Marijuana: Do you do it?

I medicate every day, it helps me with anxiety, sleep, social and temperament issues(in all honesty around 40% of my family smoke herb). I can appreciate the fact that people do not like it, my mother being one, she cannot stand the smell and after she tried it and got sick when she was young, never again. But I do not like it when people just say it's bad without doing any research or even having personal experience with it, I've been smoking 10+ years and have never had a problem being motivated or getting to business. Which bring me to my next statement, some people can master and handle their high, others not so much. I am a chronic and have been for a long long time, so for me it's a part of my daily routine, and I don't get "too high" or get so f'd up that I cannot cope, in fact it helps me focus, calms me down and everything seems to click at that point. Sports, video games, work, driving, writing, painting, making music all become easier and less stressful for me when I'm medicated, because it overrides my anxiety issues and allows me to cut out the stress and bad thoughts, also it adds about a foot to my fuse, making me more patient and pleasant to be around, because usually I have a very short fuse. But it's definitely not something for everyone, and I do not encourage or condone the use of it in an irresponsible or careless manner. Anyway, if anyone wants to ask me anything, feel free. But any negativity, will be met with the same.


This is what I used to drive every day, while medicated.

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Clouds, can I ask you what happens when you get intoxicated with alcohol only (not mixed with weed)....do you still experience the same reduction in stress and anxiety and become calmer and more patient under the influence of alcohol only? Or is the results different?

When I drink I become easily agitated by other people's behaviour, and tend to revert back into myself(which is why I don't patronize bars) at times that will end up in confrontation. When I have too much booze, I act like king ****(I'm 6'3 270lbs) and start to throw my weight around and I can be a real dick(Which is exactly the type of attitude I hate). With weed, it opens up my personality and I can literally feel my muscles get looser and all the stress just slough off me.

After I started smoking with some people I knew, I ended up making more friends, dating more girls then I had before, it really just helped me enjoy myself in situations I would once never put myself in. I have mild agoraphobia, so for me going to a shopping mall, fair, large party is a -NIGHTMARE-. If I smoke a joint before I head to the mall, I no longer deal with social anxiety, it's easier for me to converse and connect with people. At a party, I can converse freely and meet new people with ease, participate in things. Nothing I would do while drunk or sober.

My attitude usually is very introverted and I am a complete Nihilist, and that doesn't really lend itself to good conversations and lasting friendships. But for some reason burning one just lets me be a person I prefer, and others seem to as well. Strange sounding I know, but the difference between me "sober" and "normal" are 180 degrees.

A serious question - has the stuff changed or have I changed?

I was into it back in college. I found it really enhanced my creativity - I was an artist and pot seemed to unlock some doors to creative expression... everything from increasing the flow of concepts to more expressive techniques in drawing, painting, etc.

Unlike most people, I liked to be alone after smoking it - where I could let the creativity flow, whether it was making art, music or fantasizing new stories, characters, etc. I didn't feel too bad about using it because I didn't seem to be following the stereotype of the stoner who just crashes on the couch in front of the TV and stops developing intellectually or emotionally.
For me it wasn't just "getting high" or escaping reality, but rather a way to let go of the repressions or worries that stifled my creativity. I also enjoyed combining it with nature - hiking or biking. So I felt I was channeling the high into more productive pursuits rather than just forming a dependency on something that would cause me to become indolent & irresponsible. That was decades ago.

But several years ago someone gave me some and it just wasn't the same. It felt too overwhelming somehow. It didn't feel relaxing, but very nervous with paranoia mixed in. Instead of helping me forget my problems for a while, it only seemed to intensify my focus on them and increase my sense of hopelessness. And it wasn't just one occasion, but a couple (kind of ruling out the idea of one bad batch). So I'm wondering; has the stuff changed (become stronger or mixed with less mellow chemicals that no longer deliver an authentic state attributed to marijuana) or have I changed, where my life is no longer as carefree, so the emotions that are enhanced are not ones of creativity, but ones of worries and stress?

