Several people have raised some very interesting points in this post.
I'm a very occasional smoker - about once every couple of months, if that - and I can honestly say that I've learned where my limits are, and know my mind and body well enough to know where to draw the line. In my experience, when people run into problems with drugs it's because they either never drew that line, drew it at the wrong place, or drew it in the right place and stepped over it anyway. Now, for you, that line might be at "No drugs, ever, at all. Except drugs that are taxable, of course." For most, it's somewhere around "Once in a while." Nobody can tell you where your line is, that's something that you need to decide for yourself.
My tuppence'orth:
Marijuana, like alcohol, can provide a very valuable altered perspective that can be positive for your personal growth - when taken infrequently, and in small doses. It can stimulate creativity too, like many other drugs - how many famous artists and musicians were occasional (if not outright rampant) users of one drug or another?
But when you start being silly - when you cross the line and carry on toking or drinking even though your body is complaining - you'll be letting yourself in for a really bad time, and potentially some long-term consequences of the social, biological and mental kind.
If you can honestly say to yourself that you are able to handle using marijuana once in a while, and you know yourself well enough to make that decision and have faith in it, then go ahead and light up. You'll probably have a pretty good time, and take something positive from the experience.
Some things to consider:
According to the Wikipedia article on marijuana, there has never been a confirmed human fatality resulting from a marijuana overdose.
A comedian I once saw said something very true about this. He said that when you've had too much weed and are whiting out, the first thing that goes through your head is something like "Right. How many people have died from smoking weed... None. Oh God, I'm going to be the first! How embarrassing."
The United Kingdom decriminalised marijuana after an investigation concluded that its use was less harmful (both to the body and to society) than alcohol or tobacco.
I (and a good two thirds of people under 40 in the UK) already knew the part about marijuana being... well, I'll not say "better for you," since there's no doubt that marijuana is bad for your body, but "not quite as awful" as alcohol. The bit about tobacco surprised me, though - I guess it makes sense when you consider the chemical addiction involved, but it was still a bit of a shocker even to regular marijuana users.
Marijuana is quite a tame drug to experiment with. Unlike alcohol it has a built-in mechanism to tell you when you've had enough - namely, that you start to feel like hell and perhaps white out.
(for the uninitiated - the spinning room is your body's way of telling you that you've had enough. If you continue smoking after the room starts to spin, you may white out. Whiting out is your body's way of stamping your face with a branding iron which says "TAKE THE HINT, YOU BLOODY STONER" and then kicking you in the crotch for good measure)
Also, you might get a bit too out of it to roll another joint - in which case, you've already had far too much already.
Having said all that, remember that imbibing alcohol, marijuana, caffeine or any other drug will alter your perception, and that you cannot always be sure of the results. Remember that drugs affect the chemicals running through your brain, which can dramatically affect the way you think. If you're going to use a substance that alters the way you think, you'd damn well better treat it with the respect and caution it deserves - if you don't, sooner or later it'll hurt you, real bad.
|