Don't know much about Pot

[Bergen 0]

I'm a relatively new instructor and while debriefing a student the other day, I am positive I smelled weed on his breath. Since I don't partake, I really don't know much about it and I could use a few answers.

Can you smell it on somebody's breath?

Does it impair your judgement and motorskills like alcohol, or does it only give you a feeling of wellbeing?

How long after smoking a joint do the effects wear off?

After you think the effects wear off, can you jump?

Do the effects get worse with altitude, like alcolol?

I've seen a few people lighting up am wondering--Any other real world info about skydiving and pot would be greatly appreciated. How common is it? What are the effects?

I told the DZO and our head instructor about it. The DZO gave the guy a copy of our rules -- which prohibit jumping under the influence of anything. The student didn't protest or deny that he'd been smoking and left quietly. One of our post-jumping recreational users told me that the student would have protested it he had not been smoking. I don't know if he is coming back.

Thanks

[dragon2 2]

Jumping when under the influence of pot (among other things of course) is not allowed in The Netherlands.

At our DZ the rules are, don't even smoke on the property. Not even after jumping.

I can smell it, not sure if it's the breath I smell though, the smell just clings to hair etc I think. No idea about how long the effects last, never smoked weed myself...

I think the general rule is, if you smoke pot or drink alcohol, you're done jumping for the day.

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[riggerrob 643]

You can smell marijuana smoke on some one's breath, similar to tobacco.
Marijuana relaxes you, mellows you out and slows reaction time: similar to alcohol.
Police enjoy arresting marijuana users because the drug reduces aggression and arrestees are co-operative. They also get the "munchies."
Reefer makes girls horny and guys sleepy.

I tried skydiving high once, flopped all over the sky and concluded that it was a waste of a jump ticket.

Students should not be allowed to jump while under the influence of any recreational drug. If they cannot handle reality, they have serious psychological problems that are better sorted out in a counsellor's office than a DZ.

[dragon2 2]

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Students should not be allowed to jump while under the influence of any recreational drug.

Do you mean licensed skydivers CAN?

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[jerry81 10]

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I'm a relatively new instructor and while debriefing a student the other day, I am positive I smelled weed on his breath. Since I don't partake, I really don't know much about it and I could use a few answers.

Can you smell it on somebody's breath?

Yes. Same as you can smell a cigarette smoker who's recently had one.

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Does it impair your judgement and motorskills like alcohol, or does it only give you a feeling of wellbeing?

That depends on the quantity/quality of the weed and the person. In some cases it'd be very hard to prove any sort of impairment. But in general, yes, pot does alter judgement and motor skills.

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How long after smoking a joint do the effects wear off?

That, again, depends on the same factors mentioned above. alf an hour to an hour for the immediate 'buzz' to disappear, a couple hours to get back to feeling completely 'normal'.

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After you think the effects wear off, can you jump?

Big can of worms here. From a legal standpoint, an accident involving a jumper with anything in his system is very bad for the dzo and the pilot, even if this wasn't a contributing factor. As I already said, in some cases, smoking will have no discernible effects on the jumpers behaviour/performance/safety. In others, jumping might be dangerous even after the person has come down. And everything between those two extremes.

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Do the effects get worse with altitude, like alcohol?

I don't think so...at least not to such extent. But someone so stoned that altitude would worsen their condition has no business being in the plane in the first place.

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I've seen a few people lighting up am wondering--Any other real world info about skydiving and pot would be greatly appreciated. How common is it? What are the effects?

From personal experience, I would say it's common, but I couldn't say if it's any more or less common than it is in a given society in general. You could probably find someone lighting up after jumping's done on most dropzones, same as you'd find people opening a cold one after the beer light comes on. Most of the jumpers I know who smoke weed on a regular basis feel there's nothing wrong with a smoke break in the middle of the day. A lot of them have thousands of jumps without any incidents that could be attributed to weed. In my opinion, that doesn't make such practices any more acceptable in general, but I personally don't have problems jumping with any of them, even if I know they've been smoking recently. But those are my personal decisions. In general, I'd recommend that pot be treated same as alcohol on the dz- light up after the last jump if you feel like it, but keep your head clear during the day.

Once again, these were mostly my personal opinions based on my experience with weed and people who smoke it. Legal aspects can (and probably will be, considering previous drug related threads) be discussed separately.

