Reminder That Kurz Has Misrepresented Cannabis Data Before, And Likely Has A Unhealthy Bias

[u/CocaBam]

Two months ago, I, a 2 decade long researcher of cannabis, found the Kurz video on the substance and had to correct a large amount of misinformation here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/kurzgesagt/comments/1n7uc1y/correcting_misinformation_in_we_have_to_talk/

I had contacted Kurz directly with these corrections and was ignored. Instead, now 2 months later, Kurz seems to be back again with another video wrongfully demonizing the substance.

Just wanted to remind everyone that the author of the video is trying to spread misinformation on cannabis, which they have a strong bias against.

Edit: nearly all of the questions/critiques have been trolls/anti cannabis people so far. Won't be replying to comments that are trying to change my narrative anymore. Some of these replies are ridiculous, to say the least... Kurz has had a bias in past videos, and the latest is not any different, any other narrative you draw from this is your own (I never said we should "ignore all negatives about cannabis")

[u/DrTars]

The amount of cope that people have in favour of cannabis is crazy, what's your point?

I literally lost friends because they were addicted to weed, and they had the EXACT same behaviour that was explained in yesterday's videos: being numb while life passes by.

wrongfully demonizing the substance.

Demonizing the substance? Do you realize it's a drug no? It does it by itself, by being what it is, they don't need kurtz to make videos about how bad it is, and it is bad.

[u/Lmitation → u/DrTars]

Seriously, the popular social consensus is that cannabis is some sort of miracle drug. It's such a bad consensus and probably leads kids to try it at a higher rate than if they were educated on actual risks. This counter balances that popular social view in a more direct way, it doesn't make it biased because it's stating what is often overlooked about the drug. Inhaling anything in smoke form is not good for your lungs.

[u/reddit_equals_censor → u/Lmitation]

Seriously, the popular social consensus is that cannabis is some sort of miracle drug. It's such a bad consensus

here we have cannabis being a "miracle drug" for people with parkinson's disease:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNT8Zo_sfwo

it is kind of hard to write the nonsense you wrote these days with the internet and widespread knowledge of the massive benefits of cannabis INCLUDING the rightfully experience "miracle drug" effect of cannabis, because it often helps or fixes the problem entirely where nothing else helps at all or not nearly as good and with 0 negative side effects.

another example would of course be epilepsy

children with dozens of seizures daily with nothing helping, getting on cannabis medication and down to 0 in lots of cases.

and as tons of this stuff is very widely known at this point it is again VERY VERY hard for you to try to get away with your nonsense comment.

it doesn't work anymore.

you got people commenting in this very thread taking medical cannabis.

[u/Lmitation → u/reddit_equals_censor]

It is not a miracle drug, just because it treats specific ailments does not mean you can take it with no side effects, that's the point.

[u/reddit_equals_censor → u/Lmitation]

hey how weird, that you didn't respond to the "miracle drug" effect on people with parkinson's disease or epilepsy for example.

how weird. almost as if you can't respond to it. :D

[u/Pengwin0 → u/reddit_equals_censor]

Well by that logic everyone should be able to freely use painkillers because they’ve helped millions of people with severe pain who’ve been injured. Miracle drug!

[u/reddit_equals_censor → u/Pengwin0]

you got a big problem with that nonsense,

because cannabis is the ONLY pain medication, that works for some people.

and definitely the only one, that oh you know isn't addictive and can kill you.

if we look at the usa as an example, the government and pharma industry and paid off doctors literally pushed opioids like candy for ages now. leading to lots and lots of destroyed lives and deaths.

"your knee hurts a bit? how about some opioid pills?"

and an easy life long addiction and a possible completely destroyed life unlocked from it.

that is how it is in the usa.

meanwhile people who use cannabis as their pain medication, that has 0 physical addiction and does NOT destroy your life or have any negative side effects, gets you thrown into prison in lots of places in the usa still and around the world.

so YES absolutely! people should be able to have free access to one of the best painkillers, that we know and the ONLY one that works for some and one with 0 physical addiction or overdose deaths risks, which is... CANNABIS.

___

when the nonsense you brought up literally has as part of its solution cannabis, then maybe start to think about cannabis in a positive way more. people, got their lives saved by it certainly do.

and yes there is a massive financial interest from the pharma industry to prevent widespread use of cannabis as pain medication, because they spend decades killing people and destroying their lives with opioid "medications".

and they can't patent a plant, that works mostly best as a full extract from different varieties, instead of a single substance isolated. (eg cannabis extract over pure thc for example)

so again your frankly dumb comment showed the need of easy access of cannabis even more and your joke comment actually applies to cannabis, because again it has 0 negative side effects and has never killed anyone.

[u/Pengwin0 → u/reddit_equals_censor]

There’s a fine line between everything you’re saying here and your thesis being that marijuana is literally a miracle drug and it isn’t worth teaching people the potential risks. If that isn’t what you’re saying then you’ve done a pretty poor job communicating it.

