Conflicting views on marijuana

[piku_playground]

I've been smoking weed since I was about 14 (I am 19 now.) I have never been a heavy smoker, and take breaks frequently. I have smoked hundreds of times, but it is not until recently that I have been examining marijuana at a new level. I am not sure whether the substance has been beneficial or harmful in my growth.

I have been trying to use marijuana in a different way since my experiences with psychedelic drugs. When I am by myself or with people, creeping thoughts or negativity or insecurity manifest themselves. But it is in those moments that a simple or beautiful thought will break through though it can feel like a distant solution. It feels as if the tempo of life is slowed down to a more examinable level. I am able to see negative thought patterns, and from it hopefully I can break them. Strangely, I have been more positive and enriched lately then I have been in a long time. But it feels like when I get high, old thought patterns come in.

It feels like marijuana has been showing me the reason in meditation. Every time that I let go for a few seconds while stoned, it feels like something beautiful and strange is attempting to show itself to me. For instance, I was looking out into space the other night while being moderately high. My eyes shifted out of focus and my peripheral expanded. In this moment, it felt as if an infinite pattern was slowly coming into my unfocused focus. It reminded me of the infinite faces that you often see in psychedelic art, such as Tool's 10,000 days. And every time I tried to focus on it, it would morph into something less clear and beautiful. It was as if my frequent, disruptive thoughts were trying to lead my vision, instead of the other way around.

I definitely feel that marijuana does induce lethargy while intoxicated, my concern is if it wears into our every day lives. I'm not sure if this is more attributed to our personal health and well being. I have a good diet but exercise little. I would love to feel more aware and curious while high rather then feeling fairly tired and lazy. The next day I often feel a little foggy rather then clear headed like a lot of psychedelics let you feel the following day.

Does anyone else feel like there is two paths of negativity and positivity while high? It is up to your own conscious whether or not you choose to learn something beautiful or become lazy and miss it all. I think a lot of these questions come from marijuana being so much more subtle then other substances. It is harder to understand that you are experiencing sensory distortions and begin to feel that thoughts during these conditions are less influential by your own will.

I wonder if it is because I have been smoking low quality weed that a lot of the laziness has occurred. It feels like when I smoke chronic that you can jump into imagination much more easily.

Any thoughts?

 

[Chainer]

I'm not sure exactly what you are asking...

You seem to be taking about different strains. Of course each strain has it's unique highs. You prefer cerebral highs over couch-lock highs.... Okay. Don't smoke mids or schwag, usually this just makes people tired and dumb. Stick to your favorite types of headies.

Are you forgetting that MJ is a drug? Regardless of what people say, or who is trying to skew your situation, you've got to remember that it is a mind altering substance. Abuse WILL effect you negatively at some point.

Meditation while stoned is always easier for me to get into my zone... Probably because it is a mind-expanding psychedelic. But I usually stick to cerebral strains. If I am smoking mids, it takes everything in me not to say something stupid.

 

[burn out]

i believe that if you use it wisely, marijuana can have a number of mental benefits including helping you see your own negative thought patterns and changing them.

 

[Fohat]

It's definitely a complicated drug, and it seems to effect different people in radically different ways - not necessarily in terms of the high itself but in terms of how that high effects the person's life.

I don't know you and it's hard to judge anything about you from your post. Just remember to be vigilant about what you experience when high. In my opinion, while it's possible for drugs to give you some real insight at times, they more often lead to delusion. You might feel like pot is leading you down a good road but you have to sincerely examine your experiences with the drug while sober. I know that, speaking for myself, smoking pot has led to a real lack of mental development. Sure I'm happy and mentally healthy when I'm high, but all of that is an illusion: I need a drug to feel that way. The fact that I can just scrap together a few bucks and call my dealer has led to some very negative thought-patterns of mine becoming further entrenched because, instead of facing them, I'm plastering over them.

Of course I'm not saying this is happening to you. I'm just saying you should be aware of the possibility and try to sincerely find out whether that's the case, since it *is* the case with a pretty significant portion of the pot-using population. Also I'm not trying to "blame my problems on drugs": it's my choice to smoke pot, and my choice that I haven't dealt with some things that ought to be dealt with. It's just that my choice to smoke pot has made it harder to deal with these things because it's so much easier to smoke a joint.

Good luck!

 

[Project Will]

Weed can definately be both beneficial and harmful depending on how you use it. Smoking all the time alone at home instead of going out and doing things is obviously not a good thing. Using weed to expand your mind, get a new prospective on things, or improve activities (especially movies and eating) has benefited me greatly.

 

[Creep]

We're in the same position, I do agree marijuana 'causes lethargy, which is why I'm going to put the blunt down real soon, I'll have more money and feel clear headed. I wake up in the morning and feel a weird high, I know I'm obviously sober but I feel high for some reason.

 

[piku_playground]

Thanks for the opinions. I think I'm going to just start smoking chronic when I have more money, and only do it when I am about to do some interesting activity that could benefit from it. I've been playing the drums for about a year now, and for the first time I played them while a little high and drunk. Was extremely fun, even though I was making a lot of mistakes, but it helped me get into my own groove more easily.

My friends and I got a q of shwag the other day, and it seriously is probably one of the worst sacks I have gotten. It reminded me of the early years in high school when we first started smoking. Gave me more of a headache and I didn't even bother smoking it again.

One thing I have noticed with psychedelics is that they make you appreciate being sober more. It is not as if you have a dependence to be tripping all the time, rather being sober can feel more clear and motivating. Marijuana on the other hand does make me feel a minor hangover the next day and more tired.

 

[Rahcookiemonster]

^ The most annoying thing for me about the hangover/lethargy the next day, is I usually use more weed to cure that haha.

Like a dog chasing its tail...