Referring to the question that Misty asked - I think it's a very good idea if the topic can exclude discussion about THC.... somehow, maybe impossible, I've referred to it!
CBD products have helped me tremendously with joint ( sic) pain and inflammation over some years, I vape it as Swiss grown organic flower or a full spectrum liquid extract from two companies who are happy to publish lab reports.... I don't trust other products on the unregulated market in the UK, other places I inhabit it's not legal.
Why?
There are already a good number of other excellent places to discuss THC use, some of them are populated by people with a lot of expertise and experience in the subject - from seed to ready to use ( I know cos a friend told me <ahem>).
There are people here from countries where THC is illegal with heavy penalties for possession .. some from places where CBD is illegal also. I have a concern that such a forum section can cause them trouble even if they do not take part, being aware also that certain restrictive governments that ban any vaping are sure to have an eye on this place.
ECF, I think, has a good reputation amongst vapers and manufacturers, there's a chance that discussion of THC may alienate some.
All imho ofc, and I'm known for being over-cautious, but I'll go with the flow and by the way, don't Bogart that Mighty my friend ....
Edit 8-0 Ooooer I seem to be a Vet here, it must be by age? I'm ancient ... I'm not a Vet vaper compared to most here. Whats the criteria?
Really good post. I'd like to add my own thoughts to the legality issue you bring up, but first, to answer your question, I think that "vet" is tied to the number of posts you've made on ECF. I think I'm a vet too, but also don't consider myself a vet vaper compared to most here. I've only been vaping a little over 5 years.
As to the legality, it is still illegal in most countries and punishment for possession ranges from essentially "hey, you shouldn't do that" to jail. Heck, even in the US, it varies in this way from state to state, although these days it leans towards the former and of course in some states it's legal. These days, the US is one of the better countries in terms of how we treat cannabis consumers. Punishments can be severe in other countries where it's illegal.
I can't speak for other countries, so let me be clear on that. I feel confident that for those of us in the US, it's not an issue to be associated with a forum that discusses cannabis. The authorities aren't concerned or interested in trying to bust ever single user out there, and it'd be a waste of their time to go searching forums to try and pinpoint users. I'd say that's true of forums dedicated to cannabis, let alone ECF which just has a subforum for the discussion of harm reduction in vaping, more or less.
I also don't want to state that as fact - I'm basing that view off of my relationships with police (I know quite a few as I'm on the FD) and discussions I've had with DEA agents (I've talked with several of them, it's a long story how it came to pass but, heh, rest assured - I wasn't in trouble, in fact we were quite buddy-buddy and it was fascinating). The tides are turning and in fact have shifted greatly from only a few years ago.
When you
couple that with the fact that it is fully legal in Canada which is a major country with a lot of users here, I don't see much for ECF itself to fear in regard to its own users running into issues being associated here. Again, though - I say that with a certain confidence but am not stating it as fact, and I make no claim at all for other countries where I'm less familiar with how the laws work and what the authorities are really looking to crack down on. But nicotine is also illegal in some countries. I'm not aware of the specifics and I doubt it's illegal to the same extent as cannabis in some countries. But I do feel it's worth mentioning.
I think also that ECF opening a subforum to discuss cannabis - specifically vaping - would never really draw the attention that cannabis forums themselves would draw. I think it's very, very unlikely to ever cause an individual user on ECF any trouble, especially if they don't post in the cannabis forum.
When I first read what ECF's doing, I had very mixed feelings about it - but I'm pretty supportive of it now. I would truthfully
not be supportive of allowing its discussion across the forum as a whole. But to have a dedicated subforum for people to specifically discuss vaping applications and harm reduction doesn't bother me and I feel it's actually beneficial. The only way I know of to counteract misinformation is education and open discussion can contribute to that. I think the forum should be heavily monitored and moderated, and I have no doubt ECF will do a good job of it. This is the only forum I've personally frequented where I have immense respect for the moderators. They do a great job at ECF.
I myself know a lot about cannabis, but not nearly as much about vaping applications, and this forum has already helped me learn things and it's just getting started. I'll be personally benefiting from this and will do my best to help others gain benefit as well.
Just my
and thank you for your post,
@stratus.vaping.
(I don't drink - imagine that's a mighty instead of a glass and we're all set)
