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why does everyone like cannabis so much?

Everyone who doesn't believe in marijuana withdrawal should read on. This is directed towards YOU.

http://www.news-medical.net/print_article.asp?id=34734

Medical Studies/Trials
Published: Monday, 28-Jan-2008

Research by a group of scientists studying the effects of heavy marijuana use suggests that withdrawal from the use of marijuana is similar to what is experienced by people when they quit smoking cigarettes.

Abstinence from each of these drugs appears to cause several common symptoms, such as irritability, anger and trouble sleeping - based on self reporting in a recent study of 12 heavy users of both marijuana and cigarettes.

"These results indicate that some marijuana users experience withdrawal effects when they try to quit, and that these effects should be considered by clinicians treating people with problems related to heavy marijuana use," says lead investigator in the study, Ryan Vandrey, Ph.D., of the Department of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States. Admissions in substance abuse treatment facilities in which marijuana was the primary problem substance have more than doubled since the early 1990s and now rank similar to cocaine and heroin with respect to total number of yearly treatment episodes in the United States, says Vandrey.

He points out that a lack of data, until recently, has led to cannabis withdrawal symptoms not being characterized or included in medical reference literature such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, (DSM-IV) or the International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition (ICD-10).

Since the drafting of the DSM-IV in 1994, an increasing number of studies have surfaced suggesting that cannabis has significant withdrawal symptoms. What makes Vandrey's recent study unique is that it is the first study that compares marijuana withdrawal symptoms to withdrawal symptoms that are clinically recognized by the medical community - specifically the tobacco withdrawal syndrome.

"Since tobacco withdrawal symptoms are well documented and included in the DSM-IV and the IDC-10, we can infer from the results of this comparison that marijuana withdrawal is also clinically significant and should be included in these reference materials and considered as a target for improving treatment outcomes," says Vandrey.

Vandrey added that this is the first "controlled" comparison of the two withdrawal syndromes in that data was obtained using rigorous scientific methods - abstinence from drugs was confirmed objectively, procedures were identical during each abstinence period, and abstinence periods occurred in a random order. That tobacco and marijuana withdrawal symptoms were reported by the same participants, thus eliminating the likelihood that results reflect physiological differences between subjects, is also a strength of the study.

Interestingly, the study also revealed that half of the participants found it easier to abstain from both substances than it was to stop marijuana or tobacco individually, whereas the remaining half had the opposite response.

"Given the general consensus among clinicians that it is harder to quit more than one substance at the same time, these results suggest the need for more research on treatment planning for people who concurrently use more than one drug on a regular basis," says Vandrey.

Vandrey's study, which appears in the January issue of the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, followed six men and six women at the University of Vermont in Burlington and Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C., for a total of six weeks. All were over 18 (median age 28.2 years), used marijuana at least 25 days a month and smoked at least 10 cigarettes a day. None of the subjects intended to quit using either substance, did not use any other illicit drugs in the prior month, were not on any psychotropic medication, did not have a psychiatric disorder, and if female, were not pregnant.

For the first week, participants maintained their normal use of cigarettes and marijuana. For the remaining five weeks, they were randomly chosen to refrain from using either cigarettes, marijuana or both substances for five-day periods separated by nine-day periods of normal use. In order to confirm abstinence, patients were given daily quantitative urine toxicology tests of tobacco and marijuana metabolites.

Withdrawal symptoms were self reported on a daily basis Monday through Friday using a withdrawal symptom checklist that listed scores for aggression, anger, appetite change, depressed mood, irritability, anxiety/nervousness, restlessness, sleep difficulty, strange dreams and other, less common withdrawal symptoms. Patients also provided an overall score for discomfort they experienced during each abstinence period.

Results showed that overall withdrawal severity associated with marijuana alone and tobacco alone was of similar frequency and intensity. Sleep disturbance seemed to be more pronounced during marijuana abstinence, while some of the general mood effects (anxiety, anger) seemed to be greater during tobacco abstinence. In addition, six of the participants reported that quitting both marijuana and tobacco at the same time was more difficult than quitting either drug alone, whereas the remaining six found that it was easier to quit marijuana or cigarettes individually than it was to abstain from the two substances simultaneously.


