Why Are Stoners Typically Depicted as Stupid?

[ZodiacBraves]

The first post was a gateway topic, I must now be addicted to this thread?

Due to the amount of misinformation present, I balled up and made an account from which to disabuse certain ignorant notions I've seen bandied about.

But first off this...
http://www.alternet.org/story/147342/how_to_get_politicians_to_admit_in_public_that_the_drug_war_has_been_a_complete_failure

In response to number one, get a clue. Also, you must be high now if you say it has no negative effects... Performing even the simplest tasks becomes very difficult, even dangerous when under the influence. Take driving for example. Your perception of speed, as well as your response time is greatly altered. Also, the government would actually profit greatly if marijuana was legalised... Considering the price of a pack of smokes has gone from $8 to about $16 in the last 5 years imagine the revenue they would get from taxing legal weed.

So XinfiniteX since you seem to know all about how much money they'd make on legalizing weed, why don't they? Let me throw a few buzzwords your way. Prison Industry Complex? 1/4th (or 1/5th depending on sources) of prisoners are in prison for drug use. The Prison industry is over 100 Billion Dollars annually!!! So yeah, I think they make more money the way things are.

I really liked the part where you ignored the bulk of my comment to which you seem to have nothing to say... You know, the part where I posted legitimate issues that are linked to marijuana use...

Oh and by the way, if you got something to say then use your account to say it. Nailz... joined 13 July 2010... Posts: 1. Hmmmm

First off, I won't say marijuana has no negative effects, just as someone who eats fast food won't say it's healthy for you, but what you state as fact is exaggerated. Since the only part of your post that Nailz didn't comment on was about simple tasks becoming difficult while high and your only example being driving, ill respond to that. Marijuana does affect coordination and perception to an extent, but not as much as you seem to think it does, especially in driving.

Marijuana mildly affects your psychomotor skills in the ways that you describe. It does change your perception of speed, and does affect your response time, although not as much as you imply. What you failed to mention was that although people who smoke marijuana are affected in that way, studies have "failed to demonstrate that drivers with cannabinoids in the blood are significantly more likely than drug-free drivers to be culpable in road crashes."

Source: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5450

The article goes on to state that although people who drive while high may be impaired in some ways, they are also "aware of their impairment and compensate for it accordingly, such as by slowing down and by focusing their attention when they know a response will be required," unlike being drunk where you are more likely to drive in a risky manner when intoxicated.

 

[Death916]

This is something I've been wondering for a while now. In movies, TV shows, literature and even just the common image that comes to mind on this subject always seems to show stoners (or anyone who uses any drug of any kind) as being incredibly stupid and weak minded.

But why is this?

For me, it's the exact opposite. All the stoners I know are actually extremely intelligent and often times are brilliant in their own ways. So why is it that the general public and the media depict weed smokers as unintelligent and borderline retarded?

Is it because the media wishes to give drugs as much shit as possible, so in turn they show the users as stupid because of their drug use rather than just being stupid in the first place? Or is it actually true that most of them are just stupid and I am lucky to know the few intellectual dopers?

What does the Escapist think about this and do you yourself do any drugs of the sort?

Publicly admitting to committing a crime really isn't in your best interests.

Whether or not a pothead is, in fact, dumb, you look/act like a complete idiot when you're high.

where im at marijuana is decriminalized and when im high i dont look or act like an idiot. i go to work and perform perfectly fine, and whenever i take a test high i ace it, although i probably would no mattter what.

 

[Infinatex]

snip

Yeah I did read that. I was just wondering why you don't use your actual account. Unless you don't actually have one and just roam the internet protecting the reputation of marijuana like some kind of Batman of narcotics...?

Your massive chunk of copy/paste text basically says that in preliminary tests, cannabis may be beneficial in reducing symptoms of ailments that we have drugs for. The reason it's not moved beyond preliminary tests is because it's not practical.

