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Location: Mableton, GA USA (NW Atlanta suburb, 4 miles OTP)
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Correlation is not causation.
It's possible that some pot smokers are more compulsive than others simply because they're willing to use a substance which is generally illegal in this country, but that would be a pre-existing condition.
Nothing safe in using marijuana. Smoking is smoking, (cigarettes, marijuana, forest fire, tires, paper, etc.); putting any smoke in the lungs dangerous and/or physically debilitating over time.
Nothing safe in using marijuana. Smoking is smoking, (cigarettes, marijuana, forest fire, tires, paper, etc.); putting any smoke in the lungs dangerous and/or physically debilitating over time.
There are teas, oils, gummy candies, chocolates, cookies, lip balms, and all sorts of other non-smoking ways to get it.
Cannabis will merely amplify feelings already there. It does not create them. So, with that in mind, individual personality will determine how one may act under the influence of cannabis. Now, we all know when a person feels tired or has gotten enough quality sleep, then we can all see a lack of energy and diminished physical and mental responses to everything around them. Well the same can be said for cannabis use. Sometimes, over sustained periods of usage, sleep patterns are seriously disrupted. Next, we think it is the weeds fault. We are right as it is. Along with a lack of sleep may come paranoia or social anxiety like you have never seen. These two together can have some serious consequences at work and home. Perhaps leading to relationship problems or even losing your job.
I believe most chronic users are of the same mindset. They are just wanting things to slow down a bit so they can catch their breath and try to make sense of things around them. Sometimes fun to do but over time and prolonged usage, the mind can develop different personalities. Say one for when smokng , one when not smoking, another when smoking good weed and one when smoking bad weed. Now, if there is any mental disease in the family, then excessive cannabis usage can expose those conditions for all to see.
Some say they see so many young cannabis users on the streets. Not always a good idea to apportion blame squarely on the young. We have to remember cannabis potency has gone through the roof in recent years. Some strains so strong even a regular user has enough after just a little bit. Now, factor in ease of access to cannabis as medicine , lower prices and good marketing from the cannabis industry, and some younger users in particular, will have to exercise restraint and moderation if they are to reap the real benefits of cannabis.
Location: Subconscious Syncope, USA (Northeastern US)
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I'm not a user, so I have to look at documented studies to answer your question, let's look at some data -
Points 6 and 7 from a 2009 study comparing abuse in US to abuse in the Netherlands. It seems children age 12 and up are more likely to abuse pot in the US, than the same age demographic in the Netherlands.
On crime, although I did not post the research, 69% of people in the Netherlands feel safe to walk the streets day or night. And feel overall, crime is low. On 3 points moderate. On 0 points high.
One would have to wonder if keeping something illegal is why so many people want it so much, and the blackmarket that is created is a contributing factor to high crime statistics.
On the 'gateway' drug theory, #12 does not support the validity of such a theory. Cocaine, including crack cocaine, statistics are minimal, and Heroin abuse is too low to track. It should be noted that this could be because Law Enforcement has more resources available to combat these drugs, since they no longer have a major focus on marijuana.
•(1997-1999) "The figures for cannabis use among the general population reveal the same pictures. The Netherlands does not differ greatly from other European countries. In contrast, a comparison with the US shows a striking difference in this area: 32.9% of Americans aged 12 and above have experience with cannabis and 5.1% have used in the past month. These figures are twice as high as those in the Netherlands."
Source: Netherlands Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, Drug Policy in the Netherlands: Progress Report September 1997-September 1999, (The Hague: Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, November 1999), pp. 7-8.
The Netherlands follows a policy of separating the market for illicit drugs. Cannabis is primarily purchased through coffee shops. Coffee shops offer no or few possibilities for purchasing illicit drugs other than cannabis. Thus The Netherlands achieve a separation of the soft drug market from the hard drugs market - and separation of the 'acceptable risk' drug user from the 'unacceptable risk' drug user.
Source: Abraham, Manja D., University of Amsterdam, Centre for Drug Research, Places of Drug Purchase in The Netherlands (Amsterdam: University of Amsterdam, September 1999), pp. 1-5.
