Poll: Do you smoke marijuana?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=710994

by BigCanOfTuna • 17 years ago

57 102 17 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

ErrantX• 17 years ago

No.

But I did live in a house with a weed smoker for 2 years. Never really worried me except the living room always smelt stuffy in the mornings.

Oh and I had a really hilarious mix up with a dealer once. Mistook him for the pizza delivery guy and got all the way down a side street and too his car before I twigged. doh.

yesimahuman2• 17 years ago

I know of no one who (knowingly) has had any negative effects from smoking weed, apart from a few who did it too often because they had nothing better to do.

It is harmless in my opinion (compared to other things people can legally do). Also, I know of people who find it extremely enlightening and helps them think of new ways to solve problems.

dhughes• 17 years ago

I have friends who smoke it daily and a few them, the women in particular, seem to have problems with it.

One friend who gave it up (for now) had trouble trying to get to sleep for weeks after giving it up and has mysterious aches and pains; stomach aches, upper back pain and other vague aches. I figured it was just, you know, women stuff since another female friend who is also a regular user of it is also having trouble with mysterious aches. Only two people certainly not a solid study but who knows, it may be something.

Of the guys I know none have mentioned any mysterious aches, pains other than the usual stuff. Then again if they did we'd call them a pussy.

I'm not against it but who knows what it will do, that cardboard rolled up 'filter' is pretty useless. If you eat or drink the same thing, anything, every day you're bound to have some negative reaction.

darshan• 17 years ago

The few times I tried it, I felt really awesome for about 10 minutes, then suffered terrible anxiety and insomnia for at least a week. I've spoken to several other people who've had a similar experience with it.

Those are pretty negative effects, in my opinion, but maybe you mean permanent, physical damage, or something like that?

yesimahuman2• 17 years ago

Some people do have anxiety, and I agree that it's extremely negative, but a lot of people don't. (I do get panicky, which is why I don't smoke, but my friends don't).

My whole point is that if you do get too anxious and freak out with it, DON'T DO IT! Lots of people don't get those effects, and would like those who do to stay out of their business!

sailormoon• 17 years ago

No, but absolutely nothing against those who do, which is perhaps 60% of my friends.

In my opinion it is not good for my hacking abilities, in that I find it very difficult to take seriously the concept of "work" at all when high. I can be very productive, just probably not on the same thing I was planning to do ..

humbledrone2• 17 years ago

I've found that I'm terrible at laying down code when I've been smoking. My short term memory goes down the drain, which makes it difficult to remember, e.g., variable and function names. However, I've also found that I'm quite good at other creative tasks that don't require such technical skills, like brainstorming about where a project should go, or thinking about high-level design details.

SleepHitter86• 17 years ago

youre god damn right i do

potatolicious• 17 years ago

Nope, do not do it regularly. Never tried it while hacking though, I suspect I wouldn't get much done... I mean, it's not like it opened any crazy doors for me. Things just got funnier and I just got hungrier.

To be honest I'm not a big fan of the ganja, but that's mostly because I lived with people who had a pot problem, as opposed to a pot hobby. When you're blowing all of your limited student income on pot instead, say, feeding yourself, you got a problem. The people they brought over weren't much better.

novum• 17 years ago

Yes, quite frequently. It makes you a terrible coder, but I wouldn't go to a live concert now without it.

nihilocrat• 17 years ago

I smoke very rarely. However, I distinctly remember one of the only times I actually felt "happy" in my life was while stoned. Such a thing is so rare that I don't really mind the fact that "the drugs did it".

I only like smoking a little at a time. This will generally improve my mood and actually help me concentrate on things a little easier and worry less about problems that come up, so it's really useful for composing music.

Smoking a lot will just make me feel really out of touch with reality, and the next day will be a complete loss, as I don't have the mental capacity to do anything really useful, I can still think straight but there is a long delay between beginning and finishing a thought. If I smoke not long before I go to bed, it seems to multiply this effect.

pibefision• 17 years ago

No.

Protect your brain.

Devils-Avacado2• 17 years ago

Thanks mom.