It's stronger today, even my father and uncles agree. Due to serious cultivation, gene splicing, plant genetics and a lot of trial and error, people who grow these days can grow plants for whatever desired effects they want. I really like a good strong head high, because I can just ride it and enjoy. Keep in mind, that because you took a long break from it, and the quality increased it basically creates a more intense psychoactive sensation. Paranoia etc is common in people who don't use regularly, especially when you get some really good stuff. I've gotten stuff for my dad and he's just been blown away by it, and he's been smoking for 40+ years. It could have been that you were used to smoking an indica, which would still give you psychoactive effects, but more of a body buzz than anything, and what he gave you could have been a sativa, which would have launched you into space. And I can't say what you smoked in your day, but I smoke triple A stuff and it's green/purple/white, sticky and smells amazing. But not everyone would be able to deal with it.

I remember when I started smoking I would sketch out some times, and think cops were coming or we were gonna get busted. One time I smoked a bowl of pure THC with a buddy and thought I was going to die, no joke. But you learn to master and control your buzz, so you can put it to use(like you did in college). But you need to keep in mind, same with any drug. If you're not used to it and your having a bad day or feeling emotional, it will exacerbate those feelings and work against you. When I was dating this girl who I had a hard time with, every time I'd smoke I'd think about her and us and our relationship and before I knew it, I'd be off the track having a bad time. For me, it's like I want to feel better and not be such a miserable prick, so I look forward with happy feelings to medicating and becoming myself

Yeah, it helps you realize what needs to be done to better your life. Agreed 100% SC.

Not fond of people who smoke this stuff. One of my closest friends was hardcore into it... Now he's cleaned his act up because he got a better job... he still drinks which I dont agree with anymore.. but at least one of his bad habits (in my opinion) is gone..

No I dont smoke this stuff, do any other type of drugs, no I dont smoke cigarettes and I dont drink!

Clouds about your 180 degree reaction between weed (mellowing you out and reducing stress) and alcohol (which you said did the opposite). That supports a hypothesis I have based on a documentary I seen about the evolution of the human brain:

One might think the brain is one solid unit, but it's basically several 'brains' built on top of another. From the most primitive parts which are deep inside the brain and are similar to the reptile brain, to the most advance parts on top, the Cerebum. This is do to evolution as we carry a form of the more primitive 'reptile' brain that first evolved 100s millions of years go, as well as the big brain mass that makes us human (Cerebum).

Alcohol is known to literally shut off the higher functions of the brain leaving the primitive 'reptile' part in charge and that is where strong emotions, aggression and matting instincts come from. So for a lot of people getting really drunk turns you into the mind set of a reptile, (well sort of.)

Marijuana does the opposite, it puts to sleep the reptile brain, leaving our higher cognitive brain to function free of aggressive emotions, which allows a more intuitive and almost spiritual viewpoint. And Clouds, what you said totally reinforced my hypothesis.

Captain, you mentioned getting paranoid the last time you tried MJ. Think of it this way if MJ use to open your eyes and make you aware of all the things that you normally would take for granted in this world....then you try it again and it seems to make you paranoid, I would say it showed you more truth than someone of our older age wants to know. I try not to think about aging and other unpleasant realities. So maybe you seen the truth last time you tried MJ, but at some point in our lives too much awareness of the truth is not a good thing. You're not paranoid if what you were thinking about could be true.

Well, the part to Captain was basically what you had just said. I had wrote that before I read your post too.

Actually, I can kind of attest to CR's statement. Never once in my life have I seen someone get high and want to fight or smash or destroy. It almost is as if it lulls that sort of thinking into submission in favour of a more cognitive logical approach. And knowledge of self and truth of self is essential to being able to really see beyond what is placed in front of you. I used to laugh at the term "third eye" until one day I did research on it, found books and realized that opening the "doors of perception" is paramount to understanding your own nature, and once you see and accept your own nature, you realize things. This is why I refer to me being medicated as "normal" because it's the mind state that allows me to perceive life in different lights and thus establish connections that need to be made in order for me to live a fruitful life in the short amount of time I have. Just saying.

