Is This That Gritty Shite thats going around???

[Chris P]

I thought it was meant to be 20

how ever many, it is irrelevant to me, I'll do as I see fit, it's my body, I ain't a child, I've studied science at advanced level, what more do you want?

[the jester]

To be honest, I think people are fighting a losing battle when we try and identify the possible side affects of smoking cannabis- its like the alcoholic " he doesn't think he has a problem...... but thats because he chooses to believe that".

Im not saying its good for you, Im not saying its bad for you- what I am saying is that I think a lot of people view cannabis through rose tinted glasses...... because they like it.

Jester

ChrisPharm- Im not bringing the smoking argument into it- what Im saying is that we recognise the dangers of cancer sticks, yet cannabis equates to exactly the same risks..... though we defend and praise cannabis.

Edited September 3, 2008 by the jester

[Bish]

Maybe a few links to solid info are in order to settle this one?

[Chris P]

ChrisPharm- Im not bringing the smoking argument into it- what Im saying is that we recognise the dangers of cancer sticks, yet cannabis equates to exactly the same risks..... though we defend and praise cannabis.

I'm with you mate if you want to argue the dangers of smoking combustable material, but drugs are ok in moderation, especially cannabis. We can debate the methods of how these drugs are taken into the body, smoking is far from ideal.

For a start, we have carboxyhaemoglobin, it is 240 times more stable than oxyhaemoglobin, so that basically permanently takes away the oxygen carrying capacity of red blood cells, until they are replenished a month later. The tar will come from any carbon containing material that is burnt, there is obviously going to be more tar in a spliff than there is a filtered cigarette, but at least we don't have all the added chemicals. A lot of the additives probably account for the carcinogenity. A regular smoker may lose 10% of the oxygen carrying capacity of his blood, so the heart will have to beat 10% faster to supply the same amount of oxygen to the tissues. Plus there could be carcinogenic chemicals created upon combusion, but it still comes down to the same thing, knowledge, education, then free choice. I'm drinking alcohol now, even if I was an alcoholic wouldn't mean I don't know the dangers it causes. Boojum is a self-confessed alcoholic, he's smart, he wouldn't deny the damage he's causing to his liver, but that isn't gonna stop him doing what he wants as an intelligent person in charge of his own body. So saying a cannabis smoker loves it so much he pulls the wool over his own eyes is silly, a lack of education or caring can do that. It isn't like saying a alcoholic will say he's doing no damage to himself, if he is he's deluding himself or it is by ignorance. I don't think any of us here are that naieve but we respect our own freedom of choice.

Edited September 3, 2008 by Chris Pharm

[the jester]

Bish...... I don't think any solid evidence exists, but that does not mean that the risks are not there. ChrisPharm, your obviously well educated and know your stuff so I will cease to argue my point further, normally I would be the first to defend our lovely plant...... but I've given up so I thought I would have a bit of a dig.

Its not half as bad as some of the stuff out there- and I don't think that cannabis has a genuine intrinsic danger, though the way in which it is consumed i.e. smoking a J..... is where the problems 'may' arise.

My original point was that we all discuss the dangers of smoking gammy bud- when normal bud may also be not very good for you.

Though I do accept that cannabis has many beneficial properties that far outweigh its negative aspects.

As ChrisPharm said..... "Everything in moderation".

the Jester

[Chris P]

Though I do accept that cannabis has many beneficial properties that far outweigh its negative aspects.

As ChrisPharm said..... "Everything in moderation".

It's a valid point to mention that smoking glass weed is comparable to the choice of smoking in general, but glass weed is contaminated by dealers who seek to enhance profitability and who have no caring capcity for those that smoke it and damage their lungs. Take the growers on here for example, they would never contaminate their bud, they would flush the chemicals out of it, break down the chlorohpyll through curing, harvest at the right time, etc, none of that occurs with commercial weed.