Locke16892• 17 years ago

Poorly worded. I think what he meant to say was, "Marijuana is a psychoactive drug that has an effect on the brain. Therefore, I prefer to protect my most valuable asset against inadvertent harm." :)

Eliezer2• 17 years ago

Remember, just because people who advocate keeping marijuana illegal are horrible human beings, doesn't change the fact that marijuana is a psychoactive drug and we don't really understand the human brain all that well.

My own brain is idiosyncratic and doesn't always react as expected (e.g. to caffeine) and I've heard friends say that they think that taking marijuana during college might have permanently dulled the edge of their intelligence - which isn't exactly a controlled study or anything - but is enough to scare me away from ever trying the stuff.

And yes, I also never drink alcohol, and try to steer away from large doses of caffeine. Drugs scare me, legal or not.

Consider the risks and rewards very carefully before whacking on your brain with any sort of neuropharmeceutical - everything we have nowadays will be regarded by future times as the equivalent of a sledgehammer. The people trying to decriminalize and legalize drugs are, without ambiguity, the good guys. Don't confuse that with the proposition that drugs themselves are good.

zimbabwe11• 17 years ago

Elizer, I'm going to respond to you not because I disagree with what you said, but because you stated concisely the view that's opposite the one I hold, and I figure it might be neat to provide the foil view.

I don't hold my mind's current state sacrosanct. That is to say, I respect my mind incredibly, but I don't have any belief that says my mind was built the way it was for a reason, or that there's something wrong with experimenting with it. That doesn't mean I abuse it incredibly, but I'm fine with drugs and find the infrequent experiences I have with them to be worth the negligible cost they have on my mind.

I won't say "drugs are good" because I think it's stupid to assign a moral value to drugs either way. Hence, the idea that the brain should be preserved and altering chemicals avoided isn't one that I find offensive in the least. But it's worth pointing out the beneficial effects they can have on you. For one thing, realizing the limits of your perception can be fascinating. Weed doesn't have that effect on me so much, but alcohol and salvia both certainly made me realize things I wouldn't have realized otherwise. Alcohol's emotional effects certainly taught me that our moods are tenuous and that we shouldn't equate our emotional states to any sort of logical truth about the world.

Regarding weed and dulled intelligence - yes, I feel like that sometimes. I feel like that without using weed. Right now I'm in an emotive state where I feel like I'm going to grow fat and die without ever moving. Weed has nothing to do with those downer feelings. Since I first took weed, though, last February, I wrote a novel, designed a handful of web sites that I'm proud of, finished a few projects, etc., and I did it in between infrequent weed hits. It's worth pointing out that many great artists were users - Miles Davis and heroin most famously - and that using drugs doesn't instantly make you less creative. It might make you creative in a different way, but creativity is not something which can be gained and lost. It is a potential that we all have regardless of intelligence. Think of it more as a muscle than as a trait.

We're affected by chemicals no matter how we live. You live your life according to a mixture of fats, proteins, carbohydrates, and nutrients. In my mind, worrying too much about weed is like worrying about eating fats - it's certainly possible that if you take too much, there'll be adverse effects, but assuming that a single contact with a substance will change you forever is silly.

Regarding the initial question, though, hacking on weed probably won't work too well. Weed affects the sort of focus you'd need. (For certain other activities, however, like playing music, weed can help. It's not a black-and-white all-or-nothing deal.)

My advice would be to try it, since you can't really be hurt trying, but if you decide not to then all power to you.

lionhearted• 17 years ago

I did a heck of a lot of research before I tried drugs at age 19, and then had a lot of fun on drugs for a few years before giving it all up entirely. My main issue with most drugs is that you can get most of the positive effects of the less addictive drugs with training, without the nasty side effects. My favorite was hashish, which I found cleaner and more clear thinking than marijuana, though it's less readily available in America. I did most of my using in Amsterdam.

The exception is probably hallucinogens, which offer some interesting experiences that are probably hard to get elsewhere, and there's some that are largely harmless. I'd advise anyone to be really, really careful about the drugs that are both chemically addictive and tolerance building. Chemically addictive means withdrawal symptoms if you're not using, tolerance building means you need progressively more not to get to the same point. Nicotine, actually, probably gives you the least bang for your buck with a pretty brutal chem addictive/tolerance building mix. Anything that does similar you need to be wary about.