I wish it didn't take such massive quantities to bake into food. smoking is bad for you

I think you're spot on, Rules.

The older I get, the less I like alcohol as well (which is a good thing).

I've always had a hard time relating to people who suffer personality changes with alcohol because it never effected me that way. I'm pretty calm and friendly when sober and calm & friendly when drunk (at most I may become slightly less socially inhibited). And I always remember every detail of an event and every word I've uttered while drinking - since I'm so aware of my behavior, alcohol has rarely caused me to behave in ways that are aberrant to my sober actions. So, I've never understood angry drunks or violent drunks especially when seemingly reasonable people undergo such a change.

I've also never had black outs or memory loss from alcohol. I've never "passed out" (if anything, drinking seems to give me restless sleep - it makes me feel fatigued, but unable to sleep well, if that makes any sense). I always seemed to have a fail-safe with alcohol, where I'd become physically ill (and thus cast off the toxins) before I ever got too drunk to function. Despite this fact, I seem to have a high tolerance, i.e. it takes a lot before I "feel" anything, and even more before the fail safe kicks in.

Yet I know people who, with very little alcohol, quickly become totally dysfunctional, undergo complete personality changes, become "falling down drunk," will black out or pass out in public places or suffer total memory loss - these are people who I think should not drink at all, because they cannot seem to be able to handle even small amounts without disastrous effects. The irony is these are the same people who seem to want to drink all the time and keep drinking.

I can drink like a fish, but cut it out years ago. I never got so drunk to cause serious problems, but it would make me more irritable. Like I would be sitting at a table with a few people having a few drinks, then people beside us or whatever would get loud and stupid and I would straight up ask them to STFU, because they were getting out of hand, and they didn't like that. I've gotten into fights at bars because people I was with mouthed off to guys and the guys started to get kind of rough and rowdy. Next thing you know I'm throwing fists too.When I drink, I just want to relax and eat and maybe watch some baseball or something, not have slovenly fools bumping into me or singing at their hearts content. It's all a matter of respect for others, and some people don't have that when they drink, which leads to problems.

Ahh...the "doors of perception" that's why Jim Morrison named his band, The Doors...after he read a book about opening the doors of perception.

Intense religious experiences, which can be felt by some as an epiphany or a revelation, is generated by the same parts of the brain that are enhanced under THC.

I once saw another documentary about people who suffered severe brain trauma and had unusually personality changes as a result.

One guy who was a 'regular Joe', after a car accident and brain trauma, he had intense spiritual-emotionally reactions to simply thinkgs in his life. He would literally see the working of God in everything he looked at, then he become very emotional intense. Sort of like Vincent Van Gogh....

and this guy was not a religious person, but what happened to his brains caused him to open the doors of perception perhaps too far for his psyche to be able to handle it.

Take it from someone who's run in some bad circles. Weed gets smoked because it helps you decompress and relax, even criminals and thugs need to chill out. Weed is illegal because of a stupid US Drug Czar, who had familial connections to the white house and textile industry (including cotton mills etc). Until the 30's it wasn't even thought of as a drug. Harry Anslinger was a clown, who helped the US make more money by outlawing and demonizing it. More than anything it's teenagers and hipsters who take two hoots off a joint at a party and next thing you know are Marc Fricken Emery or Tommy Chong. They don't understand it but blindly champion it, that's just as detrimental as an illegal "badass" image"

This brings up a controversial debate - the relation of MJ to aggression / violence.

First thing we need to understand is that chemical substances can effect people differently.
Ever read those drug inserts? They're often ironic in that drugs like those given to people feeling suicidal will state that a side effect (based on a certain percentage of a control group) is suicidal ideation! So a drug that helps a majority with a specific problem may bring about the exact opposite effects in a smaller segment.

