weed

[Yakshini]

I read somewhere that smoking marijuana can alleviate some symptoms of borderline OCD. This rational was used to explain why some get 'motivated' when they smoke it rather then the traditional 'unmotivated' feeling most experience. The theory was, it clears the mind of the obsessive needs and allows one to actually focus on the tasks at hand.

This is actually what caused me to be overly interested in pot for a long while. I have OCD and it was humiliating and debilitating. I was introduced to pot and began smoking very potent stuff. When I no longer had access to pot, I noticed that my OCD and generalized anxiety was alleviated almost completely. After a long while, my symptoms came back and I craved it so bad just so I could make my mental illness go away.
I smoke rarely now, but I crave it just about all the time because I want so bad to stop having anxiety. I would rather not have a clear mind than be scared of everything all the time.

I have smoked cigs, I have had alcohol, and I have smoked pot. I have never been tempted by harder drugs.

[Michael Joseph]

This is actually what caused me to be overly interested in pot for a long while. I have OCD and it was humiliating and debilitating. I was introduced to pot and began smoking very potent stuff. When I no longer had access to pot, I noticed that my OCD and generalized anxiety was alleviated almost completely. After a long while, my symptoms came back and I craved it so bad just so I could make my mental illness go away.
I smoke rarely now, but I crave it just about all the time because I want so bad to stop having anxiety. I would rather not have a clear mind than be scared of everything all the time.

I have smoked cigs, I have had alcohol, and I have smoked pot. I have never been tempted by harder drugs.

Thats funny cuz I have GAD and OCD as well and smoking makes it 10 times worse! I have gotten so much better since Ive stopped smoking weed, it definately made my symptoms almost completely go away since ive stopped

[cynthialee]

I will just reiterate my main point.
If a doctor hasn't green lighted you for cannabis use for a valid medical reason. Don't smoke weed.

[deviousxen]

Thanks Kat,

The decision to take drugs, any type legal or illegal, is up you. The decision to be obese is up to you.  The decision to be anorexic is up you. The concept that our genome is responsible for our decisions is a cop out. OK I come from a  family that has problems with alcohol abuse, therefore I can blame my genetic background for being alcoholic ? Yes. But it is still my decision to drink. I chose not to. Am I an alcoholic, yes. but I have not allowed it to be my life.
OK that may seem a little obtuse. But what I'm trying to say your choices are your choices. There are strong medical grounds to have cannabis in end of life hospice. There are no medical grounds that I know of to use weed when an aspirin will do.

As far as physiology being different between people; well amazing enough, it isn't. We have quite tight parameters for all of our physiological measurements.  We know what the normal range is. If you fall out of it, it means there is a difference. It does not mean that difference is 'aberrant'  it means it is outside the normal range.

Chemical vs psychological addiction.

The line between this is so tight as to be meaningless. I like to smoke weed every day but it isn't an addiction is such stupidity that anyone writing it in denial (sorry).

Can you give it up? I gave up cigarettes after 25 years overnight. No patches. (over 18 yrs ago). Was I addicted? Hell yes. I craved and lusted a cig. I won. I am me I and I do what I do. (It taught me that) .

Can you give up weed?

The concept of addiction is giving up that activity. This of course does not mean addictions are bad. Our brains are triggered to be addicted, looking after baby, work, etc. If we look at addiction as an evolutionary event it is obvious that it would be a survival benefit.  I would suggest in an argumentative way that addictions are the basis of family grouping.

But weed is of no benefit in the long run. Deal with the problem.

JMO

Cindy

You know... I was going to post this long, complicated, counterpoint on how a lot of this threads points are too black and white and not consistent with evidence... But this whole thread is a waste of energy. Weed itself can't usually kill you (its impossible to overdose at the moment), and its de-motivational affects and gateway drug status have no basis in fact and some people get it, and some people don't. Some people sit there and some people grow up to be amazing musicians and artists... Just like in a world without weed. Some people sit there and mow their lawn every day, and some people do something influential. Some peoples anxiety and depression are relieved, and some get more depressed cause of the melatonin. Some people with totally messed up bodies can utilize its appetite boosting affects... And some people can get stoned enough to forget to eat all day and continue playing X Box. This argument is totally redundant and retarded. Why are we blaming a plant and not blaming actual causes which make our world sick and twisted?

[deviousxen]

"This thread is a waste of energy"

Couldn't that same argument be made about anything on the Internet?

