Should I be concerned about my friends who regularly use marijuana?

[Old Hippie]

But then I read other sites that seem pretty legit, such as .gov sites,

:roll:

 

[ch33zw1z]

With all the sh!t going on in our country, your friends smoking MJ shouldn't worry you. Anyways, here's laws by state from another "reputable" site.

http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=4516

 

[angminas]

Recent pot research

 

[Babbles]

Originally posted by: archcommus
So I have a few friends that since college have begun using marijuana sort of frequently. Definitely not daily, but definitely every weekend, often in conjunction with drinking. Some of them have been doing this for two to three years and don't plan to stop any time soon. To me, they all seem fine, normal, and not addicted. I did some research and the harms seem to be almost non-existent. But then I read other sites that seem pretty legit, such as .gov sites, and they consistently talk about the memory, social, depression, cognitive, and other mental/health effects that they seem to say WILL ensure from using marijuana.

So what websites are lying here, and why are they? Do I have any need to be concerned for these friends or to try to influence them to stop in the slightest?

I used to work as an analyst at a forensic toxicology lab (i.e. an illicit drug testing lab) and currently work as a principal investigator/study director for a pharmaceutical contract research lab - so take all of that for what you will. Also to be upfront I do not have a MD or a PhD so take that into consideration as well.

From material I have read in the past there seems to be documented studies demonstrating that marijuana, chiefly THC but also the other chemicals found in marijuana (people do tend to think that the only thing they are 'smoking' from a joint is THC, which is like saying the only thing you inhale from a cigarette is nicotine), can indeed be a neurotoxin. I know there are some studies online over at PubMed - but that is a NIH site funded in part by the government so I am sure many people are going to readily dismiss that.

Now that being said of course everything depends on the dose, and I do not recall off the top of my head if there was some specific concentration over time that was found to affect memory, but I would imagine it would require more than the occasional joint here and there.

Also as a personal opinion there may not be much (or any) evidence to support a physical addiction (such as found with heroin) but to me there does seem to be a sort of emotional and/or psychological addiction. In other words people enjoy getting high, so they get high more often and so forth until it could potentially come to a point in affecting their life because they spend more time baked than they do sober.

Personally I think if your friends enjoy to smoke up on occasion during the weekend then that may be your choice (I think it's a dumb choice, though). However if they spend more and more time smoking up, again it may not be physically damaging them (at least not yet) but most definitely can't be a 'good' thing for them either.

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: TheGizmo
hey hey hey, smoke weed, everyday, well thats what i say anyway

edit: you should not be concerned. stop worrying/getting in their business. if you're too square to partake, thats cool. but don't hurt people for no reason opiates and coke/crack are a whole nother story tho. that stuff is bad tsk tsk

Are you one of those guys who smokes two joints before he smokes two joints then smokes two more?
While pot is not as harmful it really doesn't do anything for you. Being clear headed is far from being square.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn
Are you one of those guys who smokes two joints before he smokes two joints then smokes two more?

Better roll them all first. After the first two, I'd be having a hard time staving off the munchies long enough to roll the next two. And after those two, I'd probably be asleep.

- M4H

 

[Gulzakar]

Government sites are biased because of the paper industry...they don't care about the "side" effects.

Hemp paper is stronger, longer lasting, cheaper to make, and requires less resources than wood-paper.

Think of it like this...Tobacco is supported...Tobacco is FAR worse than Marijuana...Tobacco kills more people than Marijuana...so why is it legal?

 

[clamum]

Originally posted by: archcommus
Do I have any need to be concerned for these friends or to try to influence them to stop in the slightest?

Heck no. I could see if they were hooked on crack and stealing sh!t for drug money, but for pot? Naw.

 

[nakedfrog]

Odds are they'll be just fine.

 

[Rob9874]

Originally posted by: archcommus
So I have a few friends that since college have begun using marijuana sort of frequently. Definitely not daily, but definitely every weekend, often in conjunction with drinking. Some of them have been doing this for two to three years and don't plan to stop any time soon. To me, they all seem fine, normal, and not addicted. I did some research and the harms seem to be almost non-existent. But then I read other sites that seem pretty legit, such as .gov sites, and they consistently talk about the memory, social, depression, cognitive, and other mental/health effects that they seem to say WILL ensure from using marijuana.

So what websites are lying here, and why are they? Do I have any need to be concerned for these friends or to try to influence them to stop in the slightest?

