Terrible side effects! THC

quietbadger81 said:Always the same stupid topics. Same brainless jokes. Same memes over and over... It's a hell of a cycle.

Yeah, looking at the big picture, it really does turn into this exhausting, repetitive cycle.
Especially when things finally settle down tomorrow and you realize just how much everything has shifted.

Daniel Ortiz15 said:Yeah, that’s just how it goes... I've moved on from the weed scene and started focusing on my garden instead, so that's just where I am now. Since I quit smoking, I don't really hang out with those old crowds anymore; these days, most of my time is spent with people who just want to grab a beer and catch up.

Back when I was smoking 24/7, I used to clown on anyone saying beer was less dangerous than weed. I’d lecture everyone about how weed is a miracle cure and basically a gift from God. I lived in that fake-deep bubble and hated on drinkers.

But man, as the years crawl by, I find myself hitting a limit of maybe 4 or 5 beers and calling it a night.
And honestly? Weed isn't nearly as harmless or "healthy" as 99% of weedheads think it is.

Having a few beers is way better for you than smoking weed in moderation.

Of course it is. I’ve seen enough firsthand from being out in those circles to know what's really going on. It’s usually the good guys who end up getting the short end of the stick—the ones who get taken advantage of and end up blowing through their cash just trying to feel like they belong in that scene.

People can say whatever they want to justify it, but the reality is that weed can seriously mess with your heart rhythm; I’ve personally known a few people who went through that.

Glad I bailed when I did... Could've been totally screwed, man. Nothing left but a few beers. The rest of my crew? They kept chasing that high and now they're just wandering the streets of my city almost every night looking lost. And they keep telling me they aren't hooked, acting like I'm the weird one just because I quit.
Sometimes I cruise around with them while they're out trying to get right. You should see the pure rage and desperation on their faces as they bounce from dealer to dealer getting nothing. If I even try to say anything, they shut me down immediately, calling me an idiot and saying I have no right to talk because I don't smoke weed since I'm such a pussy. It’s a hell of a vicious cycle.

Hehe, you're the reason I had to change my handle to include that extra L when I signed up, Daniel Ortiz15.

Hey, I noticed you signed up just a little while after I did 🙂.
And yeah, I can tell exactly which movie you're talking about.
It reminds me of when I finally quit smoking; it’s almost identical to how it felt hanging out with my buddies who still smoked, just cruising around in the car together—it’s a tough realization, honestly, but that's when it finally hits you.

Honestly, all this nonsense people spout about how it’s some kind of miracle cure, how it isn’t actually a drug, how we should just legalize everything, or how it’s somehow better than drinking booze—it’s all total garbage. It’s about hiding from the real world, living in constant fear of the cops, staying in literal gutters, and letting people walk all over you because you can't even function without being high. You end up breaking into apartments with sketchy characters, cutting off everyone who actually cares about you... and once you quit, getting your life back together is such a slow, grueling process. I don't want anything to do with those people, period. It’s one of those things where you'll be walking through your neighborhood and see them hanging out near a playground where little kids are playing, and you just have to stop and ask yourself—what am I even doing here as an adult, standing at a playground next to this? It usually starts with one kid—maybe a bit of a troublemaker—who starts using, fails a grade, and drags his whole friend group down with him. He fails again, tries to fix things by going to some late-night club, ruins that too, and ends up barely scraping through middle school because of all the unexcused absences. Before you know it, he’s a kid owing money to dealers who are looking for any excuse to beat him up, and he’s out there cutting weight just to pay back what he owes. When you finally step away from that lifestyle, it becomes crystal clear exactly who you were running from. Those people? They’re still out there, partying until 3 AM every single night and sleeping all day. Oh, they’re "cool guys," right? Yeah, sure. One guy failed a grade because of it, but now he’s at a respectable university and his life finally took off once he walked away. That path is only good for losers who think drugs are the absolute peak of existence. They feel "high," but they look absolutely pathetic—their clothes, their attitude, their mental capacity... just a bunch of arrogant idiots.

