Cannabis

[Rawwr]

zarjaz1991 said:

I have never used it.
I never will use it.
I don't want to use it.
I wouldn't know where to buy it.

I have no desire to join what is increasingly becoming a nation of junkies, not just junkies but junkies who are proud to be junkies and seem to think it's something to brag about.

Seems my age group are particularly bad for this and I want no part of it.

I'm quite sure there's a huge number of drugged up drivers on the roads now and that bothers me.

There's a chasm of difference between light, recreational drug use and being a junkie.

Why's everything so damn binary on this forum?

[PostHeads123]

zarjaz1991 said:

I have never used it.
I never will use it.
I don't want to use it.
I wouldn't know where to buy it.

I have no desire to join what is increasingly becoming a nation of junkies, not just junkies but junkies who are proud to be junkies and seem to think it's something to brag about.

Seems my age group are particularly bad for this and I want no part of it.

I'm quite sure there's a huge number of drugged up drivers on the roads now and that bothers me.

Your drink then I guess ?

[Blown2CV]

Rawwr said:

zarjaz1991 said:

I have never used it.
I never will use it.
I don't want to use it.
I wouldn't know where to buy it.

I have no desire to join what is increasingly becoming a nation of junkies, not just junkies but junkies who are proud to be junkies and seem to think it's something to brag about.

Seems my age group are particularly bad for this and I want no part of it.

I'm quite sure there's a huge number of drugged up drivers on the roads now and that bothers me.

There's a chasm of difference between light, recreational drug use and being a junkie.

Why's everything so damn binary on this forum?

his opinion though, and that's up to him.

To be perfectly honest I've never found anyone that smokes weed to be even remotely accepting of anyone else's views or experiences, which is weird considering how weed is presented as chilled, mind-expanding, tolerance promoting etc. In debates about weed, and I've made the mistake of entering into a few of them, all someone who isn't so keen on it needs to do is state their views and they get jumped all over immediately, with:

• it's perfectly safe, look at all this Internet evidence i found, anything contrary is just government-funded propaganda
• anyone saying they thought it affected their mental health is wrong, mainly because my individual experience isn't precisely the same so therefore it cannot be real
• alcohol kills and injures billions upon billions of people every second, and obviously weed and alcohol are like an either/or thing.
• anyone that thinks there is remotely any downside to weed is a closed minded idiot, in fact i only ever want to speak to people that think just like me and have exactly the same experiences me, and i am going to ignore the obvious irony/hypocrisy in that viewpoint.

it's perfectly OK to not want to smoke weed.

Getting angry about someone else's views on it is a bit like getting angry at a woman in a bar for not finding you attractive.

[PostHeads123]

Blown2CV said:

his opinion though, and that's up to him.

To be perfectly honest I've never found anyone that smokes weed to be even remotely accepting of anyone else's views or experiences, which is weird considering how weed is presented as chilled, mind-expanding, tolerance promoting etc. In debates about weed, and I've made the mistake of entering into a few of them, all someone who isn't so keen on it needs to do is state their views and they get jumped all over immediately, with:

• it's perfectly safe, look at all this Internet evidence i found, anything contrary is just government-funded propaganda
• anyone saying they thought it affected their mental health is wrong, mainly because my individual experience isn't precisely the same so therefore it cannot be real
• alcohol kills and injures billions upon billions of people every second, and obviously weed and alcohol are like an either/or thing.
• anyone that thinks there is remotely any downside to weed is a closed minded idiot, in fact i only ever want to speak to people that think just like me and have exactly the same experiences me, and i am going to ignore the obvious irony/hypocrisy in that viewpoint.

it's perfectly OK to not want to smoke weed.

Getting angry about someone else's views on it is a bit like getting angry at a woman in a bar for not finding you attractive.

I didn't think he/she was being angry and also he entitled to his view as is the other poster.

I don't drink and tbh I made to feel like a social out cast because I don't so it works both ways.

[Mobile Chicane]

Sten. said:

Blown2CV said:

caned it in teenage years, went off it big time after it nearly sent me mental. It's far from harmless, regardless of what people say.

I began to smoke it occasionally about 15 years ago. Stopped when it caused the first panic attack I'd ever had, lost it's appeal after that.