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[daniel_owen_uk 0]

Honestly if you could smell it, its more likely that he had it in his pocket (good weed you would smell through several layers of clothing), so I am told anyway

How long depends on quality of weed, I would want at least 4-5 hours if its decent weed.

Dunno about effects at altitude.

How much time was there between the debrief and the actual jump? Could have had a joint to chill him out after the jump? Not that I would condone that as obviously it's not gonna be great for the debrief, but probably not against the rules of the DZ.

__________________

BOOM Headshot

[nicknitro71 0]

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Don't know much about Pot

Shame on you

Actually pot can be smelled even after a few days. THC gets stored in fat cell and released at a later time. There have been episodes of marathon men getting stoned again during a run after few days of having smoked pot!

For the same reason it can be detected in the urine up to a month.

I know of people jumping stoned. I'd probably kill myself if I did

Memento Audere Semper

903

[pash 0]

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Most of the jumpers I know who smoke weed on a regular basis feel there's nothing wrong with a smoke break in the middle of the day. A lot of them have thousands of jumps without any incidents that could be attributed to weed.

I hope they change their ways and start enjoying the marijuana cigarettes (do the pot) AFTER the jumping day is done. I chose to believe there was nothing wrong or going on. I was dead wrong.

jason

[freeflygirlz 0]

I don't know much about pot either. On my home DZ during 7 years I have never seen any drugs at all, except alkohol and cigaretts, with are drugs as well I have never had problems with my student, only once I had to send a student with a heavy hang over back home. He was solo at that time and only missing very few jumps to his licence. He came back another day.
Visiting other DZs in Europe and the US I was very very surprised, how many jumpers smoke pot in the evening!! I was not used to this and could hardly believe in the beginning. I have never seen someone smoking it during the day, but they won't do this in the bording area, right?
I personally use adrenalin as my drug, I don't smoke at all, but i like to drink alcohol sometime.

You did exactly the right thing, keep on having an eye on your students!
I personally would agree to a drug-free-DZ, but I am happy, that this is not an issue at my home dz. Making it a rule instead of voluntary might pose a problem.
blue skies

[Joellercoaster 6]

Personally (and IANAI) I'd suggest applying the same rule I was told when I first went to a DZ: minimum eight hours between drinking and jumping (I think this is actually law in Australia). Pot will definitely impair their reactions and judgement, so it goes under that rule too.

Instructors' judgement aside, because they can't be expected to know about this, I would also never jump or do anything similar in the 24 hours after LSD or mushrooms, a couple of days after amphetamines, and maybe five days after MDMA or other ecstasy-ish compounds (assuming for a moment I were to take any of those things).

Dunno how you'd pass that information onto students in conversation or FJC, though.

--
"I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan

"You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

[nicknitro71 0]

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except alkohol and cigaretts, with are drugs as well

You mean you guys don't drink coffee?

Pop quiz:

What is the MOST addicting substance known to men?

Memento Audere Semper

903

[rushmc 23]

"I tried skydiving high once, flopped all over the sky and concluded that it was a waste of a jump ticket"


Dam that was funny

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[beowulf 1]

Pop quiz:

What is the MOST addicting substance known to men?




pussy

[dragon2 2]

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Pop quiz:

What is the MOST addicting substance known to men?




pussy

adrenaline

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[Praetorian 1]

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Pop quiz:

What is the MOST addicting substance known to men?

METH

Good Judgment comes from experience...a lot of experience comes from bad
judgment.

[Praetorian 1]

some humans are conditioned to enjoy adrenaline, but it is nowhere near the most addictive substance.

Good Judgment comes from experience...a lot of experience comes from bad
judgment.

[goose491 0]

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Marijuana relaxes you, mellows you out and slows reaction time:

Although there's no arguing that it "relaxes you, mellows you out", the "slows reaction time" part is quite subjective.

Studies were performed on driving abilities in Montreal on a closed circuit. People were asked to complete a number of tests, including slaloming pileons, avoiding obstacles which would pop up randomly and breaking suddenly when a certain light lit up.

It was found that test results were exactly the same before and after drivers consumed twice as much pot as they admitted to using regularily. Response time was the same, breaking distance the same, ability to navigate the pileons while maintaining given speeds... the same.

I think the "slows response time" is a bit of a myth... born like many others, from a hint of truth.

