with this issue, and your work here is one of the most thorough examinations of the topic I've seen packed into the time that you took to present it. Concise and devastating.

[@pinball1970]

Concise and wrong

[@scottnaylor]

100% agree with everything you said. I smoked for 20+ years and that actually enabled me to avoid a ton of pitfalls that seem rife where I'm from, mainly from drink and other drugs. I just wish there was a more solid path to getting it legalised, the government seems to just keep perpetuating the same lies and doubling-down. They are terrified of a populous that has "opened there minds" if you'll excuse that tired expression. Thanks for this.

[@DundG]

Not to take away from the dangers of cannabis consume itself, like the brain fog the next day, people overusing it and stop having goals, rarely depersonalisation, and very rarely chizophrenia for vulnerable people. Cannabis is a psychidelic drug after all.

[@loveableheathen7441]

Nah they aren't afraid of the populace getting stoned. They just want to make sure they can tax it

[@user-gw8cw5di6c]

@@loveableheathen7441 so then why not legalise it? I'm from Canada and the government makes LOADS on weed

[@loveableheathen7441]

@@user-gw8cw5di6c I think they will legalize it everywhere once they have everything they need in place to profit off of it properly. The government never cared about people using drugs. They care that THEY arent getting a cut of the money. Why is Adderall Legal but Crystal isn't? One of them is taxable.

[@cedrove7513]

@@loveableheathen7441 If it was because they wanted to make sure they could tax it, this wouldn't be a problem right now. The governments around the world could always legalize things and tax it. Many don't. If it were purely a profit driven problem, it wouldn't be this kind of a problem, it'd be more like the opioid epidemic. Where you have corporations trying to get as many people addicted to their drug as possible. So what is the problem? It's people that are just scared of it due to whatever lies they've been told. It's an irrational fear. It's like how some places are anti-immigration despite it being only a positive thing. In the USA, it's very much combined the fear of drugs and the fear of brown people.

[@humanbeing5396]

I’m a therapist. I have some clients with substance use disorders. Weed is not as bad as people make it out to be but also not as harmless.

[@motaman8074]

like alcohol?

[@grizzlycharizard0017]

@@motaman8074 Alcohol can straight up kill you when get drunk. I have to the healthiest and safest type of Alcohol is Japanese Sake.

[@Emiliapocalypse]

I’m not a professional of any kind, just a person who reads things and I’ve always felt the same way: weed is not as bad as some people say, yet not completely harmless like some think either.

[@jennoscura2381]

@@grizzlycharizard0017 You can die from an alcohol overdose. Try dying from a THC overdose. As far as I know it's not possible.

[@fingmoron]

@@grizzlycharizard0017 can straight up kill you if you're an alcoholic and quit cold turkey. It's a pretty bad drug, humans will always want to get high tho so just let them.

[@tomc8693]

From the vantage point of someone that's undertaken post-grad study in Criminology and Criminal Justice, this proposal is simply terrifying. You touched on it briefly, but it really is worth underscoring, prisons in England and Wales do NOT have the capacity to absorb anymore prisoners. They are absolutely full (with an alarming number of people in prisons currently waiting for their trial because court capacity has also been decimated). Also, do you want to know what commodity is rife in prisons? Drugs. The perverse irony that some poor sod might go to prison for marijuana possession and end up a living zombie after being exposed to spice or some other synthetic drug. Utterly unconscionable.

[@claxvii177th6]

Cannibis makes me paranoid and puts my hipochodria into overdrive. it is bad, FOR ME, but if it did anything to me is to make me avoid all sorts of drugs, i stopped even with coffee! The most UNgateway drug by far lol. And honestly, opened my head for a lot of inner problems i had with myself.

[@maskingtables]

This. Weed is horrible for me and my system. It really damaged me in many ways. But it doesn't mean everyone will have that experience.

[@Sovvyy]

Same for me, although it wasn't long-lasting (a few weeks). Despite this, I have always felt and more recently known that cannabis is far safer than alcohol.

[@markilleen4027]

I just feel sick when I smoke it,

[@Meccarox]

Same

[@coreylee9342]

So the gateway drug theory of the 1970's US has finally caught on in the UK.

