[anonsmoker]

Nobody can give you a 100% answer on whether or not it is a risky behavior. I can however enlighten you as to my opinion on the matter.

If you smoke in moderation, you will not observe any harmful effects.

When I smoked every day all day, I was definitely slower and less enthusiastic in general. I was a classic stoner. I didn't have any serious health problems, but my lung capacity was greatly decreased. This may have also been affected by my job at the time which prevented any consistant exercise.

I still smoke fairly frequently, but usually not more than a hit or two a day max. I take regular breaks of a week or more to control my tolerance and to prevent "stoner creep". I stay mentally sharp and I exercise regularly now and haven't detected any issues with my habit. It does feel good though to take a few months off once a year or so just to make sure I'm not too reliant on the green.

The only physical dangers that I see is that you tend to take on a less active lifestyle and can do a lot of damage to your body due to lack of exercise and proper eating habits. If lung damage is a concern, it can be prevented by edibles or a vaporizer.

Weed is an issue with many employers and most likely will be for the near future. Drug tests are no more than a IQ test though. If you can't fake a (corporate) drug test, you probably have a learning disability.

[chc]

I'm not convinced that effect is significantly different from watching TV or reading Hacker News. A little bit might not be bad and probably even has some desirable effects, but too much pleasurable consumption and you fall into a less productive state of mind. It's true for all luxuries.