No... Cause the internet is the only (hopefully) free medium in which so much data can be stored and transmitted. The internet is bad because of the stupid, dumb people who post and connect themselves to it, not the thing itself... Kinda comparable to The Gulf of Mexico, versus the oil that occupies it, versus the brilliant species which are smothered by the oil (or stupid, ignorant people)... Blaming the ocean is silly...

There is a LOT of good content on the internet. My imagination was only free on the internet to be completely honest. And you should all remember that, no matter how great it is to play outside in the non-wired, our deepest, darkest secrets were only truly expressed here.

I mean you can't single out this super-important medium even from reality. They're so symbiotically attached now that they're just parts of the same organism... Or... If you want a weird analogy I came up with...

The internet is like mitochondria to our cells. It wasn't there forever, but its a part of us now.

[deviousxen]

I was just being sarcastic when I made that post.

Sorry ._.'

Not everyone is sarcastic when saying that, though... Even on the internet... I'm not kidding. O_O

[cynthialee]

we need to establish one of the fonts as the sarcasim font

[Dryad]

Well; in the NL, it's not a gateway drug because of coffee-shops. Coffee-shops in the NL sell.. Well; pot. Lots and lots of kinds of pot.
They've got lots and lots of regulations to live up to, as well, and usually their guards guard the entire neighbourhood, making the job for policemen a lot easier.
Anyway; in my neighbourhood, selling anything stronger than cannabis could potentially get you into lots of trouble because of the maffia... (The maffia here specializes mostly in cannabis, instead of real-estate.)
So yeah.. In the NL, cannabis is borderline legal. The only problem that has is: No taxation. But also no legal organized plantation, which leaves mass-production of cannabis in the hands of criminal organizations, or organization that automatically become criminal by mass-producing cannabis. Small production is allowed, though. And medical production as well, but the stuff produced for medical purposes is very low quality, so medical users still need to go to coffee-shops to get their medicine, and coffee-shop counter cannabis doesn't benefit from medical insurance.

Me: I don't like cannabis much. I detest other drugs, but I've seen cannabis users being completely destroyed by the drug. Unable to be happy without it, but also unable to be rational or active wíth it. In other words: They smoke too much. That is their decision; it's not a good idea to pop an entire pack of paracetamol, either, right? Moderation is key, and some people are simply bad at that.
But when used in moderation, as a recreational and/or medical drug, it can be very beneficial to society. (As long as I don't have to use it, of course. )
I understand it's illegal in a lot of US states, and I can see the point. It's just that by completely legalizing this particular drug, the chances of people grabbing stronger stuff is smaller. Because in the NL, you can't get strong stuff just as easily as you can get pot/hash. It's easy to get a reaver in the NL; quite hard to get any kind of hard drug. A survey has shown that the NL is quite low on the amount of both soft- and harddrug users, merely because cannabis is borderline legal and easy to get. Of course; I imagine alcohol abuse is just as high in the NL as it is anywhere else.. And that really is a problem. Alcohol is one of the most destructive drugs out there, and free to get for anyone. But.. In moderation, alcohol is not a problem, and some fine products are made with it. (High quality wines, beers and whiskies.) And having a drink every now and then is not a problem for anyone. (Save the ones already addicted, and who've broken the habit.)

So... It's not really an easy debate, is it? After all; much stronger and more destructive drugs exist that are perfectly legal. (Addictive medicine in the NL is extremely rare, but I understand that in the US, they are extremely common, and quite potent, as well.)

So my advice would be: Moderation. Staying high is not good. It's really bad for the brain, for one. But according to a lot of research, a cannabis high every now and then is góód for the brain. Well; at least it's not as bad as staying drunk...

But I'd say: Try to stop. Analyze how you feel. Do you crave to get the feeling of the high back? Then you are addicted. Cannabis is psychologically addictive; not chemically. Or better: Cannabis is not addictive at all. The high it may cause, however, ís.

[deviousxen]

In my neck of the woods, way down south (of the equator), there were plenty of all kinds of drugs, ad growing up alost 99% of my clasmate smoke weed. There were plenty of preassure, yet a few of us -each for her/his own reason- chose not to smoke. If you have to heave it  by edical reasons eat it do not smke it. Ther are more carcinoges in weed smoke than in cigarret smoke. They day will come when it will be decreminalized for not other reason than th taax monies it will bring, and te elimination f the rime associated with it

Give us a source article about the reported carcinogen amounts... Or something that compares weed and cigarettes that isn't a study conducted by the tobacco company or some BS like that, and I might believe it... Especially since there are also reports of ANTI-Carcinogenic effects from it as well.

