Marijuana - good or bad?

[krazedkat]

Marijuana has never killed ANYONE... Do some research guys ...

 

[daniel0731ex]

if you smoke marijuana you will become like this:

 

[Ethan Rosen]

if you smoke marijuana you will become like this:

Or like this:

 

[guitardude7241]

Yeah, ethan, bill clinton smoked weed too. He was grand.

 

[daniel0731ex]

LOL!!

 

[fanwuq]

Yes, i most definitely did not mean the competitor is cubing like a rock star with a joint in his mouth at the timing station. I assumed all of this discussion was treating the use of marijuana in the same fashion as tobacco, done outside preferably away from others who do not wish exposure.

I don't think any drug can significantly change cubing performance (at least improve it).

I don't think i agree with this. Everyone reacts to substances differently. Like Andrew pointed out, i too have seen cubers use Redbulls (or similar drink) at a competition to make them feel more awake and aware in an effort to set good times. If i am not mistaken, i think Ryan did this before winning the 2007 US Open.

I think if someone were to break a WR while high I would probably feel bad for them, because it most likely would have been faster if they were sober.

Again, though, this is just how it affects you. I have seen first hand someone outperform themselves while solving shortly after smoking a joint. This person was hitting 11s back when 13s were fast.

I'd worry about having the regulations different depending on location. If we say the WCA standard mirrors the legislation of the venue's location, we could be giving an unfair advantage to the competitors at that competition (and let's be honest, the Dutch guys are fast enough already!).

Ah, you make some good points. It is tough to say what type of doping is legit in any sport.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Use_of_performance-enhancing_drugs_in_sport
Maybe it can have an effect on cubing, but I don't think it's serious enough. We don't have the money to test people for a thousand types of chemicals anyway.

while skimming through the posts in this thread, i sometimes misread "marijuana" as "nakajima". :fp

haha nice

Cubing must be a worse drug than marijuana.

 

[DavidWoner]

Is there a WCA regulation against taking drugs? (I'm serious)

Also, are you aloud to have V/Red Bull/Mother/Monster and other energy drinks. (I don't know if these are sold in America, but they're all similar to Red Bull.)

The WCA should ban coffee. The Australian circket team is banned from drinking coffee, because the head of Australian Cricket says they improve reflexes, which it's proven they do. It is not banned in cricket, but Australian players are fined because they think it is against the spirit of the game.

Even if energy drinks, coffee, or drugs aren't banned, people shouldn't use them.

People should also abstain from getting a good night's sleep or eating breakfast because it gives you an energy boost and improves concentration.

Yeah, ethan, bill clinton smoked weed too. He was grand.

If that's sarcasm then you fail. Clinton oversaw the greatest period of economic expansion in decades. He did a lot for our country, all of which is usually forgotten because of the Lewinski scandal. Some of his personal decisions may have been questionable but he was still a great leader.

 

[Tim Major]

Is there a WCA regulation against taking drugs? (I'm serious)

Also, are you aloud to have V/Red Bull/Mother/Monster and other energy drinks. (I don't know if these are sold in America, but they're all similar to Red Bull.)

The WCA should ban coffee. The Australian circket team is banned from drinking coffee, because the head of Australian Cricket says they improve reflexes, which it's proven they do. It is not banned in cricket, but Australian players are fined because they think it is against the spirit of the game.

Even if energy drinks, coffee, or drugs aren't banned, people shouldn't use them.

People should also abstain from getting a good night's sleep or eating breakfast because it gives you an energy boost and improves concentration.

Yes, it's against the spirit of cubing

 

[qqwref]

The WCA should ban coffee. The Australian circket team is banned from drinking coffee, because the head of Australian Cricket says they improve reflexes, which it's proven they do. It is not banned in cricket, but Australian players are fined because they think it is against the spirit of the game.

Even if energy drinks, coffee, or drugs aren't banned, people shouldn't use them.

I strongly disagree. You mention that the reason the Australian players give is that it is "against the spirit of the game"... this is an important point. As I understand it Cricket is a game where teams compete, so it makes sense to not take drugs that give you an advantage, because it is unfair (well, ONLY if the other team does not have access to those drugs, which obviously they do because energy drinks and coffee are like $2 and available everywhere).

On the other hand, what's the "spirit of the game" in cubing? It's simply to go as fast as possible. You're not directly competing against anyone, the spirit is just to solve the cube in as little time as you can manage. Taking small doses of common, legal stimulants to improve your performance is not against the spirit of the game; in fact I guess I'd say it is actually right in line with the spirit of speedcubing, because it makes you faster. Not everyone will agree with me here, but that's my perspective.

 

[blade740]

You shouldn't be able to use any algorithms at all, because not everybody knows algorithms.

 

[cmhardw]

I've had mixed results with drinking coffee in competitions. Coffee is also proven to improve short term memory temporarily, and this is why I would drink it before a blindfold event sometimes. Sometimes I do very well when caffeinated in competitions, and sometimes I would get jittery or go "too fast" and do terribly in competitions. I've also heard other speedcubers say that caffeine helps for speedsolving, but there comes a point where you get jittery and it hurts your times.

