Marijuana effect

[Dan.Linehan]

Originally Posted by scottyp

Smoking messes me up emotionally for at least a few days afterwards, and when stoned I generally am useless and very anxious and paranoid...

It just doesn't work well with me

My experience as well.

[Peleke4]

The last time I smoked weed was in high school. I didn't even have one hit at all during my college years. After graduation, I was in an awesome career and my future was looking bright... **** happened and it was all downhill from there. From that point, I started smoking out again and was a big-time stoner for almost five years. You know those anti-weed commercials? The one that really hit home with me was the one where the ad starts off w/ a kid talking about his older bro. At first, you'd get the impression that something bad happened to his older bro. It turns out, his older bro was in the basement vegging out in front of the tube. The kid then points out that his older bro didn't amount to anything as a result of weed.

I am happy to say that I am no longer a stoner. I smoke probably once every few months or so, concert event or what have you. I personally see nothing wrong with weed as long as it is used responsibly. But I used it in excess and it really slowed me down. I was living life in the present and had no regard for the future after the **** that happened. You'd think weed would slow time down, but time actually flew by incredibly fast during my mad stoner years. I do feel though that weed had benefits despite killing motivation.

During my PD self help, weed REALLY enhanced my daily NLP visualization exercises. The feelings evoked were MUCH more intense. As a result of weed, I was able to come up with different variations of NLP visualization patterns that I wasn't able to come up with sober. To give you an example of what I'm getting at, I played this particular riff on guitar literally hundreds of times sober. When I played that same riff stoned, I somehow came up with a sweet variation of that riff. I know it's been argued many times over, but for me, weed enhances creativity. I modeled after what came to me during my stoner moments and used that while sober.

I also want to to point out that weed makes sex even more mind-blowing and amazing than it already is.

[chaostheory]

i personally would have more of a problem with someone who was a tweeker than someone who was quietly getting high in his own home ( weed ) and eating cheetos.

[Chado2423]

Originally Posted by Terumoto

Learning to feel better in the moment is the only way to feel better in the long haul.

Hmmmm.. to feel better by the aid of external criteria is FAR different than feeling better from within, without the aid of anyone else, drugs or anything else but the power of the human spirit.... You speak of one of the most common misconceptions known to man... This is why people who drink feel better in the moment, yet they return to the same problems after they drink. People who smoke weed get great insights and have wonderful visions and feel good and happy in the moment, yet the problems in their life continue. This is called escapism in psychology, which is why we read Fantasy books and watch t.v. We like to dream more about the way we would like things to be, rather than to actually take the time and effort to do what is needed to make changes in our lives.

[Terumoto]

Originally Posted by Chado2423

Hmmmm.. to feel better by the aid of external criteria is FAR different than feeling better from within, without the aid of anyone else, drugs or anything else but the power of the human spirit.... You speak of one of the most common misconceptions known to man... This is why people who drink feel better in the moment, yet they return to the same problems after they drink. People who smoke weed get great insights and have wonderful visions and feel good and happy in the moment, yet the problems in their life continue. This is called escapism in psychology, which is why we read Fantasy books and watch t.v. We like to dream more about the way we would like things to be, rather than to actually take the time and effort to do what is needed to make changes in our lives.

I was talking about learning how to feel better from within without the aid of anything external. This can be achieved without drugs, but drugs only become a barrier to it if used incorrectly. It comes down to personal preference.

I stand by what I said. Learning to feel better in the moment is the only way to feel better in the long haul.

[Chado2423]

Originally Posted by Terumoto

Learning to feel better in the moment is the only way to feel better in the long haul.

I don't necessarily agree or disagree with this statement... it all depends on whether or not what strategies you are using in your life are temporary or progressive... For example if you don't have any money... it would be a good idea to get a job and to feel good about it... whereas it is a different story if you don't have any money and smoke weed and feel good about it for a while and remain broke. Also, if you are lonely it would be a good idea to get out and make an effort to talk to people more often and socialize and feel good about it.... wheras it is a different story than if you are lonely and sit back at home and drink a six-pack and feel good about it in the moment and then when you sober up realize that you are still without friends. Do you see the difference here? It isn't just about feeling good in the moment, it is about whether or not what you are doing in the moment is leading toward progressive advancement in your life, whether or not you are developing true character or not. This is a very big distinction, and a very crucial one.