From Wikipedia:
"
Like most pharmacologically-active secondary metabolites of plants, THC in cannabis is assumed to be involved in self-defense, perhaps against herbivores.[7] THC also possesses high UV-B (280-315 nm) absorption properties, which, it has been speculated, could protect the plant from harmful UV radiation exposure.[8][9][10]"


That is amazing. No matter what you think about the usage via smoke, the plant OBVIOUSLY has a myriad of uses. It has adapted in nature brilliantly. If you REALLY have a problem with the smoking of it, vaporizers are, according to wiki...
"
By comparison, studies on the vaporization of cannabis found that subjects were "only 40% as likely to report respiratory symptoms as users who do not vaporize, even when age, sex, cigarette use, and amount of cannabis consumed are controlled."[62] Another study found vaporizers to be "a safe and effective cannabinoid delivery system."[63][64]"

Once the smoke itself is not there, its OBVIOUSLY less harmful than alcohol. Just sayin' ...

[Muffin]

As far as I can tell, the gateway isn't the weed, the gateway is the dealer.
Something a change in the legality of things "might" alleviate.

this....

...weed is only a gateway drug if you want it to be. Take some personal
responsibility.

Like anything it is the individuals own will power. I'm sick of people pointing fingers in the wrong direction especially with such topics as drugs. If certain drugs can do good things in this world then it's not those drugs but the individual and their ability to self-moderate and control their own actions, just like with alcohol.. it shouldn't be any different.

------------------------------------------------------------------

I've smoked for around five years now and if anything my life has gotten better since then *shrugs* ...oops. Though this year I've switched to a legal synthetic that is available through the internet, mostly before its so hard to find locally especially with losing so many friends with transition.

It's all down to the individual and the way you let yourself feel about it!
You are the writer of your life it's up to you and your 'writing' skills to make weed the hero ...or at the least not the antagonist!! good luck!

[Miniar]

Cannabis studies have shown that cannabis smokers do Not have a higher risk of cancer, in fact, they have a significantly lower risk of cancer than tobacco smokers.
This risk can be entirely removed by use of no-burn methods such as ingestion or the use of vaporizers.

(Also, "One of the principal constituents of cannabis, THC, has been found to reduce tumor growth in common lung cancer by 50 percent and to significantly reduce the ability of the cancer to spread, say researchers at Harvard University, who tested the chemical in both in vitro lab studies and in mouse studies. The researchers suggest that THC might be used in a targeted fashion to treat lung cancer."
"According to a 2007 study at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, cannabidiol (CBD) may stop breast cancer from spreading throughout the body. These researchers believe their discovery may provide a non-toxic alternative to chemotherapy while achieving the same results minus the painful and unpleasant side effects. The research team says that CBD works by blocking the activity of a gene called Id-1, which is believed to be responsible for a process called metastasis, which is the aggressive spread of cancer cells away from the original tumor site."
"A study by Complutense University of Madrid found the chemicals in marijuana promotes the death of brain cancer cells by essentially helping them feed upon themselves in a process called autophagy. The research team discovered that cannabinoids such as THC had anticancer effects in mice with human brain cancer cells and in people with brain tumors. When mice with the human brain cancer cells received the THC, the tumor shrank. Using electron microscopes to analyze brain tissue taken both before and after a 26- to 30-day THC treatment regimen, the researchers found that THC eliminated cancer cells while leaving healthy cells intact. The patients did not have any toxic effects from the treatment; previous studies of THC for the treatment of cancer have also found the therapy to be well tolerated. However, the mechanisms which promote THC's tumor cell–killing action are unknown."
-Wikipedia)

Yes, the smoke from one pure-weed joint contains more carcinogens than the smoke from one cigarette containing the same amount of plant material. But that doesn't tell the whole story.

The potential for negative effects on the mental health of a person appears to be the highest in case of very heavy use and/or a brain in development (a person under 20), but a causal link has not yet been "conclusively" proven.

[gothique11]

It's up to you if you use drugs or not. Ask yourself why you are using them: if you're using them to cope with life, I wouldn't suggest it. I can understand medical reasons, you have to do what you have to do to function... any drug can be a slippery slope. Just wait 'till you get bored of pot, and it doesn't see to help you cope with life like it used to... then try another, and another and another. In the end, you just have to learn that escaping isn't going anywhere. 

