Anything wrong with smoking weed?

xSmackSoundx · July 2008

I'm 16 and I try to keep my life going in the right directions. Lately, I've started smoking weed (last 6 months). I smoke it maybe twice a week (less during school). I've been fairly depressed for the last year (i hear its fairly normal). Is it bad for me to be smoking? Sometimes I feel like I might be doing it because i'm a little depressed. But I always tell people not to do it when their depressed... to make good times better. Am I too young to be doing this? am I going to have to deal with side effects when I get older (planning on stopping by age 20). I really just want to do what is best for my future... but lately I've just been trying to get through the times I'm faced with now... and weed helps me do that. I value my life and future a lot. I'm not depressed just for the sake of it... its mostly about a girl (heheh). Is weed going to have negative long term effects or change my attitude or emotions in a negative way? My brother has smoked for 2 years heavily and stopped about a 3 months ago (got baptized, gave everything up) and he seems fine. please help.

pearljam766 · July 2008

Honestly bro, weed is obviously the safest drug to choose. However I have seen so many good friends turn into pieces of shit. I'm 20 years old, so by no means do I have alot of experience, but I have seen marijuana ruin my own family, my best friends family, and several others. I'm sure you have heard all the "gateway drug" stuff, and I really do believe that at 16 years old that will hold true. If you are depressed then you need to talk to someone. It takes more of a man to admit that he needs help than to sit around and smoke pot in self pity.

If you do it twice a week, it's gonna turn into 3,4,5 and then you're gonna do it every day.

So my advice would be to talk with good friends and family about anything that is making you depressed. I hope everything works out.

angelica · July 2008

pearljam766 wrote:

Honestly bro, weed is obviously the safest drug to choose. However I have seen so many good friends turn into pieces of shit. I'm 20 years old, so by no means do I have alot of experience, but I have seen marijuana ruin my own family, my best friends family, and several others. I'm sure you have heard all the "gateway drug" stuff, and I really do believe that at 16 years old that will hold true. If you are depressed then you need to talk to someone. It takes more of a man to admit that he needs help than to sit around and smoke pot in self pity.

If you do it twice a week, it's gonna turn into 3,4,5 and then you're gonna do it every day.

So my advice would be to talk with good friends and family about anything that is making you depressed. I hope everything works out.

Very insightful post!

Using substances to deal with problems is a way of coping. And it usually sets a new group of problems into play. And it doesn't solve the original problems...instead is provides a smokescreen that keeps the real issues hidden.

Solving problems is the only solution that doesn't have a negative backlash...there are many forms of support from friends, family, books, counsellors, distress/crisis lines, etc.

Peace.

turnedmyworldtoblack · July 2008

It feels really innocent for about 4 or 5 years, but if you lose self control and allow yourself to smoke all the time you will most likely become apathetic (not care about shit) and be really lazy. It is funny with my group of friends (I am 23) the stoners are all living in there parents house, either depressed with shitty jobs not going to school, or no job and no school at all...while the people who didn't smoke all the time finished school and were motivated enough to land a solid job.

Even I use to come to this board and make posts about being depressed having no idea why I felt so shitty in complete denial that it was from smoking everyday. I have since given that up and I feel alot better.

That being said in moderation I still think it is quite harmless, but my view MAY be alittle biased because I got into selling copius amounts of it and with my mom and religion it really just turned into a personal demon.

That was probably too long for anyone to actually read... good luck dude!

yellowled24 · July 2008

Read the thread Free Shapella (Shapelle) and youll get the answers.

HushBull · July 2008

Never would I advise someone to smoke pot. But let me say, I smoke pot everyday and I am for the most part a productive part of society. I attend school and have a job. Some people can handle it without it effecting other parts of their lifes, some can't. I started smoking at 14, that is too young. 16 is probably too. Plus you don't want to get busted, it sucks and can spiral into much more.

Okay, I have worked it out.
Don't smoke pot.

.... till you're older and know for a fact that you are mature enough to handle it.

mca47 · July 2008

As others have said, I'd really hold off and cut it out for a while.
If you are depressed, smoking pot is NOT going to help but further compound things. Seek help.

ajedigecko · July 2008

pearljam766 wrote:

Honestly bro, weed is obviously the safest drug to choose. However I have seen so many good friends turn into pieces of shit. I'm 20 years old, so by no means do I have alot of experience, but I have seen marijuana ruin my own family, my best friends family, and several others. I'm sure you have heard all the "gateway drug" stuff, and I really do believe that at 16 years old that will hold true. If you are depressed then you need to talk to someone. It takes more of a man to admit that he needs help than to sit around and smoke pot in self pity.

If you do it twice a week, it's gonna turn into 3,4,5 and then you're gonna do it every day.