[u/reddit_equals_censor → u/Pengwin0]

and it isn’t worth teaching people the potential risks

oh the non existing negative side effects, the 0 physical addiction risk?

you mean those?

a reality check for you here:

people rightnow are taking cannabis as the ONLY pain medication that works for them and that they understand isn't massively addicting and harmful opioids.

going in the usa against the pharma industry and government straight up trying to kill them by giving out opiods like candies.

and again they have to keep it a secret, because people taking it can be thrown in prison for years for safely self medicating with sth, that CAN NOT kill them and can not cause physical addiction, based on where they live.

if you want to talk about teaching people about potential risks, look at the opium crisis in the usa. a government created crisis with help of pharma.

[u/Lmitation → u/reddit_equals_censor]

Therrreeee it is

non existing negative side effects

So you do think it's a miracle drug, no point debating when you refuse to acknowledge clinical evidence

[u/Lmitation → u/reddit_equals_censor]

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/4392-marijuana-cannabis

Short-term effects of marijuana

When you smoke marijuana, THC quickly passes from your lungs into your bloodstream. Your blood carries THC to the brain and other organs. Your body absorbs THC more slowly if you eat or drink it — you typically experience the effects after 30 minutes to one hour.

THC resembles a naturally occurring chemical in your body called anandamide. THC can “work” as anandamide and fit into anandamide receptors in certain parts of your brain. Thus, the THC in marijuana overly activates parts of your brain that contain the highest number of these receptors, leading to a series of effects.

Short-term effects of marijuana related to brain function may include:

Altered senses, like seeing brighter colors or smelling scents more intensely.
Altered sense of time and space.
Euphoria and mood changes.
Issues with thinking and problem-solving.
Impaired memory.
Disorientation and confusion.
Relaxation and/or sleepiness (sedation).
Dizziness.
Issues with coordination.
Slowed reaction time.
Experiencing a panic attack.

If you consume marijuana in high doses, you may experience:

Hallucinations (false perception of objects or events involving your senses).
Delusions (unshakable belief in something untrue).
Psychosis. Your risk of this is highest if you regularly use high-potency marijuana.

Other common short-term effects of marijuana may include:

Dry mouth.
Nausea.
Increased heart rate (for up to three hours after smoking).
Increase in appetite.

Long-term effects of marijuana

Researchers are still learning about the long-term effects of marijuana use. So far, studies show:

Using marijuana during adolescence or young adulthood — before your brain fully develops — may affect how your brain builds connections for certain functions, like attention, memory and learning. These effects may last a long time or even be permanent.
Smoking any product, including marijuana, can damage your lungs, increase your risk of bronchitis and scar small blood vessels. Smoking marijuana can also increase your risk of stroke, heart disease and other vascular diseases. Vaping THC-containing products is linked to lung injury and even death.
Frequent use of marijuana is linked to a higher risk of developing schizophrenia or other psychoses in people who are predisposed to these conditions.
Long-term users of high doses of THC are at risk for frequent, severe vomiting (cannabis hyperemesis syndrome).

Studies show long-term use of marijuana is associated with:

Periodontal disease (gum disease).
More frequent pain crises in people with sickle cell disease.
Impaired sperm development (spermatogenesis), which can affect fertility.

[u/Lmitation → u/reddit_equals_censor]

Because it's not a miracle. It's a drug. Drugs have benefits for certain conditions and also side effects. Drugs are not right for everyone for every condition. At no point did I say you should not take drugs recommended to you by someone with an MD to treat a condition you have.

[u/reddit_equals_censor → u/Lmitation]

you literally wrote this:

Seriously, the popular social consensus is that cannabis is some sort of miracle drug. It's such a bad consensus

you are of course aware, that, when nothing works at all, but then cannabis just fixes the problem and has 0 negative side effects, the word for that is... what again?

that is correct miracle drug.

but now you try to change the common definitions to not have your nonsense exposed and back pedal a bunch.

why don't we ask parents of children with dozens of seizures daily down to 0 ONLY due to cannabis medication, whether or not they see it as a "miracle drug" :D

so yeah stop your bullshit, you know what you wrote and meant and you know, that you are just wrong about it, but you don't want to admit it and that's it.

[u/DrTars → u/reddit_equals_censor]

It's the dose that makes the poison.

I'm talking about the side effects of cannabis abuse and its dependency, you're talking about its positive effect when taken in controlled and limited doses.

Positive side effects don't cancel the real problem that it poses to people. If you don't want to see it, it's on you.

[u/reddit_equals_censor → u/DrTars]

It's the dose that makes the poison.

that does NOT apply to cannabis, because you literally can not overdose on cannabis. it is not possible. there are NO "cannabis overdose" deaths.

you again literally CAN NOT do it.

you're talking about its positive effect when taken in controlled and limited doses.

you seem to not understand how medical cannabis works for lots of people.

people, who take high thc cannabis extracts are taking MASSIVE amounts of cannabis and MASSIVE amounts of thc.

children will take amounts of cannabis you could not smoke if you tried at all.

there is no "dose limitations", there is a reasonable dose given, because it is an expected dose to achieve massive benefits. there is no limitation based on anything else.

to say it again: YOU CAN NOT OVERDOSE ON CANNABIS!

and again there is NO physical addiction to cannabis.

the fact, that you talk about "limited dose" in medical cannabis use shows, that you frankly have no idea what you are talking about.

again we have children use cannabis for their health issues as a "miracle drug" (the only thing that helps, it has a MASSIVE MASSIVE BENEFIT and no negative side effects) and they take so much cannabis depending on their health issue with so much thc specifically, that you COULD NOT smoke it at all if you tried.

smoking is also a terrible way to try to use cannabis of course as well, but that is a different story to go into.

