Super High Me.
April 13, 2008 12:50 PM Subscribe
In his effort to shed light on medical marijuana use, comedian Doug Benson documents not smoking pot for 30 days and then smoking pot for 30 days in a row in Super High Me.
Yeah, kinda like Burhanistan said, every day for thirty days doesn't sound that groundbreaking unless he's doing it more than 7 or 8 times a day, judging by some of the potheads I've known in my day.
posted by Dr. Send at 1:18 PM on April 13, 2008
posted by Dr. Send at 1:18 PM on April 13, 2008
Pfft, that's nothing. I haven't smoked pot for years at a time.
posted by jokeefe at 1:21 PM on April 13, 2008 [4 favorites]
posted by jokeefe at 1:21 PM on April 13, 2008 [4 favorites]
The bit about medical marijuana does seem to be a non-sequitor to me, but I think that pointing out that you could, if you wanted to, smoke constantly for days on end without ill-effect or becoming a heroin addict or losing your job etc, is a reasonable thing to do.
posted by feloniousmonk at 1:33 PM on April 13, 2008
posted by feloniousmonk at 1:33 PM on April 13, 2008
Showing how your health is greatly damaged by eating McDonald's for 30 days is a pretty compelling notion. It's saying, "Look, only a month and it's this bad." But the reverse doesn't work the same way. "Look, only a month and nothing happened." Oooh.
posted by naju at 1:36 PM on April 13, 2008
posted by naju at 1:36 PM on April 13, 2008
but I think that pointing out that you could, if you wanted to, smoke constantly for days on end without ill-effect or becoming a heroin addict or losing your job etc, is a reasonable thing to do.
Maybe, if his job weren't "stand up comic". Having a career in show business and smoking a lot of weed isn't exactly new. The documentary might be funny and might generate a lot of publicity for him. But I doubt it's going to change anyone's mind on the issue.
posted by Gary at 1:55 PM on April 13, 2008
Maybe, if his job weren't "stand up comic". Having a career in show business and smoking a lot of weed isn't exactly new. The documentary might be funny and might generate a lot of publicity for him. But I doubt it's going to change anyone's mind on the issue.
posted by Gary at 1:55 PM on April 13, 2008
Doug went to my junior college for a bit and was friends with a former suitor of mine. They "partook" of one particular hobby in common, Doug and this fellow (who very clearly idolized Doug, might I add). That one thing they had in common was a very key part of why this momentary beau of mine became an ex beau. He started out nice, but the growing forgetfulness, the laziness, just the gradual abundance of creepy slacker loser-ness and self-absorption became really unappealing and obnoxious to me.
When we met, this person was in college and had aspirations of becoming a great writer. When we broke up, he was manager of a Godfather's Pizza. Flash forward twenty years later, I heard he was manager of a Boston Market. Pot is a helluva drug.
Anyhow, let's just say I've never been a huge fan of Doug Benson. Nor do I believe he needs medical marijuana for any condition other than that he's been living on it his whole life.
posted by miss lynnster at 1:57 PM on April 13, 2008 [3 favorites]
When we met, this person was in college and had aspirations of becoming a great writer. When we broke up, he was manager of a Godfather's Pizza. Flash forward twenty years later, I heard he was manager of a Boston Market. Pot is a helluva drug.
Anyhow, let's just say I've never been a huge fan of Doug Benson. Nor do I believe he needs medical marijuana for any condition other than that he's been living on it his whole life.
posted by miss lynnster at 1:57 PM on April 13, 2008 [3 favorites]
In his effort to shed light on medical marijuana use come up with an excuse to get high every day and make money off it, Doug Benson used the word 'dude' a lot and discovered many new chip flavours.
My sister-in-law's father is an old-school hippie who has smoked pot many times a day for more than thirty years. A month doesn't do jack shit. 30 years makes you move in slow motion, take guitar lessons for 4 years and still not be able to strum in a rhythm, and speak in hushed tones about government conspiracies. At least, in one case it does.
posted by jimmythefish at 1:57 PM on April 13, 2008 [2 favorites]
My sister-in-law's father is an old-school hippie who has smoked pot many times a day for more than thirty years. A month doesn't do jack shit. 30 years makes you move in slow motion, take guitar lessons for 4 years and still not be able to strum in a rhythm, and speak in hushed tones about government conspiracies. At least, in one case it does.
posted by jimmythefish at 1:57 PM on April 13, 2008 [2 favorites]
When we met, this person was in college and had aspirations of becoming a great writer. When we broke up, he was manager of a Godfather's Pizza. Flash forward twenty years later, I heard he was manager of a Boston Market. Pot is a helluva drug.
Good lord, the service industry? Talk about toxic human waste!
posted by mek at 2:20 PM on April 13, 2008 [10 favorites]
When we met, this person was in college and had aspirations of becoming a great writer. When we broke up, he was manager of a Godfather's Pizza. Flash forward twenty years later, I heard he was manager of a Boston Market. Pot is a helluva drug.
Why blame pot? Maybe he was just an asshole... (rimshot). Most of my "great writer" friends from college didn't even have jobs, lol. And they preferred the grape.
(about the post, in general)
I haven't seen the movie yet (I would like to, but it's not a major priority), but from checking out the trailer,etc...other than commentary about federal law vs state law, I would guess most of the movie is pretty tongue in cheek. I mean, I wouldn't give Paulie Shore shit for not really addressing the issues of the American Court System, in Jury Duty.
posted by stifford at 2:23 PM on April 13, 2008
Why blame pot? Maybe he was just an asshole... (rimshot). Most of my "great writer" friends from college didn't even have jobs, lol. And they preferred the grape.
(about the post, in general)
I haven't seen the movie yet (I would like to, but it's not a major priority), but from checking out the trailer,etc...other than commentary about federal law vs state law, I would guess most of the movie is pretty tongue in cheek. I mean, I wouldn't give Paulie Shore shit for not really addressing the issues of the American Court System, in Jury Duty.
posted by stifford at 2:23 PM on April 13, 2008
I've seen Doug Benson* perform at Asscat, and while pot might not make you a bad standup comedian, it certainly doesn't make you a good one, either.
*In an odd coincidence, "Benson" or "Bennie" was my high-school cliques code words for pot.
posted by Bookhouse at 2:34 PM on April 13, 2008
*In an odd coincidence, "Benson" or "Bennie" was my high-school cliques code words for pot.
posted by Bookhouse at 2:34 PM on April 13, 2008
I have a sneaking suspicions that this Doug Benson fellow is not the insightful comedic genius that he appears to think that he is.
posted by dobie at 2:35 PM on April 13, 2008
posted by dobie at 2:35 PM on April 13, 2008
Talk about toxic human waste!
