Anyone else notice that WEED is the only drug that you CANNOT use all your life?

[Chee$e]

It's sad, but true.

For example, take someone who drinks one time per week.

40-50 years down the road, if that person has a drink on the weekends, as usual he will get a buzz from the alcohol.


Now take a person who has smoked Marijuana once a week, chances are, 40-50 years down the road, if he tries to smoke weed again, rather than getting high like he used to in the "golden days" he will met with paranoia, confusion, and anxiety.

In essence, weed is one of the very few drugs that is only enjoyable in the first few years of use, before drastically the high changes and starts going against you.

It is a common trend amongst almost all stoners I meet:

"Yeah bro, I used to smoke daily for like 5 years straight but then instead of getting high, my heart would just race and I would get super paranoid"

It is sad that Mary Jane cannot be enjoyed forever and for one's whole life time.

The farthest I have seen someone make it getting pleasurable high's from weed is 40 years (and he was an "on and off" smoker throughout his life)

 

[n3wt]

I've often wondered about this myself. The process seems to happen to me pretty quickly, after a few months it turns on me and I don't feel like smoking it anymore. Time passes and I give it another whirl and I'm thinking to myself "why did I ever stop?"

Cannabis is known to cause both anxiety and relaxation, which on it's own seems strange. But it seems like with consistent use the relaxation seems to fade and the anxiety seems to become more pronounced. I remember once, in my youth, someone told me they didn't feel like smoking because it would "keep them up" that night... seemed ridiculous to me at the time but now I get it.

 

[Hoes call me santa]

I think it depends a lot on the strains and the amount you smoke, but I have no experience in that matter since i'm still thinking i'll be smoking throughout my whole life.

 

[Chee$e]

I've often wondered about this myself. The process seems to happen to me pretty quickly, after a few months it turns on me and I don't feel like smoking it anymore. Time passes and I give it another whirl and I'm thinking to myself "why did I ever stop?"

Cannabis is known to cause both anxiety and relaxation, which on it's own seems strange. But it seems like with consistent use the relaxation seems to fade and the anxiety seems to become more pronounced. I remember once, in my youth, someone told me they didn't feel like smoking because it would "keep them up" that night... seemed ridiculous to me at the time but now I get it.

Yeah man, same here. When I first started smoking I used to think that people who "freaked" out on weed were weird and weak minded. Now I know the truth, it is the acute effect of the drug itself rather than just the mindset of the person.

I think it depends a lot on the strains and the amount you smoke, but I have no experience in that matter since i'm still thinking i'll be smoking throughout my whole life.

Dude, I have done massive research on this phenomenon. Before I got on this site even. And based on my readings and observations, 99% of chronic Marijuana users will face this at one point or another. It is just that the time allotment is different for everyone. Some people can smoke daily for 20 years without seeing the anxiety/paranoia, some people see it only after one month (like me) but the fact of the matter is, if you use cannabis for an extended period of time it WILL turn on you at one point or another. (whether that be anxiety, paranoia, panic attacks, or some sort of mental problem) The "marijuana is harmless" scheme has been debunked by every stoner on drug and health forums over the internet.

 

[PriestTheyCalledHim]

I wouldn't say what you're claiming is true.

I know people who are over 50 who smoke herb and they smoke quite frequently either on weekends or some smoke daily.

They don't get paranoia, anxiety, or panic attacks from using herb. If they got bad effects like that from smoking herb they'd stop.

The one guy is an alcoholic and goes to AA and while he's not sober since he still smokes herb and I know he tried to get pills he thought would get him high from a doctor but he got prescribed Strattera instead he would have died if he hadn't gotten sober from alcohol and stopped drinking booze which he drank in large quantities daily for decades since he's an alcoholic/addict.

William S. Burroughs the guy I use as my icon grew herb and smoked it when he was very old.

There are older people who use herb medicinally in states where it's legal/decriminalized for that who have med cards who are longterm herb smokes, or now they just vaporize it or eat it if they can't smoke it or don't want to smoke it.

 

[burn out]

"

"Yeah bro, I used to smoke daily for like 5 years straight but then instead of getting high, my heart would just race and I would get super paranoid"

That describes me to a T. I wish someone had told me that at the start, before I made my whole life revolve around smoking weed only to have it turn on me viciously. I would clock my heart at incredible rates and I had some horrendous panic attacks and almost psychotic feelings combined with extreme laziness and other problems before it finally dawned on me that I really had no choice but to quit.

