Marijuana - Consequences from Use and Diving

[Steve_Dives]

I would want to know if a buddy were on something, OTC or otherwise. They may not respond well in a task loaded situation, and being the sober individual, they are placing an additional burden on me to prevent a situation and control one should it occur. Friend? Ok, you can impose on me. Stranger? Not cool.

If a friend wanted to try diving while on Benadryl, for example, I'd want a controlled environment and prefer that they be a regular dive buddy so I'd be able to identify unusual behavior. I'd know if a friend was struggling, but if you're a stranger, I might not know if you are in trouble until WE are in trouble. Let me know ahead of time!

 

[H2Andy]

you know... i'm thinking narcosis and dubage is ... you know, dude... like... not a good idea, dude...

oh yeah, dude...

oh yeah what, dude?

dude, what?

what?

dude?

 

[redrover]

This exerpt from New Scientist indicates that task overloading can be more of a danger than marijuana. Particularly pertinent to SCUBA diving, IMO....

"THE next time your boss complains you are not focused enough, blame it on email and phone calls. Even smoking dope has less effect on your ability to concentrate on the task in hand.

At least that's what Glenn Wilson, a psychiatrist King's College London, found when he and his team asked 80 volunteers to carry out problem-solving tasks, first in a quiet environment and then while being bombarded with emails and phone calls.

Despite being told to ignore the interruptions, the average IQ of the volunteers dropped by about 10 points. Not everyone was equally affected - men were twice as distracted as women. Studies have also shown that IQs of people high on pot drop by only 5 points.

"If left unchecked, 'infomania' will damage a worker's performance by reducing their mental sharpness," says Wilson. "This is a very real and widespread phenomenon." Information overload can reduce a person's ability to focus as much as losing a night's sleep can, he adds."
From issue 2497 of New Scientist magazine, 30 April 2005, page 6

Perhaps we should include 'apparent task overload' as one criteria for a potentially dangerous dive buddy.

That’s pretty funny. I’ll set a stopwatch, lets see how long it stays there.
What is it they say about statistics; you can make them say anything you want?

Any censorship is clearly personal opinion – judgment call. They, whomever ‘they’ are, are 'offended' and want to be certain no one else has that opportunity and, are secure in the knowledge they know what everyone else will think and feel.
Resistance is futile. Censorship is indisputably for our own good, they know when they are right. We should be thankful someone is doing our thinking for us.



There is blind justice and then there is blind offence.

 

[Rick Murchison]

I know an extremely experienced live aboard dive boat capt. who has told me that sometimes he just has to get high and drop down to 300 ft to chill for a while (solo on air)... I have no reason to doubt the veracity of his statement. Some people are able to smoke and dive, but in my experience narcosis and THC work synergistically, which seems far too dangerous to me.

I knew an extremely experienced live aboard captain who used to just have to go down to 300' to chill for awhile... last seen passing 300' going down the Bimini wall, still breathing but not moving. His buddy tried to catch him but gave up passing 325 and losing his own ability to function. And there is no doubt that happened - there's a memorial to him you're liable to see if you dive with that company.
Rick

 

[lazyturtle]

Ok I'm finding this post to be FUNNY!!
So the issues I’ve seen (repeated over and over) include:
Illegal: So what. When you drive over the speed limit, that’s illegal (and dangerous). So are a whole host of things that we all do on a regular basis. If the stranger next to you breaks the law, you're not responsible.
Safety: While I agree that diving while impaired is potentially dangerous, there are simply no statistics that imply in any way that smoking weed is more dangerous than having a couple cups of coffee, a couple of Sudafed, or a couple of cigarettes before a dive. Over the years I’ve closed many bars the night before work, along with everyone else on the island. I’ve worked with people who sat on the back of a boat, fully geared, smoking cigs until they hit the water. I’ve dove with people on a whole host of prescribed drugs (in fact unless you’re actually certifying someone, you have no idea of their medical history, and let me tell you it can be scary!). I've had divers who took sea-sickness meds (many make you drowsy), pain-killers (but I have a doctor's note!), and many other things that I couldn't be aware of. In reality the two most dangerous things in regards to diving are dehydration and lack of sleep. Any body here ever asked a buddy before a dive if they have had plenty of water and 8 hours of sleep last night?
The Myths: So far my favorite is the ‘laced’ weed. Selling drugs is about money, not about getting random strangers high in unexpected ways. A drug dealer is like any other businessman: they want to provide a quality product with no surprises at maximum profit for themselves. Surprises are bad for business, you’re simply not going to get ‘laced’ weed.
I think that the best thing anyone can take away from this thread would be: Know your buddy. Don’t dive with some random stranger. By diving with a random person you are taking on some unknown level of risk. When you get an insta-buddy, you maybe getting someone who took prescription drugs that may affect them, someone who may be a crappy diver, or even someone who may just be… stupid.
You could always try and get to know the people you’ll be diving with BEFORE you get in the water. Most dive operations have some sort of bus/van ride as well as some sort of shop time. Plenty of time to get to know someone well enough to decide if you want to dive with them.

