The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #26

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    I like good beer in small quantities and generally have 2 before dinner everyday. I have a low tolerance for it so it would effect my playing and I need all my senses working when I play. Pot is not something I ever got involved with and while I think a bit here and there is not horrible, I am not about to start.

    Jazz musicians unfortunately have let it effect there health and wealth. People have different levels of tolerance for things like this but they cannot help in any way. One might think Parker or Miles Davis would not have been who they were if not for drugs but that is a stupid argument. I think the lifestyle does feed the problem and I could use it as an excuse that I never wanted to be a working full time musician/guitarist. The truth of the statement is more in the ability and talent. The question then becomes of the lifestyle one chooses or is the lifestyle chosen as we live it out?

    In some way it is a philosophical argument. Did jazz players become players and gravitate to drugs or was it the drugs and lifestyle and they happen to be jazz musicians? I might take myself for instance. I could never be a gigging musician with the late night hours and touring. That would get in the way of family and other priorities. So did not have take that road and develop more ability. Or the contrary, someone has great ability and talent on the guitar but decide to be a lawyer for instance. This would be my good friend SS for example. I suppose one could go the way of a lawyer or business owner but being high on drugs or using them to a big extent would make that career difficult. Certainly there are folks who still pull it off but that is not the norm. There are functioning alcoholics for sure but most at some point go under.

    In the end I say stay away for the high and get high on simply playing the guitar. It does not happen the same way but the results are more rewarding I think.

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  3. #27

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    Quote Originally Posted by kris
    ...But he is an athlete.
    So was Taylor Hawkins. Some athletes do drugs and alcohol and probably think that because they are athletes they are immune from the consequences.

    I used to enjoy getting high on weed at parties, and such, when I was a lot younger. Somewhere around 30 it stopped having any effect on me. Never got back into it.

  4. #28

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    Why not take a poll of the forum to get some sample data?

  5. #29

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    Quote Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
    I haven’t drank in 47 years. I never developed a taste for alcohol and especially beer. I was too fit and enjoyed lifting too much. There’s an entire world out there that I never experienced. I smoked pot my first year in the Navy and learned that Gangi overseas was a different beast, as 3 tokes and I was toast. I suspect a lot of people here have drank much of there lives. More power to you.

    Hey, I’ve respect whatever the greats were doing way back when. Even if their lives were short lived. They left a musical legacy. We don’t deserve to stand in judgment of anyone for we never walked in their shoes.
    "Three tokes and I was toast..." There's a song in there!

  6. #30

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    I think the issue is not substances but dependence. Medicinal amounts of whatever may have health (spirit included) benefits. Certainly the pressures of touring, or even a heavy gig schedule, can make a cycle of uppers/downers seem a pragmatic choice. But IRL, I've never seen that work out long term for anybody. The few that do survive* self-medication are exceptions and must be considered extraordinarily lucky. I've lost so, so many friends and colleagues, in and out of the Arts. I will continue to strongly warn of the dangers.

    * That my last band, a one-off, was called "Survivors" is not happenstance. It was simply apt.

  7. #31

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  8. #32

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    I wonder if we as a society will ever stop referring to people who consume cannabis for medicinal or recreational reasons as "potheads," "stoners," and the plant itself as "pot" or "weed."

    (I'm not judging. I do it too sometimes, although I am trying to get better.)

    We have beer and whiskey commercials on TV, but we don't call every person who drinks a beer a boozer or an alcoholic.

    There is so much cultural baggage attached to that poor innocent plant. Even the word "marijuana" was a tag applied with racist and political motivations. Google "Harry Anslinger" if you are curious and don't know this sad American story already.

    I think cannabis holds tremendous untapped potential to help people. Humans have an endocannabinoid system. This was stunning news to me. Our bodies have just a few systems--nervous system, cardiovascular system, lymphatic nodes, maybe a few more...

    There are doctors and scientists on this forum who know far more about such things, but my layman's instinct is that there is good research to be done in this area, medicines that could really help people in various ways, if we could ever get past the baggage and politics.

    As far as its effect on playing, it doesn't seem to affect me at all. My playing sucks equally, sober or high. I still love it though and rarely ask others to suffer for my joy.