Vandrey recognizes that the small sample size is a limitation in this study, but the results are consistent with other studies indicating that marijuana withdrawal effects are clinically important.
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/



Anyway, I like pot because it helps slow me down so I can think. I have real respect for the plant, and using it is always really sacred to me. Even if I'm just pigging out, I appreciate it having gave it's life for my higher state. I don't know... it's more love and religious adoration than a high to me.
 
zacamo said:
shit, i've had whole shroom trips that were just sitting around for hours blazing mass quantities of weed....

don't let your personal negative reaction to the combo make you think that it'll be even remotely the same for other people. i've had pot actually over-power shrooms and make the trip LESS intense.

but yes, for me, pot is the best drug in the world. if i could only ever do one substance again, hands down it would be marijuana.

Why waste a good shroom trip?
 
Some people like pot and some people don't. If you don't like it or what it does to you, don't smoke it.

I have one friend that smoked a blunt once and said how it just made him bored, lazy, and want to sit around and stare at the walls and this wasn't fun to him.

I happen to enjoy it but while I don't use any illegal drugs now at all if I were to start smoking again I'd do it once/a few times a month or even a few times a year, as daily smoking is too expensive and becomes a hindrance more than staying fun. I enjoy pot for its psychedelic properties but you don't always get these if you smoke daily and have a big tolerance.
 
Back in grade 9 and 10 weed was REALLY, REALLY special. It helped me meet a lot of people I'd have otherwise probably never met, opened my mind up a lot, lead to some amazing physical and mental feelings and just some really great times. Things have changed though. That discovery period can never be reached again. Those great people I met are now either sketchbags, addicts, or don't smoke pot anymore. The friends I currently smoke with are a group that is more new to weed, and as such they don't display the long-term effects of weed, this mainly being something that is no longer special, but something you just do.

There's no reason to smoke anymore, the high is dull and makes me anti-social and paranoid. It costs too much money. The health effects, especially on mental health but also sheer EXHAUSTION from smoking every single day for 4 years keep building up. So why do I keep going? It's not exactly addiction, but it is an addiction to this lifestyle. I don't really see any other place I 'fit in'. Weed has always provided me with a basis to my personality. I can talk pot, and I talk about pot very well (and all drugs for that matter). I am so attached to it, through investments and friends. I have a Volcano, that's one expensive piece of hardware to just stop using, and chilling with friends would never be the same without weed, I'd probably need new friends, lol, but I don't want that hassle, so quitting could very well turn me into quite the social outcast, because I find when I'm around people who don't use drugs, I talk about drugs anyways, lol.

I get some satisfaction from my drug use and knowledge though, let's be clear about that. I can't count the number of people who were left speechless when I floored them with, first, knowledge on drugs, which they follow up with...You don't even look like you'd smoke pot, har har har...To be bombarded with a list of 25 chemicals that have reacted with my brain.

Well, I find drug one up manship really doesn't work, because just about no one is as interested in drugs, and views them as something as important as I do, and when they are made out to look like a huge dumbass for their assumptions they will generally just label me a drug addict and that's something everyone can agree on.

So I'm gonna stop, and maybe become a loner, but we'll see what happens, maybe I'll actually get through this first year of university if I quit weed and socializing, lol.

Man I'm fucked up this morning lol. I need a cigarette.
 
vortex30 said:
So I'm gonna stop, and maybe become a loner, but we'll see what happens, maybe I'll actually get through this first year of university if I quit weed and socializing, lol.

If you're in your first year of university, I would DEFINITELY recommend at least cutting back to weekly rather than daily smoking. My guess is that your fear of socializing without using/discussing pot is based more on insecurity than reality. There's lot to do and talk about outside of that world, and, frankly, if you're doing something fun with people who are interesting WITHOUT drugs, they'll be even more fun when you do find that they also drink/smoke pot/etc.