Oh pleeeease. I was a waitress for MAAAANY years. That's not what I meant at all and if I worded that wrong, I'm sorry. This guy was just so ambitious when I met him, bent on forging this fabulous career for himself. He talked about it endlessly when I first met him, all of his goals for the future. It just makes me really sad when people have described him to me since. I really admired all of his hopes and dreams, because I had my own. We were both going to set the world on fire. The stories people told me of him since sound more like an episode of Jerry Springer than what I had imagined for him. I'm not being judgmental, I'm just sad about it because he had a lot of talent to really accomplish his goals.
That doesn't mean I'm dissing the food service industry.
posted by miss lynnster at 2:40 PM on April 13, 2008
Oh pleeeease. I was a waitress for MAAAANY years. That's not what I meant at all and if I worded that wrong, I'm sorry. This guy was just so ambitious when I met him, bent on forging this fabulous career for himself. He talked about it endlessly when I first met him, all of his goals for the future. It just makes me really sad when people have described him to me since. I really admired all of his hopes and dreams, because I had my own. We were both going to set the world on fire. The stories people told me of him since sound more like an episode of Jerry Springer than what I had imagined for him. I'm not being judgmental, I'm just sad about it because he had a lot of talent to really accomplish his goals.
That doesn't mean I'm dissing the food service industry.
posted by miss lynnster at 2:40 PM on April 13, 2008
I do think that it's really not pot itself that causes people to lose ambition and go downhill. I know too many high achievers who have smoked and/or do smoke daily or very frequently - productive members of society, with responsibilities, families, and accomplishments. I think depression and other personality disorders, unrealistic expectations, lack of follow-through or ambition, and so on cause people to slack off. Emotional and psychological problems like that are the underlying cause of the problem. The fact that their slacked-down lives allow more time for recreational drug use, and that they'd be seeking a mood-altering experience of some kind, isn't that surprising. Correlation isn't causation.
posted by Miko at 2:48 PM on April 13, 2008 [31 favorites]
posted by Miko at 2:48 PM on April 13, 2008 [31 favorites]
The main point of what I said was simply this: sometimes pot can inspire people to let life pass them by and lose the momentum of their dreams in lieu of staying baked. And when you care about that person and hear that's what has happened, it can be a gigantic bummer.
Sorry if it came out differently.
posted by miss lynnster at 2:50 PM on April 13, 2008
Sorry if it came out differently.
posted by miss lynnster at 2:50 PM on April 13, 2008
Maybe he just went on a binge after his Last Comic Standing loss and happened to have filmed it.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 2:53 PM on April 13, 2008
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 2:53 PM on April 13, 2008
I do think that it's really not pot itself that causes people to lose ambition and go downhill. I know too many high achievers who have smoked and/or do smoke daily or very frequently - productive members of society, with responsibilities, families, and accomplishments. I think depression and other personality disorders, unrealistic expectations, lack of follow-through or ambition, and so on cause people to slack off. Emotional and psychological problems like that are the underlying cause of the problem. The fact that their slacked-down lives allow more time for recreational drug use, and that they'd be seeking a mood-altering experience of some kind, isn't that surprising. Correlation isn't causation.
There's a lot of truth in the above, but if someone is slacking off, depressed and taking bong hits every day, the pot's probably not helping.
posted by Bookhouse at 3:06 PM on April 13, 2008
There's a lot of truth in the above, but if someone is slacking off, depressed and taking bong hits every day, the pot's probably not helping.
posted by Bookhouse at 3:06 PM on April 13, 2008
You really are better off without pot or alcohol. You really, really are. Zip, zero, none. Not a toke, not a sip. This guy should have tried staying off for just one year. It would have made him a new man.
posted by Faze at 3:07 PM on April 13, 2008
posted by Faze at 3:07 PM on April 13, 2008
sometimes pot can inspire people to let life pass them by and lose the momentum of their dreams in lieu of staying baked
True, but pot's no different from any other intoxicant in that respect. The problem is abuse, not the substance.
posted by owhydididoit at 3:08 PM on April 13, 2008 [4 favorites]
True, but pot's no different from any other intoxicant in that respect. The problem is abuse, not the substance.
posted by owhydididoit at 3:08 PM on April 13, 2008 [4 favorites]
Most of my "great writer" friends from college didn't even have jobs, lol. And they preferred the grape.
You can get high smoking grapes?
posted by infinitywaltz at 3:10 PM on April 13, 2008 [1 favorite]
You can get high smoking grapes?
posted by infinitywaltz at 3:10 PM on April 13, 2008 [1 favorite]
I love it when people talk about pot, and they drag out some crusty old hippie that they knew and kick him around for a bit as an example of "losers who smoke pot." What about all the lawyers, engineers, and other successful people who smoke pot? Why not talk about them? Maybe because you didn't know they smoked pot, since it didn't effect their lives very much?
People are disturbingly hypocritical when it comes to choice of recreational substances. "Yeah, I knew this guy who smoked SOOO much pot, and he was such a loser! I bet he still works at the gas station!" But why not talk about all the people who can't handle their booze, and use them as an example of why "people who drink alcohol are creepy losers?" Perhaps because there are too goddamn many of them? Because its far more socially acceptable to be a lush than a pothead? Or maybe because it's FUCKING IDIOTIC to pick out the worst examples of people who use a substance, and then use them as part of your argument for why that substance is bad?
Yeah, potheads are a bunch of creepy fucking unmotivated losers, and they like music that I don't like. If you smoke a joint after work, you really need to re-think your priorities, Mister. But a beer with the guys after work, or a glass of wine with dinner? Perfectly okay. Respectable even. Shows that you're a bit of an epicure.
God. This shit kills me. I think that a raised heart-rate brought about by anger towards hypocrites would kill me long before reefer ever could.
posted by Afroblanco at 3:10 PM on April 13, 2008 [53 favorites]
People are disturbingly hypocritical when it comes to choice of recreational substances. "Yeah, I knew this guy who smoked SOOO much pot, and he was such a loser! I bet he still works at the gas station!" But why not talk about all the people who can't handle their booze, and use them as an example of why "people who drink alcohol are creepy losers?" Perhaps because there are too goddamn many of them? Because its far more socially acceptable to be a lush than a pothead? Or maybe because it's FUCKING IDIOTIC to pick out the worst examples of people who use a substance, and then use them as part of your argument for why that substance is bad?
Yeah, potheads are a bunch of creepy fucking unmotivated losers, and they like music that I don't like. If you smoke a joint after work, you really need to re-think your priorities, Mister. But a beer with the guys after work, or a glass of wine with dinner? Perfectly okay. Respectable even. Shows that you're a bit of an epicure.
