Addicted to weed?

[littlekitty]

I don't see a problem with weed, as long as it is used responsibly. Almost everything carries a risk of addiction (I just read an article yesterday about 'exercise addiction'),

 

IMO alcohol is much more destructive than pot. Drunken driving, cirrosis(sp) of the liver, domestic violence, and alcohol poisoning are all known consequences of alcohol abuse.

 

Pot smokers, get really squinty eyed, watch a lot of cartoons and eat cookies most of the time. Yes there are those rare people who get caught doing something stupid while stoned, but then again there are people who do really stupid things while sober.

 

Pot is currently widely recognized as having theraputic qualities for many patients, here in Ca, we have Cannibus Co-Ops, some are shady some are very well run.

 

In Ca posession of less than an ounce (as long as it's not divided up into individual baggies) is a low class misdemeanor, (e.g. a citation only, no booking) carries not more than a $100 maximum fine. If you have a prescription you can generally avoid the citation to begin with.

 

There are studies that show that pot might be helpful in treating some emotional disorders, I personally have discussed my pot usage with my shrink and they haven't jumped down my throat about it. In fact the have implicitly indicated that if it helps me, they would rather me smoke pot than drink alcohol.

 

And Genesis 1:11 The lord brought forth grass for the cattle and the herb bearing seed for all mankind.

 

Amen to that....!

[norajane]

6 years in San Francisco taught me...

 

...pot appeals to all kinds of people in all kinds of life circumstances...it's not just for drug addicts anymore

 

...pot smokers almost never get in their cars and kill people in high-driving accidents...they hang out at home and order lots of pizza

 

...pot is not addictive in that you get physical withdrawal symptoms...but you can get addicted to the mental escape from your life - the time out, so to speak

 

...pot can easily become a habit - something you do to kill time or to be creative in your particular creative field (art, writing, music, graphic design, watching TV, dreaming, sex...)

 

...pot doesn't give you a hangover like drinking does, so you can be blitzed the night before and still wake up fresh and ready to rule the world...except you're not really interested in ruling the world...you'd rather stay in and smoke some more and listen to music

 

...it's a LOT easier for potheads to stop smoking pot than for alcholics to stop drinking alcohol

 

...the key to stop smoking pot is to not have it easily available for a while...you'll miss it, but you won't go crazy without it

[dropdeadlegs]

Alchemist,

 

I have been an on and off pot smoker for 28 years. I am currently "off", but if someone came by and rolled one up...I could be "on" again, at least for the moment. Aside from marijuana being illegal (and that's a big thing-real consequences) I would prefer to see it legalized and alcohol demonized. I say that as a person who has plenty of experience in both substances. I have never known a person to smoke a joint-or a quarter ounce for that matter- and go home to berate, belittle, or beat their spouse. I have never wrecked a car while smoking pot, and I have done that after consuming alcohol (not a point of pride, but the truth.) I'm not going to condone your use, because I think that anything illegal has it's risks and I wouldn't want to encourage that. But, I do understand how it makes you feel more relaxed, less anxious, and more creative. There are other ways to handle those issues. Exercise - it wears you out to the point of exhaustion while keeping you fit. It also helps with anxiety. I haven't tried it, but I hear that yoga is good for the soul as well. Maybe meditation could help.

 

At any rate, I think you posted because YOU see this as a problem. I hope you find the answers/self control you are looking for!

[Touche]

Wow, what a GREAT post, Dropdead. Totally agree with you.

