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newmanator · 04-24-2004, 06:01 PM

Something that is often brought up is that pot (or anything, really)is relatively safe when used in moderation, with which I almost completely agree. The problem for many is keeping moderation from turning into compulsion. It was a problem for me, and it is (or has been) a problem for people I've known and known of.

When I was 22, I started smoking infrequently as a way of cutting loose and sort of wiping the dust off the chalkboard, so to speak. At first I thought I'd do it maybe once every couple months, which eventually lead to my creating rules like only once a month, which progressed to then once a week, then not before 4:20 in the afternoon, then not tomorrow, but the next day is okay. Since I hadn't experienced high degrees of fun in a while, smoking was a blast. It was an instant party, no matter what I was doing, and I loved it.

Even though I had a strong will, I eventually became addicted, and going out with friends to hang out and smoke became primarily a means of avoiding the guilt that went with smoking alone. Hanging out together while everyone was sober became almost no fun at all, as well as uncomfortable and strange to some degree.

After graduating from college, I smoked daily for a few months, and continued smoking even after starting paralegal school despite desperately wanting to quit. I learned only a fraction of what I would've learned had I abstained, and for that (and many other reasons, mostly health-related), I'm disappointed in myself and wish I hadn't begun smoking in the first place.

Smoking can certainly improve quality of life, and for those who smoke with little to no ill effect for long periods of time, congratulations. I'm happy that it works for you, and I hope you don't end up with health problems down the road. Like almost all of my friends to varying degrees, I suffer from anxiety, and none of us had anxiety and/or panic attacks until after we'd smoked regularly a for a long time. I might sound arrogant, but I don't believe that pot is safe for the majority of people who will use it. Of course, before things got bad, I thought it was groovy, man, and anyone else who had bad experiences with pot were just 1) dumber than me; and 2) had less will power.

04-24-2004, 06:01 PM	#59 (permalink)
newmanator Loser	Something that is often brought up is that pot (or anything, really)is relatively safe when used in moderation, with which I almost completely agree. The problem for many is keeping moderation from turning into compulsion. It was a problem for me, and it is (or has been) a problem for people I've known and known of. When I was 22, I started smoking infrequently as a way of cutting loose and sort of wiping the dust off the chalkboard, so to speak. At first I thought I'd do it maybe once every couple months, which eventually lead to my creating rules like only once a month, which progressed to then once a week, then not before 4:20 in the afternoon, then not tomorrow, but the next day is okay. Since I hadn't experienced high degrees of fun in a while, smoking was a blast. It was an instant party, no matter what I was doing, and I loved it. Even though I had a strong will, I eventually became addicted, and going out with friends to hang out and smoke became primarily a means of avoiding the guilt that went with smoking alone. Hanging out together while everyone was sober became almost no fun at all, as well as uncomfortable and strange to some degree. After graduating from college, I smoked daily for a few months, and continued smoking even after starting paralegal school despite desperately wanting to quit. I learned only a fraction of what I would've learned had I abstained, and for that (and many other reasons, mostly health-related), I'm disappointed in myself and wish I hadn't begun smoking in the first place. Smoking can certainly improve quality of life, and for those who smoke with little to no ill effect for long periods of time, congratulations. I'm happy that it works for you, and I hope you don't end up with health problems down the road. Like almost all of my friends to varying degrees, I suffer from anxiety, and none of us had anxiety and/or panic attacks until after we'd smoked regularly a for a long time. I might sound arrogant, but I don't believe that pot is safe for the majority of people who will use it. Of course, before things got bad, I thought it was groovy, man, and anyone else who had bad experiences with pot were just 1) dumber than me; and 2) had less will power.