Coming from a family with addicts and having my own bout of issues, I'd rather my child be a cig smoker than a pot smoker. Pot IS a gateway drug to much worse substances. Not only that, but the drug itself is horribly addictive and can cause tons of issues physically and mentally. (it's not as highly addictive immediately, like heroin, but it can become highly addictive after years of use... this fact is debatable, but ask any drug and alcohol counselor and they will tell you how awful it is to withdraw off of marijuana).
Sure, those of us who have tried it were lucky that we didn't continue to try it, but have you ever met an avid smoker? They act like it's an olympic sport. I have a relative who smokes every day and it's such a shame. He's paranoid about everything in his life, he lacks motivation and desire to change, and the amount of money he wastes is ridiculous. I don't blame his issues solely on pot, but I know it's a major factor in how he lives his life.
Ok, I left for a couple of hours for some meetings and I came back to this, and I completely disagree. It is up to the each individual whether or not they let substance (any substance - cig, pot, crack or alcohol) control their lives. I was an avid smoker while I was in college and in law school. I graduated with honors from both, And I went to an Ivy league school for undergrad. Instead of getting hammered on weekends or weeknights, I smoked pot and I NEVER tried any other substance EVER in my life so it wasn't a gateway drug. When I graduated, got a job and got married, I quit without a problem and no withdrawal - I just had a lot going on and didn't have any much time to relax.
On the other hand, I was also a cig smoker since I was 18-19 (right around starting college) and I had the hardest time quitting and attempted sooo many times. I wanted to quit, actually even promised my then fiance I would quit once we got married but I never could. Every time I tried, I would feel so miserable and irritable. It wasn't until I got pregnant and I literally had no choice but to quit that I was able to quit.
So, if I were to pick either of these habits back up, I would definitely go with pot over cig.
Smoking pot on occasion isn't the same as smoking cigarettes everyday. I think most people who smoke several joints a day will have a tougher time quitting than some who smokes once in a while.
That's the thing about the vast majority of pot smokers- they don't smoke several joints a day, whereas with cigarettes I know very few people that can smoke a few times a week and not develop a worse habit. Science has shown that nicotine is far more physically addictive than THC. But yes in generally, someone who smokes several joints a day will have a hard time quitting probably.
Smoking pot on occasion isn't the same as smoking cigarettes everyday. I think most people who smoke several joints a day will have a tougher time quitting than some who smokes once in a while.
That's the thing about the vast majority of pot smokers- they don't smoke several joints a day, whereas with cigarettes I know very few people that can smoke a few times a week and not develop a worse habit. Science has shown that nicotine is far more physically addictive than THC. But yes in generally, someone who smokes several joints a day will have a hard time quitting probably.
Yep. Just like someone who drinks everyday will have a harder time quitting than someone who drinks socially and moderately on weekends. But it doesn't not mean that all drinkers are raging alcoholics that drink all day just like not all smokers are wake and bakers that are high all day long.
First i think i love @gigglejiggle.
I'm 41 as of next week and I never smoked a cigarette until i got on an antidepressant at 35 that made me crave them. I quit when i was pregnant but started again recently and hate it. But can't quit.
On the weekends after i out LO to bed I sit on my screened in porch and smoke a little pot. I hate beer and wine and pot makes me love to clean and organize and i enjoy the buzz. My parents are almost 70 and i don't think I've ever not seen my dad high. He's been retired since he was younger than me and has more money than he knows what to do with because he makes super smart investment choices. Most of my friends are in their late thirties or early forties, have families, and go to corporate America jobs every day and are functioning members of society that just relax differently than some. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
I'm with monkey on this. I smoked way too much in college, but never when I worked or had class. I had a great gpa at a very good school and got a great job out of school. I smoked casually here and there for a few years after that but it eventually lost its place in my life. I know TONS of professional people who smoke casually and have their shit together. I also know quite a few people who appear to be functional, but smoke before they go to work, when they get home, before bed, etc - people that you never see not high. That's not cool. For them it wasn't a "gateway" drug, but they're definitely addicted. They have kind of turned me off to it, but in generally I don't see a big problem.
I have definitely been WAY more f'ed up at my drunkest than my highest.
@violet1183, it's like you're in my brain! This word for word applies to me and my experiences! All this talk about pot makes me want to smoke a little, but I won't because of breast feeding.
Marijuana was outlawed in the early 1900s through a push by timber lobbyists because the timber industry realized that the more Eco-friendly hemp products could take over a significant cut in the wood market.
The timber lobbyists used racially and ethnically charged arguments by attaching marijuana to Mexicans in order to sway the minds of the American people and government to ban marijuana (around the time when Coke was still made with cocaine).
And so here we are all these years later discussing the legalization of weed and its side effects when its reasons for being outlawed in the first place had nothing to do with public safety--and more to do with greed and xenophobia.
Re: UO
The timber lobbyists used racially and ethnically charged arguments by attaching marijuana to Mexicans in order to sway the minds of the American people and government to ban marijuana (around the time when Coke was still made with cocaine).
And so here we are all these years later discussing the legalization of weed and its side effects when its reasons for being outlawed in the first place had nothing to do with public safety--and more to do with greed and xenophobia.