God. This shit kills me. I think that a raised heart-rate brought about by anger towards hypocrites would kill me long before reefer ever could.
posted by Afroblanco at 3:10 PM on April 13, 2008 [53 favorites]
Doug Benson is a pretty funny guy -- he's done a pot-themed comedy show called the Marijuanalogues and I've heard several interviews where he comes off as a pretty sharp guy that likes a bit of weed every now and then and doesn't totally enjoy being known as a "pothead humorist". I thought the trailer looked pretty good, though I suspect there won't be much difference between the smoking month and the non-smoking month (aside from weight gain I would suspect).
posted by mathowie at 3:15 PM on April 13, 2008
posted by mathowie at 3:15 PM on April 13, 2008
I'm with you, Afroblanco. And generally, even the burnt-out unmotivated loser pothead types are a hell of lot more pleasant to be around than similarly burnt-out alcoholics (or speed freaks, god forbid). I'd rather be around a guy who likes the Grateful Dead too much and eats all my chips than a guy who gets drunk and beats up his wife and kids.
Personally, though, I'll stick to my whiskey and wine, because it doesn't make me paranoid and it doesn't make me cough.
posted by infinitywaltz at 3:17 PM on April 13, 2008
Personally, though, I'll stick to my whiskey and wine, because it doesn't make me paranoid and it doesn't make me cough.
posted by infinitywaltz at 3:17 PM on April 13, 2008
I wonder if all these people around here know if any of their pothead acquaintances know if these guys and gals ever got hit with a possession (or worse) charge. That can really fuck up someone's future. Probably a lot worse than getting high every day does. Hell, I know of a guy who got high every day and now he's producing his own movie.
posted by Doublewhiskeycokenoice at 3:19 PM on April 13, 2008
posted by Doublewhiskeycokenoice at 3:19 PM on April 13, 2008
though I suspect there won't be much difference between the smoking month and the non-smoking month
This is the point of the movie.
posted by Doublewhiskeycokenoice at 3:20 PM on April 13, 2008
This is the point of the movie.
posted by Doublewhiskeycokenoice at 3:20 PM on April 13, 2008
Afroblanco, if I may say so, the problem with weed is that some people thrive on it, and some people dive from it, and one never knows which will happen until...it happens.
posted by gorgor_balabala at 3:22 PM on April 13, 2008
posted by gorgor_balabala at 3:22 PM on April 13, 2008
You can get high smoking grapes?
dude.....woah....you may have blown my mind with that...guess I'm off to the produce section to find out... ; )
posted by stifford at 3:25 PM on April 13, 2008
dude.....woah....you may have blown my mind with that...guess I'm off to the produce section to find out... ; )
posted by stifford at 3:25 PM on April 13, 2008
Thanks for the insightful, honest comments, Miko and Afroblanco.
posted by nonmerci at 3:27 PM on April 13, 2008
posted by nonmerci at 3:27 PM on April 13, 2008
Gorgor_balabala, how is that different from alcohol? If anything, it seems like a pothead who hits bottom is still sort of able to function somewhat; maybe that's the difference? Maybe when potheads his bottom, we still see them around, functioning even if barely so, whereas alcoholics that really hit bottom are either dead or homeless?
posted by infinitywaltz at 3:27 PM on April 13, 2008
posted by infinitywaltz at 3:27 PM on April 13, 2008
> if I may say so, the problem with weed is that some people thrive on it, and some people dive from it, and one never knows which will happen until...it happens.
Sounds rather like... life, which I'd still recommend for most people.
posted by digaman at 3:33 PM on April 13, 2008 [5 favorites]
Sounds rather like... life, which I'd still recommend for most people.
posted by digaman at 3:33 PM on April 13, 2008 [5 favorites]
After watching the footage from 'Doug's First Drunk Show' I'm reminded about the very disappointing Mitch Hedberg performance my wife and I saw shortly before he OD'd. It was ur second time seeing Mitch and was nowhere near as funny as the first. In fact, it was really kinda sad and depressing. He was really, really fucked up on stage and was taking random pills tossed up to him. I'm not making the comparison because Doug is getting ready to die or anything, but instead because of how callous this experiment seems to the audience.
I understand that standup comics do hundreds of shows and they all blend together. I understand that they get bored with the same old routine, even if that routine is perfected. But I don't like the idea of them using the audience as a test case for whatever substance they're on. If they can do a great show high or drunk, fine, I won't complain. If they normally do a great show either on or off the chemical of their choice and then suddenly switch things up... that's pretty lame for the audience.
I am aware that comics will try out new jokes and new routines, and that's fine. I have no problems going to a show knowing that the comic is constantly tinkering with their act. But it strikes me as lame when the comic goes beyond fiddling with a detail here and there and totally changes the foundation of his act by intentionally getting fucked up before hand. You get that fucked up and go onstage, you might as well be doing a different act, which isn't fair to the people (and fans) who came out to see you do your act. I'm sure folks would be upset if Chris Rock started doing Henny Youngman bits.
So while I will likely be an audience member for Super High Me at some point, I can't help but think of those audience members who paid good money to go see Doug Benson perform live. Turns out even though they ponied up the cash, they were not the actual audience for the show - that audience was the camera and the movie goers that follow. I love Doug on Best Week Ever and acn only imagine how disappointed I'd be if I went and saw his standup while he was experimenting with different modes of sobriety.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 3:35 PM on April 13, 2008
I understand that standup comics do hundreds of shows and they all blend together. I understand that they get bored with the same old routine, even if that routine is perfected. But I don't like the idea of them using the audience as a test case for whatever substance they're on. If they can do a great show high or drunk, fine, I won't complain. If they normally do a great show either on or off the chemical of their choice and then suddenly switch things up... that's pretty lame for the audience.
I am aware that comics will try out new jokes and new routines, and that's fine. I have no problems going to a show knowing that the comic is constantly tinkering with their act. But it strikes me as lame when the comic goes beyond fiddling with a detail here and there and totally changes the foundation of his act by intentionally getting fucked up before hand. You get that fucked up and go onstage, you might as well be doing a different act, which isn't fair to the people (and fans) who came out to see you do your act. I'm sure folks would be upset if Chris Rock started doing Henny Youngman bits.
So while I will likely be an audience member for Super High Me at some point, I can't help but think of those audience members who paid good money to go see Doug Benson perform live. Turns out even though they ponied up the cash, they were not the actual audience for the show - that audience was the camera and the movie goers that follow. I love Doug on Best Week Ever and acn only imagine how disappointed I'd be if I went and saw his standup while he was experimenting with different modes of sobriety.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 3:35 PM on April 13, 2008
I can't speak for others, but my example was meant to suggest that habitual, very long-term pot smoking has negative effects. Sure, not really on-topic. Was it suggesting that it's better/worse than alcohol use? No. I agree with the 'abuse' part being more of an issue than the substance, and that almost anything can be abused. I certainly think that it's entirely possible to be a productive, high-functioning person who smokes pot, but I just don't know anyone who's owned up to doing so over 30+ years and remained on top of his game. Is that just my circumstance? Maybe it is.