As for the most commonly used things - alcohol and THC (marijuana, hash) - you really, really can get the lower inhibitions, relaxation, creativity, etc. with some mental training. Quitting alcohol was surprisingly easy for me because eventually, I was doing much worse socially on it than without it. When you're comfortable saying and doing what you think sober, alcohol just messes up your reaction times and coordination and makes you fat and sick. The hardest part about quitting was the social aspect, but after about six months when people got the message that I was really done, that fell off too. I always tell everyone drink around me, use, whatever you please, but it's surprising how many of my friends who go out with me eventually quit. It's like a hell of a lot people drink because they're expected to more than because they actually like the effects.

cakesy• 17 years ago

I never got into smoking dope, but a number of my friends did. It ended up being really boring to hang around with them, they would be content doing nothing and getting stoned. I wanted to do something. They also stayed like this for a number of years, whereas I moved on, finished my degree, got a job. They are now doing working in gas stations.

Tichy2• 17 years ago

When is the novel coming out - title?

bprater• 17 years ago

Agreed, pot is a psychoactive drug and it does affect everyone in a unique way. In fact, all drugs are going to play with everyone's brains in unique ways. Personally, I don't hack while high, I've never found it helpful. Others will have a different experience, because their brains are wired differently than mine.

If you've wanted to experiment with drugs and aren't sure how to start, here are a few tips that have helped me. (For those of you headed to Burning Man, this could be useful!)

One: read up or talk to someone about the effects a drug might have on you. (Google 'erowid'.) Make sure it's something you can tolerate and want to do. Allow yourself to be prepared for it's effects. Psychedelics like LSD or mushrooms can be an overwhelming experience. Don't be scared; just be prepared. Drugs last a finite amount of time and then you are back to exactly who you are now.

Two: make sure that wherever you get the drugs from, it's as reputable as possible. For instance, in Amsterdam, it's popular to test Ecstasy after purchase and prior to consumption.

Three: initially take drugs with a experienced guide. A guide They will help with dosage and proper consumptive techniques. They will be able to help you if things are getting intense or if you need to talk.

Four: Never, ever try drugs at a random party around people you don't know. And never allow peer pressure to push you into trying something you don't want to do. (You'll know you are around the right people to experiment with, because you'll never be pressured. They will understand.)

Five: don't do drugs when you are at an emotional low in your life. This is how addictions occur. People find that life inside the drug "bubble" is better than real world. I know people who have played with heroin and are not addicts.

Six: Don't overdo it. Take it slow. It can take time for you to experience the subtleness of many drugs. And most importantly, have fun. You might be surprised just how many of the people around you regularly experiment.

If you are opposed to drugs, don't do them. But I would suggest trying to keep an open mind to what they can offer you, which is primarily a shift in consciousness. You get to see the world in a slightly different way and for some, it can be life-altering. Many people have had profound experiences (including myself) by experimenting with a variety of drugs. And I didn't start until my late '20s, because I was one of those "freaked out by the thought of drugs" people.

Final tip: if you really want to play, here's the perfect way to do it: go to a concert, take a friend and share a joint together. (Obviously, it should be legal to smoke pot where you live.) I think you might be surprised by the way you experience the show. I'm willing to wager you'll never watch a show again without being stoned.

tokenadult3• 17 years ago

Drugs last a finite amount of time and then you are back to exactly who you are now.

To the contrary, the best evidence shows that some drugs can cause permanent (or at least very long-lasting) changes in brain chemistry or brain structure.

paul9290• 17 years ago

Each to his own and for me it's about living and enjoying life to the fullest and safest. You can always sit on the sidelines and play it safe; whatever floats your boat. That's not me!

Mary Jane for me is no big deal, though I don't use it anymore. In college I enjoyed it with friends weekly; it was fun and it even landed me a job at a major record label out of college; jump started that career and made me 3 out 100 in my music biz degree to land such a job! Though I no longer participate or smoke it had a great positive impact on my life and it was hell of a lot of fun! It's boring now to me and I have out grown it!

jacoblyles3• 17 years ago

For someone whose main preaching is a religion of caution and skepticism, you speak with a lot of moral certainty. Why should holding a very common view (which probably not a lot of thought went into) make a person a "horrible human being"? I even allow that some of the people that disagree with us might have good reasons for doing so. Should I excise a person from the company of "the good guys" because one of his family members went through a horrible experience with illegal drugs? Or should I condemn him because he lives in a community where nearly everyone thinks drugs should be illegal and he lacks the two-plus sigma IQ often needed to disagree with the whole of society?

