I’m Torn: Drugs

Erich says:
Mon, 21st Sep 20098:40 am 

You say "You could get addicted and keep spiraling down and do things you normally wouldn’t do, like stealing and cheating just to get high again".

I have been smokin weed for better than half my life and I have yet to meet any stoner, pothead, smoker whatever that got so addicted they had to steal something or cheat to get a hit.

Smoking is a lot more acceptable in society today, so my suggestion would be to do what you want to. If you want to smoke it, get some of your friends to get that sticky icky and a new tool to use. Don't smoke a blunt first, I promise you will puke. If you dont want to then don't. But the least of your worries should be what others think.

oobunillaoo says:
Mon, 21st Sep 20098:47 am 

everyone's endocannabanoid system is unique; people are going to different things from the experience every time they spark it.

i worked in medical cannabis dispensaries for over a year in southern california (west los angeles to be exact.) having had that opportunity to meet and know many people living with illness, pain, and periods of wasting away, i now feel very strongly that marijuana should be decriminalized.

we're wasting manpower and money sending evey-day people to jail for possession while abductors, murderers, and rapists roam the streets. we could be taxing the sale of cannabis to the benefit of funding public schools and medicare, yet this has not yet been given an opportunity (save for Los Angeles county.) too many people are killed every day/year by alcohol abuse and yet it is not made illegal. booze is, instead, taxed heavily. why we legalize / tax alcohol, and not marijuana, confuses me.

marijuana actually has medical benefits for many people, whether prescribed or not. to the best of my knowledge, alcohol doesn't have many, if any health benefits.

kirsten says:
Mon, 21st Sep 20099:08 am 

Weed is NOT adictive… by that I mean your body can not go through dangerous withdrawls like you can with alcohol… in fact weed seems 100x safter than alcohol. The only reason it is illegal is because they decided to blame weed on the crime rate… the government said that people lost control over what they were doing and would go out and murder someone… now I don't know about you all but when Im high murdering someone is the LAST thing on my mind.

Casey says:
Mon, 21st Sep 20099:57 am 

My boyfriend and I smoke weed every night. It's a way for us to relax after stressful days (we're both full time students with full time jobs) but like you I was skeptical about trying it. I always told myself, and others, that I didn't care if other people smoked weed, but I wanted to be able to tell my children, "I didn't do it, so you can't do it". Then I realized I really didn't want children and I'm already beginning to live my life for them even though they aren't even (and wont be) born yet. So my first semester in college my little bro got me to smoke for the first time, (he's been smoking since he was twelve, NOT a good idea) but I'm glad I started smoking, for one, I never would have met my boyfriend if I hadn't, and for another it's so much fun! Every one's high's are different though, and you experience different high's almost every time you smoke. It's not addictive either, and it doesn't have side effects (except it used to give me hangovers). My older sister just started smoking a couple months ago, she has epilepsy and she says she doesn’t have seizures when she smokes (and she has them almost every night).

You can try it once and decide if you like it or not without having to worry about whether it's going to kill you, or whether you'll get addicted to it or not. My biggest problem with smoking is the munchies lol, but I work out regularly and try to eat healthier munchie foods, so they aren’t to bad.

Rose says:
Mon, 21st Sep 200910:26 am 

I'd say to try it. It's college and, you're right, college is a time to experiment. I think that everyone reacts differently to it and it's always a unique experience. If you don't like the way it makes you feel, don't do it again. If you like it, why not keep doing it? My only words of caution are not to do it so much that it interferes with school work. I go to Cornell and I'd say most people I know (the social people) smoke pot. Alot of it. When I started smoking last year, I was stupid about it and would be too tired the next day to catch up on work so my GPA dropped. But this year, my tolerance is built up and I can do it all weekend and not have issues (as long as I have my caffeine in the morning lol). So give it a try. Just be smart about it and make sure you have a day to recover after your first time. Good luck!

andy says:
Mon, 21st Sep 200912:57 pm 

Go for it!

Weed is great. At first when you smoke it you'll get really silly and everything seems hilarious. If you start using it more frequently then the silliness kinda goes a way and it just becomes a way to chill out and relax.

Weed can become addictive if its used regularly and frequently, but not in a crazy Im-going-to-kill-people-and-steal-their-money-to-get-more-weed kinda way. More in an Im-irritable-because-I-haven't-smoked-in-a-couple-days way.

If you don't smoke it regularly you wont have any negative health effects.

Try it out. See how you like it. One time definitely cant hurt.