[Pyro]

Alchemist,

 

I have been an on and off pot smoker for 28 years. I am currently "off", but if someone came by and rolled one up...I could be "on" again, at least for the moment. Aside from marijuana being illegal (and that's a big thing-real consequences) I would prefer to see it legalized and alcohol demonized. I say that as a person who has plenty of experience in both substances. I have never known a person to smoke a joint-or a quarter ounce for that matter- and go home to berate, belittle, or beat their spouse. I have never wrecked a car while smoking pot, and I have done that after consuming alcohol (not a point of pride, but the truth.) I'm not going to condone your use, because I think that anything illegal has it's risks and I wouldn't want to encourage that. But, I do understand how it makes you feel more relaxed, less anxious, and more creative. There are other ways to handle those issues. Exercise - it wears you out to the point of exhaustion while keeping you fit. It also helps with anxiety. I haven't tried it, but I hear that yoga is good for the soul as well. Maybe meditation could help.

 

At any rate, I think you posted because YOU see this as a problem. I hope you find the answers/self control you are looking for!

 

Very well written, but marijuana is capable of causing someone to be involved in a car wreck. The stuff impairs your judgement.

[dropdeadlegs]

Very well written, but marijuana is capable of causing someone to be involved in a car wreck. The stuff impairs your judgement.

 

Thank you for the compliment , and I'm sure you are right. I only speak from my experiences as that is all I can share. I'm sorry you got busted and appreciate that I was lucky. Because I was LUCKY! At least on that front...

[Art_Critic]

As a Sober Alcoholic I can't debate the fact that Alcohol is a very dangerous drug..

 

But to say the Pot is safe and causes no problems in society is illresponsible at the very least..

 

you cannot tell me that a drug that impacts the human body in the manner that pot does has no bad effects..

 

Sorry.. I have common sense..

 

This goes to the OP post about pot being addictive... hell yes it is.. Was there a time when it wasn't ? yes..

Pot today is different than pot of yesteryear.

 

 

Here are a few quotes from a drug statistic page..

 

 

Marijuana is the second most common drug, after Alcohol, present in the blood stream of non-fatally and fatally injured persons.

Reaction time for motor skills, such as driving is reduced by 41% after smoking 1 joint and is reduced 63% after smoking 2 joints.

Smoking Marijuana while pregnant can have similar effects on a baby as drinking Alcohol (Source). These effects are irreversible, and for many children they will last a life time.

 

Research has now established that Marijuana is addictive. Each year, more kids enter treatment with a primary diagnosis of Marijuana dependence than for all other illicit drugs combined.

 

Today's Marijuana is more potent and its effects can be more intense. Research shows that levels of THC (the active ingredient in marijuana) rose from under 1 percent in the mid-1970s to more than 7 percent in 2002.

 

Approximately one in six high school seniors in the US admitted driving under the influence of Marijuana and in 2001 an estimated 38,000 of these students reported crashing while driving impaired by the drug. .

[magichands]

you cannot tell me that a drug that impacts the human body in the manner that pot does has no bad effects..

Exactly. Any neuroscientist will tell you that playing around with brain chemistry like this is just asking for trouble.

 

If there's a viable pharmaceutical there, then the "real" active ingredient will be made into a legal drug. But drugs, as always, are a last resort for any health problem.

 

Just because something is "natural" it doesn't make it safe.

[Guest]

And if you really want a good reason to quit, pot, like booze and cigs, can cause impotence. It surprises me that men will do things like that which have a good chance of hampering little Willy's happy hobbies.

[agnf666]

Very well written, but marijuana is capable of causing someone to be involved in a car wreck. The stuff impairs your judgement.

 

Actually, It does impair your judgement but It also makes you parnoid enough to actually drive better.

[Pyro]

Actually, It does impair your judgement but It also makes you parnoid enough to actually drive better.

 

Not me. I would be too paranoid to drive. I would worry too much about being pulled over, or worse, hitting someone.

[burning 4 revenge]

Actually, It does impair your judgement but It also makes you parnoid enough to actually drive better.

I remember being so stoned that I drove in the oncomming lane of traffic once.

 

I even had a worse experience while driving stoned that may or may not have had devestating effects to the health of someone else and I'll never know, because I was too stoned and didnt stop. That's all I'll say about that.

[agnf666]

I remember being so stoned that I drove in the oncomming lane of traffic once.