With regard to the use of drugs in moderation, what I would say to that is basically that some drugs are very problematic in that they cause receptor downregulation fast and upregulation takes a significant amount of time which affects peoples moods. Cannabis is not so much of a problem there as it is a messenger neurotransmitter which mainly works via the upregulation of other neurotransmitter pathways. But take something like cocaine for example, that is a highly potent dopaminergic reuptake inhibitor, start taking that regularly and the number of dopmaine receptors will decrease, the dopamine output in the brain will decrease, and it takes enough time for the receptors to rebalance that the user is left craving for more of the same drug. The same thing occurs with cannabis I think, but on a much lesser scale which is more manageable because it doesn't directly affect the main neurotransmitters. There are different types of weed, some of the indica stuff is like sedatives, and some of the sativas are like antidepressants, some will suit some people, and other strains will suit different people. In general even most class A drugs are ok in moderation, as long as you can moderate yourself using common sense and the available knowledge

There are positive effects to smoking cannabis, but I don't deny there can be many negative effects as well, each to their own, as in people should have the common sense to decide what is best for them.

I would never advocate smoking as healthy form of taking drugs, but there are more important things to consider, like an educated freedom of choice for the individual's human rights.

Other drugs are just as bad, antidepressants, and MDMA which work mainly on serotonin receptors, they will quickly downregulate, but take ages to upregulate again, which is why most people who take MDMA will never relive their original experience and seek to increase the quantity of drugs to gain the same effect in a chain catalysis which leads people to take more and more drugs, which is unsustainable. Cannabis however, doesn't quite work like this. Alcohol is more dependant than cannabis, it causes more harm, and is legal, smoking is bad, I want people to understand that, and if they choose to smoke they should know that is not the best method to intake cannabinoids, maybe the most fast acting other than injecting something, but definately not the safest from a physical health point of view.

Hope I've made sense with this post,as I'm starting to feel a bit pissed now as I'm out of cannabis

Edited September 3, 2008 by Chris Pharm

[Punk]

Hi,the last "sugared"weed i bought,i washed it in boiled water that had been left for a few minutes,swirl it around,leave it for 5 mins then drain on to kitchen towel,then dry it,it will save your weed.good luck.

I've just given the Brixed gear a wash and blow dry, and although a tiny bit crispy, it smells and tastes like ganja now!! Just giving it a final blast in the airing cupboard, but at this stage it doesn't sem like I've lost much weight wise.

Thanks again

x

your welcome,as they say grow your own,but i know sometimes its not poss.the thing i find strange is the dusted weed i've had was above average,which makes it even more of a crime i guess.

[swirlygirly]

Maybe a few links to solid info are in order to settle this one? :wink:

Not muc exists, that's the prob.... such is the nature or prohibition. There are a few educated types coming along now that are doing their level best to publish accurate and unbiased findings, but it will take time.

Ah well.... saving for a vape in the meantime.

[wilson]

Ive just read for the first time the word 'Contamabis' !!

Is this a new one?? B)

I hope this word catches on, if this word reaches people including the scally's with their 10bags, then maybe people will wake up a bit?! I reckon a lot of people who buy it (which keeps dealers selling it) dont even know what it is and that includes some dealers aswell. Contaminated weed aint gonna go away until enough people stop buying it so theres no profit in it. I think sooner or later the demand for better weed will get it to the point were dealers will see an opportunity to make better money, they can provide better weed (if they can that is) and no doubt charge more for it because they can and people will go back and be prepared to pay more. The gritty shit will probably stick about at the lower end of the market untill (hopefully) one day it vanishes forever!! I would also expect the more better weed there is out there the pirce would lower again.

just my 2p, but that word 'Contamabis' I like it!

[swirlygirly]

Ive just read for the first time the word 'Contamabis' !!

Is this a new one?? B) :wink:

I hope this word catches on, if this word reaches people including the scally's with their 10bags, then maybe people will wake up a bit?! I reckon a lot of people who buy it (which keeps dealers selling it) dont even know what it is and that includes some dealers aswell.

