Life

[tegan]

It's almost noon and there's still no sign of the insurance money. I'm not looking forward to having to tell my landlord that I don't have money when I said I would. Again.

[ysbreker]

How much is a months rent for you?

[tegan]

$650 plus utilities.

[Zeusthecat]

I doubt it'd be that much popular. Here in the Netherlands, smoking weed is pretty much legal, and it's no big deal when people do it, but it's certainly not rampant and not even close to overcoming alcohol in popularity. I could list a dozen reasons why not: weed smells, alcohol has a strong cultural link to sociability, the effect of weed is different from alcohol, there's still a cultural stigma (even though it's de jure acceptable to use), some people don't like to smoke, there's much more variety to alcohol, etc.

 

I'm not advocate either way, just saying.

 

Thank you for saying that. A lot of people here in the states opposed to it tend to have the perception that it would encourage use, corrupt our children, is a gateway drug, causes schizophrenia, etc. I think it's just a thing that some people like and some people don't just like alcohol or cigarettes (although ironically much less damaging to your body than those two and illegal here). I suspect things will change a lot within the next 10 years especially after seeing more and more states that have adopted less stringent laws in the last few election cycles. But, whatever happens happens. I'm hoping for a certain outcome but I'll be cool either way.

 

And I would say there is quite a variety. Maybe not as diverse as beer but you would be surprised.

[Ucantalas]

I think there is still less variety than with alcohol. It's a bit closer to variety of beers or wines, as opposed to alcohol as a whole (wine, beer, vodka, rum, coolers... all very different beasts)

[ysbreker]

I wish I could help in some way, Tegan. But I doubt that my money would arrive any sooner than the insurance money

[Sententia]

650 plus utilities seems pretty expensive for one person, if it's big enough you could consider talking to your landlord about getting a roommate to split the cost.

[Twig]

650 plus utilities seems pretty expensive for one person, if it's big enough you could consider talking to your landlord about getting a roommate to split the cost.

God it sounds cheap to me. San Francisco, hurrayyyy. D:

 

Hope things turn good for you, tegan.

 

I doubt it'd be that much more popular. Here in the Netherlands, smoking weed is pretty much legal, and it's no big deal when people do it, but it's certainly not rampant and not even close to overcoming alcohol in popularity. I could list a dozen reasons why not: weed smells, alcohol has a strong cultural link to sociability, the effect of weed is different from alcohol, there's still a cultural stigma (even though it's de jure acceptable to use), some people don't like to smoke, there's much more variety to alcohol, etc.

 

I'm not advocating either way, just saying.

 

I know I didn't say this, but I really just meant among the people I know. That said, yeah, you're probably right. SHRUG.

[Zeusthecat]

I know I didn't say this, but I really just meant among the people I know. That said, yeah, you're probably right. SHRUG.

 

Honestly, I don't think things would really change much if at all. It would just reduce the risk for people who have a preference and wouldn't have much of an impact on others. I'm sure there are a subset of people out there that would prefer to smoke if it was legal but I bet a good number of those people already do and life would just continue on as always.

[subbes]

Also I live in SF, where I've heard it's cake to get a medical license, but I don't really care enough to do so. U:

 

A colleague has one for anxiety, and I've occasionally considered getting one for my arms to replace my current neuropathy Rx.  I already know I shouldn't smoke it, because the last 3 times I've done that, it ruins my throat and flicks the "let's go have a cigarette" light back on in my head; not sure how other methods of administration are.

[Twig]

There are vaporizers or whatever that are better for your throat/lungs, right?

 

I am totally out of my element here.

 

Honestly, I don't think things would really change much if at all. It would just reduce the risk for people who have a preference and wouldn't have much of an impact on others. I'm sure there are a subset of people out there that would prefer to smoke if it was legal but I bet a good number of those people already do and life would just continue on as always.

Yeah, sure, definitely. The entire reason I don't, though, is because it's not legal for me to do so (although, as I said above, I probably could make it legal with very little effort). I have nothing against weed whatsoever, but that's enough of a hindrance that I won't go out of my way. If the opportunity presented itself for a one-night-stand, as it were, I'd bite, but eh. It's not something I feel like I'm missing in my life.

