Just to chime in here , I've been a regular marijuana year for the past 4 years now.

It does bring paranoia, anxiety, thats what the drug comes with.

I would not go to the tables high, unless I was really bored because I wouldn't be on my A-game, as my attention focus, patience would decrease.

When I get high, I like to chill, play video games, not go to battle on the poker tables and proceeding to lose money as I'm not playing my best of my ability.

I would have to sleep in order to get rid of the burning out feeling, I can't smoke in the morning, and expect myself to "sober" up at night and go to tables, just doesn't work that way.

Thank you for this post you hit on many of the themes that have been going through my head as I read this thread.

First we must be very specific about the amount someone has ingested and separate the behaviors accordingly. One puff of some homegrown weed from the 70's is a very different experience than smoking a blunt of skunk #1. In moderation marijuana is a fantastic intoxicant far superior than alcohol IMHO. The tolerance level of each user is another, not insignificant secondary parameter to consider.

Marijuana is a psychologically addictive drug not "mental" or physical. I think the word addiction and addict get thrown around and some people think about some one going though physical withdrawal symptoms. This is just not the case with marijuana. Those who feel compelled to abuse the substance are responding the psychological impact from using (or not using) the drug. For that reason we also have to keep in mind that individuals can have vastly different psychological dynamics that drive behaviors. So in short weed is psychologically addictive and at different levels for different users. This is a strong force and just as powerful as a physical addiction. Just making a point here.

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...

This is a great, subtle topic itt to dissect. The op who you are responding to must me talking about chores that don't require much executive brain function. I can sweep the floor like a mad man after smoking any amount of weed, just don't ask me to balance the check book or plan a vacation if I've had more than one puff.

The type of weed is also important as others have pointed out. The effects are strand specific.

Short term weed can motivate or de-motivate. It's a combo of type of weed, current mood, and amount consumed.

Long term regular abuse will certainly crush ambitions and generally makes you lazy.

I think y'all are speaking to slightly different concepts. But you're both right!

Weed can be good and be bad for one's poker game.

When used in moderation with a predictable result I find a pre session puff helps me settle in and can slow my thinking down which helps me. Weed is a positive for my poker game because I am less anxious at the table, I'm more patient in the meta game and and with each action decision.

Weed is bad for my game when I smoke too much and lose executive brain function sharpness and also get paranoid. I am self conscious if someone who I doesn't partake makes a comment or if my eyes are bloodshot and I think others know.

It's all about moderation and a predisposition to high energy/anxiety/fast brain syndrome (lol just made that up)


Ok now that I have bombarded the forum beat me up

sativa= chaching

indica= donk city

Getting high has been part of the human experience since man crawled out of the swamp. Not all drugs are good some of them are great - Bill Hicks
The thing with drugs is the same as with everything in life. If you do to much to often it just becomes a drain on your physical & mental health. This applies to anything. You can kill yourself by just drinking to much water.

Some drugs like tobacco, meth, heroin & crack should just be avoided at all costs. Other drugs like cannabis, LSD, mushrooms & DMT should be mandatory. Drugs like alcohol, speed & ecstasy have moderate social applications.

I used to smoke cannabis from I woke up until I went to bed for about 10 years. Tried most commonly used substances. Smoked close to nothing the last 5 years. The weird thing is that from an outside perspective I act more like a drug addict now than I ever did when I was high. Having to keep up appearances was good for me ;-)

The thing I miss the most about drugs is the people you meet in the business ^^

Ps. The only people who are against drugs are people who never tried them & the people who were the absolute worst at doing them.

Sorry you let your Tolerance get so high or you are an inefficient user. Good weed through a vaporizer or efficient smoking technique is so efficient getting high costs less than a soda.

Chaching?

He meant like a cash register opening noise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wj_OmtqVLxY


Zy

I've done weed. Don't really see all the big deal about it. It made me laugh for ages and yes there was a negative come down and paranoia but I quickly realised it was the drugs that made me feel like that. I can't see how anyone would get addicted to the stuff. It would be like saying I got addicted to inhaling helium. Its fun for a while.

Smoked weed for 11 years, 17-28, failed at life. Quit weed on jan. 15 2013, I've had the most functional year of my life to date. Coincidence? I think not.

Also if people can addicted to world of TV/warcraft/poker/food/sex, you can get addicted to weed. You can get addicted to anything that makes you feel different from how you currently feel.

