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Comment by detritus | Hacker News Reader

Cigarettes are specifically designed to get you hooked, whereas pot isn't.

Just wait till the newly-banned cigarette industry gets into the "marijuana" smoking market.

I know plenty of people who have thrown away their entire potential to smoking weed. Smart, young people who instead of developing their skills, making friends, doing well in school, advancing their career, and dating, just sit around and get stoned all day. In my mind, the effects of weed are worse than tobacco. Sure, cigarettes will kill you at 60, but weed will turn you into a lifelong loser at 15.

Very underrated point. We’ve all seen this, don’t know why there’s some psuedoscientific push by almost everyone to convince the world weed is practically harmless, when it’s definitely not. Homelessness exploded in Los Angeles in exactly 2016 when weed was officially legalized. For some reason, people refuse to even look into a possible connection. They think the idea is absurd. It’s Strange.

Imagine being this confidently incorrect.

Correlation does not imply causation. Looks like our education system has failed us once more.

I don’t know much about LA homelessness, but I have plenty of experience with stoners smoking away their opportunities.

Conversely, two of the richest and most successful friends I have have been chronic weed smokers for over twenty years.

I've seen people go off the deep end with weed, but I can always discern patterns of behaviour that would lead to them doing so that are more to do with existing personality constructs than the weed itself, specifically.

As with everything - moderation and self-awareness is key.

- ed

well, not 'chronic' - regular daily smokers.

That IS the difference, I find - people who think it's acceptable to 'wake and bake' tend not be so good at grasping at opportunity. But that's on them - same could be said for starting the day with a gin or three.

52% of americans say they have tried marijuana

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/half-american-adults-marijuana...

This is not true. Cigarettes are addictive because the nicotine in tobacco leaves is addictive, not because they are “specifically designed” to be addictive. They are designed to deliver tobacco smoke, which is addictive.

Over the many decades, it’s come out that it’s not just the nicotine, but many other additives that are also addictive. The reason is simple: the tobacco companies have an interest in keeping you a customer. Whether that’s a cigarette or vaping flavors, they’ll do it.

And with what are you smoking it? Pure?

I assume you're asking because people around you tend to smoke spliffs rolled from hash and tobacco. I know this is common in Europe at least, but in the US (and probably elsewhere) it's relatively uncommon and smoking just cannabis flower is overwhelmingly more popular.

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