By such standards, the world is full of monsters. While I stop short of endorsing full-fledged moral relativism, I do think a little humility in judging the moral worth of others is a (rare) virtue. This is especially true on the interwebs, where separating the sheep from the goats is a favorite pastime of each little ego.

uriel• 17 years ago

Anyone that supports drug prohibition is either extremely ignorant, extremely stupid, or extremely evil, or some combination of thereof.

A brief look at any history book covering alcohol prohibition should be more than enough to convince any reasonable and honest person that drug legalization is a moral imperative.

Eliezer2• 17 years ago

Okay, you're right. I amend my statement to read that people who support drug criminalization are either horrible human beings, or stupid human beings who haven't spent much time thinking about who their righteous opinions might hurt in real life, and who as voters are directly partially responsible for the said pain. Is that an excuse? I suppose it's better than causing the pain on purpose.

Confusion• 17 years ago

Singling out the few substances people have been taking on purpose, in addition to their regular diet, to obtain certain effects, is a poor way of identifying chemicals that should be avoided because they are 'drugs'. It is simply an absurd definition of 'drugs'. You take drugs everyday, in large doses, with your regular diet. Change your diet and you change, for the better or the worse, because there are some substances you suddenly take in much more or much less.

Not too mention all the stuff that's in our regular drinking water: instead of avoiding pot, I'd start by avoiding tap water.

jacquesm• 17 years ago

I agree with you very very much. I figure the only asset I've got going for me is my brain and I refuse to risk it without a really good reason.

No drugs, no alcohol, no nicotine for me. What's gone in the brain tends to be gone forever, and forever is a long long time.

Decriminalization of drugs is a really good thing though. If all the money that went into this silly 'war' (another nice example of a word that has been stretched beyond its original meaning) on drugs was put to good use then jails would be less full and people would be less scared for doing something relatively innocent.

Where to draw the line ? Harddrugs ? Drug pushing ? Hard to tell. But it's too easy to make someone a criminal right now and that ought to change.

When a good sized portion of the population is in jail for something that you can argue is much less severe than consuming a nights out of alcohol there is a change to be made.

dylanz2• 17 years ago

Usually only before sitting down to watch a movie.

thunk• 17 years ago

It affects different people in different ways, but I find it incredibly beneficial when used in moderation and for a purpose. A cup of tea and a glass bowl of dank will often enhance my ability to visualize whatever problem I'm wrestling with to such an extent that the solution is obvious. Couple that with a brisk 45 minute walk on a peaceful night, and it's like the scales fall from your eyes (just don't forget a pen and paper!).

stevedekorte• 17 years ago

Is it really a good idea to have people confess in writing to what the the federal government and many states consider a crime?

I'd suggest the instead asking: "Do you think canabis negatively effects one's hacking abilities?"

humbledrone2• 17 years ago

Maybe I'm too laid back, but I don't really get the impression that the DEA is trolling the Hacker News comments, recording usernames, sending subpoenas to ISPs, obtaining search warrants, and busting down doors. Somehow I just don't see an online comment holding up in court as "probable cause".

brl• 17 years ago

It's not the only thing to worry about:

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20070427/095314.shtml

BigCanOfTuna• 17 years ago

I don't give a shit about peoples' opinions. I want to know how it affects someone's ability to code, not how someone THINKS it might affect one's ability to code. Also, I don't want to assume that it's negative, so I like my question better than yours.

Devils-Avacado2• 17 years ago

I voted up on both

jsz0• 17 years ago

I find marijuana is a great tool for brainstorming if used in moderation but I advise people keep it away from their actual work process. It's good to approach it like having a beer to relax after a hard day.

froo• 17 years ago

I think too many people often confuse creativity with a controlled state of madness.

Just this morning, I found myself singing "Alouette" while dancing the robot after I just got out of the shower (true story) with no explainable reason why I was doing it... I just was.

