Weed smoking as a regular habit

[lechatnoir]

Talking to a group of old uni mates today and we got talking about the parties, weed smoking etc and I was really that a lot of them still smoked (weed) regularly and a couple had a joint or 2 pretty much every night & didn't see it as any different to those that crack open a bottle of wine once the kids are in bed!
AIBU to think this group were unsual & most 30/40 somethings with jobs & kids aren't doing drugs or am I out of touch with reality?
LCN

I honestly think perhaps the legality is a bit of a red herring. (I've heard all the arguments several times).

It is also illegal to be drunk in a pub, but maybe because people don't consider it a justifiable law or feel that it is a victimless crime, they see no harm in breaking it. There are some people who don't mind driving at 77mph in a 70 area because they feel it's safe behaviour given their experiences.

Whether it's safe or not is debatable. I know people whose mental health issues have been triggered by divorce or job loss. I also know people who (although they may deny it) have clearly been affected by years of drug use.

Whether it's good for society or not is probably a more important question. Although we don't want people to be sitting around unemployed, staying inside, playing computer games and not participating in society voluntarily (I know, stereotype city, but I do know a lot of people for whom this is their life), if they feel it stops them being depressed and suicidal or getting bored and causing trouble, then why not? Right now, there aren't enough jobs for everyone.

I find most people who smoke regularly to be unambitious and empty shells of the bright, ambitious people we knew in our late teens. But then I also know people who hold down fairly high ranking jobs (often more technical than management) and still smoke. But the former group seem happy with their lot. I would wake up in 20 years time wondering where the hell I had wasted my life, but they don't seem to feel the need to do or aim for anything else.

I think after years of sitting on the fence that I'd be okay with it being legalised and taxed appropriately with some of the proceeds being put into support for people who want to escape that lifestyle. I am very 'there but for the grace of God' when I see some of my best friends from school, knowing they wake up every morning and have rolled a joint before they even get out of bed.

Worra that's very true. I thought I didn't know anyone who smokes, but its probably that no one I know mentions it.

There may be an argument in relation to legalising but isn't it now the view amongst senior policemen/clinicians, etc., that downgrading it was a mistake and that more indicators have been established that point to it having more serious physical and mental side effects than previously thought?

If it is legalised then imo the quid pro quo would have to be that other substances/drugs are upgraded in the context of seriousness and that penalties need to be much much harsher. Dealers imo should get life and life somewhere extremely unpleasant where they earn their keep.

Dealers should not get life or they would be better of taking the money from the buyer and shooting them in the head. As either way they'd get life if caught. As least the shooting in the head leaves one less witness.

and what about dealers of alcohol and tobacco which cause far more damage and deaths?
should they also 'get life'...
oh silly me I forgot, those dealers are the government.
honestly some of these posters are so brainless some weed might do them some good.

Cliche after cliche..
Alcohol and weed are NOT comparable.
That shit will kill you.

Nature invented all sorts of poisons, too, rasputin. Natural does not=good. I am a teacher and the study out today does support my personal observations over the years. THe researcher talking about it on the tv said that the IQ drop was on average 8 points. THis meant, she said, that the person would fall behind 20% of their class. Seems about right to me.
Whether it is more or less dangerous than alcohol is a bit irrelevant. Right or wrong, alcohol is legal, weed is not. On that basis alone, I wouldn't smoke it, and wouldn't expect other intelligent/sensible adults to do so. You can't pick laws you agree with to follow and break the others. Society doesn't work like that.

"You can't pick laws you agree with to follow and break the others. Society doesn't work like that."

Says who?! I don't know where you've been living but in my experience most people do just that. People who conscientiously obey absolutely every law of the land, no matter how obscure or wrong-headed, are in the minority.

I don't smoke weed any more at all, but I did regularly in my twenties. I do think it was one of the factors in a period of intense anxiety I went through. I think I probably am one of those susceptible people who should just stay away from drugs - alcohol included, though I haven't managed that last. However, I know several adults who regularly smoke pot and who are respectable, fully functioning contributors to society. It's really not all that unusual. Lots of people have a horror story but, you know. My dad's an alcoholic but I'm not suggesting we ban alcohol.

I don;t conscisously break any laws. WHich ones do you break?

Laws in this country are pretty easy to follow, I think, and are generally there for a reason.

*consciously

You have never met an angry, violent, paranoid cannabis user ? lucky you - they exist - lots

I hate to break it to the weed haters, but I think the conclusion most people, and governments will take from this study is legalisation.
With a no under 18 policy.
They need the money, we don't need the hassle.

Because an under 18 policy for alcohol and tobacco has been so successful, obviously.

• a no under 18 policy

I know loads of smokers. All of them are very gainfully employed, none are recluses or suffer from any kind of memory loss.

And they would never smoke in public. You would never know.

very socially acceptable in Canada, sadly.

i only care because that shit STINKS and i don't need to smell it on the way to the bus stop at 6.30am....

or on the way home....

or coming out of someones car window...