That is, pot is 'mood altering'. Only the 'feelings' are affected. Your physical body does not 'relax' itself anymore than you allow it as a result. You may think what you feel when you smoke contradicts this but it is not a muscle relaxant. You may feel like little problems don't really bother you anymore, which leads you to feel relaxed, which leads you to be less tense physically as well. I'm not sure if I'm making that part clear enough. Basically, you will be less tense, but because of a relaxed mood. Mind over body and not the other way around.

Taking your sweet a$$ time to do things, or being "forgetful"... these are the result of certain things becoming less important to you. Not your mind becoming less powerful so to speak. One thing that was noted was that drivers may be a little more 'jumpy' at the reaction to the light or the obstacle. But their observation of such, their processing of the problem and what to do, and their execution of the manuevres... all unchanged. The added "jumpiness" is said to be the result of suddenly coming out of this apparent added relaxation.

I'm not advocating jumping high. Just pointing out what I think is an important piece of knowledge, otherwise burried by the powers that be. lol

Anyone really know why pot is outlawed to begin with?

My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

[tso-d_chris 0]

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Studies were performed on driving abilities in Montreal on a closed circuit. People were asked to complete a number of tests, including slaloming pileons, avoiding obstacles which would pop up randomly and breaking suddenly when a certain light lit up.

It was found that test results were exactly the same before and after drivers consumed twice as much pot as they admitted to using regularily. Response time was the same, breaking distance the same, ability to navigate the pileons while maintaining given speeds... the same.

There are multiple studies with essentially the same findings.

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Anyone really know why pot is outlawed to begin with?

DuPont, Eli Lilly, and a Congress behind closed doors for three days in 1937, just after Henry Ford received national magazine press (Popular Mechanics?) for "growing a car from the soil."

Just a guess...

For Great Deals on Gear

[nicknitro71 0]

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Anyone really know why pot is outlawed to begin with?

Yes,

The tobacco industry pushed the government to have marijuana outlawed because they feared competition.

And by the way, NICOTINE is the most addicting drug, even more so than heroin believe it or not.

Memento Audere Semper

903

[jumper03 0]

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Anyone really know why pot is outlawed to begin with?

Yes,

The tobacco industry pushed the government to have marijuana outlawed because they feared competition.

And by the way, NICOTINE is the most addicting drug, even more so than heroin believe it or not.

I thought it was the cotton growers that didn't want to compete with hemp.

Scars remind us that the past is real

[Praetorian 1]

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And by the way, NICOTINE is the most addicting drug, even more so than heroin believe it or not.

yes more addicting then heroin, but not the most addictive, that "honor" belongs to Methamphetamine, Research animals will litterally kill theselves to get more of it, the same cannot be said for nicotine

Good Judgment comes from experience...a lot of experience comes from bad
judgment.

[nicknitro71 0]

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yes more addicting then heroin, but not the most addictive, that "honor" belongs to Methamphetamine, Research animals will litterally kill theselves to get more of it, the same cannot be said for nicotine

I guess I must be in the wrong field

Memento Audere Semper

903

[Andy_Copland 0]

I started smoking weed at around 14 and gave it up at about 16 so i know a thing or two about it, i have LOTS of friends that smoke and none of them skydive and its a good job aswell.

Effects last depending on how much you have smoked, could be a couple of hours or 12 hours. Its very difficult to smell it on your breath like alcohol but it clings to every fiber of clothing and your hair.

Even light use will impare judgement and relax you. I would imagine that if you did skydive stoned you would have a problem with altitude awareness

1338

People aint made of nothin' but water and shit.

Until morale improves, the beatings will continue.

[goose491 0]

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Anyone really know why pot is outlawed to begin with?

Yes,

The tobacco industry pushed the government to have marijuana outlawed because they feared competition.

And by the way, NICOTINE is the most addicting drug, even more so than heroin believe it or not.

I thought it was the cotton growers that didn't want to compete with hemp.

Actually, though I'm sure cotton was shaking in it's boots, the pulp and papper industry stood to lose the most.

More or less, there isn't much you can do with a chopped down tree that you can't do with hemp... and hemp grows back much faster.

So they began a strong lobbying campaing against hemp. Being that the US could not just outlaw a plant without reason, they created such things as "Weed Rage"... whereby they explained via public service announcements how people could become suddenly and irrationally violent from smoking pot. They painted the picture not that this plant was bad for the health, but bad for the safety of society.

Today, we know it all to be lies... and yet?

My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

[beowulf 1]

huh and I could have sworn it was pussy. Nearly every man born is addicted to it. "Spend 9 months trying to get out and the rest of your life trying to get back in."