 

But it is something I'd probably actually do were it not... prohibited!

 

Then again, I don't really drink that much, either, to be honest. I'll go out for drinks if that's what people decide they want to do, but I very, very rarely suggest it.

[Ucantalas]

Brownies, man.

(I also am kind of out of my element.)

[Zeusthecat]

Well, this IS my element. I won't hide it.

 

Yes, vaporizers essentially remove all of the harmful carcinogens. It basically heats it up enough to cause the THC to evaporate but doesn't actually get hot enough to cause the whole thing to combust. I have a friend (one of the guys I work with) who doesn't like the harshness of the smoke and ordered a vaporizer online. It is quite pleasant.

 

There are also eyedrops, cookies, pasta, brownies, etc. Directly smoking it can be somewhat harmful (not as bad as cigarettes because there aren't additional chemicals added) but any of these other methods have no tangible negatives associated with them as far as overall health is concerned. Despite all of this it really isn't for everyone. It is great for some and not so much for others. 

 

Edit: Twig, I think your mindset is a good one. I definitely don't think people are necessarily missing anything by not drinking or smoking. If you are happy with your normal state of mind, awesome. No need to go out of your way to do stupid shit. Me? I like doing stupid shit.

[Sententia]

The whole weed debate goes over my head pretty much.  I've honestly never smoked and can't stand alcohol at all.  It's weird considering that I grew up partly in Detroit and organized parties weekly for my close friends all through middle school and high school, but I've never actually done drugs of any kind.

[tegan]

I don't use drugs or alcohol, period, but now I really want some (non-pot-filled) brownies.

[Ucantalas]

Drugs have never really been my thing. Part of it is because in high school I didnt really have many friends, and most of them were the "stay at home and play video games instead of going to parties" kind of people, so I wasn't exposed much to it.

The other part is more of a personal reason... years ago, back in Grade 8 or so, I went out of town to visit family. One of my older cousins (he was like 8 or 9 years older than me) was there, and got a little tipsy. We ended up talking about stuff, and then he got really quiet and asked if I had ever done drugs. I hadn't. He told me he never wanted to find out I did, that it was just a bad thing to get into. He asked me to promise I wouldn't. I said yes, not really thinking about it. Well, that was around the end of the night, and my parents decided to call it a night and we left.

A couple of weeks later, he, his fiancee, and his fiancee's parents were found dead in a camper, of carbon monoxide. So, long story short, me promising I wouldn't do any drugs was kind of the last thing I ever said to my cousin, so I try to keep that promise.


That said, I don't have anything against people who do it, its a personal choice. I'm just glad the friends I made in college were cool with not pushing me on the matter.

[SecretAsianMan]

I have nothing against people who like to smoke pretty much anything, but I have no desire of my own to do it.  I've been offered it several times, but I just politely decline and that's the end of it.  I'm also not a big drinker.  I don't think any of it is bad, evil, or morally wrong, I just don't like it.  I am in favor of the legalization though.  Legalize it and tax the shit out of it, just like they do for the other stuff.

[Zeusthecat]

Thank you to everyone for being intelligent and non-judgmental about this subject. I really appreciate that people here can live their lives in the way that best suits them and not have a problem with other people deciding to live their lives differently. This is truly an awesome place.

[elmuerte]

I have nothing against people who like to smoke pretty much anything, but I have no desire of my own to do it.  I've been offered it several times, but I just politely decline and that's the end of it.  I'm also not a big drinker.  I don't think any of it is bad, evil, or morally wrong, I just don't like it.  I am in favor of the legalization though.  Legalize it and tax the shit out of it, just like they do for the other stuff.

 

I completely agree. Legalize the production and sale of it, and tax the shit out of it, just like with cigarettes. The end result will be, better quality pot, quite some tax income, and the same: price, usage, problems. In the Netherlands usage and sale is sort of legalized (it's condoned, but not actually legal). But the production and transportation isn't. So the price is high. When they legalize and regulate it completely I don't think much will change to the current problems. It's quite easy to get and consume pot in the Netherlands, it has been for a very long time. Yet if you look at the numbers, the Netherlands is quite low when it comes to usage. So all those people who think legalizing/condone soft-drugs will increase usage and problems. I highly doubt it will change much.

