“Chronic cannabis use makes you stupid, to put it bluntly, and can also cause psychosis,” Thomas Fischbach, president of a German federation of doctors for children and adolescents (BVKJ), told the Die Welt newspaper.
Meanwhile, at Oktoberfest…
The drunken debauchery often leads to fights, aggressive behavior, and bierleichen — so-called “beer corpses,” which is what locals call the many passed out drunks lying on the hill behind the tents.
Cannabis bad doesn’t mean alcohol good
No, but here he is trotting out the line about Schizophrenia, which is a real risk, but is dwarfed in its societal impact by the downsides of alcohol. I don’t expect he’s said anything at all publicly about the impacts of that though, which would suggest that he’s the talking head that the German press always contact for a negative comment about cannabis every time it hits the news. Especially as this is reported by Die Welt which is an Axel Springer publication.
Funnily (well, not really, but what can we do but laugh), the other cited source, businesses insider, is also an Axel Springer publication. As is Politico, Morning Brew, and some other stuff.
So they aren’t just a German problem anymore, they’re now everyone’s problem.
Like we do any better without Springer in the Anglosphere. If it’s not Murdoch metastasising everywhere it’s one of the Bannon/Koch Foundation appendages.
Yeah. I’ve gotten so tired of checking all the sources in algorithmic news feeds that I went back to an rss feed of news agencies, and trusted papers. Media landscape kinda sucks.
okay but the statement he made fits into a societal context such that the overall message being sent by a group of people that have Oktoberfest but make cannabis illegal is absolutely “cannabis bad, alcohol good”.
That’s not even the argument which was being made if that’s what you’re implying.
Their argument is simply: why is alcohol legal if it’s much more harmful?
But… alcohol should be legal, no? Despite the harm it causes, prohibition simply does not work.
Cannabis can also cause harm (albeit less harm than alcohol) but should also still be legal. And other drugs like fentanyl (arguably) cause more harm than alcohol…but should also be legal.
Prohibition is literally never a realistic solution to any drug or drug problems. Not a single country has ever had success.
Well I’m already stupid and psychotic so no harm done
Probably not as selectively stupid as Thomas Fischbach.
Overuse of cannabis can cause something called cannabis hyperemesis syndrome. You have severe nausea, uncontrolled vomiting, and stomach cramping. It’s caused by your nervous system, so people who have it tend to sit in a hot shower for a long time when they don’t get relief from anti-nausea meds. Luckily, it clears up pretty quick with a shot of haloperidol, and as long as you cut back you can continue to partake.
It doesn’t affect everybody and usually you have to smoke a lot over a long period of time, but I didn’t know about it before and I think people should be aware.
Happy smoking, frients
German city in Abril
An old classic
Is this real legalization like in Canada, or fake legalization like most other places?
If a tourist can’t buy it from a store, fly to a different city/state domestically with it, and then smoke it at a designated airport smoking area outside the terminal… I struggle to see that as full ‘legalization’.
If you are prohibited from doing all those things, it just seems like a different version of prohibition. Step in the right direction though, sure.
April fools.
I think it’s a real shame that 4/20 is when it is. I’m not sure millions of Germans toking up for a celebration on Hitler’s birthday will go over well. 😂
I honestly don’t think legalising is the best path looking at SF, California reporting after harm reduction campaign. Maybe empathetic rehabilitation.
Legalization is the first step in harm reduction. While it is still illegal it is much harder for people get help.
If you have underlying issues with anxiety and paranoia, adding marijuana to the mix exacerbates these issues greatly and becomes a poor crutch for dealing with them. I’ve seen friends and family who smoked 2-3x weekly for a few years develop eyebrow-raising mental problems. So I tend to agree.
Personal anecdote, N=4.
(Yeah of course, alcohol is just as bad, or worse in extreme cases, but people can usually sense the damage being done to them by it afterwards. Pot’s effects are internal. It’s hard to reflect until it’s too late.)
looking at SF, California
There are a number of US states that have legalized it sooner and more thoroughly than California (not to mention Germany). What did SF specifically do?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypZu61OgITE
I Investigated the City that Pays You to Do Drugs…
Yay, Germany gets to smell like skunk and be full of mentally fried idiots. Whoop-dee-frickin-doo.
keep assuming legalization will lead to disaster no matter how many times it doesn’t
I don’t smoke pot, I don’t like the smell, I had edibles like twice in my life, and don’t plan on repeating the experience.
I still think that there is little logical reason to forbid people from consuming, and that it is especially hypocritical to do so while alcohol and tobacco are legal, and freely available.
For the record, I hate alcohol and tobacco just as much and think we should have stuck with Prohibition. No mind-altering substances should be legal.
And during the prohibition, black market flourished. The business will always be there. The question is do you support organized crime or do you support taxing to cover harm reduction and safety for people (buying from non-criminal sources, tested product etc)
Currently your stance is to provide money for organized crime
As has been stated already, past prohibitions didn’t really work out that well.
I’d also add that ‘mind-altering substances’ is casting a really wide net, and could be argued to include stuff like caffeine.
I personally like Portugals approach of decriminalisation, because I think criminalising these substances usually hurts people addicted to them most, while helping those wanting to profit of addiction.
Have you been watching “Reefer Madness” and thinking it’s a documentary? Spoiler: it isn’t.
How is this different from today.
Potheads getting triggered because people don’t support their disgusting habit never gets old.
How can you ever use nazi parlance which downplays trauma and not see yourself as the bad guy.
“Nazi parlance”, sure 🤣
Whatever, keep collecting those Ls.
