Why do so many people smoke weed these days?

[MontyDonsBlueSuit]

I get the world isn’t a great place for many people but why is it so prevalent now? Is it cheaper than drinking? Or easier to get hold of? I really dislike it and don’t understand why if it’s illegal it isn’t more closely monitored. Am I missing something?

The apologists for smoking cannabis on here, and people making excuses and making out that smoking cannabis is 'absolutely normal' are actually really worrying. It is absolutely NOT normal to smoke it and no, drinking wine is not the same. Cannabis smokers like to make out it is, but it's not. The normalisation of cannabis smoking and the 'OMG I used to LOVE getting stoned' kind of comments are making me cringe. As I said, the normalisation of smoking it is worrying, and baffling.

@redcosmeticbag · Yesterday 19:11

My son ruined his mental and physical health by smoking weed. He became paranoid and suicidal, got into serious debt, lost several jobs and now lives with a dead end job and permanent severe depression.

This is more likely to be the end result of smoking cannabis for many, and people need to stop treating it as a fun hobby, with the silly 'smoke a spliff it will relax you a bit' type comments! It's not cool, it stinks, it's a nasty habit, and it will very likely lead to even worse drugs. And if it doesn't lead to worse drugs it will still lead to bad health issues later on, especially with your respiritory system, as well as your mental health.

As I said, I know people who smoke cannabis, (a few are in their 20s,) and they have the cough of a 95 year old man on his death bed who has smoked 30 ciggies a day since he was 12! They also always look like they need a wash, their hair looks dirty, and their clothes look dirty. They also look 5-10 years older than they are.

.

Because it’s fun? It causes significantly less issue to society than alcohol does. Should be legal, regulated and taxed!

😄😄 why zov?

Edit, it doesnt bother me if someone from an estate wants a bit of waccy baccy in the sun whilst watching love island

Is it worse than middle class people snorting cocaine on a Friday?

Weird. It shouldn’t be doing that. Under 100mg it tends to help promote active clarity. Over 100mg (which is a LOT) some people can feel tired. But a sedative that makes you sound drunk? No.

Unless you have (a) grown it yourself, or (b) source it from the official drug dealer that is the government, you have no idea if what you are taking is "cannabis" or something the identifies as cannabis.

Anything purchased on the street cannot be accurately defined until pharmaceutically analysed.

Eh? The poster was talking about taking CBD from Holland and Barrett so pretty sure she knows what’s in it…..

Also, what’s masquerading as cannabis?!

“As I said, I know people who smoke cannabis, (a few are in their 20s,) and they have the cough of a 95 year old man on his death bed who has smoked 30 ciggies a day since he was 12! They also always look like they need a wash, their hair looks dirty, and their clothes look dirty. They also look 5-10 years older than they are”

Maybe it’s the people you know? I know plenty of people who smoke weed and absolutely none are like this.
You’ve given me a good laugh though so thanks for that.

I wish they'd stop treating people like kids and legalise it.

Not one person has ever died of weed yet just under 10,000 people died from alcohol in 2025.
And that shit is legal.

Some of the comments from people on this thread 😂 Some of them REALLY need a spliff!

Easy I like it I don't like drinking so I smoke instead 😊❤️

Perfect description of my arsehole neighbour. Doesn't work and claims benefits because his anxiety is supposedly so bad he can't leave his house and yet leaves his house just about every day. Hangs out his bedroom window smoking weed (which he would fall out). Every time you go in the garden he is there smoking so god knows how much he smokes a day. Still drives though!

Some people manage to lead full and happy lives without smoking weed or drinking alcohol.

I don’t give a shit if druggies smoke themselves to death. I do care about the trafficked kids and adults forced to work in grow houses and partake in county lines dealing. I do care that NHS funds are diverted from genuinely sick people to treat those who have fucked over their own MH by taking drugs. I do care that I can’t even go out my own front door without having to smell the stench of weed from my scratter neighbour hanging out her window like Fag Ash Lil.

Why can’t you get through your day without your drug? Genuine question.

I guess they just don't realise how bad they smell. Or maybe they just don't care?

I find it disgusting and antisocial. The smell makes me feel so sick.

Personally, I would be in favour of legalising it but restricting its use to specific venues so that the rest of us don't have to deal with the smell. This would also enable them to tax it heavily in order to pay for treating all of the mental health problems that it causes.

It's far more destructive to health than people think.

Exactly what I thought! You need to get better friends!

the people I know who smoke it are perfectly clean functional adults who work and achieve in life!

It’s not that people can’t get through the day as cannabis isn’t addictive - it’s just a pleasurable addition to the day. Like you could get through a hot beach day without an ice cream but an ice cream is a nice addition to the enjoyment.

legalising cannabis would solve all the problems you listed so I agree 100% they should do this.

Ohhhhh are you the new secret drug Czar? Because the previous official drugs bodies all disagree with this viewpoint. I’d love to see your evidence. Evidence that’s not anecdotal

I thought it was very addictive and commonly leads to harder drugs. Why do you say it isn't @Juliadiesalone ?

It is cheap, accessible and relatively harmless. The government should get on with legalising it and taxing it.

There will always be idiots who spend their day monged out of their heads on cannabis. The legality does not make a difference. And all the anecdotal evidence about people who do have problems is living at home, smoking it at home, and people thinking there is no problem with that. If someone sat and drank all day you would call that a problem. Cannabis can do the same.

Cannabis isn't addictive. It can create dependency but that's not the same thing. There is also no evidence that cannabis use leads to use of other drugs. Some people are poly substance users on a regular basis and use cannabis alongside other drugs but that's correlation not causation. Most long term cannabis users do not use other drugs with significant regularity.

I get gummies from California. I like weed over alcohol as when I was younger I was a nightmare when drinking - often leads to poor decision making, putting self in danger, arguing etc, plus the hangovers. It’s nice on a Friday night to share a gummy with my partner and put on a comedy film.

I remember when it was briefly downgraded in the 2000s. That ended after some high profile journalists had sons who had developed psychosis after sitting in their room rotting away smoking weed. It does happen.

We forgot it was legal in Canada when we went. The smell was insane and it took a full 7 days to stop being "offended" by it.

Now I don't really notice the smell.

Beforehand any whiff of it and I'd immediately feel tense, annxious and angry! To me the smell equalled criminal and antisocial behaviour. Since I was chased by a woman with a knife who had been smoking it. I was only about 16 at the time (early 2000s) it was a psychosis of some sort.

I am pretty relaxed about the smell now. I suppose my trip to Canada was exposure therapy of some type.

It "commonly leads to harder drugs" in the same way that drinking beer leads to alcoholism. Most alcoholics don't start out with double vodka before breakfast, but they've probably all had a beer or two. Is beer addictive? Does everyone that drinks beer go on to become an alcoholic?

I smoke cannabis every day - and have done for decades, but I have absolutely no desire to try any "harder" drugs (not even if they were legal).

Alcohol is a harder and more dangerous drug. Cannabis is pretty innocuous.

Because people have no idea what addiction really is.

Just missing something when you can't have it - and displaying psychological signs of irritation is not the physical addiction that all (and any) opioids cause.

However, if folk are happy to go with a social definition of addiction, then be aware that screens are far more "addictive" to young minds than the odd spliff.

And despite the apparent attitude here nothing in the past 55 years has caused even the slightest dent in domestic UK cannabis production and consumption. In fact all it's done is drive far more efficient and profitable ways of growing it.

Making the UK the worlds largest producer of legal cannabis.

They didn't tell you that when you were having an opinion.