[Terumoto]

I think you'd be hard pressed to find a person that was able to get a job or socialise outside of the moment.

lol, but yeah, I know what you mean. I say learning to feel better in the moment rather than just feel better in the moment, because something you learn stays with you and is a cause of growth. If you learn to feel better in the moment, from then on you will be able to feel better in the moment. Doing that with drugs, you would come back down to earth when sober and stop feeling better. You haven't learned a single thing, all you've done is artificially make yourself feel better.

[Chado2423]

^ But you can get a job without feeling good in that moment, and only feel good about your accomplishment later, of getting one... you can feel uncomfortable at a party, only to feel comfortable later that you pushed yourself beyond your current bad feelings in order to make new friends... feeling good alone at a certain moment in time can go a long way if done correctly and for the right reasons, but it isn't always a necessary component in truly progressively altering one's course. Think about fixing your car, you get greasy, you sweat, your back hurts from long hours under the engine... but in the end you get a working car, and you know that it was YOUR hard work and pushing through that pain that paid off in the end. You didn't necessarily have to feel good or bad to get your car working again.... but you had to do the work... This is why I don't agree or disagree with the statement alone. Sometimes our best work is done when we are not feeling good, and when we are struggling... and paradoxically sometimes our worst work is done when we are not feeling good and when we are struggling.

[Terumoto]

I think it's coming down to a word argument.

Feeling better doesn't necessarily mean feeling good or feeling happy. Feeling better in the moment involves accepting both positive and negative emotions and experiences. Ceasing judgment of the moment makes you feel better, whether you're happy or sad.

I'm pretty sure we agree, I think lol. I agree with what you are saying.

[Saeros]

Is there anyway to get the feeling 'high' without doing drugs ?

I want to have that feeling once but I don't want to do drug. Just curious..

[marie1901]

I joined my husband in doing it 15 years ago. It messaed up my ability to function although I would have denied it at the time. I stopped 12 years ago but husband never given up since 15 . I see someone who has so much potential gone down the drain. Creativity and ideas at 10- action at 1.

[suzuki_sx29]

Hey guys- I dont know where else to put this, and it does sort of relate to the thread... I haven't smoked a bowl in a few months; I decided I don't want to be a slave to what has become an indulgence, and not a very productive one @ that.. Anyways, I was never a hard core smoker, so I dont think this has anything to do w/ being "permafried", but... Sometimes I get in the same exact mindset as being stoned, everything from being impulsive, unmotivated, and completly letting go of myself mentally- doing whatever comes to mind and just acting stupidly... I even get "laughing attacks" and/or lose cooridination like being stoned.. If a person was to watch me objectivly, they would most likely come to the conclusion that I was stoned. I can't spur this on conciously. Also, I have done this on occasion acting drunk, and esp. when I'm around drunk or stoned people. What do you think?

[suzuki_sx29]

Oh yeah, I hope I'm not crazy!!

[tragblack]

I smoke pot every day, and I happen to be one of the users whos brains have not addled. I do not become overly depressed, although, like meditation, it causes me to look at some aspects of myself that I may not necessarily be comfortable with and must face. It doesn't make me hallucinate (which is an intensly annoying cultural misconception to most regular smokers). I have done shrooms. THAT'S a drug. My god, that was scary. Weed, compared to that is like... a big warm fuzzy hug.

I think that weed affects everyone differently, and everyone's own habits should be ruled by their own personal preferences. I personally can't stand how alcohol makes me feel, and while I smoke the occasional cigarette, it never really keeps me going back to it and I can't really stand how it tastes.

Some say that I am dabbling around in "dangerous territory," and that the only way to stay safe and sane is to just say "no" to everything, and yes, I guess that is true to some degree, but I AM smart enough to know not to do coke or heroin, nor have I had the inclination to. I just want to smoke pot in peace and be left to make my own personal decisions about how I "get high," be it through pot, alcohol, meditation, sex, exercise, poop-sniffing, etc.

Some argue, why do any drug at all?

To which I reply I am only human, and humans, back to the most primal of man, have always taken drugs. We just kind of want to do it, because it's fun, and whether or not it's particularly clean or good for us, it is part of being fleshy and dirty and stinky and alive.