[@davidevans3223]

It is tho once you have broken the law it's not a problem like copy DVD etc you don't take that law serious anymore

[@Cheshire3Cat21]

Dont worry, it just means we have to wait 50 years for the UK to catch on further with decriminalising it like most of the USA has done already lol

[@davidevans3223]

@@Cheshire3Cat21 that doesn't mean it's ahead lol

[@Stevelives13]

@@Cheshire3Cat21 Dont be too smug when you're trying to make abortions illegal.

[@nikolaivii5766]

Nah there's been gateway drug talk in the UK for decades too. You've got to remember that most conservative voters are stuck in the 1940s and so copying 70s America is basically futuristic thinking.

[@Human_Herbivore]

Recently I heard someone say that weed was only a gateway drug if the gateway was to a pantry of snacks. 😂 As you mention, alcohol is much more of a problem. From alcoholism destroying lives to drink driving and violence related to alcohol use.

[@lobbycontrol9602]

I noticed soon after I started my weed journey I also began losing weight rapidly

[@smokythebearreal1181]

Remember that if you drink to much alcohol you literally shit your pants

[@stuckonaslide]

we're too relaxed on it just like we are with other bad things like alcohol. weed isn't a gateway drug, but it still isn't good for you. yet you have people justifying their addictions by saying its healthy. imagine if a heroin user told you they do it because it helps with stress. you would feel bad for them. we shouldnt normalize these bad habits.

[@uku4171]

Legalize weed. I'm saying this as someone who has lost close ones to both smoking and alcoholism. Psychedelics have no place in Class A either. Mushrooms and LSD are right up there with weed in terms of safety. No recorded over-doses, ever. And I haven't tried shrooms, but it's damn near impossible to get addicted to LSD. The tolerance builds up in one use and the experience itself can be tiring. You just don't feel an urge to do it again the next day, unlike what might happen with cannabis. Shrooms also have been shown to consistently beat current anti-depressant medication and nicotine addiction meds + therapy at their own game. We are actively missing out on their potential when we treat them like crack cocaine. I'd love to see you do more videos on these topics, as I get more frustrated with how governments, schools, and society overall handle drugs the more I find out about it. This includes our horrible treatment of people with serious addictions like heroin. I think John Oliver had an episode on that specifically that I think you should check out.

[@rocopoco1361]

No overdosed but psychosis

[@uku4171]

@@rocopoco1361 it's very rare, caused by misuse, and only hsppens in people already predisposed to it. And people die all the time due to alcohol.

[@rocopoco1361]

@@uku4171 why you bringing alcohol up ? Never said I'm against drugs. Just pointing out there's a risk of psychosis. And yes everyone can get psychosis.

[@uku4171]

@@rocopoco1361 I'm bringing up alcohol to point out how stupid the ban on these drugs is when we have something like alcohol readily available for any adult to buy

[@rocopoco1361]

@@uku4171 everyone is aware of that

[@knotlock]

Legalize it. Make it a better Alcohol.

[@Drakshl]

It's a worse alcohol though XD. Alcohol can at least be partaken in for its own sake and doesn't leave a vomit inducing smell from the primary mode of consumption

[@davidevans3223]

People who drink alcohol live longer and take less time off work on average that's including those that abuse well studied just a fact

[@wormwood8352]

@@Drakshl nobody has ever been beaten by a stoned parent or partner. Drunk though? Weed is better.

[@EugeneParallax]

@@Drakshl I really do not understand what you're talking about. Tobacco leaves a disgusting smell, especially a cigarette residual tobacco, and alcohol also does that, but one that consumes alcohol can never tell, because sense of smelling adapt to ignore chronic signals to remain perceptive to new ones. Even a minimal degree of sweating immediately introduces the result alkaloids. Cannabis does not have that impact, specifically because of how little of it you need for the intended effect.

[@albsol3478]

@@Drakshl the majority of people is completely ignorant when it comes to drugs, but you are on another level, don't have any clue.

