Smoking weed is......

[LockJawTrouble]

Just trying to make sense of things. Is it me or smoking weed is not normal? I am fed up of this excuse to the point, where I think I need some reconfirmation , to make sure I am not the only one thinking that.

As it is so wonderful, I imagine you weed users would be happy for your children to be addicted or select drug dealer as a career. What’s not to like? It’s not harmful anyway, right?

Mybrilliant
From your link
Even though the main risk to physical health from cannabis is probably from the tobacco that it is often smoked with
and
symptoms of withdrawal produce about the same amount of discomfort as withdrawing from tobacco.

So why is Tobacco legal ???
because the manufacturers lobby MPs and buy them off

usesrname
As it is so wonderful, I imagine you weed users would be happy for your children to be addicted or select drug dealer as a career. What’s not to like? It’s not harmful anyway, right?
Would you be happy for your kids to get a job with BAT of Phillip Morris ?
They kill FAR more people than grass ever has

in my circle of middle aged mainly professional middle class parents.

Not normal at all to me or our group of ^^ friends. None of us smoke so it wouldn't start for the sake of a spliff.

@user haha what a ridiculous come back. Of course those of us who smoke it wouldn’t want our kids being drug addicts or drug dealers. Would you like your kids to be alcoholics and end up with liver failure?
Smoking the odd joint now and again is no more harmful than having the odd drink. Doing either in large quantities can ruin lives. One isn’t better than the other. Alcohol would not be so readily available these days if it had just been released onto the market. Same with cigs

I would imagine that most people who use marijuana would prefer that it was legal and hence no need for dealers.

I see anger and evading questions.

Maxthemartian
I would imagine that most people who use marijuana would prefer that it was legal and hence no need for dealers.
In Colorado the projections are that sales taxes on legal Marijuana will pay for the whole schools budget

Indigo, but you are ok with other people’s children feeding your habit.

Do you username? I don't.. perhaps you're high

username
Would you be happy if your children became Sales Reps for Philip Morris ??
Yes or no ?
Its a legal well paid job after all ......

@user how on earth are other people’s children feeding my habit? I get my weed from a friend who grows his own locally. I actually don’t know of any of my friends who purchase weed that isn’t locally grown by people they know. It doesn’t all come smuggled into the country filled with the blood, sweat and tears from abused slave children you know?
Do you eat chocolate? Are you ok with the farmers being badly exploited for the cocoa beans?? Get a grip!

What I see is a bunch of priviledged people who would not want their own children to risk being in prison but are happy for the children of others to do so.

@user yet another sweeping statement from you. So I guess you’re ok with other children getting paralytic drunk, committing violent crimes and ending up with liver failure then if you enjoy the odd drink?! Get over yourself

username
What about working for BAT ?
Would you be happy for your kids to do that ?

The only form of ID a dealer will ask to see when he sells you weed is a piece of paper with the queen's head on it. He doesn't check you age or care of your mental or medical history. It's far too easy for it to end up in the wrong hands. It needs to be legalized, regulated and dispensed in a responsible system.

No is no running from the fact that it has a medicinal use and we shouldn't be holding it back from those who need it. It just needs to be administered correctly.

dancinghouse
The only form of ID a dealer will ask to see when he sells you weed is a piece of paper with the queen's head on it.
Ditto most supermarkets with alcohol and tobacco

Not normal among my friends - middle-aged professionals.

Level of Confidence in the Evidence for Adverse Effects of Marijuana on Health and Well-Being.

Effect Overall Level of Confidence

Addiction to marijuana and other substances High
Abnormal brain development Medium
Progression to use of other drugs Medium
Schizophrenia Medium
Depression or anxiety Medium
Diminished lifetime achievement High
Motor vehicle accidents High
Symptoms of chronic bronchitis High
Lung cancer Low

authorative article 2014 www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmra1402309

@321 and alcohol doesn’t cause adverse effects on people’s physical and mental wellbeing too?!

Abnormal brain development - Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Progression to use of other drugs - Tobacco and Alcohol
Schizophrenia - correlation is not causation
Depression or anxiety - Alcohol and Tobacco
Diminished lifetime achievement - Winos in the park
Motor vehicle accidents - Drink Driving statistics anybody ?
Symptoms of chronic bronchitis - Tobacco causes LUNG CANCER
Lung cancer - TOBACCO

I used to be snooty about it but have definitely changed my mind.

I don't think it's any more of a crutch than the nearly whole bottle of wine people down every night under the guise of a 'few well-deserved glasses'.

Probably the same people who are so disgusted by anyone smoking a joint.

I know people roll their eyes when alcohol is used as a comparison to weed but I think that's because it may cause them to have a look at their own bad habits - which no one wants to do.

I have never used weed because it is illegal. As with a PP I would like to see recreational drugs legalised and their sale licensed at the same time I would like to see far more strict licensing laws (and them be used). There are a lot of protection rackets tied up with the sale of smuggled and counterfeit alcohol and cigarettes. I wouldn't like to see legalised recreational drugs join this.

I have a relative with a chronic pain illness and it’s the only thing that gives her respite, it’s also calming and she says it’s saved her life. Who are we to begrudge people that?

Weebo - I look down my nose at weed. I rarely drink alcohol so no.

And that is why the conclusion to the NEJM article says "However, the effects of a drug (legal or illegal) on individual health are determined not only by its pharmacologic properties but also by its availability and social acceptability. In this respect, legal drugs (alcohol and tobacco) offer a sobering perspective, accounting for the greatest burden of disease associated with drugs77 not because they are more dangerous than illegal drugs but because their legal status allows for more widespread exposure. As policy shifts toward legalization of marijuana, it is reasonable and probably prudent to hypothesize that its use will increase and that, by extension, so will the number of persons for whom there will be negative health consequences."

OP asked is smoking weed normal? Not is it better or worse than other habits.

Workplace testing for drugs is quite commonplace now eg NHS/police/airlines. DH works in industry and all the companies (names you would recognise) on the site have the same policy which covers random testing for drugs and alcohol.