And smoking weed, although harmful in it's own ways, has never killed anyone by itself. (And to anyone out there who will scrape the internet for that one story about that one guy in that one accident who smoked weed before he died, when was the last time you heard about any weed overdoeses or injuries or cancers in the everyday news?)

Hell, I could take a single bottle of aspirin and die right now. Bus might kill me tomorrow. I think eating McDonalds every once in a while puts worse things in my body.

I have lost too many friends simply because they "don't like what I do." Even while it was some of those same friends who smoked with me, they see that their lives are calling for them to go in a new sober direction and they want me to follow suit. (However, it does not seem as if this new, sober and responsible lifestyle has any rules against heavy drinking during the weekend.) In fact, I think the most hurtful thing about smoking weed is the social stigma you get as a "stoner." I do not wish to force my hobby down their throats. I don't want to keep them smoking forever. I don't care what the hell they do. But what I do care about is all the back-talking I have come under, and all these jokes against my intelligence. In conversation, all I have to do is slip up but once in my memory to have some kind of joke made about my brain cells dying in agony.

I know plenty of old stoners who are not crazy/ sick/ slow who have been smoking weed since they were teenagers.

If it affected me badly, I would surely stop, but that day has not come. My face is full and happy. I'm lean and skinny and still eating well. I have regular bowel movements. I have a good level of intelligence and by god, I am a stoner.

By the way, I have asthma. Ironically, it helps me out of an attack just as easily as albuterol does.

[Some Random Loser]

I love weed. Only had it maybe 30 times but love it. Could be years till I take my next puff, and I'll still love it.

[Boddhi]

the problem with drugs is this......u cant just stop the effect whenever you want to. you have to wait till its through your system. and here comes something...your back where you started, once the drugs are out of your system. the drugs and trust me i was heavily addicted to MANY different type of drugs out there from light to hard and all it does is offer a glimpse of the other side, and only for a short time too. Imagine you are in a dark forest all alone u feel lost and confused, then a friend comes and has a light with him you feel great you can see the path and everything....then it has to happen he leaves your side and your all alone, lost in the dark, feeling even worse because of the knowledge of what u once had with the friend. be a light unto yourself. dont use external factors use internal. if you meditate the right way for you, you will hit a spot that is much higher than any drug. Permanent relax state af mind. peace and love have a good sleep.

[Illuminatus]

Originally Posted by DQueens

i always end up smoking now and then with friends and everytime i do, i regret it because it makes me feel disconnected, depressed and lonely. i felt this way in september one night when i got high. i felt that i could see my friends for waht they truely were, and my life for what it was, and i didnt like it. i thought i was just thinking crazy until the next day and following weeks where the feelings werent going away. life seemed so meaningless, i didnt know what i wanted from it anymroe, and i didnt like my life as it was. however, the feeling was not quite as strong nad persistant as when i was high. i feel that getting high raises your awareness at an even quicker pace than personal growth, that's what it felt like to me. it was like a rush of coming into realization about life, and the fact that it was such a large amount of realization and awareness in a short time is probably what depressed me. I think that i should get high again, to get some more answers about my state of awareness, but i'm scared because the last time was a pretty unpleasant experience for me. however, now i kind of know what i want in life and what truely matters to me. perhaps another burst of consciouness will benefit me?

Maybe someone else replied to this (I didn't read to the end of the thread) but even though this freaked you out the first time, this is actually the sort of realizations people are trying to unlock via meditation. By having this all come to the surface you have been able to deal with it. If weed is having this profound meditative effect on you, don't give it up. Instead you need to learn EQUANIMITY. That means accepting your thoughts and emotions without judgment. It's a Buddhist concept.

Basically those feelings were there anyway - just buried. Weed uncovered them. That is literally what people are trying to achieve every day with meditation - so that they may integrate those feelings with equanimity. All of those realizations could have signified to you that it's time to move on with your life and go in a new direction, for example.

[Lakshyayidhi Lakshmihi]

Originally Posted by Boddhi

the problem with drugs is this......u cant just stop the effect whenever you want to. you have to wait till its through your system. and here comes something...your back where you started, once the drugs are out of your system. the drugs and trust me i was heavily addicted to MANY different type of drugs out there from light to hard and all it does is offer a glimpse of the other side, and only for a short time too..... if you meditate the right way for you, you will hit a spot that is much higher than any drug. Permanent relax state af mind. peace and love have a good sleep.

