Quote Originally Posted by FindingTim
These are the stages of smoking that I went through up until now, starting in my sophomore year of high school. I am now a freshmen at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles, and I spent about 1/2 of the first semester completely baked. However, I hope this time my abstinence will be permanent. I am posting this in order to both promote my own decision to quit smoking, and to assist anyone who may be blind to their own similar experiences.

Stages:
1. Began pot experimentation around age 15, yet did not use habitually. Found experience to be life-changing . Even began to appreciate nature.

2. Began to smoke on weekends with friends. Created countless priceless memories.
3. Bought first sack, smoked alone for first time.
4. Continued to buy, began to listen to classic rock, and spent many hours on cannabis.com message boards.
5. Began to question marijuana use only because of potential cancer link, but began to smoke even more after reading numerous studies disproving the marijuana/cancer connection.
6. Hardcore marijuana abuse over summer, sometimes going a week at a time without sobering up. In a brainwashed stupor, attempted to persuade many peers to try smoking.
7. Lots of personal marijuana abuse over next two years, with several month long breaks in between.
8. Began to recognize own smoking as an addiction and a problem, yet began to incorporate smoking into almost any type of activity.
9. Began to realize that marijuana use was negatively affecting almost every aspect of life. Quit for a month several times, vowing to not smoke again for years. Continuously relapsed after a months time with justifications such as: ??it??s been long enough,? and ??I??ll only use occasionally.?
10. Each month long break resulted in a mildly skeptical ??welcome back?? smoke, which always led to hardcore, 24/7 pot smoking. Despite realizing that pot no longer provided the epic mental journey of sophomore year, continued to use and abuse.
11. Began to pay close attention to levels of happiness and overall emotions while both stoned and sober. Found that happiness, intellect, and even enjoyment of music all were increased during days that followed pot binges, rather than during.
12. Decided that social abilities, intelligence, and emotions are far too precious to waste by smoking pot.


More personal observations:

Positives of Marijuana Abuse:
Get high
Social involvement
Negatives of Marijuana Abuse:
Weight gain (munchies)
Apathy (loss of emotions/feelings/motivation)
Worse physical appearance (droopy eyes, not just while stoned)
Memory loss
Greatly weakened social ability
No sex drive
Increased estrogen (less muscle mass potential)
Learning difficulty
Loss of confidence
Completely different personality
No R.E.M. sleep or dreams
Withdrawal Symptoms:
Sleep disturbance
Wrestlessness
Irritability
Complete appetite loss
Loss in confidence
Mild depression

So, after four years and thousands of bowls (literally), I am done. Oh, and please excuse my signature; I made it a long time ago.

Final 10 cents:
---Dennis Kucinich 08'!--- (He happens to be the most reasonable and peace-minded candidate. Watch him in debates and you too may realize that he is the one candidate capable of making huge, positive change in this country.) :thumbsup:
The weight gain is your problem, nothing to do with the weed.
Cannabis doesnt rob you of your emotions and motivation. Your just lazy.
I dont get droopy eyes unless im stoned - i REALLY fail to see how cannabis can change the way you look when sober.
How did cannabis weaken your social ability? Cannabis didnt, you did.
Cannabis DOES NOT lower sex drive.
Learning difficulty? Thats nothing to do with cannabis, maybe your just not the bright spark you thought you were.
How did smoking cannabis make you less confident? It's YOU, not the weed.
I dont see how cannabis can completely change you, it gets you stoned, and thats it. I dont see how/why it'd change your personality. [for the worse]
And cannabis doesnt stop you dreaming, you dream everynight - you just cant always remember them.


Moving onto withdrawl symptoms:


Complete appetite loss - so your not eating ANYTHING? You havnt lost your appetite - your eating the amounts a normal person would. You just think you've lost your appetite because your not eating tons and tons of food when you have the munchies.

Loss in condience? So, you've got none when your stoned, and when you quit, you've got none? Strange....



Have you EVER thought to stop and look at yourself!? Maybe it's not the weed, but YOU.