I wouldn't be too concerned about their health, but I've seen friends and family members really go downhill because of pot. Of course, I would need to do an extensive study to say definitively whether it's the pot, or they were just losers anyway, and pot is just a side hobby. But I don't believe that pot isn't addictive. They may not be able to medically prove a physical addiction, but my brother and sister smoke pot, and it's ALL they talk about. Their MySpace page is covered with graphics about pot; their bios talk about smoking pot; their friends comment about pot; they smoke nearly every day, if not every day. My brother has already flunked out of college. My sister's still in college (few community college courses, not a full-time university student), but I never see her. She always has a serious boyfriend (who always is a pothead), and spends ALL her time with these friends of hers with tattoos, piercings, that just drink and smoke pot all the time.

I don't worry about their health, but I worry that this love for marijuana is ruining their lives. And I don't see an end to it. They've both told me they love it, they see nothing wrong with it, and they'll do it their whole lives. I tell them they sound like the lost addicts on Intervention (A&E), and they just reply with, "Oh Rob, those people are addicted to heroin and meth. Pot isn't like that!" It's sad.

 

[thirtythree]

Originally posted by: Crono
Bottom line is that you don't need to smoke weed, and shouldn't. Drinking (to get drunk or heavily buzzed) is even stupider. Who are people trying to fool when they say it's fun or try and drink away their problems? You just end up getting worse off than you were before, trying to impress people who are acting equally stupid.

Drinking can be fun... and things never end up worse for me afterwards

Of course, I don't drink a lot.

 

[Kirby]

Hell, if I had the money to smoke weed every weekend I would.

 

[Descartes]

I know a few people that smoke regularly, and these people are in high-level executive positions. They're outstanding, dedicated and intelligent people, and the smoking never seems to interfere with their work. This might not be the case for everyone though.

I'd leave it alone. Trying to get people to change by presenting evidence of health concerns never seems to work in my experience. I've been trying for years to get certain families to quit smoking, and my words fall on deaf ears.

 

[alien42]

i have had plenty of friends who smoked pot every day for years (more like 5 years and up) and there is nothing wrong with them. they hold good jobs, live normal lives and are still more intelligent than your avg person.

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: Rob9874
I wouldn't be too concerned about their health, but I've seen friends and family members really go downhill because of pot. Of course, I would need to do an extensive study to say definitively whether it's the pot, or they were just losers anyway, and pot is just a side hobby. But I don't believe that pot isn't addictive. They may not be able to medically prove a physical addiction, but my brother and sister smoke pot, and it's ALL they talk about. Their MySpace page is covered with graphics about pot; their bios talk about smoking pot; their friends comment about pot; they smoke nearly every day, if not every day. My brother has already flunked out of college. My sister's still in college (few community college courses, not a full-time university student), but I never see her. She always has a serious boyfriend (who always is a pothead), and spends ALL her time with these friends of hers with tattoos, piercings, that just drink and smoke pot all the time.

I don't worry about their health, but I worry that this love for marijuana is ruining their lives. And I don't see an end to it. They've both told me they love it, they see nothing wrong with it, and they'll do it their whole lives. I tell them they sound like the lost addicts on Intervention (A&E), and they just reply with, "Oh Rob, those people are addicted to heroin and meth. Pot isn't like that!" It's sad.

It's not the pot, they're just losers. If it wasn't pot it would probably just be booze or meth or gambling or something else, most likely.

 

[Rob9874]

Originally posted by: alien42
i have had plenty of friends who smoked pot every day for years (more like 5 years and up) and there is nothing wrong with them. they hold good jobs, live normal lives and are still more intelligent than your avg person.

I don't mean to be an a-hole, but what kind of jobs do they have? Salaried professional jobs (engineer, etc), or hourly positions? And does their intelligence extend beyond quoting liberal propaganda, legaleze about legalizing marijuana, and quoting Nietzsche Hunter Thompson, Kerouac, and Timothy Leary? In my experience, that sums up the pot smokers I know.

 

[Rob9874]

Originally posted by: nakedfrog

Originally posted by: Rob9874
I wouldn't be too concerned about their health, but I've seen friends and family members really go downhill because of pot. Of course, I would need to do an extensive study to say definitively whether it's the pot, or they were just losers anyway, and pot is just a side hobby. But I don't believe that pot isn't addictive. They may not be able to medically prove a physical addiction, but my brother and sister smoke pot, and it's ALL they talk about. Their MySpace page is covered with graphics about pot; their bios talk about smoking pot; their friends comment about pot; they smoke nearly every day, if not every day. My brother has already flunked out of college. My sister's still in college (few community college courses, not a full-time university student), but I never see her. She always has a serious boyfriend (who always is a pothead), and spends ALL her time with these friends of hers with tattoos, piercings, that just drink and smoke pot all the time.