My concern is that there's an element of popular culture which legitimizes heavy pot use, and this is one of them. Sure, you can do more damage over the short term with alcohol, I'd imagine. Still, would we have the same reaction if someone decided to do this with alcohol? There'd be a whole bunch of people posting 'this is a bad idea'. If someone posted a response such as afroblanco's from the reversed alcohol/pot perspective, would it resonate in the same way? I don't think it would.
posted by jimmythefish at 3:43 PM on April 13, 2008 [1 favorite]
My concern is that there's an element of popular culture which legitimizes heavy pot use, and this is one of them. Sure, you can do more damage over the short term with alcohol, I'd imagine. Still, would we have the same reaction if someone decided to do this with alcohol? There'd be a whole bunch of people posting 'this is a bad idea'. If someone posted a response such as afroblanco's from the reversed alcohol/pot perspective, would it resonate in the same way? I don't think it would.
posted by jimmythefish at 3:43 PM on April 13, 2008 [1 favorite]
I don't smoke weed and I've accomplished far, far less than a few of my friends who have not had a weed-free day for the past 5 years. And that excludes all the hard drugs they experimented with in their teens while I was busy being straight-laced. I only mention this since we're throwing out anecdotes and personal experiences as if they mean anything to anyone or prove anything.
There are as many stories as there are users. And being a user is not limited to (illegal) drugs either.
posted by slimepuppy at 3:50 PM on April 13, 2008 [1 favorite]
There are as many stories as there are users. And being a user is not limited to (illegal) drugs either.
posted by slimepuppy at 3:50 PM on April 13, 2008 [1 favorite]
On a "comedians performing on drugs tangent", there's a recording of Doug Stanhope performing a show, where he drops some acid before going on stage. I looked for a streaming or direct link, but could not find one. It floats around on bittorrent sites, here's a bit of it on youtube
FYI: the clip is NSFW, and only mentions him taking the acid, and some other drug commentary.
posted by stifford at 3:51 PM on April 13, 2008
FYI: the clip is NSFW, and only mentions him taking the acid, and some other drug commentary.
posted by stifford at 3:51 PM on April 13, 2008
Also, kids, you can smoke pot and do the occasional line of blow and still wind up getting even odds that you'll become president 7 months before the election.
posted by Doublewhiskeycokenoice at 3:56 PM on April 13, 2008
posted by Doublewhiskeycokenoice at 3:56 PM on April 13, 2008
This debate always reminds me of a great Todd Barry line:
I don't think pot should be illegal, but I do think being a pothead should be illegal.
posted by NikitaNikita at 4:01 PM on April 13, 2008
I don't think pot should be illegal, but I do think being a pothead should be illegal.
posted by NikitaNikita at 4:01 PM on April 13, 2008
I'd also like to note that the anti-drug campaigns themselves pretty much acknowledge the "30 days and I'm fine" thesis of this movie. See for example this commercial in which a kid builds a cocoon out of weed and is magically transported to an alternate universe where he's a balding middle-aged man.
posted by naju at 4:06 PM on April 13, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by naju at 4:06 PM on April 13, 2008 [1 favorite]
Emotional and psychological problems like that are the underlying cause of the problem. The fact that their slacked-down lives allow more time for recreational drug use, and that they'd be seeking a mood-altering experience of some kind, isn't that surprising. Correlation isn't causation.
posted by Miko at 2:48 PM on April 13
To come at the problem from a completely different angle, I would suggest that emotional and psychological problems are the cause of overachievement. Where else does that desperate need for "success," social stature, and acknowledgement come from? And if excessive pot is an alternative... well, where is the vice in slacking off? If you are content managing a Boston Pizza or whatever, then good for you. If you don't need 3 SUVs, a McMansion, and five little brats to feel that your life has real meaning, GREAT! If the cure to our consumption-driven society is a joint a day, then we need to start handing them out on every streetcorner.
I wish it were that simple.
posted by mek at 4:17 PM on April 13, 2008 [5 favorites]
posted by Miko at 2:48 PM on April 13
To come at the problem from a completely different angle, I would suggest that emotional and psychological problems are the cause of overachievement. Where else does that desperate need for "success," social stature, and acknowledgement come from? And if excessive pot is an alternative... well, where is the vice in slacking off? If you are content managing a Boston Pizza or whatever, then good for you. If you don't need 3 SUVs, a McMansion, and five little brats to feel that your life has real meaning, GREAT! If the cure to our consumption-driven society is a joint a day, then we need to start handing them out on every streetcorner.
I wish it were that simple.
posted by mek at 4:17 PM on April 13, 2008 [5 favorites]
Dude! Stopped smoking 5 years or so ago with one little exception.. Worst 5 years of my life.
You send people to doctors and put them on crazy drugs.. Day I cornered a kid and said "got a spare bowl" was best day ever.
What do you want? Smoke a Joint or be on crazy meds...
I'm a geek, I can mark the day I stopped smoking pot in my code archive.
I've been mostly clean for 5 years and hate it! Gah! I was such a better person when stoned a biit.
(note: I like Mexican Swag and we're talking a bowl and a joint per day, I don't like the good bud.)
20 years, gimme pot! better than booze, smoking, or drugs from the doctor.
posted by zengargoyle at 4:22 PM on April 13, 2008 [2 favorites]
You send people to doctors and put them on crazy drugs.. Day I cornered a kid and said "got a spare bowl" was best day ever.
What do you want? Smoke a Joint or be on crazy meds...
I'm a geek, I can mark the day I stopped smoking pot in my code archive.
I've been mostly clean for 5 years and hate it! Gah! I was such a better person when stoned a biit.
(note: I like Mexican Swag and we're talking a bowl and a joint per day, I don't like the good bud.)
20 years, gimme pot! better than booze, smoking, or drugs from the doctor.
posted by zengargoyle at 4:22 PM on April 13, 2008 [2 favorites]
Correlation isn't causation.
And in pot's case, you don't even have the correlation to point to -- just a random haphazard bunch of cases, some of whom do poorly, some of whom do fine, some of whom do spectacularly well. But woe betide the possibility that anyone who does poorly actually smokes pot because when that happens, people *will* impute causality there because that's the kind of magical thinking we've been conditioned to believe.
I used to smoke a lot of pot as a young man. At some point, I stopped smoking. My life did not improve one iota. Proof positive that pot was not the cause of my problems.
