Is marijuana bad for you?

Totally untrue. We used to think that, but that was before the level of THC in marijuana reached into the 25% range. Now, many treatment centers are seeing extreme lethargy, severe depression, anxiety, and other symptoms among people with marijuana are presenting for detox and treatment. These withdrawal symptoms can last for months, unlike the ones for opiates, where the acute symptoms, though much stronger, generally only last a few days. Please don't misrepresent the facts.

You're playing with fire doing that if you have a history of substance use. But obviously you won't see it that way. Unfortunately many people in your situation have to relapse a few times before they finally "get" that *all* the drugs of abuse activate the same neurotransmitters and cause the same kinds of issues, and often lead back to the same drugs of choice.

Please be careful and really think about this. If you have a decent amount of sober time, you don't want to screw it up.

 

So because you've "grown up around it", that qualifies you to speak to the brain biochemistry, physiology, and psychological factors? No, I don't think so.

Crack cocaine, methamphetamine, and opiates have more severe symptoms, overdoses are more serious, and short-term withdrawal symptoms are generally more severe... but that in no way means that marijuana does not, in the concentrated forms in which it is now being sold, present many of the same risks and problems.

You typically don't see people with alcohol or benzo dependencies do that either, and there's a reason for that.

Yes. Ask the people that have come out of treatment whose primary drug was marijuana, talk to them about the difficulty they had staying off of it, and how their lives have improved since being clean.

Your choice. I say the same thing to the meth, heroin, or benzo dependent person who is happy with his life in its current form.

It isn't a matter of hate. It has its uses. But the epidemic of dependency-prone people in the US is a real problem, and when we misrepresent something that had severe addiction potential as "harmless" and "not as bad as ________________", we're doing an enormous disservice to them.

Aha. Here's the crux of the issue. If you're using marijuana instead of other opportunities to socialize and be with people... that's a serious problem. But clearly you don't see it that way, and aren't interested in changing. So... at the point at which it becomes a problem for you, perhaps you will.

I'm just trying to help people who haven't made the mistakes in the first place to not make them, and to take steps to deal with the underlying issues that lead to substance use and abuse.

Neither is acceptable in my book.

 

Both of these issues are related, and both are really serious problems. A large reason we have the opiate epidemic is the gross overprescription of Oxycontin, and the handing out of large amounts of addictive narcotics. I got some minor dental work, and the doctor gave me 20 Vicodins for "pain". I never used a single one of them... but a lot of people would have taken them and used them recreationally. A major HMO is currently fighting off a class action because they systemically instructed physicians to prescribe pain meds instead of doing expensive joint replacement surgeries, with a result of a huge percentage of those people ending up addicted to opiates. There are indeed huge problems that are caused or contributed to by the healthcare system.

The Ritalin issue is equally problematic, and the research shows it is grossly overprescribed, often not even by a psychiatrist, but by a pediatrician, simply at the request of a school teacher who would rather have a numbed-out kid than a normally active kid who requires more effort. There's trememdous data on the problems with this, and there's also a correlation between improper prescription of Ritalin or Adderal and later crystal meth use (since the drugs are chemically very similar.)

The constant barrage of advertising for prescription drugs is another huge contributor to the problem; people born after 1980 in the US grow up believing that for any issue that comes up, there's a medication they should be taking... and that's the agenda of Big Pharma, not what's best for the population.

However, none of these issues should be used as justifications to minimize the concerns with other drugs, such as marijuana. Already, the early data in Colorado is indicating that we will see an increase in people seeking treatment... and that doesn't bode well for the legalization efforts nationwide. But unfortunately, demand will likely force legalization, and, in turn, that will create an even larger problem than we currently have with needs for addiction treatment. It seems to be a lesson that people aren't interested in learning until it personally bites them in the ass.

 

Yes, and yes. In the work I do.

I notice that you've moved the goalposts from understanding addiction to "how people behave on drugs". Those are completely different things.

Completely untrue. In the 1980s, the decade where cocaine use was at an all-time high, its use was pervasive among many people, particularly those in sales and other high-pressure environments. There are a surprising number of people who are quite functional using coke and meth... until they are not. That's why there are many specialty rehab facilities specifically for highly functioning professionals such as doctors, lawyers and CEOs.

No one is saying you can't. What I'm trying to do is to keep the focus on smart, informed decisions for the young people here at EC. You, on the other hand, are so focused on your own behavior and justifying it that you seem to be missing the bigger picture.

 

Smoking a little pot won't ruin anyone's life. However, given the addictive potential of the drug, and the factors that the OP was describing, the OP is at tremendous risk for addiction, whether to pot or to any other drug. Smoking a little crystal meth likely won't kill anyone either, if it's truly "a little", but... the addiction potential is enormous. I certainly won't disagree that a drug that stimulates dopamine release to 200% of normal (typical potent weed) is not as addictive as one that stimulates it to 1200% of normal (crystal meth). But either can be addictive, and the risk of addiction is related to a whole bunch of non-specific effects related to the individual using the drug. I have no way of knowing if your use meets the DSM criteria for dependence or abuse or whether it's casual use that isn't problematic, nor do I really care. I do care about people making smart decisions, and the smartest one is simply to not put oneself under risk in the first place.

I have no idea where you got that, but it's absolutely untrue. As I said, there are people who manage to "recreationally" use opiates and meth and benzos (at least for a period of time) with no consequences, and people who do the same with pot, alcohol, and other drugs. This doesn't, however, mean that many people can successfully do that with any of these. The OP, by his description of the intent of the use, would be at extreme risk of addiction, which is why I'm so forceful in saying in his case (and in many others) it would be a terrible idea.

What an interesting combination of activities you've put in the same category. There are lots and lots of things one can do that are far healthier and more fulfilling than doing drugs (and marijuana is a drug). The majority of people in the US who don't use marijuana or any other drugs have a wonderful time, and very fulfilling lives that are far from "lame". The fact that you seem to think that smoking marijuana is the only way to find a fulfilling pastime is, in itself, a very telling statement about your personality and behavior. But it seems to be working for you, so I'm not going to be the one to tell you to do something different, because you clearly have no interest in doing so.

Anyone who knows me in person... "square" would be about the farthest word they'd use to describe me.