I have also been a recreational and more than recreational drug user in my day. I have to say that I feel more resonance with Alphonse Daudet's "homo duplex" in Notes sur la Vie:

"This horrible duality has often given me matter for reflection. Oh, this terrible second me, always seated whilst the other is on foot, acting, living, suffering, bestirring itself. This second me that I have never been able to intoxicate, to make shed tears, or put to sleep. And how it sees into things, and how it mocks!"

I've been on 5 different substances before and there's just part of me that never gets intoxicated. I suppose that's what led to the 5 substances. Desperate attempts at self induced anesthesia.

I realize that this is not the common experience, though, being that I was surrounded by oafs who were very obviously intoxicated to the point of ridiculousness.

Anyways, on the topic of marijuana....

Did you know that bhang was first used as part of a religious observation in India starting around 1000 B.C.?

I recall that this herb is associated with Shiva - used to go into eons-long meditative trances. Sufis use cannabis to attain states of spiritual ecstasy.

Just another perspective from around the world and through time.

[elucidate]

The ritual use of psychotropic drugs throughout history by holy men and shamans is well documented.

These plants contain chemicals that can awaken and open the human mind to higher consciousness, and if used with reverence, and not as a 'recreation' they are most useful.

The problem is when people make them habitual and it eventually does mess them up. Speaking from experience.

I had some amazing experiences with marijuana, acid, ecstacy and some others, and it definately propelled my evolution , for which I will always be grateful. I also ignored my inner compass which told me that I'd reached my own limit with MJ, and it messed me up.

It has taken literally years to pull myself out of the deep depression I fell into because at some point I began to derive a perverse pleasure from being down all the time, which is what marijuana does eventually, though it feels like an upper to start off with. Learning social skills again has been a huge thing for me, as I was withdrawn for so long and didn't speak for years.

Long term use will mess with a person, whether they see it or not...and I've seen more than my fair share of good people who have turned into agro, manipulative ******** because they are addicted to weed.

I will still smoke once in a while...like every few months or something...but I find reality to be the trip now

Originally Posted by Lakshyayidhi Lakshmihi

I have also been a recreational and more than recreational drug user in my day. I have to say that I feel more resonance with Alphonse Daudet's "homo duplex" in Notes sur la Vie:


I've been on 5 different substances before and there's just part of me that never gets intoxicated. I suppose that's what led to the 5 substances. Desperate attempts at self induced anesthesia.

I realize that this is not the common experience, though, being that I was surrounded by oafs who were very obviously intoxicated to the point of ridiculousness.

Anyways, on the topic of marijuana....

Did you know that bhang was first used as part of a religious observation in India starting around 1000 B.C.?

I recall that this herb is associated with Shiva - used to go into eons-long meditative trances. Sufis use cannabis to attain states of spiritual ecstasy.

Just another perspective from around the world and through time.

[reiki717]

Originally Posted by Dan.Linehan

My experience as well.

Me too. I went through a period in my life that I call my "dark days" when I smoked daily. I've never been so anxious or disconnected in my life. I don't like the way it makes me feel, generally.

I smoked a while ago with a couple of friends (long after my 'dark days') and didn't like the way it made me feel. I just wanted to go home and go to bed.

Smoking weed is definitely not a spiritual experience for me. I much prefer the 'buzz' I get from meditation.

[Midniteshowers]

Marijuana seems to have a different effect on me than it does on anyone else that I know that uses it. And, because of that, I don't use it (often). I have ADD. My mind seems to go so fast that I cannot concentrate on most things for an extended period of time. When I smoke weed, it seems to S..L..O..Www down my thoughts immensely and I can concentrate on my thoughts and I end up analizing my thoughts that cause thoughts and ect. ect.. I seem to also be able to contact my "higher self" more easily and at this point automatic writing is very easy. I have come up with some far out thoughts while stoned and cannot be around other people. I get paranoid. Eventually, I will have a panic attack.

[ButterflyWoman]

This is my direct experience and observation (I haven't partaken of any illegal substance for some time, but I'm certainly no stranger to the stuff).

