Without any scientific backing, numbers or percentages just my first hand honest, in-depth experience.
I was born in '84 in central Yugoslavia and by the early nineties shit hit the fan and it all came to a halt. I lost lots of family members, been tortured myself and watched my loved ones torchured and so on. By mid nineties it stopped and Bosnia (I'm from a small town Gornji Vakuf, so if you Google images from '93 you'll get a better picture.) merged out of it pretty rough, and just like all the vegetation/weed the pot grew freely and the government had bigger issues to deal with than few kids smoking reefer. I was 13 back in '97 and with a few older folks in the knw started smoking hash right off the bat and I loved it, it immediately started helping me sleep thru nights which I couldn't do for a long time after being exposed to daily heavy shelling and close quarter combat that threatened death at any moment.
Back in early 99 my family decides to move to the states and we get moved to Lawrenceville, GA in July of 99 as refugees. My parents wasted no time in getting the job and settling in the new life, which was pretty much where they left off in '91 before the first shot was fired. Just like my folks I wasted no time meeting people and starting smoking MJ. I loved it here. Back in 2008 I moved to Arizona and would get allnkinds of good shyt from Cali. Throughout the years i tried just about anything and would always revert to smoking as it cost me the least in any ways you look at it. I truly loved to take a toke any time of the day, there was never a bad time... Wish I could say the same now and here's why!
In 2006 I met my GF, who I'm with to this day and four healthy kids, but in the last two years she went from pain killers up to heroin real quick. The last year of it (now 5th day clean and determined) I was there with her and used a lot. I lost any desire to smoke and the couple times I did smoke I had major guilt-trips to a point I was in full blown depression mode wanting to kill myself...
Now, I can't wait for the moment I can enjoy a good toke and crack up with my girl until my stomach hurts. I know its coming I just gotta get my shit straight so I don't feel guilty about anything.
As far as any long term this or that? I don't know, I also smoke a pack of Marlboro red's a day so I know that has done more harm than anything, I can still stay at the bottom of our in ground pool for over 4 minutes. This was before dope, which I've done in Chicago where my in laws live after coming to stay a bit with MIL since my BIL OD'd last year on new years days... Both me and my GF flew off the handle this time since I said fuck it I'll just do it with you. We are not clean thou. Sorry about that tid bit out of nowhere.
To say that smoking weed ever made me violent, delusional, criminal, an asshole would be an utter lie and I don't understand why some entities try to portray it as such. About the worst fucking thing one can do is eat a bag of chips and pass out. I mean and that's if you don't smoke your self stupid-straight!!!! I miss it greatly and I wish I never tried anything else. I know I will get back to it, I don't like to drink and I don't think that I'm gonna like being sober for the rest of my life.
I can't imagine waking up and not smoking, just knowing that's just as good as I'm gonna feel all day, fuck that!