[@mateOriginal]

This is one of the best crafted videos I’ve watched. Someone put this guy in charge

[@rickwilliams7431]

Could not agree more. Best wishes from Canada.

[@tristshapez]

As an infrequent, long term recreational cannabis user, the plant has been an immensely positive part of my life. Unfortunately my home country of Australia is greatly in need of drug reform. Thank you for sharing your insights Alex 👏

[@skindred1888]

I just never understand it. The type of people that do cocaine, heroin...ain't using weed. I have never been stoned and thought...a side of cocaine would go nicely. Or had a drug dealer...try upsell some meth to me

[@thomasreedy4751]

I don’t understand why a person without medical disability would need a mind altering substance to make their life better.

[@skindred1888]

@@thomasreedy4751 who said anything about need ?

[@tristshapez]

@@thomasreedy4751 I don't 'need' cannabis, in the same way I don't need caffeine or alcohol. Implying a need suggests dependency, conflating the responsible consumption of substances with that of an addiction. If I stopped partaking in the occasional coffee or joint my life would continue on just fine. But if particular experiences can be enhanced by their use, with negligible harm, why should I deprive myself of their enjoyment?

[@everthealtruist]

@@thomasreedy4751 Cool, then they're not for you. Sit this conversation out.

[@michaelostergren3516]

I've been smoking cannabis for 6 years now. Never have I thought about taking any harder drugs. It's based on the person who takes them and how much self decipline they have.

[@MikeVernonProd]

I hope you are able to get off it

[@DylanGeick]

Another well thought and articulated video Alex, cheers. In my opinion the argument against paternalism is the strongest. Of all the things I don’t want any government policing, it’s probably my state of consciousness. Your gateway theory is right on in my view as well, but at the end of the day all drugs should probably be legalized. The cost of violence and crime on communities in poverty which drug prohibitions create is much higher than any one drug could have on society. Growing up in Chicago, I knew a kid who died in a Walmart parking lot over a pound of grass. Pure tragedy. This is to say nothing of the violence we fuel in Central and South American narco states with the West’s hypocrisy on drugs. Cannabis legalization is hopefully the first step for moving drug policy into the 21st century. As an aside, don’t knock MDMA too hard. In the beginning you compared ecstasy and heroin and I don’t think they’re quite in the same category (though perhaps that was not really your point). I think most drugs have uses: ketamine being studied for treatment of depression; psilocybin being studied for a raft of potential benefits in end of life care, PTSD treatment, and more. MDMA may not provide as profound or long affecting experiences as traditional psychedelics, but dying without a truly epic “roll” seems to me a missed opportunity. MDMA gets a bad rep because it’s often cut with more harmful substances (another prohibition issue, as you noted) but in pure form it can be a beautiful experience. Lastly and anecdotally, as someone who was sober the majority of young adulthood before becoming a full on psychonaught for a bit, alcohol and tobacco/nicotine have been the most damaging to people around me and myself, without many of the medical and mental/emotional upsides that many drugs can have under the right treatment circumstances. I’ve seen a lot of violence that would not have taken place if not for alcohol, and conversely I have literally seen a gang war end with a few people who hated each other sitting down and smoking a blunt. Obviously the communication and coming together in the first place was the important and necessary ingredient in facilitating that peace, but the plant certainly helped. Keep on rocking brother. 🤙

[@tinymcgoo1195]

"alcohol and tobacco/nicotine have been the most damaging to people around me and myself" - Could this not be due to the availability and social acceptance of those substances? Also, it is possible to have mental/emotional upsides to alcohol and tobacco if not abused. It is also possible to have mental/emotional downsides to TCH, MDMA, and other substances if abused. I think the perspective to keep is abused vs not abused consumption. Substance abuse (and other addictions) will always end up net negative, regardless of the substance. When comparing substances, why not compare then in like situations? Is alcohol bad if consumed occasionally? Is Cannibis bad if consumed occasionally? Seems both are bad if their consumption disrupts ones life.

