Smoking weed on liveaboard

[drbill]

Since the subject of diving and drinkinng has been mentioned, I would like to posit a question. I will not argue the fact that you can come up with a scenario where drinking a beer with lunch might slightly increase your risk of a misadventure while diving that afternoon. BUT, if we are to not be allowed to make that decision for ourselves ( as evidenced by the ubiquitous "your first drink of the day is your last dive" on every liveaboard I have evver been on ), why in the hell is the sale of alcohol promoted on the ski slopes? It is my estimation that drinking a fixed amount of alcohol will increase your risk of injury/death while skiing VASTLY more than it will increase you risk of injury/death while diving. Could it possibly be PROFIT MOTIVATION??? Sorry to get off the weed topic, just wanted to point out how inconsistent some of the risk aversion strategies are in different recreational pursuits.

Ha... that's one reason I don't ski. The other is that I'm 100% certain I'd break an appendage I need while diving!

I don't indulge in any mind alterants while diving, but that is a personal choice. I like my mind to be open and receptive to the mind altering experience of diving.

 

[Hank49]

I don't indulge in any mind alterants while diving, but that is a personal choice. I like my mind to be open and receptive to the mind altering experience of diving.

I never do either. I hardly drink anymore and I stopped partaking in weed when I moved to the Philippines....more or less.
I don't know about you other 50+ year olds, but I absolutely CAN'T do it now. The last time I tried I got all paranoid and it really sucked. Total opposite effect of what it did to me in my 20s. ?? But, that's good. I'm fine without it.

 

[donhealy]

I think DAN would have a field day with this thread. One should never dive under the influence of any drug including alcohol. Physiology aside, an unplanned incident requires a clear mind to react to the event.

Hank49, like you I partied pretty hard and find it impossible now that I'm in my mid 50's. I miss those days but as you say, we must all move on. I really enjoy not being paranoid and like having clear lungs. I will say that even back then I took seriously the rule of diving under the influence. My instructor scared the crap out of me early on and I never forgot the lesson.

 

[Mossman]

Since the subject of diving and drinkinng has been mentioned, I would like to posit a question. I will not argue the fact that you can come up with a scenario where drinking a beer with lunch might slightly increase your risk of a misadventure while diving that afternoon. BUT, if we are to not be allowed to make that decision for ourselves ( as evidenced by the ubiquitous "your first drink of the day is your last dive" on every liveaboard I have evver been on ), why in the hell is the sale of alcohol promoted on the ski slopes? It is my estimation that drinking a fixed amount of alcohol will increase your risk of injury/death while skiing VASTLY more than it will increase you risk of injury/death while diving. Could it possibly be PROFIT MOTIVATION??? Sorry to get off the weed topic, just wanted to point out how inconsistent some of the risk aversion strategies are in different recreational pursuits.

Liability surely has something to do with it. There's so much propanganda around that implies that a single drink will kill a diver, any liveaboard that "allowed" a diver to drink and dive would have their heads on the chopping block if something untoward happened and the diver's family had a decent lawyer. Why that doesn't apply to ski resorts that sell booze, I have no idea, but alcohol is far more ingrained in skiing culture than (recent) diving culture.

If you want to drink or get high before a dive, liveaboards are not the answer because they set the rules for conduct. Likewise with dive resorts, and I doubt you'll find too many boat operations that knowingly take divers after they've had a drink or a joint either. Shore dive instead. No one has ever told me I couldn't dive after a beer or two with lunch in Bonaire. No one has ever told me I couldn't dive the Casino Point Underwater Park after getting high in my hotel room. Not that I've ever done either, of course, but if I had, it would have been entirely on me whether I died or whether I enjoyed the dives even more.

