Your thoughts on Marijuana

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

TT,

I know one 50 year old who smokes (even by my standards) a LOT of pot on a daily basis. He makes upwards of 100k, plays sports regularly, lives in a nice house in the nice 'burbs, and IMO (and most others) has a train wreck of a life, stumbling from one near-disater to another.

Other than that, the only regular pot smokers I know are, well, losers. You know what I mean.

That is one side of the pendelum, here is the other. I know a VERY talented, well known sound designer. Very successful in the competitive world of film sound mixing. We recentley worked on a soundtrack together. He came in everyday slightly smelling of pot(even though he tried to cover it up). He was never late, his creative mind always ticking, extremely focused, fun to work with, and by all accounts has a great life. Directors love to work with him, and therefore he brings in alot of business to the studio he works for. He by all definitions is a total pothead.

If you waited till you were out then you couldn't have started very young. And occasional paranoia is a well known side effect.

I moved away from home at the grand old age of 16 y/o. I think any rational mind would consider that young. Yes paranoia is a side effect, but not one everyone experiences. I never have.

Doesn't pot effect the brain? If so I would say nonfunctioning and somewhat functioning, like my friend above, not neccessarily doing badly but certainly not anywhere near 100%

Pot does effect brain activity, but as I have said before, not the same way with every one. Secondly, a somewhat functioning brain cannot mix soundtracks. There is just to dang many things going on. However, the gentlemen I mentioned above does mix while high, and he does it extremely well. You cannot do that with a somewhat functioning brain. His brain was VERY functional. I studied for a test while high in college. I aced that test. You cannot do that on a somewhat functioning brain. So I will stick to what I said early, you have functional potheads, and non functional ones.

Granted, not everyone who smokes pot becomes a deadhead or a crackhead. But, how many heavy drug users you know didn't start by smoking? I don't know one. And I know a lot of drug users.

According to studies most LSD and cocaine user's smoke pot. Most pot smokers do not do LSD or cocaine(crack). Most of the heavy drug user's I knew didn't smoke pot at all. It was too tame!! According to the latest studies I have read, there is just no evidence at all to support the gateaway or key theory.

As a smoker, you never hit a joint at a party or concert?

Never. I never would smoke someone elses stuff, becaused I didn't know what is in it, or where it came from. I only smoked the stuff I purchased.

I don't know a single person who believes pot isn't bad for you. Maybe they are wrong, but tobacco smokers knew it (coffin nails) long before proof came along.

We are conditioned to believe it is bad for us, but the facts point to the reality that many pot myths are just myths, and not facts.

I don't mean to be argumentative. It appears we are seeing this from different places. As this guy is both young and obviously taken with pot I would say it's closer to my experience.

I think it is a bit of a stretch to come to this conclusion. Remember, there is a whole lot about This Guy everyday life you don't know about. Just because it seems that he is taken with pot does not mean he will have an experience closer to yours. He is just a smidgen younger than I was when I started(I was later in my 16th year, and he is just beginning his) and my experience didn't mimick yours at all. I think it is foolish to think that just because you took the path you took, that he will take an identical path. This Guy is not you, and you are not him, so it would stand to reason that his destiny is in his hands, not in your past.

I am not intentionally scaring the crap out of anyone, just telling it like I've seen (and lived) it. If it sounds scary, well I think it is.

Pete

This is your opinion, not This Guy future. That was your past, not This Guy future. Maybe your past was scary, but This Guy's might not be. What you have seen is just one perspective of the millions and millions who have tried this drug. All didn't turn out exactly like yourself. I don't really buy into the "scared straight" method of discouragement. The truth and a healthy dose of reality is just fine. Besides, I think it is counterproductive in that is does more to encourage people rather than discourage them.

[dave123456@mail.com]

I dont really consider Marijuana a drug.

[bpsychotic]

i used to smoke pot all the time. i think i got to the point where i had to give it up because it put me in a meditative mode where i'd just assume being by myself and avoid social situations - and made me somewhat paranoid - and lazy.
i can't think of anything really negative about smoking dope except the effect the smoke might have on your lungs - and the tendency to rely on it for feeling good and being enlightened.
maybe when i get older and when i don't have to worry about keeping a roof over my head i'll indulge in it - for medicinal purposes of course.