Sometimes, I think I'd like to start smoking again, because I love the smell and the taste of the stuff. I just don't like the effects much any more.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 4:24 PM on April 13, 2008
And in pot's case, you don't even have the correlation to point to -- just a random haphazard bunch of cases, some of whom do poorly, some of whom do fine, some of whom do spectacularly well. But woe betide the possibility that anyone who does poorly actually smokes pot because when that happens, people *will* impute causality there because that's the kind of magical thinking we've been conditioned to believe.
I used to smoke a lot of pot as a young man. At some point, I stopped smoking. My life did not improve one iota. Proof positive that pot was not the cause of my problems.
Sometimes, I think I'd like to start smoking again, because I love the smell and the taste of the stuff. I just don't like the effects much any more.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 4:24 PM on April 13, 2008
If the cure to our consumption-driven society is a joint a day, then we need to start handing them out on every streetcorner.
Xbox 360s, Doritos, Pizza Hut and Mountain Dew are all consumables.
posted by Bookhouse at 4:26 PM on April 13, 2008
Xbox 360s, Doritos, Pizza Hut and Mountain Dew are all consumables.
posted by Bookhouse at 4:26 PM on April 13, 2008
"You really are better off without pot or alcohol. You really, really are. Zip, zero, none. Not a toke, not a sip. This guy should have tried staying off for just one year. It would have made him a new man."
Yeah... well that's just like... your opinion, man.
posted by stenseng at 4:41 PM on April 13, 2008 [8 favorites]
Yeah... well that's just like... your opinion, man.
posted by stenseng at 4:41 PM on April 13, 2008 [8 favorites]
See for example this commercial
Yes, I have seen that commercial, about 50 times because every parent I know forwards it to everyone they know. "It's so original" "It's art!" "It's inspired"
It's cool the first time you see it, then about the 3rd time you see it, it dawns on you that it's a workgroup sort of thing. I can imagine eight self-righteous abovetheinfluence kids brainstorming about making a commercial that will bring the "message" to the misinformed. It feels like propaganda and it's being touted as art.
That commercial doesn't make me want to make better decisions it just makes me angry in a really visceral way. I've never done drugs, never really wanted to, but for whatever reason every single one of those abovetheinfluence commercials ticks me off.
This movie traumatized the shit out of my 19year old self and is probably the single most persuasive anti-drug factor in my life.
I guess the thing that bugs me about all this anti-drug nonsense is it's just painting over the issue. The system is failing, people are dying, lives are being destroyed and the best goddamn solution we can come up with is a multi-million dollar campaign that tells us drugs are harmful.
posted by M Edward at 4:46 PM on April 13, 2008
Yes, I have seen that commercial, about 50 times because every parent I know forwards it to everyone they know. "It's so original" "It's art!" "It's inspired"
It's cool the first time you see it, then about the 3rd time you see it, it dawns on you that it's a workgroup sort of thing. I can imagine eight self-righteous abovetheinfluence kids brainstorming about making a commercial that will bring the "message" to the misinformed. It feels like propaganda and it's being touted as art.
That commercial doesn't make me want to make better decisions it just makes me angry in a really visceral way. I've never done drugs, never really wanted to, but for whatever reason every single one of those abovetheinfluence commercials ticks me off.
This movie traumatized the shit out of my 19year old self and is probably the single most persuasive anti-drug factor in my life.
I guess the thing that bugs me about all this anti-drug nonsense is it's just painting over the issue. The system is failing, people are dying, lives are being destroyed and the best goddamn solution we can come up with is a multi-million dollar campaign that tells us drugs are harmful.
posted by M Edward at 4:46 PM on April 13, 2008
note: I like Mexican Swag and we're talking a bowl and a joint per day, I don't like the good bud.
Are you sure you're not high?
posted by dhammond at 4:54 PM on April 13, 2008
Are you sure you're not high?
posted by dhammond at 4:54 PM on April 13, 2008
I'm 34...how long until I wake up in a cocoon of all the pot I'm smoked in my life? That would ROCK! (assuming it's still all smokable).
The thing I never understood with anti-drug commercials is that in one commercial, they will tell you not to succumb to peer pressure to try pot (or whatever drug), and then the same organization will put out another commercial using peer pressure to suggest drugs aren't cool.
posted by stifford at 5:04 PM on April 13, 2008 [2 favorites]
The thing I never understood with anti-drug commercials is that in one commercial, they will tell you not to succumb to peer pressure to try pot (or whatever drug), and then the same organization will put out another commercial using peer pressure to suggest drugs aren't cool.
posted by stifford at 5:04 PM on April 13, 2008 [2 favorites]
This guy was just so ambitious when I met him, bent on forging this fabulous career for himself. He talked about it endlessly when I first met him, all of his goals for the future. It just makes me really sad when people have described him to me since.
Why? What's so pure and precious about ambition that makes squandering it so terrible? Perhaps smoking pot made him change his priorities, but I don't see why this is always a bad thing. Naturally, if he's unhappy with his current position, then you might have an argument to make. But some people just aren't cut out for the kind of lifestyle that feeds personal ambition--and the sooner they find this out, the quicker they find real happiness in their lives. The problem with ambition is that you directly correlate your life's ultimate success or failure to the outcome of something that may not be in your control at all.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 5:11 PM on April 13, 2008 [4 favorites]
Why? What's so pure and precious about ambition that makes squandering it so terrible? Perhaps smoking pot made him change his priorities, but I don't see why this is always a bad thing. Naturally, if he's unhappy with his current position, then you might have an argument to make. But some people just aren't cut out for the kind of lifestyle that feeds personal ambition--and the sooner they find this out, the quicker they find real happiness in their lives. The problem with ambition is that you directly correlate your life's ultimate success or failure to the outcome of something that may not be in your control at all.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 5:11 PM on April 13, 2008 [4 favorites]
Every time an anti-drug PSA comes on TV, or I see an anti-drug PSA in a magazine, I wonder to myself what percentage of the people involved in making these PSAs use or have used drugs (not to mention the people involved in creating the content wrapped around these messages).
posted by jtron at 5:32 PM on April 13, 2008
posted by jtron at 5:32 PM on April 13, 2008
> The thing I never understood with anti-drug commercials is that in one commercial, they will tell you not to succumb to peer pressure to try pot (or whatever drug), and then the same organization will put out another commercial using peer pressure to suggest drugs aren't cool.
This is because they're created by people who believe so strongly in their "message" that they're willing to let the ends justify the means. Even if this involves hypocrisy, as you've noticed, or outright lies, or virtually anything else.
Like most campaigns driven by true believers, they're only consistent in pushing their ideology; everything else is secondary.
posted by Kadin2048 at 5:34 PM on April 13, 2008
This is because they're created by people who believe so strongly in their "message" that they're willing to let the ends justify the means. Even if this involves hypocrisy, as you've noticed, or outright lies, or virtually anything else.