I like how you accused me of ignoring the bulk of your argument when you have done exactly that to me.

Read it again, you'll find I addressed each one of you attacks on my original statement. My other comment was only regarding a segment of what Low Key quoted.


On a fun note "helps..... lack of appetite." That genuinely made me lol!

 

[Infinatex]

"I know this is illegal, and that if I get caught I'll get in trouble with the law, get fined and possibly a criminal record (which will affect the rest of my life) but I'm going to do it anyway! Wooooo! Smartest decision of my life!!"

More like "I know it's illegal, but I'm in my basement with nobody else home. The smell won't get very far away from the window I'm blowing out of, and my hiding spot is pure gold, so there is basically zero chance I'll get caught. Since I'm an intelligent person and can make rational decisions on my own, I'm going to go ahead and smoke."

20 minutes later... "Wow. I'm glad I made the right decision. This is awesome."

The next day you get a Random Drug test driving home from work. Test comes up positive and the officer escorts you down to the station...

 

[Nailz]

On a fun note, BS. "Because it's not practical"
Let me expand that "Because it's not practical to patent a living organism when you could make massive corporate bucks developing something half as effective and make illegal what works. Basically you can't make any legal drug money unless it is synthesized to a highly refined volatile state.

You want to talk about the negative effects of drugs? How about the antidepressants that everyone in the USA is on?

You have made mention of the "killing of braincells" or that it's bad for you in direct ways besides that of smoke+lungs=bad. You have yet to bring a single causal relation to the table.

"I know this is illegal, and that if I get caught I'll get in trouble with the law, get fined and possibly a criminal record (which will affect the rest of my life) but I'm going to do it anyway! Wooooo! Smartest decision of my life!!"

More like "I know it's illegal, but I'm in my basement with nobody else home. The smell won't get very far away from the window I'm blowing out of, and my hiding spot is pure gold, so there is basically zero chance I'll get caught. Since I'm an intelligent person and can make rational decisions on my own, I'm going to go ahead and smoke."

20 minutes later... "Wow. I'm glad I made the right decision. This is awesome."

The next day you get a Random Drug test driving home from work. Test comes up positive and the officer escorts you down to the station...

Random drug test? What kind of ass backwards place do you live? That sounds like a fundamental violation of my right to privacy.

Do the cops where you live have nothing better to do than seeing if someone has smoked pot in the past month...

 

[The Madman]

Sometimes I see the zombies wandering downtown, slack-jawed wrecks of human beings with slouched shoulders and a stumbling gait, and I think "I wonder what they used to be like? Did they ever realize they'd end up like this? How did it all start?".

Makes me very, very sad. The world is a beautiful place, you don't need drugs to appreciate that, you just need to open your eyes and look.

Pity.

 

[Thedayrecker]

Stoners aren't stupid.... just lazy.

 

[USSR]

I typically find anyone who inhales smoke for pleasure to be rather dimwitted.
But that's my opinion.

The potheads I do know are complete and utterly stupid.
But then again, I live in West Virginia, so its not like they're out of the ordinary.

 

[Shynobee]

Or is it actually true that most of them are just stupid and I am lucky to know the few intellectual dopers?

I'm gonna go with this.

Seriously, at my former High school, there were about 50 or so potheads in my class, and all of them were complete morons. They'd come into school as high as a kite, giggle their asses off all morning, and then either sleep or make dimwitted comments throughout the day. On top of that, it was pretty pathetic to watch the few "ultra stoners" sniff each other's backpacks because they smelled like weed.

So, yeah, I think you just know a few smart stoners.

 

[Infinatex]

On a fun note, BS. "Because it's not practical"
Let me expand that "Because it's not practical to patent a living organism when you could make massive corporate bucks developing something half as effective and make illegal what works. Basically you can't make any legal drug money unless it is synthesized to a highly refined volatile state.

You want to talk about the negative effects of drugs? How about the antidepressants that everyone in the USA is on?

