Cannabis vs Life Style

Hey guys,

I haven't posted much since I became a member here, but I have been visiting this message board on a regular basis for the past couple of months. I have noticed that different individuals from different places and from different backgrounds gather here to have a discussion...

Since people's "a/s/l" is so widespread from one poster to another, I do realize that not everyone makes the same use of cannabis and that each has theire own lifestyle. And that is exactly what I want to know. How much does cannabis affect your lifestyle, and has smoking herb changed it in any way...if so, how ?

Personnaly I have been smoking for 1 year now. Not sure if it is due to my addictive personality or maybe for the simple fact that cannabis is so great, but I became a heavy smoker pretty quickly. I have been smoking on daily basis for atleast 6-7 months now. Now keep in mind, I limit myself to 1 or 2 joints per day, sometimes 3 or 4 on the weekends but it's rare that I smoke more than 2 per day. It happens sometimes that I skip a day or 2 but that dosen't happen too often. I can say for sure that MJ has affected my lifestyle, maybe both in a positive way and a negative way...but more negative I would say.

If I can take anything positive from it, I would say it has made me a more open minded person. It has allowed me to have deep reflection on different matters of life (in general, spirituality/philosophy ect..). It has allowed me to get a deeper passion for music. And as everyone know's everything is better under the influence wether it is food, sex, driving or watching a movie. This may be a good thing, but at the same time because it makes all those things so great, it's hard to enjoy them when you're not :stoned: :)
It would be pretty hard for me to rent a good movie, and not be tempted to have a toke.

So I guess for negative things it has had an impact on would be the "addiction". There is also lazyness and carelessness (wich I guess are inter related), inability to concentrate, short term memory loss and some depression (wich I am still not sure if it is caused by cannabis or not) All of those things have had an affect on school and job.

What I have been wanting to do is limit the consomation to weekends only and the odd day during the week, I guess that would be ideal. But it has been harder than thought, I just cannot imagine how people who have been toking for 5-10 years ever get to stop. I guess the goal for me is to adapt a good lifestyle where cannabis dosen't affect my ability to do the things that are important : studies + work + have a good social life. Basicaly use cannabis in a way where I can have a healthy lifestyle.

Now I do realize that some people get less addicted than others, and also that MJ dosen't have the exact same effect on one peron to another. This is why I am intrested in knowing a bit on you guys, if cannabis has affected your lifestyle, if so, what kind of positive and negative effect did it have ? Also, what would you consider the ideal amount of consommation, what would be too much ?

Thanks in advance for the feedback :thumbsup:

I got busted my frehsmen year of college in may..and had to quit for a year...I had only been smoking about a year tho...now that im cleared of everything and its almost 3 years later, ive been at it for about another year, and i couldnt imagine myself quitting..its definatly easy to do when you HAVE to, but when your on your own, its quite hard...id like to cut back in about a year when im getting ready to graduate...probably keep to the weekends/weeknights

I just wrote this massive post about my experience but decided to keep that for later.
This is in summary and response to your post BrownFlloyd.
I was a very heavy smoker for 10yrs. Cut down 2 yrs ago to about 0.05 of a gram per week.
Yes, I still love getting a light stone on a Fri or Sat night watching a DVD and the taste of chocolate. If you must smoke at all, I highly recommend only smoking 0.05 of a gram mixed with 2 ciggys and splitting it across Fri and Sat nights. Don't smoke on weeknights or Sunday night cause its makes you sluggish and depressed at work or school. Give up completely if you still can. You will thank me later. You probably have already gotten all the positives out of it.
Yes, giving it up or cutting right down is really hard!!! Especially for long term smokers. But you will feel so much better about everything in the long run.
I can go into alot more detail so if you have any questions then let me know and I might even post the massive thread I just wrote before.

positive

-weed is fucking incredible
-more creative musically
-everything is better
-relaxing, helped ease my panic attacks
-ease pain
-help asthma
-open my mind to new experiences
-introduce me to the use of other psychoactives

negatives
-got suspended from school for posession and smoking on school property
-strains my relationship with family
-expensive
-lack of motivation (mostly because there's nothing better than smoking weed)
-skip lots of classes to smoke, dont do homework

It doesn't affect my lifestyle. I can do anything with or without it, if I've done it before. Learning new things is, also, irrelevant when it comes to being stoned or not.

Smoking pot doesn't make you forget anything, unless you want to forget it. Or care less, if you forget it. But, shortly after I had a Brain Injury, I experimented with lots of illegal drugs. Pot affected me the greatest, and with the best positive results. It makes the ringing in my ears seem like it's just my imagination and I have to imagine my ears ringing to hear it. It increases my eye speed. I had severe double-vision shortly after the car accident, where I went into a coma. My vision is great now that I've smoked Pot, heavily for the 11 years after my accident. Only exception being the time I was arrested and took a 10-week class, in which I was drug-tested.

Drug-testing: Testing for drugs.
Why do they penalize you for finding a plant in your system?