Like most campaigns driven by true believers, they're only consistent in pushing their ideology; everything else is secondary.
posted by Kadin2048 at 5:34 PM on April 13, 2008
You know who else had ambition, don't you?
posted by Joseph Gurl at 5:35 PM on April 13, 2008
posted by Joseph Gurl at 5:35 PM on April 13, 2008
Oh yeah I hate the cocoon ad too. But I think it's interesting that as people have become better informed through the internet, the anti-drug ads are relying less on outright verifiable lies, and more on this kind of "you might be fine, but you'll be unambitious!!" thing. And at that point, they've conceded so much about how otherwise harmless it is, that you have to bring it back to the question, "If you're arguing that it just makes you a slacker, and concede it has no other serious detrimental effect, why is it illegal again? Especially for those who medically need it?"
posted by naju at 5:40 PM on April 13, 2008 [3 favorites]
posted by naju at 5:40 PM on April 13, 2008 [3 favorites]
Whoa, I hope no one goes digging into my posts from 10 months ago to see if I repeated a story in an appropriate context!
Oh, wait! I don't have any that old! Ha!
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 5:42 PM on April 13, 2008
Oh, wait! I don't have any that old! Ha!
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 5:42 PM on April 13, 2008
Supersize Me was compelling; the posted clips (highlights?) for Superhigh Me look kind of boring.
posted by zippy at 5:50 PM on April 13, 2008
posted by zippy at 5:50 PM on April 13, 2008
Yeah, yeah, fixed that.
But the point is they are all the same really. It isn't about the drug, it's about the person, ML. Your point is well-taken....that drugs can suck.
Pot is just one of them. Food, sex, chocolate, and coffee are a couple of others.
What works for one person may not work so well for another. The thing is that something "working" for one person is no guarantee that it will "work" for another. Physiology is a helluva thing.
posted by humannaire at 6:22 PM on April 13, 2008 [1 favorite]
Every time an anti-drug PSA comes on TV, or I see an anti-drug PSA in a magazine, I wonder to myself what percentage of the people involved in making these PSAs use or have used drugs (not to mention the people involved in creating the content wrapped around these messages).
I think that every time I see the one where the teenage girl comes home from school and the dog jumps up onto the chair and tells her he doesn't like her smoking pot, then jumps down and walks away. I like to imagine the girl then going "Whoa. I am so high right now..."
posted by lilac girl at 6:56 PM on April 13, 2008
I think that every time I see the one where the teenage girl comes home from school and the dog jumps up onto the chair and tells her he doesn't like her smoking pot, then jumps down and walks away. I like to imagine the girl then going "Whoa. I am so high right now..."
posted by lilac girl at 6:56 PM on April 13, 2008
Nice.
I repeated a story from fucking JUNE? And you think that you're being Mr. Clever by calling that out? Oooooh burn!!!!! Listen, my father died two weeks ago and my mother's in the hospital so I'm doing good to remember my own name right now with the crap I'm going through... I'm actually more than a little impressed that I'm not repeating comments I posted yesterday.
Moral of the story, I think I came back on here and started commenting again too soon. I need a longer break from assholes. I'm just not in the mood.
Perhaps I should just go get high and stay that way for a few months or something. Get a job at Boston Market as penance. Whatever.
posted by miss lynnster at 7:15 PM on April 13, 2008
I repeated a story from fucking JUNE? And you think that you're being Mr. Clever by calling that out? Oooooh burn!!!!! Listen, my father died two weeks ago and my mother's in the hospital so I'm doing good to remember my own name right now with the crap I'm going through... I'm actually more than a little impressed that I'm not repeating comments I posted yesterday.
Moral of the story, I think I came back on here and started commenting again too soon. I need a longer break from assholes. I'm just not in the mood.
Perhaps I should just go get high and stay that way for a few months or something. Get a job at Boston Market as penance. Whatever.
posted by miss lynnster at 7:15 PM on April 13, 2008
Sorry to hear about your Dad and Mom. Good luck.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 7:35 PM on April 13, 2008
posted by JohnnyGunn at 7:35 PM on April 13, 2008
Sorry to hear about your parents, miss lynnster.
Anyway, an anecdote about one of my stoner friends: he smoked pot through collage and when he graduated (with a film degree) he moved back with his parents and worked at K-Mart. I thought he was going to pretty much become a burnout, but after a couple years he got accepted to a top 20 law school in the SF Bay Area and he's doing well, and he keeps raving about all the amazing pot they have out there.
This [requiem for a dream] movie traumatized the shit out of my 19year old self and is probably the single most persuasive anti-drug factor in my life. -- M Edward
Well, that was really good propaganda.
posted by delmoi at 7:56 PM on April 13, 2008
Anyway, an anecdote about one of my stoner friends: he smoked pot through collage and when he graduated (with a film degree) he moved back with his parents and worked at K-Mart. I thought he was going to pretty much become a burnout, but after a couple years he got accepted to a top 20 law school in the SF Bay Area and he's doing well, and he keeps raving about all the amazing pot they have out there.
This [requiem for a dream] movie traumatized the shit out of my 19year old self and is probably the single most persuasive anti-drug factor in my life. -- M Edward
Well, that was really good propaganda.
posted by delmoi at 7:56 PM on April 13, 2008
I'm very sorry for derailing the thread as though it's all about me. It just seemed like if someone was going to go to the crazy effort of sifting through nine months of my posting history just to see if I ever repeated a story so they could troll me, perhaps they could've also taken a second to notice what I've posted numerous times over the last few weeks as well.
I sincerely apologize for going off, please resume the stoner discussion, dudes. (All pot does it put me to sleep so that's probably why I've never liked it much.)
posted by miss lynnster at 8:03 PM on April 13, 2008 [1 favorite]
I sincerely apologize for going off, please resume the stoner discussion, dudes. (All pot does it put me to sleep so that's probably why I've never liked it much.)
posted by miss lynnster at 8:03 PM on April 13, 2008 [1 favorite]
I can't imagine anyone enrolling in law school without being high.
posted by malocchio at 8:03 PM on April 13, 2008
posted by malocchio at 8:03 PM on April 13, 2008
I'm going to make a commercial where a kid sits down at a computer and begins to read metafilter ... wait, maybe I could make a documentary Metafilter Me ... or something.
posted by wobh at 8:05 PM on April 13, 2008
posted by wobh at 8:05 PM on April 13, 2008
he smoked pot through collage
...and papier-mâché, macramé and scrap-booking. Really creative shit, that pot! ; )
posted by ericb at 8:08 PM on April 13, 2008 [1 favorite]
...and papier-mâché, macramé and scrap-booking. Really creative shit, that pot! ; )
posted by ericb at 8:08 PM on April 13, 2008 [1 favorite]
I learned it by watching YOU, MetaFilter!