You have made mention of the "killing of braincells" or that it's bad for you in direct ways besides that of smoke+lungs=bad. You have yet to bring a single causal relation to the table.

"I know this is illegal, and that if I get caught I'll get in trouble with the law, get fined and possibly a criminal record (which will affect the rest of my life) but I'm going to do it anyway! Wooooo! Smartest decision of my life!!"

More like "I know it's illegal, but I'm in my basement with nobody else home. The smell won't get very far away from the window I'm blowing out of, and my hiding spot is pure gold, so there is basically zero chance I'll get caught. Since I'm an intelligent person and can make rational decisions on my own, I'm going to go ahead and smoke."

20 minutes later... "Wow. I'm glad I made the right decision. This is awesome."

The next day you get a Random Drug test driving home from work. Test comes up positive and the officer escorts you down to the station...

Random drug test? What kind of ass backwards place do you live? That sounds like a fundamental violation of my right to privacy.

Do the cops where you live have nothing better to do than seeing if someone has smoked pot in the past month...

Wow you don't have these? Do you guys get random breath tests for alcohol? They have had RDT (drug tests on motorists) for the last few years here in Australia. They test for alcohol, weed, cocaine and a few other different things. You swap the inside of your mouth and a few seconds later theres a result. I wouldn't say it's backwards at all. These are the road cops anyway, so i guess if they weren't doing this they'd be pulling people over for traffic violations and drink driving.

 

[RAMBO22]

Most of the stoners I know ARE quite unintelligent or at least ACT that way when they are high and/or when they are not high. HOWEVER, i do have a couple friends who are recreational stoners that are actually quite intelligent and very kind interesting people.

To be honest, I probably couldn't answer this question myself from lack of exposure to drug use. If caffeine was a drug I'd be in jail though!

 

[Shynobee]

Random drug test? What kind of ass backwards place do you live? That sounds like a fundamental violation of my right to privacy.

Do the cops where you live have nothing better to do than seeing if someone has smoked pot in the past month...

Certain places of employment can have random drug screenings, its up to the owners discretion.

 

[Infinatex]

On a fun note, BS. "Because it's not practical"
Let me expand that "Because it's not practical to patent a living organism when you could make massive corporate bucks developing something half as effective and make illegal what works. Basically you can't make any legal drug money unless it is synthesized to a highly refined volatile state.

You want to talk about the negative effects of drugs? How about the antidepressants that everyone in the USA is on?

You have made mention of the "killing of braincells" or that it's bad for you in direct ways besides that of smoke+lungs=bad. You have yet to bring a single causal relation to the table.

It's not practical because you'd have pot heads running round town saying they are depressed and need weed to cure them. And if it was practical you would think the test would have moved into actual application... Also I'm pretty sure I had a whole section on how marijuana can set of underlying psychological conditions over long periods of use. I'm pretty sure thats a negative effect. Oh and I never once stated "he "killing of braincells" or that it's bad for you in direct ways besides that of smoke+lungs=bad."

 

[Nailz]

snip

Certain places of employment can have random drug screenings, its up to the owners discretion.

Not where I live. I find that trend immensely disturbing though, thanks for mentioning it.

Wow you don't have these? Do you guys get random breath tests for alcohol? They have had RDT (drug tests on motorists) for the last few years here in Australia. They test for alcohol, weed, cocaine and a few other different things. You swap the inside of your mouth and a few seconds later theres a result. I wouldn't say it's backwards at all. These are the road cops anyway, so i guess if they weren't doing this they'd be pulling people over for traffic violations and drink driving.

Saliva tests on motorists are fair enough I guess.
I don't like random tests though, I believe in probable cause.
But yeah the road cops will go after you no matter what.

 

[ZodiacBraves]

The potheads I do know are complete and utterly stupid.
But then again, I live in West Virginia, so its not like they're out of the ordinary.