Shortly after, I thought I was just being creative. Now I'm currently questioning my sanity.

blatta• 17 years ago

You're not alone. Yesterday I improvised an opera with toys.

cb5• 17 years ago

What is life for if not 'singing "Alouette" while dancing the robot'

brg• 17 years ago

No, and never have but that is probably an effect of not having any inclination to seek it out as a younger person. I don't much care either way.

FishSpine2• 17 years ago

nope on dope. especially for start ups and entreprenures

Do you think the Google guys were taking bong breaks between writing code?

My opinion is hacking + business needs a mind as sharp as a samurai sword

jpierce4203• 17 years ago

No, but the Google guys are taking LSD, because they are definitely tripping right now!

FishSpine2• 17 years ago

I guess they are taking Steve Jobs' advice to heart.

zimbabwe11• 17 years ago

Bill Gates and Steve Jobs both dropped acid. I'd bet they both did weed, too.

The magic secret of entrepreneurship is that the people with big ideas and strong work ethics know who they are already, and them doing drugs doesn't stop them from being themselves. Similarly, avoiding drugs doesn't instantly give you power.

tokenadult3• 17 years ago

Evidence for the biographical statement in your post?

aswanson2• 17 years ago

It would stop them from existing if they overdose or have a bad trip and don't come back.

jpierce4203• 17 years ago

I used to smoke but can't anymore because of legal constraints and of course drug testing, and the stuff stays in your system for at least a month (at least for me) :-(. This varies in between different kinds of bud, but 5 out of 6 kinds I'd smoke throughout the month made me very lazy, so I couldn't see myself getting much done. Every now and then I'd find some stuff that didn't make me lazy, but it was rare. As far as brainstorming ideas though I think it would be great for that. As for dulling your intelligence, completely untrue. Maybe while high, but nothing permanent for sure.

dylanz2• 17 years ago

Do you eat marijuana?

That is an entirely, if not more appropriate, question. Smoking is obviously the prominent method of use, but it seems like nobody actually ingests it, or talks about ingesting it.

I've made glycerin tinctures out of it, put it on pizza, pasta, in salads, and of course... used its oil in cookies and brownies. Of course, it's a strong herb, so you don't use "too" much.

I can hack fine when I eat it. No anxiety, insomnia, short term memory loss, etc... it's just a nice "warm and fuzzy" muscle relaxer (I have bad spinal problems, and it helps ease the pain and relax my nerves better than anything off the shelves).

jambalaya2• 17 years ago

I'm looking to obtain a card to ingest for minor arthritis.

jrockway2• 17 years ago

I like how people here advocate never trying psychoactive drugs, because they want to keep their mind in good shape; but then in other posts recommend only eating rice and beans and that sleep and exercise are an unnecessary waste of time.

Being out of shape, not eating right, and being sleep-deprived is going to be a lot worse for you than having a few miligrams of a psychoactive substance once in a while. Inaction is often worse than action.

chris11• 17 years ago

Are you really sure that the same people have both views? I have generally gotten the impression here that a lot of people are health conscious, or at least knowledgeable about diet and health.

At least in all the exercise/sleep submissions I have been reading, a lot of posts are on the benefits of getting enough sleep and exercise.

malbiniak• 17 years ago

Pot affects everyone differently. If you haven't smoked, don't. If you have, great.

But if you start smoking because of an online poll, you should reassess your decision making process.

bretthoerner• 17 years ago

> If you haven't smoked, don't. If you have, great.

Hm...

> But if you start smoking because of an online poll, you should reassess your decision making process.

What if you don't because of an online comment?

guelo• 17 years ago

I mainly get high before having sex, really enhances the experience. Haven't noticed any effects to my hacking but there's no way to do a controlled experience, is there?

petercooper3• 17 years ago

You have sex? You must be the odd one out on this site :)

zimbabwe11• 17 years ago

Hacker News is where the literate, success/money-minded bright people come. Perhaps this is elitist, but I'd bet that this community is thinner, richer, and more socially capable than most communities online. Probably younger as well, since there's the whole core of high school/college YC wannabes, myself included.

yesyesyes• 17 years ago

anonymously for obvious reasons:

Echoing someone above, I'm fairly sure smoking weed has dulled the edge of my intelligence more or less permanently. On the other hand, I think it's probably made me a much nicer, well-rounded, and balanced person. I've no regrets.