[@DylanGeick]

@@tinymcgoo1195yes

[@expectancysource3046]

It's nice to see you here, Dylan. I've known you for a while before I deleted Instagram. I have to say that you're one of my motivators for poetry. I didn't see your posts for 2 years. How are you doing so far? I like how you unbiasedly determined the usage of each drug based on benefits for particular mental health. I thought MDMA was that harmful but it seems somewhat ambiguous after meta-analysis indicating that it has "potential therapeutic benefit" although there hasn't been many studies that confirmed it. I definitely think it's not harmful as people try to make it look like. Yes, probably more harmful than weed. Maybe, not harmful as tobacco/alcohol. I agree with you on legalization of all drugs which is more beneficial solution and I can guarantee that, as a family member of someone who's involved in dark market or black economy, it's actually a win for them when governments criminalizes something. In the end, dark market will always win. That's the harsh reality people needs to realize.

[@benji9938]

100% agree.

[@g.s.1722]

As having been a stoner for more than 10 years of my life that stopped more than 20 years ago I feel hypocritical in criticising all the stoner younger /apprentices that I work with. Like them I used to crave going home every night after work for a joint and end up having quite a few by the end of the night in someone’s house or car If you did that with booze you’d be classed as an alcoholic! As much as people preach about it being better and less harmful than booze and all the health benefits the fact is when your at it every single night it takes away all your motivation to do anything else, all these guys I’m forced to work with sleep in all the time and simply can’t be arsed. They’re permanently slightly stoned all the time and don’t even know it! I notice the difference straight away when working with someone who doesn’t smoke it, they’re just alot more with it!

[@88XR4TI]

I would love to see you covering more topics like this. Quality content as always.

[@troyevitt2437]

Indeed. While deconversion the first step towards a life of reason and critical thinking, after a while, we who are united in the state of having not been convinced of a god's existence are going to become the same as those not convinced you can ever really win the extra-large teddy bear throwing balls at milk bottles. We need to discuss what we DO believe in terms of human potential. How to build more inclusive spaces, for work, and sustainable commerce....and of course, finally getting that bear by throwing balls at milk bottles. (I'm kinda all about that big bear right now!)

[@el_Pumpking]

Enjoying the more diverse topics lately. Great content!

[@frankie9698]

6:07 you can just see how proud Alex was of that joke

[@marlymcfly1991]

Haha rightfully so. It was a good one !

[@Spectrumage444]

I forgot where I first heard this, but I love it: Oh? Most/all hard drug users started out on weed? And most/all alcoholics started by drinking milk.

[@padennelson1147]

Thank you for making a video on this topic. I’ve been considering this for a long time

[@laurajarrell6187]

Cosmic Skeptic, Alex, not your usual topics, but great! My Mother is 84, healthy and mentally better than ever. She has smoked pot for 60 some years. It never interferes with anything in her very productive life. Willie Nelson, George Carlin and many others are great examples. People don't ever get aggressive on it like alcohol. Nor sick from it like other things. 👍🌊💙💙💙🌊🥰✌

[@Neceroe]

Fully agree with everything but that not everyone gets sick I know of a few people who do get physically sick from it but thinking about it now that's probably not what you meant

[@drvurruct2274]

@@Neceroe Probably yeah. I didn't like getting high when I took some gummies, but that's just me. How I felt then is, of course, FAR better than getting my skin peeled off by krokadil.

[@laurajarrell6187]

@@Neceroe Actually I meant like withdrawals. But yes, I was OK with it in my early 20s, but then something change and I'd have extreme paranoia. It's been 40 or so years though, lol. 💙🥰✌

[@bentheredonethat1350]

@@laurajarrell6187 People can and do get serious withdrawal from cannabis dependency and addiction. While I do think that it should be legal, people are very underinformed about the dangers of marijuana, especially for younger people (mid-to-late-twenties and younger).

[@supahspartan64]

Yeah, it's a gateway to chilling out and relaxing.

[@BigRedScouser]

... and then being a psycho randomly after years of abuse.

[@Echo-bx2py]

@@BigRedScouser that makes literally no sense lmao and besides I'm pretty sure the one linked with majority of domestic abuse and the "physcos" as you like to say, is alcohol 👍

[@elinope4745]

It's downright dangerous if you have some kind of need for hoarding and preserving bags of Doritos.