Anyway. Yes, to be clear, I don't smoke pot. But among the daily smokers I know are a) a psychiatrist with two jobs, one as a counselor/professor and another as an attending at a psych hospital; a PhD candidate in history with a two-course teaching load; and a high school science teacher who has won awards for innovative programs for college-bound disadvantaged kids. We don't hear about these people, because unless you know them intimately, you probably won't know their drug of choice.
Meanwhile, plenty of people drink every day. In fact, it's rare that a day goes by that I don't have wine with dinner. One or two glasses. Might be good for my heart, doctor says it is, antioxidants and all. Might not be so good for my liver. Sometimes gives me a headache if I haven't drunk enough water that day. Does seem to relax me and help me sleep.
Problem?
Yeah. Reefer. You don't want no part of this shit.
posted by Miko at 8:29 PM on April 13, 2008 [1 favorite]
Anyway. Yes, to be clear, I don't smoke pot. But among the daily smokers I know are a) a psychiatrist with two jobs, one as a counselor/professor and another as an attending at a psych hospital; a PhD candidate in history with a two-course teaching load; and a high school science teacher who has won awards for innovative programs for college-bound disadvantaged kids. We don't hear about these people, because unless you know them intimately, you probably won't know their drug of choice.
Meanwhile, plenty of people drink every day. In fact, it's rare that a day goes by that I don't have wine with dinner. One or two glasses. Might be good for my heart, doctor says it is, antioxidants and all. Might not be so good for my liver. Sometimes gives me a headache if I haven't drunk enough water that day. Does seem to relax me and help me sleep.
Problem?
Yeah. Reefer. You don't want no part of this shit.
posted by Miko at 8:29 PM on April 13, 2008 [1 favorite]
Okay but what is Doug's Halo 3 ranking and how was it hurt by not smoking weed for 30 days?
posted by geoff. at 8:58 PM on April 13, 2008
posted by geoff. at 8:58 PM on April 13, 2008
It makes me sad to think about all those literary giants I'll never get to read, because of pot.
posted by pantufla_milagrosa at 9:01 PM on April 13, 2008
posted by pantufla_milagrosa at 9:01 PM on April 13, 2008
True story: I took a very stoned Doug Benson to a waterslide park outside Dallas. This would've been 1992. That night, he did a show at the Dallas Improv. Good times.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:01 PM on April 13, 2008
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:01 PM on April 13, 2008
Doug Benson's marijuana use has clearly touched a lot of people's lives. Even here on Metafilter.
posted by geoff. at 9:04 PM on April 13, 2008
posted by geoff. at 9:04 PM on April 13, 2008
When we met, this person was in college and had aspirations of becoming a great writer. When we broke up, he was manager of a Godfather's Pizza. Flash forward twenty years later, I heard he was manager of a Boston Market. Pot is a helluva drug.
You know, I gotta say, blaming early pot use for this is kinda ludicrous. Here's a hint: hardly anyone who sets out to be a 'great writer' ends up as one.
I had a friend who became a scientist, and according to him, virtually everyone in that field smoked a very great deal of pot... and yet, somehow, fascinating and creative science got done. This man smoked his own weight by the time he left college -- and he was a big dude -- and became very successful, to the point that his company had run a T1 to his house so he could run experiments. In the early 90s, that cost thousands of dollars a month, but they covered it without batting an eye.
He smoked more pot than any three people I can think of, and did very well indeed.
posted by Malor at 9:27 PM on April 13, 2008
You know, I gotta say, blaming early pot use for this is kinda ludicrous. Here's a hint: hardly anyone who sets out to be a 'great writer' ends up as one.
I had a friend who became a scientist, and according to him, virtually everyone in that field smoked a very great deal of pot... and yet, somehow, fascinating and creative science got done. This man smoked his own weight by the time he left college -- and he was a big dude -- and became very successful, to the point that his company had run a T1 to his house so he could run experiments. In the early 90s, that cost thousands of dollars a month, but they covered it without batting an eye.
He smoked more pot than any three people I can think of, and did very well indeed.
posted by Malor at 9:27 PM on April 13, 2008
I saw Super High Me last night. It was ok, though a bit pointless. It felt like two movies that didn't have much to do with each other crammed into the same running time. There's the film that follows a stand-up comedian through his daily routine as he does shows, hangs out with his fellow comedian friends, and yes, smokes a lot of pot. That part was pretty good, because I think Doug Benson is pretty funny, and while he isn't a super-compelling personality, he is affable enough that hanging out with him for 90+ minutes doesn't feel like a drag.
Then there's the film that's the pro-medical marijuana documentary, which presents a bunch of stats accompanied by wacky Michael Moore-esque graphics, follows the plight of a few LA-area dispensaries that get raided by the DEA, and has interviews with patients and doctors and people who run dispensaries and Dennis Peron and Marc Emery. This part felt kind of perfunctory, and didn't really have anything new or interesting to say beyond "drug war bad".
The only way these two movies are in any way connected is that Benson got a medical marijuana license so he could buy pot from the dispensaries, even though it's blindingly obvious he doesn't need it for medical purposes. (And the movie doesn't even show what he had to do to get the license.) So the movie's logic seems to be: marijuana should be legal for medical purposes, even though people like Doug Benson will abuse the system so that he can smoke recreationally, but that's fine because he smoked for thirty days straight and it didn't turn him into a vegetable or even really affect him much at all, so... then... uh... pot should be completely legal. I guess. But I suppose I shouldn't expect an airtight-logical argument from a movie about smoking tons of pot that was "based on a joke by Doug Benson" (yes, that is how the movie is described in the credits).
posted by monosyllabic at 9:28 PM on April 13, 2008 [1 favorite]
Then there's the film that's the pro-medical marijuana documentary, which presents a bunch of stats accompanied by wacky Michael Moore-esque graphics, follows the plight of a few LA-area dispensaries that get raided by the DEA, and has interviews with patients and doctors and people who run dispensaries and Dennis Peron and Marc Emery. This part felt kind of perfunctory, and didn't really have anything new or interesting to say beyond "drug war bad".