And yeah, at the time, I was envious of tobacco smokers, alcoholics, opiate addicts, etc because their drugs would continue to be in enjoyable for years and years whereas my drug of choice which was, and still would be had it not turned on me, cannabis has such a comparatively short honeymoon period.

I do want to point out that I don't believe cannabis is the ONLY drug where this happens. I definitely think it happens with cannabis to the MOST EXTREME DEGREE, in other words, the cannabis high changes over time more than the effects of any other drug change over time.

But there are other drugs which can turn you as well. The two that come to mind are benzodiazepines and amphetamines/MDXX compounds. I have no personal experience with long term amphetamine or MDXX abuse but I have read about this kind of drug changing over time and having major side effects after the honeymoon period has ended. Benzodiazepines, I did have a very serious addiction to, and after a few years of being on them. they turned on me, began to cause all kinds of crazy symptoms like extreme depression, mood swings, and anxiety as soon as they wore off. I wouldn't say the change was as extreme as cannabis, but it was pretty extreme and I did end up quitting benzodizepines. So there you go, it's not the only drug where this happens.

LSD/mushrooms also came to mind but after thinking it over I don't think this applies. I mean, I certainly outgrew tripping on these drugs and no longer desire to do so frequently (in fact I don't desire LSD ever again simply because the come down, can't sleep period lasts way too long and I find mushrooms far more euphoric and enjoyable anyway) but the difference is that after a year off of mushrooms, I could take mushrooms and have a beautiful trip. So it is more a case of the experience getting old rather than the drug no longer working. WIth cannabis though, even after time off, it never regains it's old form entirely and then with a few days of usage, you're basically right back where you were when you left off.

Good thread BTW.

 

[burn out]

I wouldn't say what you're claiming is true.

I know people who are over 50 who smoke herb and they smoke quite frequently either on weekends or some smoke daily.

They don't get paranoia, anxiety, or panic attacks from using herb. If they got bad effects like that from smoking herb they'd stop.

The one guy is an alcoholic and goes to AA and while he's not sober since he still smokes herb and I know he tried to get pills he thought would get him high from a doctor but he got prescribed Strattera instead he would have died if he hadn't gotten sober from alcohol and stopped drinking booze which he drank in large quantities daily for decades since he's an alcoholic/addict.

William S. Burroughs the guy I use as my icon grew herb and smoked it when he was very old.

There are older people who use herb medicinally in states where it's legal/decriminalized for that who have med cards who are longterm herb smokes, or now they just vaporize it or eat it if they can't smoke it or don't want to smoke it.

No, trust me, it is true. It doesn't happen to 100% of weed smokers, so of course you can find some counter examples. But there are literally SO many people that this does happen to, where it does not happen nearly as often with other drugs, or not to the same degree. I know from my own experience that it is true. I mean, for me, the marijuana high changed from a heavenly psychedelic experience, to a lazy, paranoid, sick, psychotic feeling with a racing heart on the verge of a panic attack hang on for dear life ordeal. There are literally hundreds of posts about this on this very message board. Now if you go onto an opiate board or an alcohol board, you dont find people coming on and saying "Omg heroin doesnt get me high any more I just get paranoid from it what do I do?" because those drugs continue to work for much longer than cannabis in the vast majority of users. In short, the existence of exceptions does not disprove the trend.

If they got bad effects like that from smoking herb they'd stop.

You can't count on that either. I continued to smoke for a LONG time after the bad effects begun. It's called addiction. I literally had to take things to the bitter end, where I got no more enjoyment out of cannabis at all, and felt like I was going to die every time I smoked it, before I finally decided to hang up my pipe.

 

[hpv311]

bull fucking shit man. weed is straight angel tears. the perfect drug.

 

[burn out]

Yeah man, same here. When I first started smoking I used to think that people who "freaked" out on weed were weird and weak minded. Now I know the truth, it is the acute effect of the drug itself rather than just the mindset of the person.