[@DV-zv4ox]

@@BigRedScouser Psychosis only happens if you consume too much and "green out", if you have a predisposition to psychosocial or schizoaffective disorders or from long-term, chronic abuse. Moderate, controlled use of cannabis is fine for the majority of the population.

[@melonlabe]

​@@DV-zv4ox how do you know smoking doesnt give you a disposition to those disorders? unfortunately, there is just no scientific evidence to support your case. i dont think there is a drug that exists that you can have "moderate, and controlled use" without it affecting you negatively in some way. honestly, its to a detriment that people try to normalize any drug and make young people think its okay.

[@crunchylettuce5446]

I mean I already knew the answer to the title, but this is a great video all the same

[@kahleeb624]

Really loved this video! I was heavily addicted to heroin a decade ago and the only reason I was willing to try the heroin was because the Marijuana I had already been smoking was listed as the same schedule as heroin and cocaine so I thought well nothing bad came from cannabis so why would anything bad from heroin. That mixed with the worst education from a private Christian school rife with completely false information about drugs lead me directly to heroin. It wasn't that weed made me want to do heroin. I just figured one day that heroin was in front of me and justified it by the scheduling from the government leading me to a false lull from heroin and how bad it really gets. But cannabis has never killed a single human in all history over thousands of years, poppy milk and opiates have been known to be addictive for centuries and also known to cause overdose and even death yet somehow cannabis is just as bad?!? Ugh just make cannibas the same as alcohol and move on. So much money would be saved on court / prison costs, would massively increase tax revenue and is just all around healthier than alcohol and tobacco to begin with. Loved the message here!

[@thetoddlanders1992]

You knew about government scheduling but didn't know that heroin isn't at all like cannabis and that it could totally mess you up? Interesting.

[@kahleeb624]

@@thetoddlanders1992 I was 14 when I started smoking cannibals. All my knowledge of what drugs were came from a private Christian school's 2 second drugs are bad speech and nothing else. My parents were heavily religious so the true world and outcome of drugs was almost a complete unknown to me. Friends from high school started visiting me at college and they has pills and told me they were fine. They always seemed alright, I didn't even know withdrawal was a thing at this point. So to me who had grown up knowing only misinformation from a Christian perspective aka lies, so then when I saw my friends doing heavier drugs and they were totally fine I believed that nothing was actually wrong with them and that cannibals and heroine were just the same thing. A fun night and move on. It wasn't until I first stopped taking h for a day and found out what withdrawal was and became completely addicted and dependant. So yeah as a young naive misinformed teen I believed everything I had been told about drugs was wrong because I smoked weed just fine with no bad outcomes and if weed is listed the same danger level as heroine heroine must be fine just like cannabis. It's dumb in hindsight and sad to think how wrong I was but at the same time most people who start taking drugs like that don't research the effects before using... lol it also just goes to show how important it truly is to actual speak the truth and not just fear mongor about the dangers because kids don't believe those dangers are real when the things that aren't bad are spoken of being just as bad as the actual bad things.

[@GehrkeClinton]

Saying weed has never killed anyone ever is a pretty stupid statement. Yes, you're not going to overdose on it but i personally know of 2 people allergic to it and yes they could die from it. And im sure that somewhere, sometime throughout all of history someone's dies from an allergic reaction to it.

[@kahleeb624]

@@GehrkeClinton could being the key word there.... there hasn't is what's important. Go ahead find me one story of someone dying from cannibas and not because of a car accident or doing something stupid because that happens with anything that effects your brain and is also not the cannibas killing like overdosing on heroine, coke or meth, or alcohol poisoning or the withdrawal from alcohol and benzos which is the only withdrawal able to kill. Cannibas has none of this. Yes there are the fesrmongering news stories about psychosis which is such a small amount of cases that it's ridiculous to even worry about that, and yes someone can be "allergic" to cannibas but that allergy is not like a deadly bee sting or a peanut allergy and is 99% NOT a deadly allergy. I myself am technically allergic to weed myself but that means my nose gets stuffy if I smoke too much. Cannibas has never directly killed a single human being out of thousands of years at use. You'd think that with everything that is written down that at some point over thousands of years there would be a story or an account or anything but there is not. Even today in a world we're cannibas is 50 to 100 times more potent than it was just a century ago and still the worst outcome is psychosis that then generally will go away if they stop consuming cannibas. Find me one story of someone dying because they smoked too much or because of an allergy because I can promise you you won't find one unless it's a lie from fox News. Just one story where someone died directly because of weed... you can't and I would even put money on that.