I'm still not against it, and I firmly believe it should be legalised, but the risks/side effects are real and shouldn't be ignored.

I would agree with this, my concern being that street weed these days is so strong.

Whatever happened to the gentle stone of a Red Leb or Thai Stick I remember from my distant youth?

I'd probably still smoke if 'milder' versions were available, eg. from legal sources with the THC content stated.

[Rawwr]

I don't smoke weed, if that helps. I just dislike narrow-mindedness.

[designforlife]

Nanook said:

Of course.

But how often do you hear anyone saying "You drank one beer when you got in from work? Oh my god, you absolute alcoholic. You're, like, the dregs of society, that's shocking behaviour, you should be embarassed, we live in a nation full of alkys and you're one of them"

People need to chill out, stop being so uptight about other people's choices. If you see where I'm going with this...

this x1000

[Steven_RW]

Shuvi McTupya said:

I overdid it with weed over many years and i would be lying if i said it hasn't had long term side effects. I was always a bit quiet and at first i got into dope because i was 'accepted' by a group of people that smoked, so it was a positive, as i gained freinds and a social life.

Over the years though it became less of a social thing and i would just smoke it all the time I wasn't at work. and I would always be thinking about getting home so i could just 'chill'.

I was a heavy drinker too though, so i guess i just have that type of personality, a bit of a loner who enjoys a slightly altered reality.

These days I very rarely smoke but i do think about it and miss it. On the odd occasions i do smoke though, I never enjoy it as much as i think i will and the same goes with drinking. I hardly drink at all but sometimes get the urge to buy a bottle of port or something with the thought of getting a bit of a buzz going but i just don't like it like I used to.


I guess i am a recovering 'addict' in some ways but my lifestyle is the same as it always was, I am still a weird loner type just like i was during and before i went down the path of booze and weed!

I have come to accept that I am just a 'homebody' who only likes socialising once in a while and what that means in reality is, basically never., the weed isn't responsible for that although it probably made it worse.

Depending if people are here to learn about the subject or not, but I would say this is a really relevant and accurate post imo. It covers the journey of "drugs/booze" for certain types of personality.

Some people can have a few pints on a Saturday, others grow into an issue. Some recover and some never do. Weed and other drugs are all the same (ish).

If you have anxiety and the only time you don't feel that anxiety is after a smoke/drink, it can easily become a dependency with withdrawl effects whenever you can't get any or don't smoke/drink any.

I think your post is a brave detail of a realistic experience for certain types of people with issues around booze/drugs and how it changes over time.

RW

[smifffymoto]

My son was a heavy user and he suffered the some extreme mental side effects,like standing on the wrong side of a motorway bridge railing thinking about jumping.
If you have any doubts go to a Turning Point support meeting for family and friends to hear the damage weed does.
I spent 3 months going to family support meetings and heard some truly heartbreaking experiences from ordinary mums and dads. Weed is not a harmless drug.

[Bradgate]

I was a regular stoner for many years, and was also a social tobacco smoker. Even though I'm a beer geek, I always much preferred being stoned to being drunk. it's soooo much better, in every way.

When I decided to quit the fags, unfortunately the dope had to go too.

[Steven_RW]

smifffymoto said:

My son was a heavy user and he suffered the some extreme mental side effects,like standing on the wrong side of a motorway bridge railing thinking about jumping.
If you have any doubts go to a Turning Point support meeting for family and friends to hear the damage weed does.
I spent 3 months going to family support meetings and heard some truly heartbreaking experiences from ordinary mums and dads. Weed is not a harmless drug.

I agree, it is without doubt not a harmless drug.

However - name me any other drug that abused or over used doesn't cause major issues? they are all harmful.

A few pints at the weekend, fine for most people. The odd smoke, fine for most people.

Leathering a strong bottle a night, not fine. Smoking the strong stuff day in day out to hide from your issues, a seriously dangerous place for some people to be as your dependent or withdrawn during a period of mental weakness can be a bad place to be.

RW

[Mobile Chicane]

Bradgate said:

I was a regular stoner for many years, and was also a social tobacco smoker. Even though I'm a beer geek, I always much preferred being stoned to being drunk. it's soooo much better, in every way.