Kelly - Simmons Coll says:
Mon, 21st Sep 20091:16 pm 

Marijuana's not addicted and doesn't have long term health effects, unless you're a chronic smoker. It's healthier than any prescription you might take, even birth control. Give it a shot.

shockawed says:
Mon, 21st Sep 20092:45 pm 

i was/am exactly like you. except i had this 'crisis' of consciousness many years ago, although on occasion it does reappear. Listen, if your going to do it, do it with people you trust, but I'm pretty sure at this stage that if I'm going to do it, it'll be with my best friend, other than that, I don't want to – I'm a happy person, I don't need it. I'm a creative person without it already, I don't need it. I don't know what it does to my body, I don't want it. In high school it was something you did to prove how you could be the bad-boy/girl of your school, and how you weren't that prissy little boy/girl they all thought you were. But who the fuck cares? In college, I don't have that pressure that I had in high school – although I am in art college, yeah, I know, I should have done all sorts of shit by now -It's not like in high school where you had to cement yourself, you personality in one clique. You do what you want, personally, if you do it – don't spread it around. It will reek of wannabe.

I feel like in the age we grow up in, so many jokes are about weed – but honestly? I get those jokes without doing weed, so I don't even need to go there.

grace b says:
Mon, 21st Sep 20093:10 pm 

Go with your gut.

I really don't think weed is that great. And so I don't waste my time smoking it. So you should decide how to spend your time and enjoy yourself.

Oli says:
Mon, 21st Sep 20094:59 pm 

everyone always says weed is not addictive.

but- uh. . . . feeling good is kind of addictive!

and this good feeling can make weed addictive to some users.

In 1995, 165,000 people going into drug treatment programs used marijuana as their primary drug.those who smoke a lot of weed sometimes develop a tolerance- so they needed more and more to get high.

Some heavy users go through withdrawal if they stop smoking!

Marijuana sends more teens/ young adults into treatment than any other drug. The only way to prevent potential addiction to weed is to stay away from it.

drugs are bad.

I would rather spend my $$$ on shoes, or other cool stuff I don't really need.

Alice says:
Mon, 21st Sep 20095:32 pm 

I think everyone pretty much has said what there's needed to be said about weed and addiction.

I've tried it around 3 times with my friends. It was a cool experience, but not one I cared to repeat really. For me, the deciding factors were the cost (though it's pretty cheap here) and its legality. I didn't want to be caught smoking or with it and evicted. Even if it was legal I wouldn't bother to try it again because the smoke does a killer number to my lungs.

That said, if you're that curious, try it already. The bad things you listed are exaggerated.

Maddie says:
Mon, 21st Sep 20096:37 pm 

"In 1995, 165,000 people going into drug treatment programs used marijuana as their primary drug."

It's statements like these that give marijuana a bad rep.

The 165,000 people who were going into drug treatment programs weren't probably going in they for the marijuana it was probably for a hard drug of some sort. Think about the MILLIONS of people that smoke marijuana and don't have issues.

Same with the statement about marijuana being a gateway drug because the people who are on hard drugs started with marijuana.. what about ALL the people started and stayed with only maijuana.

If you want true facts look up NORML (yes without the a) It's a national organization. Some schools have a NORML club.. UCF's is one of the biggest.

Brittany says:
Mon, 21st Sep 20096:59 pm 

Casey- You are so fucking dumb I can't believe it. You and your boyfriend smoke weed every night????? Are you kidding me???? So on top of being raped twice and sexually molested by your boyfriend's father, you are now further heading down a path of destruction by being a drug addict????? SEEK HELP PLEASE!!!!!!! Your life is so fucked up because of your terrible childhood which was completely shattering to you. Your childhood issues are continuing to destroy your life and sending you down a road of destruction. The shattering events of your childhood need to be dealt with by a certified professional. It is just totally disgusting how you refuse to seek treatment and act like your life in normal. You are seriously fucked up in the head. SEEK TREATMENT. YOU STILL HAVEN'T RECOVERED FROM THE SHATTERING EVENTS FROM YOUR CHILDHOOD.

Katie says:
Mon, 21st Sep 20099:04 pm 

I tried weed for the first time this summer, with my cousins. It wasn't because I was peer pressured into, it was more of an experiment. I wanted to see what it was that I was suppose to "avoid" because its looked down upon, especially living where I do.

I smoked it twice that week, with people I trusted and in a generally safe environment, which is good because people react in different ways to things. It was the weirdest experience of my life, at least the first time. It began with a bit of twitching, then moved to laughing at things that were not in any way funny (possibly why high people like Pineapple Express), to being paranoid, to having munchies, (I had a Mcflurry, and no i didn't drive, we walked) At least for me those things happened as well as trying to keep your thoughts to your self. Oh and did I mention Cotton Mouth up the ying yang, I was chugging water haha.