But I never found it expanded my mind - just made me relaxed and happy. Personally, I find hallucinogens/entheogens much more conducive to hack-like tasks.

jaekwon• 17 years ago

I don't smoke regularly anymore. I find that abstaining from pot helps me concentrate on a project in the long haul, and I'm currently working on a fun side project. Marijuana seems to give a short initial peak of motivation/enthusiasm for any project, but overall appears to be a net negative in productivity (esp since the the "low" tail is so long).

I had experimented with long periods of continuous canabis usage (at low doses, never bong rips) both before and after college. I can't say for certain, but I think it had the following effects:

- more introspection - i was better able to understand my own thought processes. - shorter attention span - my attention would wander easily, and i would often dive deep into (often insigificant) problems. - more creativity / exploration - unpredictable and possibly net negative motivation / enthusiasm

I think, having experienced being stupid for extended periods of time, I am better able to structure and document my code. (documentation and consistent code structure / principle of least surprise become essential when you're stupid).

petercooper3• 17 years ago

I wonder what the results would be if the question were slightly tweaked to.. Have you ever smoked marijuana?

mdarby• 17 years ago

Don't, but have. Enjoyed it to a point. Great times (again to a point). Should be legal, but it's not, and that's the real danger.

mathogre• 17 years ago

The terrible thing about pot is that it makes you two things: lazy; and happy to be lazy. It quells the fire within. Pot may be fun and may feel good, but it keeps you from being anyone.

jgalvez• 17 years ago

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=509614

pwmanagerdied• 17 years ago

It seems to me like it would have been helpful to split yes in to "Yes, and I feel that it makes me a better hacker" vs. "Yes, and I feel that it has a negative or nonexistent effect on my hacking abilities." Right now the question seems a little too vague. :(

justlearning• 17 years ago

I read on reddit that hemp was banned by the lobbyists of the lumber/timber corporations, as hemp was dirt cheap to grow and process it to make paper, which of course would have killed these big paper corps. Marijuana being a cousin and seemingly looking alike was banned together with it. any truth in this?

Ok. marijuana affecting hacking abilities (in terms of driving) video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3zou4F00Ic (i think this is from channel-4 UK)

In there he says he is "concentrating more and driving slower".

silvertab• 17 years ago

I smoke pot because it helps me sleep. In any other cases I find pot to be counter-productive... Sure it might've help me come up with some interesting essay in my Philosophy class back in college but besides that I find it really hurts my productivity. I can code when I'm high but everything takes at least 2-3x longer than it would've taken me if I were sober.

Then again, I guess it affects everyone differently. Some of my friends (usually the more "artsy" type of people) find that it helps boost their productivity. As for me, well, I have trouble sleeping and I'm not interested in sleeping pills so, as long as pot will help me with that, I will keep on smoking it. In any other situation (especially any "social" situation) I avoid it as it makes me more awkward, paranoid and anxious.

TFrancis• 17 years ago

I like Bill Hicks take on Marijuana: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSH6ofHbeUw

sharpn2• 17 years ago

Hicks was a great comic, but if you're going to take his act as lifestyle advice then do bear in mind how & when he died.

rms2• 17 years ago

>mind how & when he died.

Um... pancreatic cancer?

anc2020• 17 years ago

Have smoked infrequently and enjoyed it, but can't see it as being useful for programming personally, so I'll vote no. I'd view it simply as a social drug like alcohol.

bddbbdb• 17 years ago

THC does not make you a better programmer, though I suppose there could be some Balmer-peak like point of intoxication out there. I did once have an interesting insight into the my mind on drugs, though, in writing a simple TI-83+ program for use in a rangefinder my friends and I decided to build while high. The final product worked exactly correctly, but when I examined the code in a non-intoxicated state, I saw that I had used some fairly elaborate trig identities, when the most appropriate solution would have simply been the tangent. That said, cannabis does tend to get me doing something right away, even if I dispense with the original work half the time. The sense of pure fascination is sometimes of great value.

Now the real question is whether LSD improves my math skills.

Poll: Do you smoke marijuana?

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