Belaying

[anticlmber]

the more paranoid i am, the safer everyone else is.

a beer or two over the course of the day is fine, weed, sure. most people that can't smoke and function won't smoke.

the studies i have read say that for regular smokers there is NO reflex/coordination deficits.

i don't let strangers belay me, period.

if a person prefers i not then i won't

[mike_a_lafontaine]

As a PhD neurochemist, I can say I wouldn't trust anyone to have proper brain function while under the influence of either of these substances.

I think a better question would be, if your kid asked you if it was ok for their buddy to belay them while high, what would you say. If you say "sure", I hope your parent license is revoked.

[anticlmber]

if my kid is dumb enough to have to ask then (s)he should be revoked.

i've made quite a few catches "under the influence" no problems. i also didn't smoke while climbing for the first two years so that everything got ingrained good.

now if i could just find my keys and belay device......

[Crankmas]

some people just live their lives and don't feel compelled to dictate how others should live theirs, a lead climber and a belayer can make the call for themselves and people with opinions and pieces of paper may or may not have an influence on their thought processes- wow, they should call it "free climbing"

[toad857]

the poll kind of oversimplifies something that is typically a case-by-case kind of thing...

some partners: i would trust my life to an ATC in their hands after ten joints in a row

other people: i wouldn't trust them to top-rope belay me, even straight sober & after coffee.

drunk? nobody should be drunk..... but a nati light with lunch?

[TankAzz]

so these are two quick links that contain references to research addressing cannabis use and brain function:

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/evidence99 ... lth_1.html

http://www.justice.gov/dea/ongoing/marijuana.html

i don't necessarily expect anyone to even bother looking at these; there are plenty of research studies demonstrating a link between use and impairment, but as we all know, there are probably just as many saying the opposite (we can always find evidence to back up our opinions, right?)
i've watched many a stoned belayer with clear evidence of impaired judgment due to alcohol or pot. that said, i've seen plenty of belayers with impaired judgment by nature, who weren't under the influence of anything.
i guess i'd just like to remove as many variables as possible.

[pigsteak]

the results and ensuing opinions are probably skewed by those who do/do not engage in those behaviors while climbing..it helps justify their choices...

[clif]

a looong time ago i climbed alot with no concern for the effects of pot on my partners.

alcohol is just too heavy for most cragging. i can't really see wanting to climb while taking shots of whiskey either though.

another parse is that conscientious people can also be pot smokers and as said plenty of people that live like puritans i wouldn't trust to bathe the pope's feet. but what i think is not generally acknowledged is that the rigid over-simplification of 'drug' laws is that it undermines confidence in society's cohesiveness, causing the curious to doubt the wisdom of cautious behaviour when there is irrefutable evidence of the damaging effects of some activity.
this can lead to a more generalized recklessness which, if resulting in harm, is likely attributed to the broadly demonized particular rather than the 'spectrum' disorder.

but if weed makes one paranoid, shouldn't that make stoned belayers better?

[caribe]

I don't mind my belayer riding the horse. Ray you have edit the poll again, sorry.

[krampus]

its clear that people that don't really smoke up, really don't have anything to base their opinions on. Anyone who has been drunk knows that it is not a good idea. Anyone who smokes regularly knows weather or not its a good idea for them, though I don't know anyone who smokes that I wouldn't trust to belay me, unless I just don't trust them to belay me anyway.