This is def a big part of the problem. Younger, less experienced smokers, non Amsterdam vets They are now so many contaminants and some are very stealthy, to the untrained eye can be hard to spot.

This is another product of prohibition; it makes the dissemination of accurate information very difficult.

[EasyRider]

When I was trying to kick fags a couple of years back I decided to demonstrate to myself how smoking pure cannabis was going to be more beneficial than contaminating it with tobacco. So I went off to the World Health Organisation to try and find some scientific data that supported my theory.

The problem was I couldn't find it.

Instead I found several tables that show that side by side there is very little difference in the levels of active chemicals found in either compound - the largest and most obvious is the inclusion of Nicotine in one and not the other. Likewise with THC. But there is still Ammonia, still Carbon Monoxide, still Benzene - the list goes on. And some, but not all, are found in greater quantities in cannabis rather than tobacco.

I cant find the WHO table now - but here's a link to a very similar one on Erowid: http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis_info3.shtml

For the record I still decided to quit fags - no point being addicted to nicotine now is there? And what the hell is the point in combining these two plants apart from doubling your exposure to nasty stuff..

But the fact is this.. if you smoke plant matter you run the risk of exposure to carcinogens - and side by side, (rather than frequency based on factors such as nictoine addiction) there appears to be little difference in either cannabis or tobacco. Splitting hairs over tar content really doesn't matter that much when you look at everything else that's getting inhaled per puff.

They're both potentially harmful if smoked and anyone telling you otherwise is away with the fairies. It's just that one can get you high as a kite - which is why we're all here innit!

[Arnold Layne]

But the fact is this.. if you smoke plant matter you run the risk of exposure to carcinogens - and side by side, (rather than frequency based on factors such as nictoine addiction) there appears to be little difference in either cannabis or tobacco. Splitting hairs over tar content really doesn't matter that much when you look at everything else that's getting inhaled per puff.

They're both potentially harmful if smoked and anyone telling you otherwise is away with the fairies. It's just that one can get you high as a kite - which is why we're all here innit!

I often wander, as I live in the middle of nowhere where we have minimal fumes, air pollution etc - who is safer, a person who does not smoke fags but livesd in London, or a person living out here who smokes fags?

Anyhoo... I don't think I've ever read here on UK420 a claim that smoking cannabis is without its risks? But oddly, I've read many posts where people mock those who do! Curious

Personally, I don't smoke tobacco, but I smoke neat homegrown (my own, 98% of the time). I don't cough, I can talk and walk, I don't wake up witha chest full of phegm. But I had all those when smoking tobacco. So I have to say that in my experience smoking cannabis is helluva lot cleaner, and healthier than smoking tobacco.

Wander what kind of dope those folks tested in the reports you cite? Was it street gear, or private and percie? Was it hash or bud or leaf matter? Was it admixed with tobacco? Was it roached or not?

TBH, I don't place a lot of trust in "papers" and "reports". The age of truly empirical science is long gone. Now (so far as I can see) its all statistics and crap, not worth wiping ones posterior on, most of 'em. Sure there'll be truth and good stuff buried somewhere, but it isn't obvious as it shoud be.

Edited September 5, 2008 by Arnold Layne
Clarity, coz I is way off my trolley

[Arbuscule]

Iron filings ?

A magnet would reveal all

Sorry, couldn't resist

[pierre25]

Last one , oppions please

my mate tested the sprayed weed and it come back as crushed silicon/sugar soap/salt /fizzy lemonade etc this is bad considering this is our health we all need to unite together and not buy this shit so as to push it out if there is no market for the sprayed stuff then eventually it will stop coming like that. why should we waste our hard earned money on filling up greedy peoples wallets

[ajthedon]

I keep gettin this grit c*ap an its driving me nuts.

The worse thing is, even people that smoke the bud are spraying it. so chances of gettin a batch of grit is very high.

Its driving me that mad....plus the way the price keeps going up....im about to set my own grow up