(oh and in case anyone's weonderng - skunks and Skunk smell exactly the same!)

"I don;t conscisously break any laws. WHich ones do you break? "

Gosh, loads, probably! There are quite a lot of them, and as is said, "ignorance of the law is no excuse". I've probably not slowed down to 40 or 30 quickly enough when entering a town; I know I don't stick to exactly under 70 on a motorway. As DTwelve above says, I've also been drunk in a pub at least once in my youth - that's against the law.

Anyone who's watched Jeremy Kyle KNOWS that weed MAKES YOU PARANOID!!

Recreational drugs can never be taken without dire consequences in the future. I have worked with someone who smoked weed regularly in university, and he was a paranoid, obsessive, compulsive mess. I can't imagine what he would have been like if he carried on smoking it.

DRUGS ARE BAD.

The thing with weed now is the most readily available is skunk and that will affect regular smokers eventually as its so strong.

Alcohol and cannabis are comparable. Both can cause long term damage, both have negative low level affect, both could kill you, both are used as a way to relax. The only difference between them is one is legal and therefore socially acceptable.

Weed does get a bad rap - those that come out with the misconceptions are usually those that just see the illegal aspect. I genuinely prefer it to alcohol and DH and I used to smoke it every evening when we got home from work. Those describing empty shells of people with no ambition would have had no clue DH and I smoked regularly and heavily - we were highly ambitious and to quote the Apprentice "at the top of our game" - haha. My job is insanely switched on - there's no way I could do my job if I was as some of you have described.

I quit six months ago because we were planning to TTC later that year. I missed it for a few days - from the habitual, ritual, and nicotine-addiction perspective but nothing like how hard quitting cigarettes was! DH probably has one a night, and has a very physically demanding job that requires a high level of intellectual input but not only that - is self-employed as well. Amazingly his ambition and motivation levels haven't been ravaged so badly he can't run his business

Of course it makes you a bit tired and lethargic in the morning but nowhere near as bad as the hangovers I've had drinking with colleagues after work! We all know the potential long term damage - but we all also know the long term damage from prolonged and regular alcohol usage! That stuff will kill you. I'd be really interested to see rates on alcohol related deaths and cannabis related deaths - that don't include nicotine levels.

Current thinking is that one joint is equivalent to smoking 20 cigarettes in terms of damage inflicted on the lungs. That is definitely more harmful than drinking alcohol in moderation.

I always used to not quite pro weed but more not anti weed that is until I started living with my husband. He always smoked weed, used to the resin type stuff. About 2 years ago he moved onto proper "green" and that's where our problems started. He became more and more paranoid about everyday life and totally unreasonable in every respect. He was convinced I was having an affair despite the fact I never go out except to work or with the kids. He was smoking at least 3 joints a day. It got to the point where he had to be removed from the house by the police on more than one occasion. After he "moved" out he lost his job due to his drug taking.

Due in part to having no money, trying to get a new job and my resolute stand on the weed smoking front he hasn't had anything for 5 months now and he is a totally different person. A pleasure to be with, no longer anxious/paranoid, more patience with the kids, less confrontational ...I could go on. We are talking about a potential reconciliation.

Maybe it was just his predisposition to the chemicals, personality or something else altogether but all things considered and in response to the OP's question I realise I have not really adressed it but waffled on about something altogether!

If your shocked at how acceptable weed smoking is. You'd be horrified if you knew how rife coke taking is.

Drinking alcohol in moderation is fine, and most people do just that. Some don't and they cause so much damage, not just to themselves, but to their friends, families and, often, strangers. Effects of alcohol costs the NHS more than any other recreational drug. I believe it kills more people per year too.

Smoking a couple of joints may be equivalent to smoking 40 cigarettes, but if it's only done occasionally then that's not much of a problem either. Smoking from dawn to dusk is bad whether it's cigarettes or weed.

Doing dope or drink in moderation, imo, are pretty comparable.

I don't do drugs - including booze. I think that ALL drugs should be legalised. The quality will be regulated, you can educate people much more easily about the safest way to take any of them, from drinking with food to, well I don't know enough about taking crack or whatever to give an example. You can research the effects much more easily.

I have a friend who was a heroin addict in the 70s, disappeared for about 18m while being so, and then dropped it. He is now quite a well known and well respected actor - clean though. Coming off wasn't a problem, he just decided that he'd done enough and stopped. I suspect the majority of people would be like that with most drugs (and I include alcohol in that).

Legalising everything would ensure quality and safety, would get rid of this idea of 'gateway drugs' (which I don't believe generally happens anyway), would set a 'fair' price, would remove most peripheral risks, would be great for the taxman. The low level dealers could become self-employed businessmen (!), higher level dealers would no longer carry guns, and the serious dealers would either be out of business or become legitimate too, and all these people would pay tax.