For most people, MJ causes a mellow feeling where aggression is the last thing they want to engage in. It usually increases dopamine levels which makes people feel relaxed, calm, serene, happy, euphoric, friendly, etc.

But, as with alcohol, some people become more happy and mellow while using it, while others, who may even be happy and mellow to begin with, can suddenly turn into angry maniacs who only want to fight once their reasoning ability begins to become deluded.

Crime statistics show a huge correlation between crime and pot usage. This seems to contradict the idea that pot makes people mellow and peaceful. Again, these states may be the most common experienced among users, but there is a certain segment of people who experience states that lead to less-than altruistic behaviors or who, when experiencing feelings of euphoria, use that state as a mode to channel aberrant behavior.

MJ, like other psyhoactive drugs, can lower inhibitions - this can lead people to take risky or irresponsible actions which can lead to situations that can turn aggressive or violent. Lowered inhibitions can cause some people to more readily engage in violent or criminal behavior if they are so inclined to begin with. MJ can cause feelings of paranoia - this can lead to defensiveness over misperceptions which can lead to situations turning aggressive or violent.

I have done a plethora of hallucinogens, and can honestly say I have felt like my physical being was not but a shell for my consciousness, like I had ascended to a point beyond physical and mental recognition, and had an intense experience that everything in my immediate surroundings were in fact made up of silver lines that intersected with themselves forming the shapes of chairs, tv's and people. It was almost as if I was seeing this stuff on a totally different level, I sat down and felt as if I had sunk 30 feet into the couch, and this whole room, black but everything in it made of silver lines that seemed to flow and pulse with energy and purpose. Life can be an experience if you let it be. I think it's better to open myself to stuff like this, than deny it.

Adversely, I had a friend who suffered "Ego Death" He had gotten some Psilocybin Mushrooms from a friend and watch "Across the Universe" with his girlfriend. Well my buddy at the time had long hair like me. listened to black metal and hung in the same crowd. The next time I saw him, he had a shaved head, was wearing normal everyday clothes(we used to wear boots and vests and bullet belts/studs etc). And he explained to me the best he could that he had seen something while using them, and while watching this movie that made him question his current existence and strive for a more meaningful existence than what we were living. He now travels the world and does photography. Big difference.

Something else I heard in yet another documentary is that MJ and other psychoactive substances don't actually get people high, but trigger naturally chemical reactions in the brain, making the brain get 'high' itself.

I saw a documentary one time in CA they flew a helicopter over the forest and found a large patch of marijuana growing. So they landed and killed thousands of innocent plants. I felt bad seeing all that senseless death.

It's one thing if you costume what you kill.. but to just kill and discard seemed evil.

Not exactly fair to state that, when 99% of the violence and crime associated with pot, and drugs in general has to do with the monetary side of things. But this can be attributed to the prohibition of MJ, same as how the prohibition of alcohol led to booming business for organized crime and lots of murder and scandal.

If weed were legal, most of the people who purchase it from gangs and bangers would either grow it, or purchase it in a dispensary. Sure people would still sell, but it wouldn't be to the same extent, if there's no real profit to be made, then theres not really a lot of reasons to continue selling it or hustling it.

The last part of the quote applies more to the use of a stimulant like cocaine than anything. People snort coke before they do illegal stuff, because it amps them up and gets them in the head space of Gont give a F. If guys are smoking weed before they rob a liquor store, it's probably because they just like smoking weed.

As I said before, I don't condone the use of it for everyone, if you can't handle the high and you bug out from it, don't use it. But in my experience, I've never seen anyone get high and f&*k stuff up or just turn criminal minded on a dime, usually any correlations to those actions were because that's just how they were, the weed was just there because it was enjoyed to be smoked, no blame to be placed on the weed there. In my last post I outlined an experience a friend had with mushrooms, and I have other stories involving the same thing. In my experience it's the stuff like that, that really lets you see inside yourself that will cause problems, when they can't accept it and aren't prepared for it.