The findings, published March 5 in the journal Neuron, are the first to confirm that cannabinoid receptors are indeed present in the part of the brain that regulates anxiety and fear: the amygdala. Cannabinoid receptors are activated by chemicals in marijuana, called cannabinoids, and have been identified in many other brain regions as well.

This would explain a lot...

http://www.leafscience.com/2014/03/0...akes-paranoid/

I started smoking weed about a year ago , i have a small amount each night before bed using an electronic vape
I never use it in the day .. only to chill and think stuff through kind of like meditation
Its all been positive for me and has helped me with poker and life in general.
I think if i developed a habit of being high in the daytime it would have a negative effect on my personal life so i dont do it.
And i dont think it helps my game to be high while playing either.
imo its best to be fresh and alert playing poker , tilt is an emotional issue that needs a longer term plan using techniques to condition the mind.
Weed just alters your state of mind temporarily and even if its helping with tilt it will affect another part of your game.
To deal with tilt you first need to accept that everything that happens in poker is supposed to happen.
If your emotional state is constantly changing while playing then you accept that your the problem not the game ..it could be caused by a few things including bankroll management, ability or lack of understanding of the game as a whole.
Or you can be playing the game well and lose ... thats also supposed to happen to sometimes
a coin sometimes lands 14 times in a row on heads ... deal-with-it.com

im going now to get high

Any substance that alters the mind & suppresses emotions is bad for you! The only people who deny it unsurprisingly are the ones who're highly addicted to it.

My uncle did weed for 10 years. He was around 40 and was like the hunchback of Notre Dome. Went to jail for 12 years & coming out all buffed/like a new person.

^ nice anecdote. you should get that published in a scientific magazine.

Weed is bad for some ppl and good for some others.deal with it.

Im blazzed

hello, im in my early 30's and smoke since 18 with lots of periods of withdraw and abuse, this is a great topic i had the opportunity to read, i have to say i have agreed to opinions from both sides, being a smoker myself has made huge change in my life-course, has id rather stayed home/comfort-zoned with my 'weed-friends' while i could have spent the time doing something else, and to say this is not related with weed but with my laziness is a huge hypocrite assumption;

winnercircle you are right in may aspects but in my case weed was huge barrier, the posters that said it should be handled with moderation just like any other drugs are totally right, but sugar is a drug too and how many people nowadays consume it with moderation? even with so many info and campaigns ? besides that moderation for me can be totally different that for other people, so that word is prone to many interpretations and inconsistency.


id also say that we should be doubtful of all the studies they do nowadays, since 99% of them are bought for commercial or political purposes.

in defense of weed smokers, id rather smoke a joint with my 16yo kid (yes, rather in my presence and with my knowledge than in my back) than gave him a cocacola by age 3.

Sugar is a drug? I agree it can be abused, but it's not a drug. I personally don't consume much sugar, because even though I have a fast metabolism, I eat too much of it when I do.

Moderation may not be black and white, but a person being honest with themselves knows when they're using something in moderation vs abusing.

I agree about the cannabis studies. National Geographic had a weed documentary and showed the paltry cannabis the government uses in its studies. It looked like it was grown in a sewer without any light or TLC... all part of their plan of keeping it out of mainstream acceptance.

My 2 cents:

I never smoked weed until my 30's (currently 37). I have gone months or a year since then without vaping (I hate smoke, a good vaporizer is the best form of extraction for me) and I've done it every day for a month or two in a row. I have not played poker high that much but I've done well on it.

There are people who can be more productive on weed, I'm not one of them. That doesn't mean they are full of it. It affects people differently. I enjoy it once in awhile now (twice a month or so) to help me relax before bed or if I'm going for a walk in the woods.

As for harm physically I don't believe there is any strong evidence. As to it being addictive I don't find it is but I think it can be. Not just mentally but physically as well and again not for many people but I personally know a heavy user that gets withdrawals (can't sleep, irritability, anxiety).

It doesn't supress emotions, it brings them to the forefront.

It depends on the person and their frequency. When I was abusing pot, it certainly was suppressing my emotions; escaping from life/feelings is why I abused the drug. Although as soon as I started coming down emotions started coming back 1000x as strong.

the bud helps one navigate and heal their mind. it seems your journey brought you to a place of disturbance.

the hurbs help me navigate post flop play homes