[shokhead]

Dont make it legal. It makes you stupit. Its unhealthy. Just as bad as cigs. Do i want a pothead driving my kids bus,no. Do i want a pothead doing anything important for me,no. Does it have a lasting negitive effect on you,yes. Is it a drug, dah. Oh, i smoked from 12-32 years old. Never and i mean never missed a day of not smoking for 2 years straight. I keep track,thought it was cool. Every fricken day of getting high for 2 years. Go to a friends house in the morning, burn one,take a hand full of beans and go to school. If you smoke reg,you are not going to operate at your highest level no matter how you tell yourself you are or how you fool others you are. Of course i'm no expert,just an X doper.

[kexodusc]

Guys....FYI..this thread is pretty old...I think maybe we've already said everything we needed to say in October...

Marijuana is bad, mmmkay...you shouldn't do Marijuana, mmmkay.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Dont make it legal. It makes you stupit. Its unhealthy. Just as bad as cigs.

It's not quite as bad as cig, they have no nicotine, and any damage to the lungs is reverseable.

Do i want a pothead driving my kids bus,no. Do i want a pothead doing anything important for me,no.

I agree with you here.

Does it have a lasting negitive effect on you,yes.

Here is where we disagree. There are no long term studies that support this notion. Short term memory loss(a affect) disappears when you quit smoking. All studies point to this as a fact.

Is it a drug, dah. Oh, i smoked from 12-32 years old. Never and i mean never missed a day of not smoking for 2 years straight. I keep track,thought it was cool. Every fricken day of getting high for 2 years. Go to a friends house in the morning, burn one,take a hand full of beans and go to school. If you smoke reg,you are not going to operate at your highest level no matter how you tell yourself you are or how you fool others you are. Of course i'm no expert,just an X doper.

Everyone's threshold is different. I functioned just fine when I smoked, and I know many others that did also. I also know folks that just shut down. I have already outlined my history with pot, but I preferred an educated approach, rather than a doom and gloom one.

[shokhead]

Oh,i thought i fuctioned just fine. {it was all in my head} Are we a better place with or without,its without. Same with booze.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Oh,i thought i fuctioned just fine. {it was all in my head} Are we a better place with or without,its without. Same with booze.

I didn't "think" I functioned just fine, I knew I did. In retrospective(and in all honesty)I did some VERY good mixing of rock and roll bands in that day. Dope has a different effect on everyone. You have to decide for yourself whether you are in a better place or not. For me, I really enjoyed smoking alot. Now I am just to busy to do it. I was never a booze dude, beer yes, hard liquor no.

[hermanv]

There was peer pressure as I grew up to try various drugs. Everyone talks about POT as a "gateway drug" Guess what, first drug I used (and every single last person I know) was alcohol. So alcohol must be THE gateway drug,

Some people are better at controlling their impulses than others. IMHO for all addictions education is better (read more effective) than jail.

People will defend what they are used to, so many can somehow isolate alcohol from other drugs. Alcohol OK, POT not OK, go figure. I believe consistency makes sense: Regulate these things based on the long and short term impact on health and behavior, alcohol would quickly rise far up the danger list.

Provide help for those that need or want, it use taxes on the drugs to pay for the help. Regulate the quality and dosage and stop putting thousands in jail. We have other problems.

Driving on any drug is a bad thing. (Most people do not seem to grasp the destructive potential of a few thousand pounds moving at high speed, they can't drive well even without drugs)

[Audioman00]

Another way that jackass can make money, I don't know why he hasn't yet.

[JoeE SP9]

Smoked my first joint at 16. I am 57 now. Masters degree and self employed. Still enjoy a dube with a Chimay (Belgian Ale).

[MomurdA]

Smoked my first joint at 16. I am 57 now. Masters degree and self employed. Still enjoy a dube with a Chimay (Belgian Ale).

Chimay is awesome. What color lable? I like the red label the best i think. Been awhile since i have had some.

[JoeE SP9]

Chimay is awesome. What color lable? I like the red label the best i think. Been awhile since i have had some.

If I have a preference it is for the blue label. Here in Philly there are several watering holes that have Chimay on tap. It somehow seems to taste better that way. I know it shouldn't because Chimay is just about the only bottled brew I know of that is not pasteurized. I always buy the larger bottles with the cork stopper. The smaller bottles with the regular metal top are also available here. I don't know if those are pasteurized or not. I haven't tried them as I love popping the cork.