  9. #33

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    Quote Originally Posted by Flat
    I wonder if we as a society will ever stop referring to people who consume cannabis for medicinal or recreational reasons as "potheads," "stoners," and the plant itself as "pot" or "weed."

    (I'm not judging. I do it too sometimes, although I am trying to get better.)

    We have beer and whiskey commercials on TV, but we don't call every person who drinks a beer a boozer or an alcoholic.

    There is so much cultural baggage attached to that poor innocent plant. Even the word "marijuana" was a tag applied with racist and political motivations. Google "Harry Anslinger" if you are curious and don't know this sad American story already.

    I think cannabis holds tremendous untapped potential to help people. Humans have an endocannabinoid system. This was stunning news to me. Our bodies have just a few systems--nervous system, cardiovascular system, lymphatic nodes, maybe a few more...

    There are doctors and scientists on this forum who know far more about such things, but my layman's instinct is that there is good research to be done in this area, medicines that could really help people in various ways, if we could ever get past the baggage and politics.

    As far as its effect on playing, it doesn't seem to affect me at all. My playing sucks equally, sober or high. I still love it though and rarely ask others to suffer for my joy.
    I think marijuana is a lighter drug than alcohol. And when it comes to associated health-related deaths, marijuana pretty much none, alcohol tons (not even including drunk driving). And there is no hang-over from marijuana. Alcohol is nasty stuff.

    But, when it comes to socioeconomic status, pot smokers do much worse compared to alcohol users. Not sure what to make of that, could be a chicken and egg thing as pot has been illegal for so many.

    Alcohol or Marijuana: Which Is Worse for Your Health?

  10. #34

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    ^ There are dui deaths caused by weed. My mom's husband was a police officer and said he encountered them. Also, it's not a totally benign 'plant'. You wouldn't smoke it if it was just a plant lol. My brother developed mental illness from his weed use. We think it was a combination of genetic factors and the weed.

  11. #35

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    It is sad that so little good research has been done on marijuana, in part because of the stigma and governmental laws.

    Obviously no drug is 100% benign for every person. The link with mental illness is complex and controversial and unsettled. I've posted elsewhere on this forum about this issue.

    I think that people who are prone to psychosis or other severe mental issues will develop that with or without marijuana. It's also my observation that for some mentally ill people, including some family members I know, it actually keeps them stable. This applies to a lot of high-functioning people with anxiety issues, as well.

    Moreover, again IMO, the negative consequences of marijuana prohibition vastly outweigh the harm from the drug itself.

    When I used marijuana back in the Stone Age, I found it relaxing and an interesting experience in opening up different perceptions of art--I was able to experience synesthesia for instance. I don't find it really helped my creativity though either verbally or musically. At a certain point, being in a very demanding training environment, I decided the effects were too negative. In particular, I thought it was affecting my memory to an extent.

  12. #36

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jimmy Smith
    ^ There are dui deaths caused by weed. My mom's husband was a police officer and said he encountered them. Also, it's not a totally benign 'plant'. You wouldn't smoke it if it was just a plant lol. My brother developed mental illness from his weed use. We think it was a combination of genetic factors and the weed.
    I developed serious mental health problems from weed (see reply no.10). Despite this I believe passionately in the decriminalisation of weed and all other drugs.

    But, other than lung cancer, I'm not sure how weed would kill someone.

  13. #37

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    To me, it's such an incredible honor to get to play in front of people that I would never, ever drink or get high and then go on stage. It shows (again, just IMHO) an incredible amount of disrespect for the audience to do that. But I love a good craft beer, and an Isle of Islay scotch as much as the next guy who also like those same things LOL, but never on stage or whenever playing for people.

  14. #38

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    Quote Originally Posted by citizenk74
    I think the issue is not substances but dependence. Medicinal amounts of whatever may have health (spirit included) benefits. Certainly the pressures of touring, or even a heavy gig schedule, can make a cycle of uppers/downers seem a pragmatic choice. But IRL, I've never seen that work out long term for anybody. The few that do survive* self-medication are exceptions and must be considered extraordinarily lucky. I've lost so, so many friends and colleagues, in and out of the Arts. I will continue to strongly warn of the dangers.