When I decided to quit the fags, unfortunately the dope had to go too.

Herbal tobacco is the answer here, also some vape kits have an option for 'herbs'.

[Rawwr]

smifffymoto said:

Weed is not a harmless drug.

There are no harmless drugs.

A 'heavy user' of anything is far from ideal. Marilyn Monroe was a 'heavy user' of barbiturates, Peaches Geldof was partial to Heroin, Prince was enthusiastic about Fentanyl and Whitney Houston just loved snorting powder.

There have been 'heavy users' of paracetamol, caffeine or even Toblerones who end up dead.

Edited by Rawwr on Friday 22 June 15:41

[Kermit power]

austinsmirk said:

I certainly don't want anything to do with anyone who as an adult thinks smoking a bit of dope is perfectly fine and thinks they function fine on it and are a fit adult/parent. You don't and its blinding obvious to all around you, that you don't.

My understanding is that there is a rather large perception problem here though?

Thirty years ago when I was younger, everyone knew that heroin, crack, speed and the like were generally not a very good idea at all, just as people are aware of that now.

Most people, though, were of the view that you'd be perfectly fine and functional smoking a bit of dope. I certainly smoked plenty at uni, and it didn't stop me coming out of the other side with a 2:1. Seeing all the fuss about it in the news in recent times got me wondering why people were so worried, and thinking that I would be rather hypocritical in warning my kids off the stuff for any reason other than the risk of getting hooked on cigarettes from rolling joints!

It appears from a bit of (non-practical!) research, however, that the weed of my day just doesn't exist any more! Back then, Gold Seal was the absolute nicest stuff available, but it seems today everything has been taken over by skunk, which is massively stronger, and does carry far, far greater risks of mental health issues.

I had no idea about this, and it has significantly opened my eyes to the wisdom of smoking anything these days.

[Captain Smerc]

I love the smell of skunk weed

[Shuvi McTupya]

Captain Smerc said:

I love the smell of skunk weed

[Kenny Powers]

In a free world, laws should be to protect people from other people, not themselves. The legal status of cannabis in the UK makes it more likely to cause harm.

I’m a casual user. I vaporise it to avoid inhaling smoke. It enhances my life rather than ruining it, and I’m not hurting anyone else. I will continue to do so regardless of a law that criminalises me for enjoying something privately in my own home, and this is the crux of it - regardless of my, or anyone else’s anecdotes, if people want to use it they will. Thus rendering the current law entirely moot.

Edited by Kenny Powers on Sunday 24th June 06:58

[crofty1984]

Shuvi McTupya said:

If everyone was allowed to grow half a dozen plants or so, most people would be able to get their supply for free and never have to come into contact with 'criminals trying to ply heroin and bum sex on them' (which is a load of ste in 99% of cases anyway)

You sound disappointed. Maybe you need to have bumsex with the right people? I hear Big Larry is free on Wednesdays.

[j4ckos mate]

It’s horrible
It stinks, it’s dead council,
And I don’t understand why you have it to chill when there are so much more nicer things to do


And if you need that st on a night out.
Then you need new mates

[Benni]

I have roughly the same experiences as Shuvi posted earlier,
but after 25 years of heavy resin daily (only waterbong for breakfast etc.) I felt I had to change something.
I was working all the time, just to have the cash for my "man", went home and consumed lonely.

I developed some symptoms of depression, took me a long time to get psychological advice,
and even longer to let the results of cognitive therapy sink in and really quit.
The doc said that the dopesmoking><depession relationship was discussed as a "hen-and-egg" situation
even amongst the community of experts worldwide, some say if a person has depressions he will eventually end up as a stoner,
others say that prolonged misuse leads into depression.

Last beer in 2001, last bong in 2004, I do not say I will never do again but I am on a break that will hopefully continue.
I have no problem with other people around me consuming, just sigh and think "well they seem to handle it, I can´t",
knowing/fearing that if I ever try "moderate use" I will end up doing 2-3grams of resin daily.

Funny thing is : after being out of rehab I got a job that I still hold 14 years after, that was not the case in my stoner years.