Another theme in this thread (and a good one) is the desire for some empirical evidence to the claims that weed is addictive or not addictive and is or is not "bad for you"
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/Mobile/a...ticleid=396766
This link is a great example of some of the work that has been done. This is a peer reviewed, highly cited source. Read the synopsis conclusion and make special note of the final sentence.
The study conclusively shows decreased cognitive and executive function of the study' heavy users. The author is not willing to assign a specific cause to this effect. It could be withdrawal, it could be a side effect, or it could be a long term fundamental problem caused by the long term use. Teasing that answer out is tough and until recently in the US there hasn't been much reason for someone to put the time and money into figuring it out since the drug has been illegal for so long. That is changing and I look forward to the empirical evidence on that one.
I don't think too many 2p2ers would argue that people can very safely, with no impact to future brain function, consume small amounts of marijuana, infrequently. Therefore I'll jump to the more interesting, nuanced case...
I personally know tons of very successful upstanding citizens who abused marijuana for relatively short stints in their lives (a year or less) and have gone on to be high functioning people. There is little doubt in my mind that a short stint of over use or abuse is easily overcome with abstinence. I'm wondering if long term regular users (5 years or more) can ever get back to where they were, cognitively after quitting. Is the impact reversible? Only to a certain extent? Only if you only abuse it for some amount of time? Why? Or were those people already cognitive giants and therefore had more margin compared to a median population to erode when they started?
Insert coffee house deadbeat observations here. I've never heard about this population but I can imagine the zombie like nature of someone smoking skunk all day everyday for years on end.
So with that all said let's draw some conclusions.
Weed is psychologically addictive.
Different people have very different experiences as a result of their use habits, tolerance level and current psychological state/habits.
Weed is not evil! It's like all other substances we put in our bodies. We need to respect the impact it can have if we abuse it.
Ever hear about the frat boy who died because during hazing his brothers made him drink too much water? True story.
The original question posed by OP can now be approached with a More valuable debate on the other side if we recognize these issues...
Last edited by fiordi; 05-11-2014 at 04:29 PM.