Yep, I thought the exact same thing. When I first started smoking, I couldn't imagine how anyone could possibly have a bad experience on cannabis. After all, whenever I felt the slightest bit of paranoia I would remind myself that it was just a drug. But after many months of smoking six large joints a day, I began to see the dark side of maryjane. And what a dark side she has! Marijuana ruined my life for a few years. ANd I took things so far, that it took me about four years to recover after I quit. The anxiety and panic attacks continued for me, even after I stopped smoking. I have had many people call me weak minded when I attempt to describe to them my experiences with cannabis. But I know I am not weak minded when it comes to drugs, because I can handle pretty much any other drug just fine. I mean, I have taken up to 14 hits of LSD, no problems there, I've done mushrooms numerous times, smoked DMT, done several high dose ketamine experiences and salvia divinorum and none of these drugs caused me any major troubles. Yet cannabis caused some of the worst experiences of my entire life.

Dude, I have done massive research on this phenomenon. Before I got on this site even. And based on my readings and observations, 99% of chronic Marijuana users will face this at one point or another. It is just that the time allotment is different for everyone. Some people can smoke daily for 20 years without seeing the anxiety/paranoia, some people see it only after one month (like me) but the fact of the matter is, if you use cannabis for an extended period of time it WILL turn on you at one point or another. (whether that be anxiety, paranoia, panic attacks, or some sort of mental problem) The "marijuana is harmless" scheme has been debunked by every stoner on drug and health forums over the internet.

Yeah marijuana is far from harmless and you are correct, there are tons and tons of posts on the internet about this. It's hilarious really. I mean, how did the marijuana is harmless and non addictive myth ever last so long? If you go on the internet on various message boards, you will find post after post of people describing their addiction to marijuana and/or the various mental health problems their marijuana use has caused them, yet there are still plenty of people who propagate the myths and respond to these people saying its not the weed, or you are smoking the wrong strain, or you are the only person this has happened to (despite tons and tons of posts by other people all over the internet). Its like the same story plays itself out over and ovre again. The pro cannabis people will come up with some ridiculous argument for why cannabis is not addicted, such as "you are just weak minded, try a REAL drug like opiates or benzos and then talk to me about addiction". But who is to say that all drug addicts aren't just weak minded? or maybe none of them are. In my case, I have been addicted to cannabis, alcohol, benzodiazepines and heroin. I can tell you guys with complete honesty that there is absolutely nothing in my experience to make me feel like my addiction to cannabis was any less real than my other addictions. It was the exact same type of thing. All my money going to cannabis, despite the fact that I knew how stupid this was. All my time going to using it, when I had always been a good student prior to that but suddenly gave up on school to smoke cannabis. and having an immensely difficult time stopping to smoke cannabis, the struggle of which was very similar to my struggle to give up drinking, or the struggle I am currently in to give up heroin. Yeah, the cannabis physical withdrawal ain't as bad as heroin (although suboxone can sure ease that up) but using that as argument against cannabis being addictive is absurd, because the physical withdrawal from cocaine is also much milder compared to heroin but you don't hear people going around claiming that cocaine is non addictive and anyone who thinks they are addicted to it is weak minded and needs to try a real drug.

 

[burn out]

Oh btw, I do have a theory on how the marijuana is harmless and non addictive myth stayed alive. I think it may actually be related to the fact that cannabis tends to turn on people. So my theory is that, the most severe cannabis addicts (I would include myself in this group) tend to burn themselves out the fastest, marijuana becomes extremely harmful to their mental health and day to day functionality to such a degree that they are basically forced to stop using it. Thus it APPEARS as if they stopped using it because it is non adddictive when in fact, they were very addicted to it but it lost its enjoyability.

This also might be why there are so few cases of lung disease associatged with marijuana as compared to tobacco. Again, the heaviest users are forced to stop using it at an early enough age that their lungs can still recovre. I am not saying that is the only reason but I do believe it has something to do with it.

 

[Chesh]

if i smoke daily for a week i start getting anxiety and paranoia on it, but then if i take a week break and just smoke on the weekends im fine.

 

[rules]

i'm still a daily weed smoker and i hope that doesn't change for me because although my tolerance is now ridiculously high to the point where i only get high for like 30 or 45 minutes off of a blunt, i still hope that the "high" never changes for me. i have heard it a billion times with people i know. "yeah, i used to smoke but then i started getting paranoid" heard it over and over and over. i just hope this never happens to me because no drug i've ever done has made me paranoid...and the list goes on and on.