No judgments from me, however, 'cause you just need to ask your own self your own questions. Do what you want. *shrugs* I usually don't argue about it 'cause it doesn't go anywhere. LOL It doesn't matter what you're on, if you're gonna do it, you're gonna do it and have your reasons and ppl aren't gonna convince you to not do it. In the end, you ultimately make the decision to use or not.

My own personal experience: I've been on pretty much everything. I'm now clean and sober 4 months.

[Felix]

I have no comment on the "gateway drug" concept. I think it's an unproductively polarizing way to look at it.

The latest research on weed shows that it has interesting effects on memory categorization.

I think any behavior can get out of control, whether external substances are involved or not.

[justmeinoz]

The argument that one uses something daily but is not addicted is so obviously an oxymoron I won't comment on it.   If you were to give up tomorrow and never try it again for 10 years I would accept it.   You are responsible for your own actions, so it's up to you whether you use it or not.  If there are consequences, you will just have to wear them too remember.

I have a friend who suffers from Fibromyalgia, and has found it to be the only pain relief medication that will not have long term toxicity problems affecting the liver and kidneys, unlike the drugs they have been prescribed.
It also gets rid of the "brain fog" that Fibro sufferers have to live with, and enables them to actually hold a normal conversation without immediate memory lapses.

Apart from that, I can't see any point in using a substance to enhance your life, when you can do it yourself.  Personally I am having too much fun living the life I should have  been for the previous 50+ years.

Karen.

[Miniar]

The argument that one uses something daily but is not addicted is so obviously an oxymoron I won't comment on it. 

... well then, I must be addicted to;
my shoes
the toilet
doors
milk
coffee
the computer
my phone
books
my bed
the bus
etc
etc
etc

The point being that it doesn't matter how often or how much you use something, that data alone doesn't determine whether or not you're addicted. Addiction refers to whether or not you "can" stop using it, be it momentarily or permanently, without adverse effects. A person who smokes weed every day isn't necessarily addicted just because they smoke weed every day, but if they "can not" skip a day cause they can't handle it, then they're addicted.
Ofcourse, weed doesn't cause a physical addiction, but a mental one, so an addiction to weed is like an addiction to facebook.

[Asfsd4214]

I think certain drugs should be legal like weed, opium, etc. It should stop at those drugs, though, because no one needs legal access to heroin, coke, meth, etc. It's insane to me that alcohol can be sold virtually anywhere and no one cares but bring up legalizing weed and everyone freaks out. What a stupid, backwards country we live in.

While I agree that it's insane that alcohol and tobacco are legal and weed isn't.

I feel compelled to make an objection to your philosophy that something should be banned because of a lack of a need for it to not be banned. That's a totally backwards way to run a society. Everything banned unless said otherwise, it's the legislative equivalent of guilty until proven innocent.

And from a practical standpoint, the laws against 'hard drugs' don't work. They just create a significant number of new problems. Black market funding source for criminals, increased risks to the users. And for what? It still doesn't work at stopping people using drugs.

The point being that it doesn't matter how often or how much you use something, that data alone doesn't determine whether or not you're addicted. Addiction refers to whether or not you "can" stop using it, be it momentarily or permanently, without adverse effects. A person who smokes weed every day isn't necessarily addicted just because they smoke weed every day, but if they "can not" skip a day cause they can't handle it, then they're addicted.
Ofcourse, weed doesn't cause a physical addiction, but a mental one, so an addiction to weed is like an addiction to facebook.

Good post. And it raises the important difference between addiction and dependence.

The argument that one uses something daily but is not addicted is so obviously an oxymoron I won't comment on it.   

An oxymoron is a statement or term that conflicts with itself. Addiction as a word generally isn't taken to mean "Uses it daily", and as such doesn't qualify as an oxymoron.

A large problem with discussing the subject of addiction is setting down what you define 'addiction' to be. The word is used in a lot of different ways.

I take it to mean the overall phenomenon of addiction, the compulsion to do something (drugs, games, gambling, almost anything) despite negative repercussions for having done so. Generally with a snowballing effect of wanting more and more until there's nothing else in your life.

[MacKenzie]

There is nothing wrong with smoking weed lolz. 

[The Passage]

Wow... sounds like me. But I guess I don't see it as THAT much of a problem... >.>

[Felix]

Druuuugggs, dude.