I know this is slightly off topic, but to me coffee doesn't even come close to the effects of a good night's rest (for blindsolving at least).

Chris

 

[Tim Major]

The WCA should ban coffee. The Australian circket team is banned from drinking coffee, because the head of Australian Cricket says they improve reflexes, which it's proven they do. It is not banned in cricket, but Australian players are fined because they think it is against the spirit of the game.

Even if energy drinks, coffee, or drugs aren't banned, people shouldn't use them.

I strongly disagree. You mention that the reason the Australian players give is that it is "against the spirit of the game"... this is an important point. As I understand it Cricket is a game where teams compete, so it makes sense to not take drugs that give you an advantage, because it is unfair (well, ONLY if the other team does not have access to those drugs, which obviously they do because energy drinks and coffee are like $2 and available everywhere).

On the other hand, what's the "spirit of the game" in cubing? It's simply to go as fast as possible. You're not directly competing against anyone, the spirit is just to solve the cube in as little time as you can manage. Taking small doses of common, legal stimulants to improve your performance is not against the spirit of the game; in fact I guess I'd say it is actually right in line with the spirit of speedcubing, because it makes you faster. Not everyone will agree with me here, but that's my perspective.

That's like 100m sprinting. If people took drugs to improve there performance, surely this would have them banned. Why is cubing any different? It's not. Drugs and energy drinks and coffee should not be allowed. Even recreational drugs that have no effect on performance. They are in other sports, so why not cubing. Please explain your point of view. Or is your point of view on 100m sprints different as well? I really don't understand you.

 

[guitardude7241]

Yeah, ethan, bill clinton smoked weed too. He was grand.

If that's sarcasm then you fail. Clinton oversaw the greatest period of economic expansion in decades. He did a lot for our country, all of which is usually forgotten because of the Lewinski scandal. Some of his personal decisions may have been questionable but he was still a great leader.[/QUOTE]

it's not sarcasm.

 

[qqwref]

That's like 100m sprinting. If people took drugs to improve there performance, surely this would have them banned. Why is cubing any different? It's not. Drugs and energy drinks and coffee should not be allowed. Even recreational drugs that have no effect on performance. They are in other sports, so why not cubing. Please explain your point of view. Or is your point of view on 100m sprints different as well? I really don't understand you.

100m sprint is still a race. It's not an event where everyone gets up and does their sprint separately and has it timed; instead you have a bunch of people all racing against each other and the person who wins gets a medal (unless they get DQ'd). In that case it is really not fair to use drugs. But cubing is pretty much individual - everyone comes and does their solves separately, and whether you won or lost is just shown at the end (and has a lot of randomness anyway), and individual competition rankings don't really matter except at a national or world championship. Essentially, having a fair advantage does not directly hurt anyone in any significant way.

 

[Tim Major]

That's like 100m sprinting. If people took drugs to improve there performance, surely this would have them banned. Why is cubing any different? It's not. Drugs and energy drinks and coffee should not be allowed. Even recreational drugs that have no effect on performance. They are in other sports, so why not cubing. Please explain your point of view. Or is your point of view on 100m sprints different as well? I really don't understand you.

100m sprint is still a race. It's not an event where everyone gets up and does their sprint separately and has it timed; instead you have a bunch of people all racing against each other and the person who wins gets a medal (unless they get DQ'd). In that case it is really not fair to use drugs. But cubing is pretty much individual - everyone comes and does their solves separately, and whether you won or lost is just shown at the end (and has a lot of randomness anyway), and individual competition rankings don't really matter except at a national or world championship. Essentially, having a fair advantage does not directly hurt anyone in any significant way.

So if Breandan took performance enhancing drugs (no offense Breandan, but you must be taking something to be this fast ), you wouldn't care. What if it helped him win WC 2009? He took the prize money. How is it individual? Then what if he had the WR? That would be unfair on everyone else who wanted it. Personal Records feel nice, but a WR would feel nicer. In no way can you say cubing is an individual sport. There are other competitors wanting to win too?

You confuse me qq.

 

[DavidWoner]

Yeah, ethan, bill clinton smoked weed too. He was grand.

If that's sarcasm then you fail. Clinton oversaw the greatest period of economic expansion in decades. He did a lot for our country, all of which is usually forgotten because of the Lewinski scandal. Some of his personal decisions may have been questionable but he was still a great leader.

it's not sarcasm.

Then high-five!

 

[Dirk BerGuRK]

Drugs and energy drinks and coffee should not be allowed. Even recreational drugs that have no effect on performance. They are in other sports, so why not cubing.

So in your opinion, smokers should not be allowed to compete. Perhaps we should also ban multivitamins and aspirin because they can improve performance.

 

[vgbjason]

If marijuana was legal, you would only be limited to smoking it outdoors, right? someone could still eat a couple "special brownies" right before a solve

 

[qqwref]

If marijuana was legal, you would only be limited to smoking it outdoors, right? someone could still eat a couple "special brownies" right before a solve

Of course. The only reason it has to be done outside is the smoke itself. Similarly, if you can find a way to get nicotine into your system that doesn't involve smoke, feel free to do it inside...

 

[DavidWoner]

I found this hilarious. Mildly on-topic.