The only way these two movies are in any way connected is that Benson got a medical marijuana license so he could buy pot from the dispensaries, even though it's blindingly obvious he doesn't need it for medical purposes. (And the movie doesn't even show what he had to do to get the license.) So the movie's logic seems to be: marijuana should be legal for medical purposes, even though people like Doug Benson will abuse the system so that he can smoke recreationally, but that's fine because he smoked for thirty days straight and it didn't turn him into a vegetable or even really affect him much at all, so... then... uh... pot should be completely legal. I guess. But I suppose I shouldn't expect an airtight-logical argument from a movie about smoking tons of pot that was "based on a joke by Doug Benson" (yes, that is how the movie is described in the credits).
posted by monosyllabic at 9:28 PM on April 13, 2008 [1 favorite]
As a balding, middle-aged pothead, I resent the implication that I like the Grateful Dead.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 9:37 PM on April 13, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by BitterOldPunk at 9:37 PM on April 13, 2008 [1 favorite]
In my friends who were and are regular users I've observed two important effects: 1) marijuana disabled their critical self-filters such that while high, they did much less internal censoring and regulation. 2) marijuana disabled their ability to get bored so that long periods of passivity or repetitive tasks were tolerable, even enjoyable. Both these effects have considerable advantages and hazards. These effects are also so pronounced and obvious and so potentially useful and lucrative that it surprises me that the drug industry and the rest of corporate America doesn't publicly lobby for extensive marijuana research, if not decriminalization and regulation.
posted by wobh at 9:54 PM on April 13, 2008 [2 favorites]
posted by wobh at 9:54 PM on April 13, 2008 [2 favorites]
miss lynnster opined:When we met, this person was in college and had aspirations of becoming a great writer. When we broke up, he was manager of a Godfather's Pizza. Flash forward twenty years later, I heard he was manager of a Boston Market.
The main point of what I said was simply this: sometimes pot can inspire people to let life pass them by and lose the momentum of their dreams in lieu of staying baked.
Teacher: "Class, everyone repeat after me: Correlation does not equal causation."
Class, bored: "Correlation does not equal causation"
Can we just all agree not to do this ever again? Please? Some people use weed to self-medicate (possibly undiagnosed) depression, which can debilitate and hamper anyone whether they smoke weed or not.
Pot is a helluvadrug plant.
Fixed that for you. And yes, the difference matters.
posted by zardoz at 11:12 PM on April 13, 2008
The main point of what I said was simply this: sometimes pot can inspire people to let life pass them by and lose the momentum of their dreams in lieu of staying baked.
Teacher: "Class, everyone repeat after me: Correlation does not equal causation."
Class, bored: "Correlation does not equal causation"
Can we just all agree not to do this ever again? Please? Some people use weed to self-medicate (possibly undiagnosed) depression, which can debilitate and hamper anyone whether they smoke weed or not.
Pot is a helluva
Fixed that for you. And yes, the difference matters.
posted by zardoz at 11:12 PM on April 13, 2008
When it comes to drugs, I get my advice from President Reagan and the first lady. They really tell it like it is, and I appreciate that straight talk.
posted by mullingitover at 11:28 PM on April 13, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by mullingitover at 11:28 PM on April 13, 2008 [1 favorite]
1) marijuana disabled their critical self-filters such that while high, they did much less internal censoring and regulation.
I find completely the opposite - as if the telephone operator in my head is not making the appropriate connections so I don't get around to saying anything. Needless to say I am very quiet on pot, so I prefer not to have it while around people.
I, too, failed to become a great writer because of pot - which forced me into the ghetto of quite-adequately-paying IT jobs and grape addiction after being acquitted of possession by a jury of my peers. /shakes fist at the loss of the Great Somecountryoranother Novel
Co-incidentally, I just finished watching all three seasons of Weeds, which struck me as unique in television because of the sheer number of times that characters in it had sex and you wished to the heavens that they just please wouldn't because you didn't like them very much and it didn't seem fair.
And while I'm on the subject - have you ever really looked at your hand - I mean really looked at it?
posted by Sparx at 4:05 AM on April 14, 2008 [1 favorite]
I find completely the opposite - as if the telephone operator in my head is not making the appropriate connections so I don't get around to saying anything. Needless to say I am very quiet on pot, so I prefer not to have it while around people.
I, too, failed to become a great writer because of pot - which forced me into the ghetto of quite-adequately-paying IT jobs and grape addiction after being acquitted of possession by a jury of my peers. /shakes fist at the loss of the Great Somecountryoranother Novel
Co-incidentally, I just finished watching all three seasons of Weeds, which struck me as unique in television because of the sheer number of times that characters in it had sex and you wished to the heavens that they just please wouldn't because you didn't like them very much and it didn't seem fair.
And while I'm on the subject - have you ever really looked at your hand - I mean really looked at it?
posted by Sparx at 4:05 AM on April 14, 2008 [1 favorite]
Mod note: weird comment trawling derail removed - please take that to email thanks.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 4:33 AM on April 14, 2008
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 4:33 AM on April 14, 2008
Routine marijuana use leads to endless discussions of marijuana. It may not kill people, but it does kill good conversation.
posted by ferdydurke at 9:13 AM on April 14, 2008
posted by ferdydurke at 9:13 AM on April 14, 2008
Also, I'm not seeing that this guy is actually in need of "medical" marijuana. If a person has glaucoma or AIDS symptoms that's one thing to document...
We all have reasons to smoke marijuana for medical / health purposes, Burhanistan. SOme people are just not yet aware of the potential benefits awaiting them.
it's really not pot itself that causes people to lose ambition and go downhill...
You say it like it was a bad thing. Hitler and Stalin were ambitious, and accomplished more than most men ever will. And we all go downhill, that is the natural process of life.
posted by Meatbomb at 9:47 AM on April 14, 2008
We all have reasons to smoke marijuana for medical / health purposes, Burhanistan. SOme people are just not yet aware of the potential benefits awaiting them.
it's really not pot itself that causes people to lose ambition and go downhill...
You say it like it was a bad thing. Hitler and Stalin were ambitious, and accomplished more than most men ever will. And we all go downhill, that is the natural process of life.
posted by Meatbomb at 9:47 AM on April 14, 2008
Pot is something that makes you think all your whacked out, half-baked ideas are brilliant. This is why most people think that pot gives you a lot of whacked out, half-baked ideas. From what I've observed, this is putting the cart before the horse.
Correlation != Causation
posted by autodidact at 11:59 AM on April 14, 2008
Correlation != Causation
posted by autodidact at 11:59 AM on April 14, 2008
Does anyone know what that song is that's playing in the background of the trailer? It's catchy as hell.
posted by OverlappingElvis at 12:54 PM on April 14, 2008
posted by OverlappingElvis at 12:54 PM on April 14, 2008
Routine marijuana use leads to endless discussions of marijuana.
It also leads to an interest in small construction projects. Like, "We could totally turn this old lamp into a bong..."
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 1:39 PM on April 14, 2008
It also leads to an interest in small construction projects. Like, "We could totally turn this old lamp into a bong..."
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 1:39 PM on April 14, 2008
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