 

[Kim]

So far my favorite is the ‘laced’ weed.

Yes...that one did bring a smile!

To be fair though, it's probably based on the much more common practice of selling bad pills.........that are supposed to be one thing (and expensive), but are actually something else entirely (which cost a lot less to make!)
This can be VERY dangerous and has got a lot of people killed.

Still.......thankfully we haven't seen a lot of people posting that weed is for Hippies, and fish look better on Ecstasy, so the issue of bad pills probably isn't all that relevant!

 

[Azza]

All it really shows is that our supposed *international* board is run in a rather parochial way - using the mores and values from a much smaller place than is claimed.

Kim lets be honest. It's not really an international board is it? Most non-citizens of the USA realise this...

 

[Kim]

Kim lets be honest. It's not really an international board is it? Most non-citizens of the USA realise this...

No it's not. While there are many different forums for geographic locations it takes more than that. It takes a genuine respect and interest for other cultures, that may be VERY different, or SLIGHTLY different from your own, to get anywhere near *International*. I'm not even sure if the leadership here represents a true consensus of attitude within just the US. Not being American that's impossible for me to judge, but it looks rather Florida biased from my perspective..... but even that looks shaky considering the recent problems and fights within the Florida forum over geographic splits etc!
No......in the end I now believe it simply comes down to the mores and values of a very few people who are in control.......and don't argue with them.....they really don't like it.

 

[The Kraken]

The membership of this board is an "international" population.

However, the ScubaBoard.com is incorporared and registered in the State of Florida, United States of America, which makes it liable to laws, statutes and regulations set forth by the Sate of Florida and the United States of America.

Therefore, the administration and staff of the ScubaBoard.com does its best to abide by the laws, statues and regulations set forth in order to avoid any legal complications or infractions of the law.

To that end, I would encourage the participants of this thread to re-read the TOS of ScubaBoard.com, in particular to TOS/Forum TOS/Paragraph 7 - last sentence. This is the TOS to which each member has agreed in order to become a member of the ScubaBoard.com.

The Kraken

 

[redrover]

The membership of this board is an "international" population.

However, the ScubaBoard.com is incorporared and registered in the State of Florida, United States of America, which makes it liable to laws, statutes and regulations set forth by the Sate of Florida and the United States of America.

Therefore, the administration and staff of the ScubaBoard.com does its best to abide by the laws, statues and regulations set forth in order to avoid any legal complications or infractions of the law.

To that end, I would encourage the participants of this thread to re-read the TOS of ScubaBoard.com, in particular to TOS/Forum TOS/Paragraph 7 - last sentence. This is the TOS to which each member has agreed in order to become a member of the ScubaBoard.com.

The Kraken

You might want to make a link, the directions weren't very clear.
Is this the one you mean?​

:rtfm:​

It is also important to note that what may constitute inappropriate behavior depends on the totality of the circumstances including but not limited to the intent, severity and pervasiveness of the conduct. Decisions on whether behavior is or is not appropriate will be made by the team of ScubaBoard Staff members including NetDoc, the Advisors and the Moderators.

I’m getting déjà vu,
I can hear my parents saying, because I said so :whack: that’s why!​

then there is this, the last sentence there too​

Finally, please remember that everything should be taken in context. What may be offensive in one post may not be in another. This depends on the circumstances, topic and perceived intent of the author.
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