 

[shimazu]

id disagree with this. I know a couple 50+ people who toke regularly. Just have to take tolerance breaks every now and then. And a vape will take care of the lung damaging part.

Not everyone gets paranoid from weed its just those people usually dont come on an internet forum bitching about how all weed does is make them have anxiety

 

[J.Wallace]

Though I don't smoke very often anymore, I still believe I've continue doing so throughout my life on special occasions. I think it mostly depends on, as said above, what strains you smoke and how much you choose to smoke. Personally, nowadays I find it stupid to even smoke a blunt. For me, I'll smoke a bowl of some quality weed and I'm good! Don't need no more, otherwise I just become quiet and stuck inside my head.

 

[microtel]

It's sad, but true. For example, take someone who drinks one time per week. 40-50 years down the road, if that person has a drink on the weekends, as usual he will get a buzz from the alcohol. Now take a person who has smoked Marijuana once a week, chances are, 40-50 years down the road, if he tries to smoke weed again, rather than getting high like he used to in the "golden days" he will met with paranoia, confusion, and anxiety. In essence, weed is one of the very few drugs that is only enjoyable in the first few years of use, before drastically the high changes and starts going against you. It is a common trend amongst almost all stoners I meet: "Yeah bro, I used to smoke daily for like 5 years straight but then instead of getting high, my heart would just race and I would get super paranoid"
It is sad that Mary Jane cannot be enjoyed forever and for one's whole life time. The farthest I have seen someone make it getting pleasurable high's from weed is 40 years (and he was an "on and off" smoker throughout his life)

Some people do experience symptoms from cannabis such as anxiety, paranoia, and I've seen chronic stoners stop smoking overnight never to return again. However others continue for a lifetime. As people age they respond to drugs differently due to many factors but to suggest ALL stoners experience those symptoms is too simplistic. Like everything in life the use of cannabis and its effects are subjective as to whether a person will have physical/mental/emotional anguish from the drug. I know people who stop using for religious reasons or their spouse won't tolerate it or their job won't allow it. I know one person who went in reverse of your suggestion, she couldn't smoke it as a teenager because of "weird highs" but later in middle age picked it again and loves it, saying cannabis gives her a better nights sleep, removes her heartburn and indigestion, and it elevates her outlook on negative circumstances. I think more study is needed on cannabis and its many alkaloids.

As to the use of alcohol, the worlds most dangerous addictive drug, its chemical structure is simpler, it's Ethanol, and it's effects pretty much the same in youth or in the elderly, the shape of an alcohol buzz is similar person to person, but even here each person's response to Ethanol consumption will vary and damage to human organs more severe than cannabis (based on current research).

 

[burn out]

Yes its true that some people continue for a lifetime and anyone who denies that is just as incorrect as the people denying that marijuana turns on people but I think the underlying point here is that in a very large percentage of stoners, the high changes over time and gets significantly worse in a way that just doesn't happen as often or to as an extreme degree as with other drugs.

For instance, take alcohol. If you abuse alcohol for a long time you will eventually get less euphoria out of it and more side effects, longer hangovers, etc, more blackouts. The effects do certainly change. But not quite to the extreme degree that they often change with cannabis, to the point where people not only begin to enjoy it less, but actually can't even handle the effects without becoming paranoid or panicking or having their heart race.

 

[Jacksterini]

I think it depends on person and whats going on in there life. Aside from cancer. I think pot is awesome. Why its not legal is just another example of how the government hates us.

 

[danceface]

That's is so not true maybe their getting weird and paranoid because of shit going on in their personal life you never know plus anyone that gets paranoid from weed should fight it head on and face it cuz weed speaks the truth

 

[treezy z]

i loved weed when i started smoking. then for a while it got me fucked up and paranoid. now i like it again. i think it's because my life was out of order and weed makes you more introverted so i would just think about how fucked up i was and my life was but now things are going well, i feel good about myself and i enjoy getting blunted again.

 

[treezy z]

and i completely disagree with weed being the only drug you can't use all your life, i would say the complete opposite. weed is the only drug you can use regularly your whole life. ya once a week drinkers can go on forever i guess, t's unhealthy as fuck if it's more than 1-2 drinks though and will probably make them die younger.