 

I even had a worse experience while driving stoned that may or may not have had devestating effects to the health of someone else and I'll never know, because I was too stoned and didnt stop. That's all I'll say about that.

 

I never really drove very far when I was stoned either. I would be going home most of the time. I was only like 10 minutes from my house. Most times I can drive fine, other times I get way too parniod that I'm going to get into trouble so I won't go home until im basically sober.

[Touche]

Wow, hope you never do that again Burning. I had to grow up without a Dad because a drunk driver killed my father when I was four.

[agnf666]

See now, I think being drunk and driving is way different then being stoned though. Your alittle more alert when you are stoned as to being drunk.

[burning 4 revenge]

See now, I think being drunk and driving is way different then being stoned though. Your alittle more alert when you are stoned as to being drunk.

I disagree, but everyone's different and it depends how drunk or stoned you are.

 

If you're really high then spatial relationships get distorted and your short term memory is so affected that it can impair even the most simple motor-sensory tasks.

[agnf666]

Mainly, I stay in one place though. You know there are plenty of sober people that drive and scare the **** out of me.

[luvtoto]

My kid's father was a daily pot smoker. I didn't argue with him, because the pot kept his temper from getting out of control. He never really had any side-effects from it. He smoked it daily and at multiple times since he was a teen.

 

Well, our son is 11 and he has learning disabilities. He reads two grade levels below his other peers.

 

Coincidence?? Doubt it.

 

(I am no longer with their father..he is currently serving a 10 yr jail term for selling drugs.)

[the_alchemyst]

 

I need to stop.

 

But then again, what do I have to lose?

[luvtoto]

 

I need to stop.

 

But then again, what do I have to lose?

A lot.

 

(message too short)

[Pyro]

 

I need to stop.

 

But then again, what do I have to lose?

 

Brain cells

Money

A clean record

Your freedom is a possibility

Your motivation

[luvtoto]

Brain cells

Money

A clean record

Your freedom is a possibility

Your motivation

Your self-respect...

[Pyro]

Your self-respect...

 

To me, that would be intertwined with my entire list.

[Island Girl]

Here's an interesting link: http://www.marijuanalibrary.org/Exposing_index_1095.html

 

And unlike other "articles" -- or even the 'quotation' on one of the posts here, they back it up with where these research that was done in any of the statements.

 

Quite interesting.

 

A friend of mine who is a policeman has said over and over he'd rather get called out to a "pot party" than one involving alcohol any day of the week.

 

He says you ask the smokers to turn the music down or whatever and they happily do it with a lot of apologizing and the officers can close the call. He said he's never had to go back to the same house twice - and he doesn't bust anyone for havinga little weed because of what he has seen in his career (19 years)

 

He goes to a party where there is alcohol, they are mouthy, physical, and beligerant. It plays a part in most of the domestic battery cases he sees, and over 75% of the car accidents.

[Pyro]

Here's an interesting link: http://www.marijuanalibrary.org/Exposing_index_1095.html

 

And unlike other "articles" -- or even the 'quotation' on one of the posts here, they back it up with where these research that was done in any of the statements.

 

Quite interesting.

 

A friend of mine who is a policeman has said over and over he'd rather get called out to a "pot party" than one involving alcohol any day of the week.

 

He says you ask the smokers to turn the music down or whatever and they happily do it with a lot of apologizing and the officers can close the call. He said he's never had to go back to the same house twice - and he doesn't bust anyone for havinga little weed because of what he has seen in his career (19 years)

 

He goes to a party where there is alcohol, they are mouthy, physical, and beligerant. It plays a part in most of the domestic battery cases he sees, and over 75% of the car accidents.

 

No one here is trying to say that weed is any worse than alcohol. To me, they are on equal levels of being bad for you.

 

This debate comes up alot and it always seems like that the ones who favor pot get so defensive when comparing the two.

 

Like I said above, neither one is better then the other.