Its definitely a trip, but if you want to see what its all about go for it. But do it with people you trust and in a safe environment. Assuming you are an intelligent individual, I think what ever you choose you are smart enough not to let something like that take over your life, like some.

Don't get into too much trouble

K says:
Tue, 22nd Sep 20092:14 am 

weed…and a few other misunderstood substances in the drug world…have changed my life for the better 100%.

sara says:
Tue, 22nd Sep 20094:05 am 

I smoked on occasion my freshman year, mostly because a lot of my friends did it and it got to the point where it became easier to just take a hit and pass it along. Yeah yeah peer pressure whatever its not that I was against it I just thought it wasn't for me. But after landing a prestigious interview I would need a drug test for, I quickly stopped and detoxed. But it put things in perspective for me- if I had been smoking more regularly or recently, I might have failed that drug test and not got that position. For something that I was doing so trivially, it was definitely not worth sacrificing my future for. I've been clean since then. To me it is definitely not worth the risk.

Darwin says:
Tue, 22nd Sep 20092:09 pm 

Meh, weed is lame to me. Stick to drinking.

molly says:
Wed, 23rd Sep 20092:51 pm 

weed is best enjoyed with a few close friends, at home, with oreos, good music, and laughs.

p.s….my latest thing is smoking weed out of a hookah. mixed with half sheesh, half pot, its a super smooth fun high. (good for a first timer too) it can ruin a hookah tho so use an older one.

Ariana says:
Wed, 23rd Sep 20096:09 pm 

As a contrast to all the pros: When I first met my roommate she was a two-year strong pot head, she gained 30 pounds from the munchies and had a C average. After ditching the crowd she went back to a healthy weight and gained a new motivation for school. For someone with an addictive personality, weed is not good. Even though most agree that it should be legalized, it is not legal yet. Two of my close friends got kicked out the dormitory, another lost his full ride scholarship. There are better ways to relax, don't throw your life away~It does feel good, it is supposed to feel good, but that doesn't make it alright.

M says:
Sun, 27th Sep 20091:43 pm 

From my experience with weed and those of my friends, i can tell you that i haven't seen any of its supposed negative effects. I've gone through periods (like the summertime) where i've smoked weed every day, and even during the school year i smoke on the weekends and sometimes after i've finished all my work on weekdays. I agree that if you recognize that you have an addictive personality, then maybe weed or any type of mind altering substance isn't for you, but to judge all pot smokers as irresponsible future drug addicts is totally asinine and i cannot believe that so many people would make comments even resembling it. For me, i it just helps me decompress and open my creative channels. No matter how "fucked up" it may sound to anyone, some of the funniest nights i've had with my friends have happened because were stoned. I'm not saying that i can't have a good time without it – that's not the case- but it puts you on a different level that's fun and not nearly as dangerous as some of these people are making it out to be. If you're an idiot when you're sober, then chances are you'll be an idiot when stoned, but sometimes it's good to let loose and be silly.

Globals says:
Sat, 3rd Oct 20091:37 am 

all good things

Chareth Cute Story says:
Mon, 25th Jan 20106:13 pm 

Are you really saving for Alexander McQueen booties from fashion week or is that an exaggeration? Because you could probably buy a year's worth of drugs for how much those would cost you.

Stacey says:
Mon, 31st May 20102:23 pm 

I know this is an old post, but for what it's worth to you:

Don't waste your time. Much more importantly, you don't need a crutch. The way you experience your life should be genuine, deep, and wonderful. No chemical can induce this. You were created for an awesome purpose, you have a God that adores you and is able to show you life to its fullest. The only thing drugs or alcohol can do is give you something fake with negative consequences. It undermines and hijacks anything worthwhile and encourages you to settle. Don't.

And btw, love Duke for me. I miss it, and I miss K-ville. Watching a game in the alumni section isn't as exciting

sarah says:
Sat, 29th Jan 20113:02 am 

marijuana is illegal for economic reasons. hemp is simply a cheaper material to do pretty much anything with: fuel, clothing, food, medicine, the possibilities are endless. i have been a nearly daily smoker for a year now and i do admit that the "stoner life" is definitely not for everyone. i have experienced paranoia, munchies, burning out (being very tired afterwards), and perhaps a slight craving here and there. then again i am only 16 and don't have too much to worry about at this point in my life. anyway, have fun and do what you feel is right at the time. one hoot isn't going to destroy your life.