Any "spiritual" experiences induced by marijuana may seem amazing at the time, but it's my observation and experience that these things are basically synthetic. (This goes for other hallucinogenic drugs, as well, although the peyote rituals some Native American tribes undertake do seem to have deep spiritual reality for those people; that's done under supervision of a shaman and with years of tradition behind it, so that's certainly a factor.)

The creativity, thought patterns, ideas, spiritual experiences, etc., that are generated by hallucinogens (the way they're taken by most people, anyway), is like the smell and flavour of fake vanilla (vanillin) when compared to the smell and flavour of the real thing. There is a depth of character, a complexity, a breadth of subtlety that the real thing has, which is simply not present in the synthetic. Oh, yes, it's okay for some situations, and if you have never tasted the real thing, you won't know the difference, and there are situations where vanillin is preferable to real vanilla, but the fake is basically cheaper, shallower, much easier to come by, and not all that satisfying in the long run.

As I said, that's just MY observation and experience. I actually don't particularly have an issue with marijuana (I don't use it now, but I wouldn't necessarily turn it down if someone I trusted offered me some and I didn't have to worry about looking after kids or driving under the influence of it!), or with the responsible use of it, and I've long believed it should be made legal and regulated, so, hey, no anti-weed message here. Just some direct experience regarding the "spiritual' (and creative) experienced induced by the stuff.

[Jaiysun4]

Lots of good comments on here.

My personal experience is that it has done lots of harm to people I know, but some can just use it and supposedly be just fine. The question for those people is: what would your life be like if you never smoked - what would you be like? If you can honestly answer that regular weed/alcohol/drug use has benefited you, that's cool. Ask a few people around you and see what they think to make sure.

I too believe cannabis or drugs are a synthetic form of spiritual experience. When you are off the drugs the feelings are gone, and you are left with the question: "was that real or valid, or just the drugs?" The experiences and benefit lasts only a few hours..changing your self in sober life can last forever!

It's like getting more confident whilst drunk. People think: "why can't i be more sociable when I am straight?"
You can't just transfer the info across because its the chemicals causing temporary changes. To get more confident you can't just drink every day, you need to work at it whilst sober. The same goes, in my experience, for using weed for spiritual reasons.


I think the younger you smoke regularly the more problems you are likely to have, but each person is different. All in all, it's not the kind of thing to do drastic damage, more subtle effects that can build up over time to have quite severe consequences.

That's not to say it isn't enjoyable in moderation for many people! Like alcohol or any other drug. The trick is keeping it in moderation.

I would say that it is safer than most drugs, for sure. And if I had a choice it would be cannabis that was legalised and not alcohol! Best to legalise and regulate for harm minimalisation.

[ButterflyWoman]

Originally Posted by Jaiysun4

Best to legalise and regulate for harm minimalisation.

Aye. That's how I feel about it. Chase the criminals out of the business, or turn them into honest businesspeople who follow regulatory statutes, and prevent things like weed laced with literally deadly poisons and other substances (which most certainly does happen).

I also personally feel that smoking it isn't the best way to ingest it. Inhaling burning plant matter is not good for you, no matter what it is. Better to make "special brownies" or spaghetti sauce with "extra herbs".

You know, the way I talk, people would think I'm a real pothead! But, honestly, I just grew up in the Seventies (and yes, I wear patchouli, too!).

[tonyfch]

I used to smoke weed from time to time, but nothing like my ex, who's been smoking since age 15 and often smoked daily. We've been living together for about 4 years when he had a psichotic breakdown. now you can talk all you like about mental history and genetic inclinations, but the fact is he didn't know of any mental ilness in his family, and so there was no reason to worry.

This was 2 years ago. His scichotic breakdown (which included severe paranoia, hearing voices, hearing other people's thaughts and other horid yet charachtaristic simptoms) only lasted for a month, but he's never really gotten over the ordeal. Like in many such cases, he has'nt been able to study (he got kiched out of collage) or keep a job at all. Now he's living with his parents and doesn't really know what to do next, and I can't help but think what could have been, and what kind of life he would have if it weren't for his smoking habits.

I'm not telling you to stop smoking, and in fact I beleive the reason grass is illigal is arbitrary at best. But you have to be careful. Don't smoke to often or to much, and keep one eye open for changes in your and your friend's behavior, such as irational responses or obssesive tendencies.
Buttom line, you're free to decide, but you should know the risks.