So my advice would be to talk with good friends and family about anything that is making you depressed. I hope everything works out.

you are wise beyond your years.

frusciante89 · July 2008

No, you just have to know yourself. I have a uncle who has smoked recreationally since the 60's and has made a very good life for himself and I have stoner buddies who continously fuck up their life with pot. for example my friends boss asked him where to get some pot. he hooked him up then that dudes boss found out and he got fired. Mind you its a summer job before still.

chadwick · July 2008

I have zero advice to give anyone.
I myself have never fucked around with the smoking of marijuana.
Someone once lit a marijuana cigarette in a car I was riding in
and I got very weird feeling.
I wanted to run away but I had nowhere to go and to be honest, I was scared, scared big time.
I was afraid of becoming a heroin addict junkie living under a bridge
eating out of trash cans, using dull bunk needles,
and selling crystal-chandelier dreams out of someone else's van down by the river...

innocent as the driven snow...that's me

LikeAnOcean · July 2008

pearljam766 wrote:

Honestly bro,

Don't taze me, bro! Don't taze me!

Sorry,.. had to.

xSmackSoundx · July 2008

I can't ask anyone for help with my depression... it just seems like its nothing I can control... love, life, and circumstance... there seems no way to cope... and honestly weed hasn't helped long term in the slightest... it only helps short term... I don't think i'm really connected to weed through my depression... I'm just wondering if its gonna make me stupid... or numb... or lazy... long term...

pearljam766 · July 2008

LikeAnOcean wrote:

Don't taze me, bro! Don't taze me!

Sorry,.. had to.

lol, that's funny that you said that I was thinking of that as I wrote it.

pearljam766 · July 2008

xSmackSoundx wrote:

I can't ask anyone for help with my depression... it just seems like its nothing I can control... love, life, and circumstance... there seems no way to cope... and honestly weed hasn't helped long term in the slightest... it only helps short term... I don't think i'm really connected to weed through my depression... I'm just wondering if its gonna make me stupid... or numb... or lazy... long term...

That's positive that you realize weed doesn't help long term.
It will make you lazy, and potentially stupid. If you do it, moderation is the key. keep that in mind and you should be o.k. I hope you find something positive to cope with though...

stylo17 · July 2008

xSmackSoundx wrote:

I can't ask anyone for help with my depression... it just seems like its nothing I can control... love, life, and circumstance... there seems no way to cope... and honestly weed hasn't helped long term in the slightest... it only helps short term... I don't think i'm really connected to weed through my depression... I'm just wondering if its gonna make me stupid... or numb... or lazy... long term...

I'm only a couple years older than you, and honestly, there isn't much in life that we can control. if you really are feeling down or depressed and it's been going on for a couple weeks or more, there are people out there. believe me when I tell you, from personal experience, people do want to help you. and these are good, qualified doctors or psychiatrists or whatever you want to call them that can REALLY help you. personal experience that I'm still going through RIGHT NOW. don't rely on weed as a coping tool, it's a poor one. people are strong enough to fix there own problems but not many know that (hence we have psychiatrists, etc).

you sound like a smart kid with your head on straight, don't let your life get off track.

Sian-of-the-dead · July 2008

pearljam766 wrote:

Honestly bro, weed is obviously the safest drug to choose. However I have seen so many good friends turn into pieces of shit. I'm 20 years old, so by no means do I have alot of experience, but I have seen marijuana ruin my own family, my best friends family, and several others. I'm sure you have heard all the "gateway drug" stuff, and I really do believe that at 16 years old that will hold true. If you are depressed then you need to talk to someone. It takes more of a man to admit that he needs help than to sit around and smoke pot in self pity.

If you do it twice a week, it's gonna turn into 3,4,5 and then you're gonna do it every day.

So my advice would be to talk with good friends and family about anything that is making you depressed. I hope everything works out.

Great post.

I too have seen people fall apart due to smoking weed. I've lost friends to the drug over the years and it can be heart breaking.
I used to smoke a lot of it myself (between the ages of 17 and 22) but gave up 2 years ago. Don't get me wrong, as I was giving up I had lapses and seriously regretted it the next morning but i'm completely off it now have been for about 18 months.
I personally wouldn't recommend it to anyone, my depression got worse (coinkidink? I think not...) and I had no confidence, it really was self pity.
I addressed the problems in my life and gave up. Since then, i've not been happier.
I wish the OP all the best

Hinny · July 2008

Recreationally, it's more or less one of the safer drugs. Still harmful in ways, but so is a fat-laden hamburger.

That's if you can keep this to recreational use. It's definitely not something you should rely on as a form of medication in itself. Addiction to marijuana is one of the worst forms- many other forms of drugs have various medical treatments that would make the withdrawal process easier, but there's nothing that works to get rid of withdrawal symptoms for people with problem use of marijuana.