[apl002]

Ive smoked for about 15 years now. Started heavy through highschool and college and after college usually just a rip before bedtime. I cant say I've experienced anything negative. No issues focusing or memory problems, or dealing with stress/anxiety. I've quit for months at a time cold turkey with no issues. I'll probably never fully quit but I am doing it less just cause I worry about the effects on my lungs more than anything.

[mdorazio]

Anecdote like this is bad for two reasons:

1) How do you know you wouldn't have done better had you not smoked starting in high school? You can't go back in time and A/B test yourself

2) Your personal physiology may be fine with marijuana use, but that's not a guarantee that the same applies to everyone else. I'm sure plenty of HN readers (myself included) knew people in high school who did suffer from marijuana-related focus, effort, and studying problems

[apl002]

I totally agree with you. In my comment I wasn't trying to say the article was false, just my own experiences weren't negative. Some of my closest friends that I smoked all day with in HS never went to college and work in lower wage/service industry jobs.

Also to be fair, I was an awful student. However i was always the type that if I didn't want to do something, nothing could get me to do it. Yet when I want to do something, I tend to have pretty positive results. I still think I would have been a terrible student even if I didn't smoke weed. Who knows!

[sterileopinions]

>but that's not a guarantee that the same applies to everyone else

It's a pretty well supported statement though. This comment is better applied elsewhere in the thread however.

[whateveracct]

> 1) How do you know you wouldn't have done better had you not smoked starting in high school? You can't go back in time and A/B test yourself

It's just high school :) if GP passed and moved on, who cares? High school success becomes more and more of a boolean outcome as you get further away from it imo. And tbh even boolean is generous.

"I wish in the past I had tried more things 'cause now I know that being in trouble is a fake idea."

[monktastic1]

> It's just high school :)

What? The parent comment is asking: how do they know they wouldn't have done better for the past fifteen years if they hadn't started in high school.

[anon9001]

I've had approximately the same experience. Here's hoping it doesn't cause any long term issues, but I think I would have had a heart attack by now if I didn't smoke to calm myself down and realize I shouldn't take things so seriously.

A truly enlightened individual doesn't need any drugs, but I'm not there yet. Maybe in time. For now I think the weed is a net positive.

[whateveracct]

I hate when people frame doing drugs in terms of needing them to have a good time. It's just a thing you do that affects your mind, like anything else. It's potentially more intense and definitely different than most other things, but acting like it's a crutch is existentially dishonest I think.

[anon9001]

I'm not 100% sure I understand your comment, but I don't think it's dishonest to frame drug use as a crutch.

One of the odd things about drugs is that if you do use them as a crutch (and I certainly do), then you are forfeiting recreational value.

I smoke to feel "normal" and to avoid nightmares (it turns off dreaming, which is quite useful). That means I can't get "high" like non-potheads can. When I haven't smoked in a while, I get giggly and have the munchies and every idea is mindblowing, and that's truthfully quite a lot of fun and is the reason most people start smoking weed.

Unfortunately, if I don't smoke after work, I can't really feel like my work day is over, and I'll keep thinking about work until I exhaust myself. If I don't smoke before bed, there's a good chance I'll have horrible nightmares and wake up in a cold sweat. These aren't symptoms of withdrawal that go away in time, that's just how I lived my life before discovering weed, and that's how I feel daily even if I take a months-long break from smoking.

I would love to not need weed as a crutch, both to be healthier and so I can occasionally get a giggly-munchies-omg-this-music-sounds-amazing type of high.

The problem is, if I quit smoking, I feel less mentally healthy, and all of the psychiatric drugs that could possibly help are worse in health and effect than weed.

[whateveracct]

I feel everything you're saying.

When people call it a crutch, it's so disparaging and judgmental. I think if it makes your life better (like it clearly makes yours!), why associate guilt with the benefit?

Maybe in a vacuum, "crutch" _is_ a good term. Literal crutches help people after all! But there is definite stigma attached with the mindset.

[apl002]

Yep, agreed on that. Over time I have smoked less and less. Like i said I don't think I'll ever 'quit' but I imagine the time in between seshes will grow longer. All in all cannabis has been very net positive for me