Yeahh...Most of the stoners I know aren't exactly on the intelligent side

Well I've seen a few stoners on here who are intelligent.

IRL however every druggie I know is a dipshit.

With the amount of comments like these I am surprised that nobody has yet to point out that the stupid stoners are also usually the ones who are obvious about it. The intelligent stoners are the ones who smoke weed but usually only let people they trust know they smoke. If I knew some of the people on this thread who oppose and look down upon recreational marijuana use in real life, I wouldn't be dumb enough to tell them I smoke weed.

The public minority should not be used to generalize the majority.

 

[Infinatex]

Saliva tests on motorists are fair enough I guess.
I don't like random tests though, I believe in probable cause.
But yeah the road cops will go after you no matter what.

I think they use the any excuse will do philosophy. I always got 'randomly' pulled in my old car (heavily modded 2008 Lancer) but since I got my new car (and haven't started modifying it yet) I haven't been pulled up once. I'm not entirely sure how random random really is.

 

[DanDeFool]

Dunno... Maybe it's just because they put wa~ay too much importance on weed, like it's the only thing that's really important to them, which is kind of stupid in and of itself. I've known stoners who were like that.

The 'for the lulz' reason is applicable as well. I doubt Cheech and Chong would have been funny if Cheech Marin was a Harvard MBA and Tommy Chong was a Wall Street investment banker (although that is kind of what they did with Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, which I thought was pretty funny).

 

[BonsaiK]

This is something I've been wondering for a while now. In movies, TV shows, literature and even just the common image that comes to mind on this subject always seems to show stoners (or anyone who uses any drug of any kind) as being incredibly stupid and weak minded.

But why is this?

For me, it's the exact opposite. All the stoners I know are actually extremely intelligent and often times are brilliant in their own ways. So why is it that the general public and the media depict weed smokers as unintelligent and borderline retarded?

Is it because the media wishes to give drugs as much shit as possible, so in turn they show the users as stupid because of their drug use rather than just being stupid in the first place? Or is it actually true that most of them are just stupid and I am lucky to know the few intellectual dopers?

What does the Escapist think about this and do you yourself do any drugs of the sort?

I don't do any drugs myself, but I work in the music industry and thus I deal with extremely high-level marijuana users on a daily basis, whether I want to or not.

I wouldn't say stoners are unintelligent, but what I would say they are is vague. They're often some of the smartest people out there, but that intelligence is hidden behind a thick green cloud straight from Nowhereville. I worked with one particular band for many years (who shall remain nameless because I'm a nice guy) who were pretty stoned most of the time. The type of guys who pack their cone when they go to bed so they can take a puff before their feet hit the floor the next morning. Having a business relationship with these people was akin to stabbing oneself in the eye with a screwdriver repeatedly. They would misinterpret even the most basic instructions, never turn up on time for anything (if you got them the same day you were lucky), change plans with no notice, they think every idea that comes from their own mind is brilliant, and if you dared complain about any of it they would be all like "don't kill the vibe, maaan". Of course, when they ran out of pot they would transform from Mr Happy Goodtime and the Seven Stoned Dwarves into the crabbiest, most irritable sons of bitches I've ever had to work with, and then suddenly everything was someone else's fault. I was pretty happy when the main members of that band had a falling out (over... guess what? Yes, you guessed it!) and our business relationship got terminated by default.

Marijuana isn't the most harmful drug in the world, I honestly think alcohol is far worse, and I generally support pot legalisation, as I feel the drug has been the victim of a lot more negative propaganda than such a benign substance deserves. However, what marijuana definitely does do if taken over extended periods is turn you into a phenomenally vague, self-absorbed douchebag, and if it were ever sold legally, it must come in a government-regulated packet with a warning that says "this product may turn you into a worthless good-for-nothing fuckstain if used heavily over extended periods, please remember that you are not in fact the center of the universe and the world does not revolve around you".

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

Because you shouldn't be doing drugs?