    * That my last band, a one-off, was called "Survivors" is not happenstance. It was simply apt.
    Here’s a true story.

    I was a cop for the largest metropolitan PD in the state. My 2nd ex smoked weed several times a day. She had to have it. You didn’t want to be around her if her stash was empty!

    So was there any contradiction in me being a cop and coming home to her smoking? None at all. I never once made a weed arrest. How was that? I told every one I arrested there’s a garbage can right there. I’ll turn my head and anything you don’t want to claim as your property I’ll not claim it as yours.

    Weed arrests were so bogus, but let’s just say I in some small way shifted the balance for all of those ofcr’s that made them. There no requirement that you make them. It’s called officer discretion.

  15. #39

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    Weed, drink and other such substances seem to impact different people in different ways. Perhaps the question is not only about effects; it can also be about knowing oneself.

  16. #40

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    Pot is very therapeutic for so many. From cancer patients, to those in chronic pain, many are eternally grateful for pot. So there’s that.

    https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/...-2018011513085

  17. #41

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jimmy Smith
    ^ There are dui deaths caused by weed.
    Jimmy, now that's something different. Nobody who supports legalizing cannabis thinks anyone should be driving around under the influence. That's true for alcohol and a broad range of prescription medications as well. The problem is not the cannabinoids. It's the irresponsible humanoids. Don't blame a plant for the imperfections of our species.

  18. #42

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    In my tiny corner of the jazz world, there are some drinkers and just a few marijuana users. But, most of the players I play with are older.

    It's rare that I see people getting high during a break, except for having a drink, if that counts. I don't hear people talking about it, but since they know I abstain, why would they talk to me about it?

  19. #43

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    Quote Originally Posted by Flat
    Jimmy, now that's something different. Nobody who supports legalizing cannabis thinks anyone should be driving around under the influence. That's true for alcohol and a broad range of prescription medications as well. The problem is not the cannabinoids. It's the irresponsible humanoids. Don't blame a plant for the imperfections of our species.
    I'm not. I'm for drugs being legal, only against the dumb idea that weed is 100% wonderful, benign, and medicinal. Yes, there seems to be medicinal benefits. The side effects can range from nothing at all, to making you lazy, to full on fucking over your mental health or giving you cancer.

  20. #44

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    I'm with you most of the way brother Jimmy, but the cancer link is actually questioned by many. Check this out. I don't know the truth...I'm sure there are studies to the contrary...but this was a major study from a reasonable source. It might be intriguing to some:

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/archi...-9e725a376e5a/

    Study Finds No Cancer-Marijuana Connection
    May 26, 2006

    The largest study of its kind has unexpectedly concluded that smoking marijuana, even regularly and heavily, does not lead to lung cancer. The new findings "were against our expectations," said Donald Tashkin of the University of California at Los Angeles, a pulmonologist who has studied marijuana for 30 years.

    "We hypothesized that there would be a positive association between marijuana use and lung cancer, and that the association would be more positive with heavier use," he said. "What we found instead was no association at all, and even a suggestion of some protective effect."

    Weird, huh?


  21. #45

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    Interesting. What about Bob Marley who died of cancer at 36? :P

  22. #46

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jimmy Smith
    Interesting. What about Bob Marley who died of cancer at 36? :P
    One can die of cancer at any age, just because Marley died young from it likely has nothing to do w the ganja
    Willie Nelson will attest to that

  23. #47

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    You don't know that.

  24. #48

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    Neither do you, but I'm not aware of any scientifically proven cases

  25. #49

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    Hmm

  26. #50

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    Marley died from an acral lentiginous melanoma, which is a form of skin cancer. He was diagnosed in 1977, and it spread from under one of his toenails.

    It wasn't lung cancer. So probably not the ganja. But who knows.

    I want the best for everyone and I'm not trying to talk anyone into anything. And I will definitely not say there is no connection. I have read about pulmonary oncologists--guys who treat lung cancer--actually exploring the use of cannabis derivatives to treat lung cancer patients in some way. Which would be so ironic the cynic in me figures it has gotta be true, lol.