I don't worry about their health, but I worry that this love for marijuana is ruining their lives. And I don't see an end to it. They've both told me they love it, they see nothing wrong with it, and they'll do it their whole lives. I tell them they sound like the lost addicts on Intervention (A&E), and they just reply with, "Oh Rob, those people are addicted to heroin and meth. Pot isn't like that!" It's sad.

It's not the pot, they're just losers. If it wasn't pot it would probably just be booze or meth or gambling or something else, most likely.

Oh, booze and gambling are already included. I'm just not a fan of any of it.

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: Rob9874

Originally posted by: alien42
i have had plenty of friends who smoked pot every day for years (more like 5 years and up) and there is nothing wrong with them. they hold good jobs, live normal lives and are still more intelligent than your avg person.

I don't mean to be an a-hole, but what kind of jobs do they have? Salaried professional jobs (engineer, etc), or hourly positions? And does their intelligence extend beyond quoting liberal propaganda, legaleze about legalizing marijuana, and quoting Nietzsche Hunter Thompson, Kerouac, and Timothy Leary? In my experience, that sums up the pot smokers I know.

i know recreational drug users that are business execs, programmers, engineers, lawyers, physicists, a few that work on wall street.....

so yea people smoke and do just fine, in reality its no different then drinking other then the Govt made it illegal

 

[NoShangriLa]

Google search for 'schizophrenia marijuana'.

IMHO, they have to sort it out them self just like alcohol addiction.

 

[Rob9874]

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: Rob9874

Originally posted by: alien42
i have had plenty of friends who smoked pot every day for years (more like 5 years and up) and there is nothing wrong with them. they hold good jobs, live normal lives and are still more intelligent than your avg person.

I don't mean to be an a-hole, but what kind of jobs do they have? Salaried professional jobs (engineer, etc), or hourly positions? And does their intelligence extend beyond quoting liberal propaganda, legaleze about legalizing marijuana, and quoting Nietzsche Hunter Thompson, Kerouac, and Timothy Leary? In my experience, that sums up the pot smokers I know.

i know recreational drug users that are business execs, programmers, engineers, lawyers, physicists, a few that work on wall street.....

so yea people smoke and do just fine, in reality its no different then drinking other then the Govt made it illegal

The way I see it is, in reality it's an illegal drug that society associates (right or wrong) with losers. I think whether you smoke or not says alot about your character. But then, I'm very judgemental.

 

[40Hands]

Originally posted by: Rob9874

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: Rob9874

Originally posted by: alien42
i have had plenty of friends who smoked pot every day for years (more like 5 years and up) and there is nothing wrong with them. they hold good jobs, live normal lives and are still more intelligent than your avg person.

I don't mean to be an a-hole, but what kind of jobs do they have? Salaried professional jobs (engineer, etc), or hourly positions? And does their intelligence extend beyond quoting liberal propaganda, legaleze about legalizing marijuana, and quoting Nietzsche Hunter Thompson, Kerouac, and Timothy Leary? In my experience, that sums up the pot smokers I know.

i know recreational drug users that are business execs, programmers, engineers, lawyers, physicists, a few that work on wall street.....

so yea people smoke and do just fine, in reality its no different then drinking other then the Govt made it illegal

The way I see it is, in reality it's an illegal drug that society associates (right or wrong) with losers. I think whether you smoke or not says alot about your character. But then, I'm very judgemental.

Who cares what society associates something with. Society as a whole is pretty stupid IMO.

What exactly does it say about your character? I don't think it has anything to do with your character. Don't play into stereotypes.

 

[Whisper]

As far as I know and have read, there are very few--if any at all--negative consequences to "recreational" marijuana use. The only long-term side-effects I've read about pertain to memory and executive functioning disturbances, and those results a) are inconsistent, at best, across studies, and b) generally follow years of heavy (multiple times per day) use.

I myself have never smoked it, but some of the most intelligent and high-functioning individuals I know do.