Basically, weed just acts like a megaphone for whatever anxieties you're already dealing with. You might be able to dull that edge if you're consciously aware that the paranoia is just the substance talking, but you can't fully cancel it out. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing really just depends on your mindset. If you’re sitting there expecting a chill, giggly high, things are going to go south fast. But if you can actually appreciate or make use of the fact that weed is cranking up the volume on all those little mental distractions you have running in the background, then maybe it isn't such a disaster..

I've been smoking every single day for about 15 years now—started when I was around 20... and honestly, almost none of the stereotypes people bring up in this thread actually apply to my life.

I don't hang out in groups to smoke; I do my own thing, usually just chilling at home with the TV on. There aren't any sketchy parks or groups of losers competing to see who can act the most brain-dead. Also, I moved past that whole paranoid phase of worrying if someone's going to "catch" me ages ago. I can walk into any social situation—from hanging with my parents to grabbing coffee with coworkers—without even blinking. No one ever asks me, "Hey, are you high? Why the hell would you do that?" For me, weed has nothing to do with that "social" aspect.

I don't show up to work stoned, obviously. Having a short-term memory that works like Swiss cheese isn't exactly a blessing when you're a software engineer. That said, I frequently code while high at home, whether it's handling some sudden crisis at work or just messing around with a hobby. I once literally engineered a whole drywall drop ceiling with integrated lighting from scratch—and mind you, before that, I probably hadn't held a power tool more than three times in my life—and it turned out great. I did it because I was fed up with the crappy, makeshift lighting setups always found in cheap houses. I do all my housework while high because it makes it way more interesting; gardening is better high, and watching TV is mandatory high... plus, I've struggled with insomnia since I was a kid, so weed was originally my primary fix for that.

At the end of the day, I'd say smoking weed has become a habit for me that's almost as strong as a cigarette habit, though maybe a notch lower. The best part is they sort of function as substitutes for one another. If I don't smoke weed in the evening, I'll end up smoking at least half a pack of cigarettes. If I do smoke, I'll roll one or two decent joints and zero cigarettes (basically, there's one cigarette tucked into each joint). Usually, if I'm traveling and don't have weed on me, it's not a physical or mental issue. The real struggle is being home, flopping onto the couch, turning on the TV, and *not* being high—that's the habit. To me, that's the "final boss" level of marijuana dependency.

Lethargy is definitely something that weed amplifies, which is why I usually only light up once I've already drifted into that lethargic state (meaning: I've finished all my daily tasks and collapsed onto the couch). It feels like a reward. If you start smoking too early in the day, you probably won't get anything done, and then you'll just sit there feeling guilty when you finally do get high later that night. The weed will just remind you that you wasted the day, which ruins the high, and if that happens constantly, you'll just end up perpetually stressed out.

Cannabis, much like any other psychedelic, can be both a gift and a curse at the same time.

I found something truly fascinating when I would step away from the laughter and jokes with friends to sit in solitude. In layman's terms, I’d describe it as a process where my ego begins to "dilute," becoming more permeable and allowing the subconscious to surface. I often utilized that "in-between space" for personal growth work, because in those moments, it became significantly easier to distinguish what was imposed on me by my upbringing and environment from who I actually am (or at least, who I would be if it weren't for all that negative conditioning).

I stopped using it because: 1) psychedelics mess with your brain chemistry, which can lead to a decrease in the production of dopamine and serotonin (those essential hormones for motivation and happiness), and 2) the subconscious hides a lot of crap, and sometimes it's better not to stir up the muddy water.

Just a word of caution: if you want to explore, go ahead—but do it moderately, wisely, voluntarily, and with full awareness and information! 🧐

I went nearly three months without a cigarette, then ended up binging for almost two weeks straight... Hanging out with this buddy who’d never touched a smoke before, but now he’s totally trashed at 26
I get it, man. That rookie phase—acting cool, laughing it off, just messing around... But when we both get absolutely wasted, we look so pathetic it's hard to even put into words. We're avoiding eye contact in coffee shops, too embarrassed to even look the barista in the eye, just sitting there snickering to ourselves. He thinks it's hilarious because he's new to this, and he hasn't realized yet how obvious and ridiculous we look to everyone else. I've been through it all over the last few years, and honestly, walking around town feeling that high is just depressing; you feel like some freak under a spotlight. Guess I need to pull the plug and go clean for another 9 or 10 months