Likewise, I'm always shocked by how much more social I am when I take a break. When I'm smoking, I'm totally content with being alone or doing the same thing with the same people. But when I'm sober a few days, I really start craving new people and new experiences, and it gives me the motivation and the interest to actually get involved and social.

Anywho, sorry to get off-topic and all soap-box-y, but one of my biggest regrets is that I convinced myself to let weed be a boundary during college. Just like you, I thought that pot-smokers were the only people for me, and was intimidated by the thought of finding new ways to make friends. And it wasn't until I started having to be clean for job interviews that I realized how much easier it was to make friends and meet girls when I wasn't stoned all the time. Not to mention I was WAY less awkward.
 
m0rbid abyss said:
another great thing about weed is that it's hard to imagine what it's like to be stoned when your sober because it's always so differant. like with alcohol you know that your going to get drunk and it will be the same thing over and over and never really changes

YES.. i havent done too many drugs, just weed, alc and e.. but I must say the number 1 appeal of weed is that it is so resilient - it effects you differently depending on your set, setting, state of mind, quality of bud, how much you smoke etc.. To me it is the most surprising drug.

Other than that, I would have to say the fact that the negative effects are so unpronounced makes weed appealing.. you can completely leave all grasp of reality for 3 hours, and then return like nothing has happened.. For me, it can be spiritual in this sense, and I think it is a gift..

weed becomes boring when you abuse it.. I try and respect the drug - I know it causes paranoia and sometimes anxiety, but this is the magic occuring.. the come up for me is not so pleasant, but leads to something that can be very pleasant and rewarding and at times psychedellic and insightful.
 
weed is the most amazing thing ever in all aspects it makes everything better...

I beat alot of weed paranoia by just smoking more and being high in public..

Cannabis makes any situation better and the sleep on it is oh so blissful :)
 
Feelsgoodmangreen.jpg
 
a boring, uninteresting state of mind where i have no desire to think.
Hm.....it's pretty opposite to me. It seems to provoke a lot of thinking, and makes everything interesting.
 
The same reason people " like " booze so much. Because its abundant & readily available to most people. In other words drugs ( other than pharms. ) arent as easy to find. That & herb IS THE SHIT!!!!!!!:)
 
I like weed so much because it's not very hazardous to your health and it's something I can pretty much function normally on. I don't like being completely out of my head (like when I'm really drunk). I love acid, but that's not something you can do too often because, while I still have my head at large doses, I do not behave like a responsible member of society :\.
 
Oh man.

Ok I'll skip the essay, but let's just say it puts me in a perfectly scattered, relaxed state of mind, music sounds better, playing the guitar is much more fluid and precise, exercize feels incredible (sexercize), all foods become delicious...

... i can use it get to sleep, i can use it to get out of bed, i can use it to go to work, i can use it to sit on the couch and stare at a hampster ball even. Not to mention the good stuff smells a lot like heaven which is where i am when im stoned.

Sorry I had to leave out most of the reasons ;)

+1, except I can't sleep worth shit when I'm stoned. If I'm a little high I can fall asleep, but not when I'm baked.
 
It tastes and smells delicious (or at least the shit I get does :D), it makes me giggle like a fool and music sounds fantastic while high. Plus I find the changes in cognition very, very interesting indeed.
 
I personally don't find the benefits in it? It makes me feel paranoid and stoned. and i mean stoned the way sasha describes it. a boring, uninteresting state of mind where i have no desire to think.

hahaha i couldnt put it better myself, i completly agree
id much rather have a few shots
 
One thing I really like about pot is that I can get to where I want to be w/o a lot of effort or physical consequences.

I can take one big bong hit and be really intoxicated almost instantly. Then it eventually wears off, I get sleepy, and feel only slightly tired the next morning. To get the same effect with alcohol, I need to drink heavily for several hours, and it's definitely going to kick my ass the next day.
 
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