A report from a study on MSNBC shows that legalization does not increase crime. Crime rates are actually dropping in Denver. Another good point for an economically depressed Nation is to take a look at Denvers great economy. The economy is booming and property values are literally skyrocketing. Are people moving to Denver just to enjoy a freedom they cannot obtain elsewhere in the nation (please note Washington state also has legalized recreational marijuana)?
But a new report contends that fourteen years later, even after Colorado legalized the sale of small amounts of marijuana for recreational use on Jan. 1 of this year, violent and property crime rates in the city are actually falling.
According to data from the Denver Police Department, violent crime (including homicide, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault) fell by 6.9% in the first quarter of 2014, compared with the same period in 2013. Property crime (including burglary, larceny, auto theft, theft from motor vehicle and arson) dropped by 11.1%.
A Gallup poll from October 2013 showed that for the first time, a majority of Americans favored legalizing marijuana. The 58% of respondents who said they were in favor of legalization last year represented nearly five times the number who said so the first time Gallup asked the question in 1969.
Since in both case studies, crime reduces, and people feel safer, one would have to conclude that marijuana does not create bad people, nor does it increase the likelihood that a child will use, or an adult will abuse.
Is it possible that use can actually calm an already bad personality? Well, if one believes that the drug makes people stupid - why can't it?
I have a personal theory that making something illegal just naturally makes the human animal want it more. It adds that extra sparkle to something that would otherwise probably be considered mundane.
Last edited by ConeyGirl52; 04-14-2016 at 06:16 AM..
I am pretty sure you have been told this before, but using cannabis is NOT necessarily an escape. In the same way an alcohol user can drink to excess to escape from something, you can do so with cannabis if it is a strain that provides that kind of effect.
On the other hand, someone who is enjoying a glass of wine (or even brandy) after a meal is not doing so as an escape. Same thing holds true with cannabis. All you need is the right strain, one that is uplifting, energetic, and motivational (the only type I use).
So for someone with no experience to just out of hand say that everyone who uses it is weak-minded and seeking an escape is simply inaccurate.
It's probably different brains and different strains, but all I can do is say what it does to me, and it really does impair me. If I'm doing landscaping the next day or routine office work, I'm fine. If I'm trying to learn something new, it's a obvious impairment the next day, especially if it's learning about math.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_and_memory
Wikipedia seems to indicate it really does have pretty big effects on memory. Is the memory effects a problem? Not likely if it's infrequent use, if it's frequent use, probably.
You said you were a daily user, but that doesn't necessarily mean your a heavy user. You probably are not smoking all day long and big doses.
As far as driving, all I can see for opiates is that they can slow reaction time and induce drowsiness, which cannabis can do, along with other things.
As far as indica vs satvia, for me, indica is not even fun. It's like benedryl, it just knocks me out and makes me want to sleep for hours and I wake up still tired. Sativa is like indica without the excessive drowsiness, though it still makes me more tired than normal. All I'll do from now on is sativa.
You are correct in that I consider myself a frequent, but not heavy user, most evenings I'll smoke about 1/4 gram of flower or maybe a small dose of an edible. On the weekends I enjoy doing housework with a buzz so I may go all out and have myself a gram or so during the course of the day, or that brownie might disappear slowly over the course of the day, one small bite at a time . I do like the 50-50 hybrid strains in the evenings, as I've had straight Sativa's actually give me trouble falling asleep if done too late in the evening. I also agree that a strong Indica makes me feel a bit loopy in the morning, but nothing a good strong cup of Joe can't fix (for me anyways).
As far as memory problems, mine usually go something like...'was that the second or third hit I took?...ehh, I'm good...'
I think what you said about different brains and strains really sums it up pretty good.
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. I do like the 50-50 hybrid strains in the evenings, as I've had straight Sativa's actually give me trouble falling asleep if done too late in the evening. I also agree that a strong Indica makes me feel a bit loopy in the morning, but nothing a good strong cup of Joe can't fix (for me anyways). 
