...to think that weed can and does ruin lives and isn't 'harmless'?

[madonnawhore]

I know there are people who maintain that cannabis is harmless and they smoke it and they're fine blah blah blah.

I used to smoke it, all my friends used to smoke it, but none of us do any more because, you know what? it doesn't half make you a boring, lazy bastard.

Never mind the whole 'it causes psychosis' debate (my brother and a really good friend of mine both had to receive mental health treatment as a result of smoking weed), but there's a thread over on relationships at the moment about some woman's husband who spends all his salary on weed within the first 3 days of payday and who has actually cut his hours so that he can stay home and play more computer games.

AIBU in presuming that if he wasn't such a pot head, he'd be more inclined to get of his arse and go to work?

Sitting on your backside playing COD all day cos you can't be fucked to do anything else is not harmless.

Cannabis isn't harmless at all. I can think of quite a few people from my circle of friends when I was young who had negative mental health experiences as a result of smoking it. We all dabbled of course, most of us grew out of it (I thought it was boring!), some had acute issues and had to stop and a few continued on into 'adulthood' and seemed to suffer from delayed maturity.

I know that the same can be said for alcohol (we all dabble, some experience problems...) but I really think that cannabis use holds people back and prevents them from achieving. And most people start 'dabbling' at an age when personality/identity is being formed and in my experience regular cannabis use interferes...or even stunts...that process.

Having said that, I think that it should be legalised. Legalisation might actually make it harder for young people to buy cannabis. Also, if you want to score you have to mix with horrible people and go to horrible places. It would be much more sensible if people could just pick it up in the off licence. And think of the tax revenue!!!

does anyone have any experience with their children smoking weed?

me and my husband are going through hell at the moment,though,it may not all be down to our son smoking weed....i still detest the stuff
a few years ago,I found a bag of skunk in his school coat pocket,20 L&B,pack of risla and a lighter.....
you could have knocked me down with a feather....I was floored
he was just 13
we never knew he was even smoking fags...how he managed to conceal that I,ll never know.me and my hubby are non smokers (i used to in my teens) and can honestly say i never even smelt it on him or his clothes.
My son is now nearly 16 and in the last few years,he has stolen 270 quid off us,stolen of his sisters,been caught shoplifting once,fighting in town,gone from A grade pupil to E's F's
We have tried everything,encouraging him through school (not pushing him too hard...I,d be happy with grade C's ) tried the opposite...
talking quietly to him,asking him what he wants out of life....
shouting,grounding him,taking xbox off him,good hidings (they never work),ignoring him,other family members having chats with him....tried everything under the stars until I cant take anymore
he talks to us like shit and I feel Im losing more of my son every day.
he has had everything,consoles,bmx bikes,ipods,his own room,we let him stay out same time with his mates,though there are some boundaries,we arent that strict,he has fishing trips with his dad....he has a charmed life to be honest and we have tried to give him what we never had,but still have some ground rules.

he,s stayed at his grandparents for a break,(break for us too!)but though he says he misses us,comes home with the same selfish attitude
its not much to ask for some respect surely?
I know he's going through puberty and we should expect alot of this,but I am so scared he will get in with the wrong crowd again and start something he cannot stop...
Although we have sort of accepted him smoking cigarettes,we will not tolerate cannabis or any other drug for that matter.
we were even told he'd been experimenting with 'bubble',which had me having a bit of a breakdown...losing my hair etc
we dont want to be watching his every mood and become these over bearing,monstrous parents but im not having him walk all over us either.
Last night we did a drug test and it was positive,so he is at present grounded with no xbox or ipod (he still hasnt been given his xbox from his horrendous school report from a month ago)
as soon as we give in and allow him out,he does something else
he's a bright lad,was into sport at school,he has been in local footy teams,school teams,won awards for athletics,done judo,swimming club,etc but now,he just seems to want to be top dog and 'chill out' with his mates all the time...
how long are we gonna have to put up with this??
has anyone else had to deal with this? any tips would be helpful

Thankyou Madonnawhore for creating a thread citing my real life experience as a reason for your anti-pot ranting. It would have been polite to at least ask if you could use my story to back your views up.
Fwiw, the OP has taken a bit of artistic license with my original post - my DH does not spend all of his salary on weed. Just some of it :)
this feels like confiding a problem in a private place only to hear it being loudly discussed in the canteen. I posted in relationships for a reason, and stupidly assumed it would remain there.

I know two people who have needed mental health treatment from (it would seem) smoking weed.

One has schizophrenia and the other intense paranoia.

One has been institutionalised because of it and the other will i would imagine very soon.

The things that links these two people bar the obvious weed smoking is the age they stared. Both early teens.

Drugs have a very different effect on a pre developed brain.

I don't think its harmful when smoked by adults in moderation but i also don't think any one can deny that it has real effects on young people who smoke it on a regular basis.

This is a public internet forum. If you offer details of your personal life up for discussion, they're going to get, you know, discussed.

I was really angry on your behalf when I read your original thread. Shame I wasted my energy since you seem to be as apathetic about your situation as your pot-addict husband.

Good luck with that.