[@GehrkeClinton]

@@kahleeb624 You made an absolute claim that you can't back up and that nobody can and i called out how stupid it is. Any absolute claim based simply on lack of data is stupid. Youve no idea if its ever happened. And in all likelyhood its more likely that it has happen rather then never. Also I never said anything about anything else so idk why you feel the need to bring other drugs and psychosis into this because its pointless to the argument. Also the 50- 100 times is such bs and shows your lack of knowledge in the history of other cultures and weed. Hashish and rosin for example would most likely of been just as strong thousands of years ago as it is today. Also your bee and peanut allergy example shows your hypocrisy. Youre implying that you would accept those deaths as allergic reaction. But you're not dying from the bees venom as much as youre dying do to the anaphylactic shock or symptoms that come along from your bodies reaction. Same with pb and really any other allergic reaction death. Yet you dont accept the same argument for cannabis.

[@treehorn36]

Curious to hear your thoughts on the legalization of psychedelics such as mushrooms, LSD, peyote, etc. I heard you mention LSD amongst other harmful schedule 1 drugs and would be interested to hear your separate take.

[@troyevitt2437]

Man...I'm keen on the whole DMT/Ayahuasca experience. Ever since Terrence McKenna and Art Bell (RIP both) talked about it for like, 3 hours on Coast2Coast I've wanted to trip the light fantastic.

[@Hux4646]

@@troyevitt2437 look on the subreddit DMT guide

[@bankrakka8494]

Love the videos bruv

[@TomGiraffe2228]

Wow, incredibly thought out and well said video!

[@AheadOfTheCurveVideos]

Great video. Personally, I find it abysmal that Boris Johnson was able to drink a pint of beer on live tv during covid, yet alcoholism is far more damaging than cannabis. It would, logically, be more reasonable for him to smoke a joint on tv rather than a pint. If these leaders believe cannabis is bad, then why not ban alcohol adverts like is done for smoking in England? But, we know what happened the last time alcohol was nearly banned ...

[@Nortunie]

I always had issues with sleeping late/not getting enough sleep. I started skipping school cause I was always too tired and I ended up having to finish some classes for a few months after everyone graduated cause I was behind. I started smoking but it didn’t immediately help me fix my life, but it did gradually help me fix everything slowly. I started to sleep around 10 or 11 and waking up earlier, and I started going to the gym in the mornings. I can’t be productive while smoking the entire day, but only doing it at night has really changed my life for the better.

[@KFrost-fx7dt]

THC disrupts sleep patterns.

[@per-torereiniurfjell5424]

​@@KFrost-fx7dt Not in moderation.

[@ballistic_goat]

The point about the breaking the law barrier makes me think of my own situation: I've used magic mushrooms a few times, but never weed, because weed is illegal here but mushrooms are not 😅

[@thybatonma8378]

What place is that? Where mushrooms are legal but weed isn't...

[@cynical9159]

bruh what

[@ballistic_goat]

@@thybatonma8378 Brazil! I believe the mushrooms are legal due to religious use laws, same as ayahuasca, but I'm not sure. But you can buy them freely

[@fernandocom-uo8zt]

@@ballistic_goat Sou brasileiro e não tinha nem ideia que eram legais kkkkkkkkk

[@КВАСА]

This is such a PHENOMENAL argument in justification of cannabis. I myself am a Oklahoma medical cannabis consumer and I find it to be far more therapeutic than harming.

[@psychonautical6587]

I’m so glad you made a video on drug laws. Keep it up!

