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I'm Just a Middle-Aged House Dad Addicted to Pot

nytimes.com

41–50 of 75 posts

Re: I'm Just a Middle-Aged House Dad Addicted to Pot

#41
post #16

One of the upsides of legalization is that a lot of the false claims made about marijuana are going to come under heavy scrutiny. Some of this will be good for marijuana enthusiasts, but some will be bad. I've lost count of the times I've been told by marijuana fans that marijuana is not addictive, and that smoking it is not bad for your lungs. I expect both of those myths to be refuted in the coming years. In partic…

Of course it is addictive, otherwise people wouldn't come back to it after the first try. And as for harm to lungs – does anyone really think that combustion products (regardless of what's burning) can not be harmful for human body?

And by the way, being an occasional smoker myself, and rather a heavy smoker in the past, I know what I'm talking about, and I know the craving it gives you. Nevertheless I advocate legalisation and find it much less harmful than alcohol, for that matter.

Re: I'm Just a Middle-Aged House Dad Addicted to Pot

#42
post #10

I saw multiple of my most talented high school friends lose their spark to pot. They’ve now made about 2 years of progress in 20 years’ time.

Many of the best engineers I've worked with are daily pot smokers, including my former boss who currently runs a team at Facebook.

Re: I'm Just a Middle-Aged House Dad Addicted to Pot

#43
post #21
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course it is addictive, otherwise people wouldn't come back to it after the first try. And as for harm to lungs – does anyone really think that combustion products (regardless of what's burning) can not be harmful for human body?

Addictive in the way any form of entertainment can be I guess. It isn’t physically addictive.

Physical addiction (as opposed to psychological) is rarely the one that worries people.

It's not what keeps a drug user dependent for years as their lives unravel. If it was, then a simple detox would "cure" the addiction. We wouldn't have rehab programs and support groups, just hospital beds and observation for a week or two.

The addiction that is hardest to kick is almost always the psychological one. The one that sticks around long after any trace of the substance has gone from your system, and long after any withdrawal symptoms have subsided.

Sorry if I'm picking on your comment, but that phrase "isn't physically addictive" always strikes me as missing the point.

Re: I'm Just a Middle-Aged House Dad Addicted to Pot

#44
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Addictive in the way any form of entertainment can be I guess. It isn’t physically addictive.

Physical addiction (as opposed to psychological) is rarely the one that worries people. It's not what keeps a drug user dependent for years as their lives unravel. If it was, then a simple detox would "cure" the addiction. We wouldn't have rehab programs and support groups, just hospital beds and observation for a week or two. The addiction that is hardest to kick is almost always the psychological one. The one that…

So true.

Re: I'm Just a Middle-Aged House Dad Addicted to Pot

#45

One of the upsides of legalization is that a lot of the false claims made about marijuana are going to come under heavy scrutiny. Some of this will be good for marijuana enthusiasts, but some will be bad. I've lost count of the times I've been told by marijuana fans that marijuana is not addictive, and that smoking it is not bad for your lungs. I expect both of those myths to be refuted in the coming years. In partic…

Dependence is similar to alcohol, so quite a bit less than Tobacco. But it is a lot less harmful than those two because you either smoke it less than tobacco or the damage is less severe than with alcohol.

But smoke is nearly universally bad, it doesn't matter much if it is from someone who heats with wood in the neighborhood, an open fire nearby, smoking marijuana or tobacco.

Luckily there are other ways than smoking to take the drug.

Re: I'm Just a Middle-Aged House Dad Addicted to Pot

#46
post #40
post #36

I got introduced to pot when I entered grad school to do a STEM Ph.D. I was cool with it - I was never an addict. I smoked a couple of times a year at most. It had to be a quite special occasion for me to smoke marijuana, drink, or do other drugs. Like the author, drugs gave me the courage to do things I would regret later. I did things to hurt my very best girlfriend I could have when I was high. She later left me.…

Drugs are bad M'kay. Come on, everyone is different and plenty of people (the majority?) can use them responsibly. And drugs are vastly different as well so classifying them as as such seems fairly counter productive to any discussion.

That your response to his personal, non-generalized story is as such in very, very curious and makes me wonder why you're having such a defensive posture.

Re: I'm Just a Middle-Aged House Dad Addicted to Pot

#47
post #10

I saw multiple of my most talented high school friends lose their spark to pot. They’ve now made about 2 years of progress in 20 years’ time.

Many of the best engineers I've worked with are daily pot smokers, including my former boss who currently runs a team at Facebook.

Agreed, super anecdotal but I'd be curious to know when your former boss started smoking - in my (also anecdotal!) experience, that is a key determinant to a lot of negative behaviors.

Re: I'm Just a Middle-Aged House Dad Addicted to Pot

#48
post #10

I saw multiple of my most talented high school friends lose their spark to pot. They’ve now made about 2 years of progress in 20 years’ time.

Many of the best engineers I've worked with are daily pot smokers, including my former boss who currently runs a team at Facebook.

Yeah, I think the key word in the parents post is "high school"... studies have shown people who start early have far more issues than functioning adults.

Re: I'm Just a Middle-Aged House Dad Addicted to Pot

#49
post #36

I got introduced to pot when I entered grad school to do a STEM Ph.D. I was cool with it - I was never an addict. I smoked a couple of times a year at most. It had to be a quite special occasion for me to smoke marijuana, drink, or do other drugs. Like the author, drugs gave me the courage to do things I would regret later. I did things to hurt my very best girlfriend I could have when I was high. She later left me.…

Had to totally ban it from our house. Too addictive for me, and easy to fall back into stoner routines.

Re: I'm Just a Middle-Aged House Dad Addicted to Pot

#50
post #40
post #36

I got introduced to pot when I entered grad school to do a STEM Ph.D. I was cool with it - I was never an addict. I smoked a couple of times a year at most. It had to be a quite special occasion for me to smoke marijuana, drink, or do other drugs. Like the author, drugs gave me the courage to do things I would regret later. I did things to hurt my very best girlfriend I could have when I was high. She later left me.…

Drugs are bad M'kay. Come on, everyone is different and plenty of people (the majority?) can use them responsibly. And drugs are vastly different as well so classifying them as as such seems fairly counter productive to any discussion.

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