 

[Flyback]

Originally posted by: Rob9874

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: Rob9874

Originally posted by: alien42
i have had plenty of friends who smoked pot every day for years (more like 5 years and up) and there is nothing wrong with them. they hold good jobs, live normal lives and are still more intelligent than your avg person.

I don't mean to be an a-hole, but what kind of jobs do they have? Salaried professional jobs (engineer, etc), or hourly positions? And does their intelligence extend beyond quoting liberal propaganda, legaleze about legalizing marijuana, and quoting Nietzsche Hunter Thompson, Kerouac, and Timothy Leary? In my experience, that sums up the pot smokers I know.

i know recreational drug users that are business execs, programmers, engineers, lawyers, physicists, a few that work on wall street.....

so yea people smoke and do just fine, in reality its no different then drinking other then the Govt made it illegal

The way I see it is, in reality it's an illegal drug that society associates (right or wrong) with losers. I think whether you smoke or not says alot about your character. But then, I'm very judgemental.

Society also associates a 4 bdrm house, paltry income, minivan and two kids with success. What's your point?

Some of the most accomplished people around have or do smoke weed, or use other drugs. (Where accomplishment in this case means financially or in academic pursuits and contributions to mankind.) I wouldn't so readily buy into the anti-drug propaganda that only "losers" do drugs.

 

[j00fek]

omg they use marijuana??? :shocked:

 

[Rob9874]

Originally posted by: 40Hands

Originally posted by: Rob9874

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: Rob9874

Originally posted by: alien42
i have had plenty of friends who smoked pot every day for years (more like 5 years and up) and there is nothing wrong with them. they hold good jobs, live normal lives and are still more intelligent than your avg person.

I don't mean to be an a-hole, but what kind of jobs do they have? Salaried professional jobs (engineer, etc), or hourly positions? And does their intelligence extend beyond quoting liberal propaganda, legaleze about legalizing marijuana, and quoting Nietzsche Hunter Thompson, Kerouac, and Timothy Leary? In my experience, that sums up the pot smokers I know.

i know recreational drug users that are business execs, programmers, engineers, lawyers, physicists, a few that work on wall street.....

so yea people smoke and do just fine, in reality its no different then drinking other then the Govt made it illegal

The way I see it is, in reality it's an illegal drug that society associates (right or wrong) with losers. I think whether you smoke or not says alot about your character. But then, I'm very judgemental.

Who cares what society associates something with. Society as a whole is pretty stupid IMO.

What exactly does it say about your character? I don't think it has anything to do with your character. Don't play into stereotypes.

To me (and I won't apologize for my opinion), it just doesn't tell me that you have a very high moral character. More than likely (and I don't want to take the time to find out if you're the exception), it says that you don't have your life together. It says that your interests are in getting a manufactured high, which is usually exhibited in people of low-economic, low-education, or low-social status (which includes alcohol, cigarettes, gambling, or any other methods of acheiving a high). I'm sure it's possible for some to do drugs, or be an alcoholic, and maintain a "normal" life, but I'm speaking generally (you might call it stereotypes).

Like it or not, you will be judged by societal steroetypes your whole life. If I see a huge guy wearing a biker jacket, with a shaved head, tattoos, and a long goatee walking towards me on the sidewalk, I'm not going to look him in the eye, in fear of making him angry. Now, I know it's possible he's a sweet teddy bear, but most poeple who look like that are pretty mean and tough, so I have to assume he is too. If he is really nice, I would have to ask him why he wants to look mean, and have people judge him like that. Sure, his answer could be, "Because stereotypes suck, and I'm showing that you can look like this and be nice." But I think that is cutting off your nose to spite your face. The reality is, people are going to think of you differently. Now you're thinking, "Well, those are the a-holes I don't want to associate with anyway!" And that's probably the case, which is why most biker guys hang out with other biker guys, and why pot smokers hang out with other pot smokers. You want to justify your actions, and associate with those who accept you, despite your actions. Some day you'll want a job, or will meet your girlfriends parents, or will need something from an average member of the evil insitution you call "society", and you'll regret whatever it is you did to rebel against society. My finacee's brother is covered in tattoos. He said, "I don't give a fvck what people think about me." Until he needed a job. Now he's got a baby on the way, and makes $10/hr, because no one will hire him. Real smart. If society is so stupid, why not tell everyone you meet that you smoke pot? Because you don't want them to think less of you.

I don't know if any of this makes sense. I just started typing without thought. Sorry.