Quote Originally Posted by piece-it pete
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.