 

[diverdoug1]

I personally don't drink llcohol before skiing or diving. Another reason I guess is that drinking on the liveaboard could be verbotten is that it could curtail the vacation of other divers on the boat BUT would it not be just as prudent to be stricter with the dive profiles of the divers on said liveaboards. Most of them have maximim depths that they never actively enforce ( once again - profit margin, nobody wants to pay to have the "SCUBA police" hanging over their shoulder- sure, a screaming computer might get checked on the dive deck, but for the most part, liveaboards don't enforce profile limitations, at least not on the 40+ liveaboards I have done, they just ask what your depth and time were, and you can be honest if you want
). BTW, no, I am not supprised that profit motivation drives the actions of liveaboards, and skiining resorts, just making an observation.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Drinking skiers who end up dead do not require others to risk their lives in a recovery effort and unless they shut down all the lifts people can ski around the body. Grab a snowmobile, a sled, scoop and go. A liveaboard would likely have to return to port and/or end diving for other passengers who paid for the trip. I used to ski and had a some close calls with drunks on the hills. You just watched until they fell and were escorted off the property by the ski patrol. They were also pretty easy to avoid.

 

[Mossman]

Drinking skiers who end up dead do not require others to risk their lives in a recovery effort and unless they shut down all the lifts people can ski around the body. Grab a snowmobile, a sled, scoop and go. A liveaboard would likely have to return to port and/or end diving for other passengers who paid for the trip. I used to ski and had a some close calls with drunks on the hills. You just watched until they fell and were escorted off the property by the ski patrol. They were also pretty easy to avoid.

Good point. Perhaps the best way to handle it would be to require those divers who wished to drink (or smoke weed) before their dives to post a bond that would reimburse the boat and the other divers a fair amount (trip cost plus) should the drinking/toking diver's behavior interrupt the trip. Too bad DAN doesn't offer such a product, but I'm guessing the market might be too small to bother.

 

[drbill]

I think DAN would have a field day with this thread. One should never dive under the influence of any drug including alcohol. Physiology aside, an unplanned incident requires a clear mind to react to the event.

Hank49, like you I partied pretty hard and find it impossible now that I'm in my mid 50's. I miss those days but as you say, we must all move on. I really enjoy not being paranoid and like having clear lungs. I will say that even back then I took seriously the rule of diving under the influence. My instructor scared the crap out of me early on and I never forgot the lesson.

True. I'm now (gulp) approaching my mid 60s (the new 40s!) and there is no way I can party like I did when I was in my 20s. Fortunately some of that was back in the 1960s and I was there, so I don't really remember those days to compare them with today.

I remember that I was MORE risk adverse back then with certain things than I am today. I almost never dove below 100 ft back then compared to the repetitive dives in the 150-200 ft range I've done in the recent past. I don't remember any partying before diving back then... and certainly not now. As a starving divebum, I need to save the money that would have gone to mind alterants for food!

As my "temple" ages, I want to treat it well enough so I can still be diving well into my 80s like The Captain did and Zale Parry does today!

 

[discokat]

Too much fiber?

lol It didn't take long for someone to come up with that response.

Diving is one of the more extreme sports out there. All things considered most other sports other than sky diving pale in comparison to the basic risks involved. Equipment aside, my life experience has taught me that with extreme activities, the one who keeps a cool head is the one who comes out alright. Something you might want to keep in mind when dealing with substances that can infringe upon hand/eye coordination or judgement or both. It really depends on your level of tolerance but nowadays I figure its better to be safe than sorry. If something does go wrong you can wind up asking yourself, was it really worth it? In 99.999% of the cases it isn't so just be wary.

 

[Fdge]

I lol'ed at the comment on the first page 'maybe if you start in amsterdam'

Now, I'm dutch and yes, I like my weed every once in a while, but it makes me tiiiireeed and slooowwww. So I would definately not do that prior to a dive. (drinking either)
Plus, I don't know of many countries where it's legal so when I go on vacation I just accept the fact I'm gonna have to wait 'til I'm home.
I don't drink myself a hangover the night before diving, and I wouldn't smoke myself in a catatonic state the night before either.
After, like a couple of hours after, maybe, just like alcohol, not really much of a differance anyway