[geebee]

I think you make make an important point here. Right now, I think many people (in the US, anyway) are now creating a counter-narrative to the previous "war on drugs" mentality that vastly overstated the dangers of cannabis and vastly understated the harm of criminalization. However, it is certainly possible to go too far with this counter-narrative, and at times, yeah, I do think that some people are practically pushing the use of powerful cannabis if if it were some sort of health elixir. It can absolutely be a harmful substance, let's not forget that.

I do believe that occasional use of mild cannabis is generally harmless for most people. But I am in agreement with you that all use (or perhaps even typical use) isn't necessary harmless.

[solarkraft]

> It can absolutely be a harmful substance, let's not forget that.

Less so than alcohol, let’s not forget that.

I don’t disagree with you, it can be harmful and doesn’t solve all problems, but the above can hopefully give some perspective.

People can waste extraordinary amounts of time with either, form some kind of dependency, but harm from direct consumption or secondary effects are, let’s say … „less common“.

[blooalien]

Also to be considered is that any substance can be harmful if abused in excess; even "harmless" substances or beneficial substances. Even drinking too much water can lead to "water poisoning" [1]. It's even led to a death in a radio contest [2]. There's also the fact that not every person responds to every substance in exactly the same way. Some may experience adverse effects after minor exposure, where others may abuse a thing in excess and never display any outward signs of a negative effect.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication

[2] http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/crime/hold-your-wee-w...