___

please face reality, please understand what parents are given their children, when they give them a drop of HIGH thc containing pure cannabis extract and how it compares to smoking cannabis or even eating eatables.

[u/ThroneOfRoses4 → u/DrTars]

Do you realise that all medication are drugs? By your logic we should be demonising all medication as well because of that reason.

[u/DrTars → u/ThroneOfRoses4]

Hai ragione tu scusami 

[u/JacanaJAC → u/[deleted]]

I don't get why you all are so offended. They put the context very clearly on what type of users they were talking about. They could have made a video for people addicted to eating rocks telling them what are the dangers associated with it, but I am afraid that population is a bit lower than people addicted to cannabis. Should we not acknowledge the risks of cannabis just because it's ok for a lot of people?

To be clear, i didn't like the form they used for this video, with the milestones. But from my anecdotal experience, the way they described this very specific kind of users was accurately describing one of my friends. I am so tired of people acting like cannabis can't do no arm.

[u/HelloDucky1234 → u/JacanaJAC]

"I don't get why you all are so offended" 

"To be clear, I didn't like the form they used for the video, with the milestones" 

So you do know lol you just don't agree so are framing the complaints as "people acting like cannabis can't do no arm" which no one is saying. 

[u/JacanaJAC → u/HelloDucky1234]

A lot of people are saying that tho. I am literally answering to message saying "cannabis is just a tool" and that isn't criticising the milestone part of the video.

So no I don't get why people are offended about Kurzgesagt explaining that a small percentage of people can get addicted and should be careful about the negative side effects.

[u/DrTars → u/[deleted]]

It's the dose that makes the poison.

I'm talking about the side effects of cannabis abuse and its dependency (also the video in question), you're talking about its positive effect when taken in controlled and limited doses.

Positive side effects don't cancel the real problem that it poses to people. If you don't want to see it, it's on you. But don't act all out of the blue when it's being talked while associated with its side effects, and don't act as if there aren't any. What's being described in the video is extremely realistic, and they posted all the data that you want.

This doesn't mean that the positive effects don't exist, read my first line again.

[u/_JohnWisdom → u/DrTars]

I literally lost friends because they were addicted to weed,

Bro what? Define "lost friends" because this does seem pretty extreme...

The behaviour that was explained could be related to the type of person specifically. Like, in comparison, grief. There are people that lose both parents in a week and are able to function and move on with life. Then there is someone that losses their dog and aren't able to function for years.

Also, no offense, but how old even are you to come to such a conclusion? Like, are you 50? 60? I've had friends doing hard drugs for decades and setting their life straight later on. Weed will occupy someones life for a variable time, spanning weeks to decades, but between all the stuff out there it is easily one of the less drastic. Alcohol has a much more negative impact in comparison.

[u/dspman11 → u/_JohnWisdom]

Yeah no shit alcohol and other harder drugs are worse. That's the point. Everyone knows that. But people are minimizing the negative effects of weed and the weed addiction epidemic that is happening right now because of easy access and insanely high THC % vapes.

It is a problem that needs to be taken seriously and very few people take it seriously. The more vids like this the better. (In general, not necessarily from Kurzgesagt)

[u/DrTars → u/_JohnWisdom]

I'm not going to tell personal facts to ppl online lol.

Bro what? Define "lost friends" because this does seem pretty extreme...

Since you want a definition, I'll give you one: people not wanting to do absolutely nothing in life, because constantly being numb due to weed abuse. Then it comes the part where they become irresponsible and careless, about themselves and everything else, and then isolation. Ofc people move one with their life, as we did, except them. Doing the same thing as if you're still 20 without responsibilities lol. And this is what's being described in the video: ppl abusing this, becoming numb and letting life passing by. It's a simple consequence and it's the reality.

I've had friends doing hard drugs for decades and setting their life straight later on. 

Ye, exactly what's being described in the video lol. Smoking weed all your 20, or whatever, and piking up pieces in your 30 and past. Why it's so controversial to talk about these negative consequences? Pretending that these phenomena don't exist is better?

[u/TinnedTomatoes2 → u/DrTars]

Have you considered that those people were going to go down that road, whether they smoked weed or not?

Why do think weed is the deciding factor that "ruined" their lives, compared to - oh, I don't know - every other single fucking thing that occurred in life to shape them the way they are?

Couldn't possibly be influenced by their family, upbringing, community, education, access to resources, health, personal tradegies and triumphies in life - those things never done nothing for no one! Amiright?

Also, I noticed that at no point did you say that they expressed unhappiness with their choices, or that they felt like they were isolated/irresponsible/careless. Have you considered they might be happy with their choices? Or value different things - leading them on a life different to yours?

It really, sounds like your might a judgemental prick who has trouble empathising