So, when I came out of the coma, my strong side was paralyzed and I had to stay at a rehabilitation hospital to recover from the coma (occupational, physical, cognitive, speech, the whole works). So basically, it was like taking a blind-side shot from a 3,000 pound linebacker. I can't even get into how pot affects my lifestyle, seriously.

all the negatives you have described sound to me like you have a addictive personality problem... since mj is not a health risk, many of us tend to go a little overboard, it's a very common problem, though most would not admit that it is a problem :) i would say stop smoking for a while

after the first 3 days it becomes much easier to not smoke.. but if you must, here is what i do

i make a budget and decide exactly how long i want a given amount to last me, then i break it all up into pipe-sized chunks.. and would allow myself to smoke twice a week... so i would put 8 chunks in a small stash jar, and hide the rest far out of the way, and only smoke on whats in the jar for the whole month... if i smoked it all in 2 or 3 weeks, then i would make myself go without for the rest of the month... it may be easier or more effective for you to do this by the week, with fewer chunks in the jar to tempt you.. if you can do it, a small amount will last you a very long time

the best thing for me was stopping smoking entirely for a month or 2... after i let go of my attachment to MJ, i appreciated it much more, and now, i have vowed to never pay for black market mj again, i simply grow all my own

a side note: thc, when getting you high, is acting on a certain set of receptors in your brain, built for anandamides, a bliss chemical produced by your brain. mj and chocolate are the only 2 external stimuli for anadamides, but they are produced when doing yoga or tai chi or meditating, mildly during any exercise, or sex ... since i already do yoga i began doing it daily when not smoking.. it made a huge difference, so if you can, take up yoga or tai chi or meditation.... or just fuck alot LOL ... seriously, yoga is best IMO

right now i have about 6 weeks till harvest, with nothing to smoke.. and thats just fine with me... when i do have it i usually smoke a small bowl or chillum almost every night after im done with my responsibilities for the day, and it is infinitely better / higher / more satisfying in every way.. there is no beating a homegrown high... and if you smoke less often, you get higher from less smoke :D once in a while, maybe once a month or so when i have pot, i will smoke during the day on a day that i have nothing to do, usually a weekend

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BrownFloyd

Hey guys,

I guess the goal for me is to adapt a good lifestyle where cannabis dosen't affect my ability to do the things that are important : studies + work + have a good social life. Basicaly use cannabis in a way where I can have a healthy lifestyle.

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Okay so i can tell you my situation is the same...i just stop somking for 2 weeks, to find the time to apreciate life sober...it worked and i am smoking once in a while now... when i feel i am too sluggish i quit for a couple of days until i feel the evolution of switching reality's point of view...

But at the same time what you didn't realized yet, is the real importance of what i quoted above...what is for you a good social life, why is it important to study like you do, and what is the importance of working that hard? what are those things meant to be in your life? Or in your after life?

think a lil further than what everybody tells you is important to think about, it is not for nothing a lot of things are going wrong today...

I only started smoking this past summer. Lucky for me, I started on some high quality pot. I smoked a bowl of keef the third time I got high, and have had nothing but high grade chronic since.

I try and keep my usage to a minimum. I typically do not smoke more than once or twice every week. And when I do smoke, it's just a bowl or two, and then I ride out the high. I don't sustain it throughout entire days. My university is now on its 6 week winter break, so I'm very tempted to smoke up often since I have nothing to do, but I'm doing pretty well in keeping it down. I am very prone to addiction, so I'm trying not to get into a pattern of habituation and dependence, like I know many smokers do. There are other things in life that are important to me, and I need to give them equal focus.

How has weed affected my lifestyle? It's been so wonderful. As the OP said, it really has made me a more open minded person spiritually, and emotionally. When I smoke, I feel a bond with my surroundings that I just can't feel anymore as I grow older. I smoke because when I do, it's like I'm seeing and experiencing everything for the first time again. Like being a child. It gives me a deep insight into everything, and just like when I was little, I am able to grow from them.

Plus, let's face it, being high feels amazing, and it can be a welcome break to our lifestyles which have become so embedded in routine and fast paced work.

I don't really think in terms of positive or negative anymore. I will just say it has changed me, and I think any change is "positive".

Ok, i smoked weed very heavely for a good yr and 1/2. Im talkin like qp's a week or what not. The day i quit my life wasnt goin to well and i was using weed for all the wrong reasons one day i just up and quit, tossed my pipes, weed, everything out the window. Now and days im back at college having a good time. I usually always smoke with someone. i was surprised to find out how many ppl smoke at my college. Anyways, i think weed is great, i like smokin with new ppl and it is a great way to meet ppl cause you have that one thing in common. I think you can live a healthy lifestyle i do, i play college football, im in all kinds of intramuel sports, i lift weights everyday and stay in excellent shape, school work is fine i have to go to study tables for football and hr and a 1/2 a night so i get all my work done, then i gots basketball, volleyball or whatever i have to do. afterwards me and friend toke up and chill the rest of the night. i couldnt be loving life more right now. thats my story even tho it may suck. Peace

I think you know its gone too far when you put weed before your friends (not saying you have, but i know people that have done that and now they're like... fuck).

Weed is a double-edged sword... I would take it in moderation... good luck!

- Kate

Like everything else, moderation and balance is the key...But those concepts are a lil wider for some people, and their "extremes" are a lil further to reach...You just got to be true to yourself, notice when you are good for a stop and once your convinced of that you're not addicted anymore (not like other durgs that even when you wanna quit you cannot) So the key is always be true to yourself, listen to what you REALLY have to say to yourself...

big improvement on my life. i didnt start untill the late age of 17 (:D) but i will never regret it, i have never had such ease in falling asleep, even compaired to various sleeping pills i took before i turned 17...

i have terrible arthritus in my right knee that doesnt act up often, almost never, but when it does, i can barely walk. terrible thing is i almost never have anything to smoke when it DOES act up! i SWARE it KNOWS when im sober and dry (high and dry just aint right!).

and lastly, it is a VERY good antidepressant, and it gave me a little better perspective on life... ony a little though... im not gonna kill myself now lol i have something to live for! i can get high!

What's the old saying? Oh, yeah. "Smoke more weed."