[@kirkmarshall2853]

This is one of the best reworkings of a slippery slope argument about how the mind works to remove taboo lines after breaking the taboo

[@imaginenation3280]

My 2cents as a former fall down drunk. Halloween this year will be 10 years since I had a drink. 2 days later still feeling woozy from withdrawal and medication given to me by my Dr.My cousin came over to check on me and had his usual herbs with him. We talked about how I felt and I then decided to share a joint with him. Not a drop of booze since. Thank u Nature.

[@macmac1022]

Its has its influence as to why I stopped drinking as well. Eventually I just compared the 2 and thought weed was the better choice. The downside was the law, but not anymore here in canada. Also that made it harder to get, but once you knew the right people it became easy. and I guess I never thought of before till now, a little easier to intake and no damage to lungs. I guess liver damage counters the lungs though, and edibles erase the problem. The upsides were so many though. Cheaper, no overdose potential, easier to carry around, not better cold so you need ice when out and about, disposing of bottles and cans, puking from over doing it, and my personal one, remembering the awesome party the night before that too often I could not when i got too drunk LOL. That was a main one.

[@jesso7166]

Congrats on your sobriety man 💖

[@chadchaddingson4675]

@@macmac1022 I had depression at 16-25, weed was nicer to me than alcohol had ever been.

[@whysocurious7366]

Interesting. Seems like the illegal drug weed was a gateway drug AWAY from legal drug addiction for you.. seems EVIL to want to ban the gateway away from addiction.. remember to vote :)

[@Kitsune-kun663]

@@chadchaddingson4675 same, just change the age range.

[@ColinB005]

You made my day with this video. You address everything from the crazy people against it to the people saying its “not addictive”. Thank you for making this marvelous video

[@hurrdurrimagrunt]

Great vid. Needs to be seen by many.

[@garyhost6678]

I think you would find the work of Dr. Carl Hart very enlightening on the subject of drugs. His book “Drug use for grown ups” is a great place to start. Keep up the good work Alex.

[@tessbaur9156]

Thank you! I live in Colorado and smoke weed daily (I'm high rn) and I have no plans to move past that to things like coke and wouldn't even know how to go about acquiring illegal substances even if I was curious. It's a massive leap to go from getting weed at a dispensary to getting meth from a dealer. I've also stopped drinking since I've started smoking weed. I'm also more functional than I was pre-smoking due to severe chronic pain.

[@neoinuyashafight]

Drinking is what lead me to try coke in the first place not weed. Alcohol was the gateway drug for me wanting to try coke but thankfully I haven't touched coke in 7 months now even with the small urges I get here and there. Don't ever do it though even if sex is amazing while high on coke it ruins lives. Seeing two of my best friends who are heavly addicted to it just wasting away with nothing to show except a bad coke habit.

[@emilouelmitt978]

I had an ankle surgery and they gave me morphine afterwards. Was trash. But once I got back home I had the worst pain I've ever experienced. I smoked a j and it allowed me to detach from the pain and helped way more than morphine.

[@arezzo5340]

You should've told the doctors, some people don't react to morphine. They would've given you smth else

[@d_sarantis]

I have to say, those 2 points you made in the "gateway drug" section were so brilliant they left me completely amazed.

[@Inaura47]

This. Was. Outstanding! Thank you so much for posting this video!

[@terrlaw328]

I am a 77 year old pacifist Viet Nam Era veteran and long time addictions counselor. Leave my weed alone as well as my coffee and chocolate and my rescue dog. I have life long depression, anxiety and ptsd and these are all vital for my sanity…or what’s left of it. The government needs to keep the hell away from these vital items I depend upon.

[@CompComp]

There’s some really good arguments here that I've never heard before. Definitely going to be using these in the future.

[@adampapworth]

You do a brilliant job of expressing your arguments.