Recently in some border cities of the Netherlands they tried to stop/reduce drug tourism. So only Dutch people would be allowed to enter these "coffee shops". The result was, as expected by most, that street dealers returned and with that, more problems. Some of the coffee shops started to sell to tourists again, and the city didn't have enough cops to, and deal with the street dealers and check on the coffee shops.

 

I've never ever tried recreational drugs (well, other than alcohol, caffeine and chocolate). I do have a bunch of friends do use various forms of recreational drugs. In that circle of friends I'm sometimes offered by people that don't know me yet. When I say I don't use the joint simply passes and they don't "bother" me again. It's never like "you should really try is, man!", etc.

[tegan]

My money finally came in! I'm rich! Rich, I tells ya!

[Twig]

Hurray money!

 

I just filed a police report for the first time in my life. For my pick-pocketed 3DS. It'll never go anywhere. I mostly did it because apparently having a copy of a police report is the only way to get new digital copies of all the games you purchased from Nintendo's eShop thing. I don't plan to buy a new one anytime soon, but I figured I might as well. Hopefully they don't have some stupidly arbitrary time limit on giving me new copies.

 

Still, I've never gone to the police for anything. And I still haven't, technically! I did it all online. Hmmm.

[Roderick]

That's a nightmare scenario. I mean, steal my wallet, but stay the hell away from my 3DS.

 

I have some experience in my vicinity with weed being consumed by making tea out of it. The reasoning is that smoking creates a lot of fumes and hindrance for other people [in the house], brownies are uneven (you can get a single chunk with all the stuff in it), whereas tea is nicely and evenly distributed to maximize the effect. The downside is that the tea isn't exactly delicious. So the question is; are you in it for the [medical] effect of calming nerves or taking your mind off of pain, or do you want to enjoy the experience itself? Just some thoughts.

 

Tegan; good for you to have the money.

 

El Muerte; you're right on the money. Whenever the government tries to put soft drugs back in the ban, it ends poorly. Don't change a winning team. Ironically, drug abuse has little to do with the availability of drugs, but far more with underlying social currents in society. If you have a stable society where people can conctruct meaningful and rewarding lives for themselves, recreational use of drugs is not a problem whatsoever in the vast majority of cases.

[Sno]

That's a nightmare scenario. I mean, steal my wallet, but stay the hell away from my 3DS.

 

I've got like fifty things on my 3DS, counting 3DS-native stuff, ambassador bonuses, and things brought over from the DSi.

I feel like i need one of those wallet chains.

[Sententia]

Hurray money!

 

I just filed a police report for the first time in my life. For my pick-pocketed 3DS. It'll never go anywhere. I mostly did it because apparently having a copy of a police report is the only way to get new digital copies of all the games you purchased from Nintendo's eShop thing. I don't plan to buy a new one anytime soon, but I figured I might as well. Hopefully they don't have some stupidly arbitrary time limit on giving me new copies.

 

Still, I've never gone to the police for anything. And I still haven't, technically! I did it all online. Hmmm.

 

Your mention of time-limit paperwork reminds me I still have to finish getting my driver's license.  I passed the test months ago but haven't actually paid the 50 bucks yet, at this point I'm wondering if I can hold off on owning a car until the Google self-drive thing comes to affordable fruition.

 

Congrats Teagan!  Yay for having food.

[Roderick]

Today I had a great taste of what it is to record a gaming podcast. To, ahem, celebrate the passing of the Dutch magazine [N]Gamer I wrote in for a good eight years now, we recorded a live podcast in front of a crowd of readers. It was so great. Turned out pretty long, a good 2,5 hours of material I think, but it was so much fun. You can imagine that after all those years, the staff has a pretty good rapport, so we hit it off with reminiscing about the magazine and looking into the future of Nintendo and gaming in general. I staunchly defended PC gaming, which was derided pretty much instantly. There's yet a long way to go, my brethren.

 

For Dutch folks here, the podcast will go live as soon as we've edited it... maybe in a week or so, could be a little longer. I'll post it here!