[@joeyschipper5770]

this video is so beautiful, even the little title trick to make people who dont agree click on it is genius

[@dblclutchmitsu]

Your point on it being a gateway drug is spot on. I have used cannabis both legally and when it was illegal. When it was illegal I was a couple phone calls from whatever illicit substance my heart would desire. I never went down that path but easily could have. Now in its legal state if I wanted to purchase any cannabis product I simply go to a store show my ID purchase and leave. I have no idea if the person selling the product has access to other substances, they might, but the cashier at mcdonalds is equally likely. So at this point it is far less likely that even if I were to want a harsher drug that I would even know where to start looking for it.

[@nativeaffairs7774]

I'm watching this while rolling a big Rasta spliff!💪🏿 Big up Alex from South Africa ✌🏿

[@nekozombie]

hell yeah dude

[@milestrevelyan3858]

Nailed it. All arguments I've made before but probably not so eloquently and not all in one place.

[@hikelfin]

I think the gateway drug thing is something many people seem to have confused, and then they've formed an argument in their confusion that now they have a hard time coming down from. Weed is absolutely a gateway drug, but you have to understand that by gateway drug, they don't mean a drug that WILL lead you to harder drugs. What they mean is, a drug that MAY make taking harder drugs far less scary than it once was before you were very accustomed to being very high on weed. Like in my instance, half of the reason I ever dropped my first ecstasy pills, was because I had my friends reminding me that I was already very used to being very high on weed, and so in that sense there was nothing to worry about. I'd already been off my head. So the fact that I had used weed made something that was unbelievably frightening (dropping pills) something that was actually quite easy and just a slight bit nerve-wracking before they kicked in. Then once I had done pills a lot (probably about a hundred) crystal meth was VERY scary to ponder, but someone mentioned that it was basically a faster acting, slightly less potent, more alert version of pills, and that for some reason made it far less scary. It gave me a frame of reference for what to expect, and therefore can be said that had I not have tried weed, I would not have tried pills, and therefore would not have tried crack. This doesn't mean smoking weed WILL lead to crack, just that hard drugs can have the fear of them diminished if you've already used drugs a lot because being stupidly high isn't terrifying anymore.

[@tylermeehan6117]

Incredible video. Well done. I hate that weeds illegal. When U talked about how dealers will get people hooked on worse drugs that hit really close to home. Being from Australia I've had multiple friends get bad dealers who ended up getting them hooked on meth (there's a big meth problem in Australia). I truly believe my friends would've been saved had weed been legal.

[@artemisoreillyhahn3956]

i love this video, i’ve been making similar arguments about cannabis’s propensity for being a gateway drug for years. thank you alex!! 😊

[@UnrelatedAntonym]

Your point about cannabis (a very fairly safe drug) being called a "gateway drug" would only be because it is classified in the same legal category as meth and coke causing people to question the government on these things and instead of thinking cannabis is harmful... that since it is in the same category as meth and coke would make people thinks those two drugs are just as safe... and how alcohol and tobacco are legal and how all these drugs affect the user and those around them... and how drug prohibitions give rise to drug cartels today, as well as the mob in America during the alcohol prohibition; spot on great points!

[@falnica]

At 1:59 when you say "even if she won't admit it" you fall into something which I think we should avoid. Often religious people will claim that everyone can see the truth of their beliefs, but that we refuse to admit it for our own selfish reasons. For example I once had an ethics professor who claimed that all prostitutes secretly wanted to be good christian mothers, but they wouldn't accept it I think that when someone tells us what they believe or think we should take it as a fact, even if we suspect they may not be completely honest

[@bboschboi]

Yeah some people actually believe that cannabis is as harmful as cocaine or meth. Thought it was a bit silly that he ignored that possibility since ignorance is the default state of humanity.

[@weirdunclebob]

I smoked pot for a few years in my twenties. Never once did I want to try anything harder as I was quite aware of the dangers of hard drugs. Weed, on the other hand, is far less dangerous than alcohol or cigarettes so I was fine with that. Sadly, I smoked ciggies and drank like a fish for many years. After a few years of smoking pot, the highs were much shorter and the come-downs were much longer so I quit. Had a joint many years later which was fun but that was it.

[@MostlyLoveOfMusic]

cannabis should be fully legal, taxed and regulated in the UK

[@iagocampus4818]

"would you like some coke with that" is the most clever joke i've heard in a while