The Church of Dan

I’m very likely going to talk at length about this, so I’ll be doing it in sections with whatever comes to mind.

I will start of by saying that you, the reader – may not share the same opinions as me.  You may read on and say to yourself “This is a crock of shit”, if that happens, chances are you are not ready to admit the truth about it and have much growing up to do.  I am not an expert, I’m not a scientist, but I am someone who has gone through the cycle of recreational use, to frequent use, to chronic use (multiple times a day), to even beyond that of problematic use – all of which happened over the last 4 years.   The purpose of this is for anyone who may have questions about pot to have a better understanding of different elements involved – based on MY experiences.

I started smoking pot in May 2006.  Alcohol was something I was avoiding because of anti-depressents, and my own father said he’d rather I smoke pot than drink alcohol.  Why?  Because in one sitting, you can smoke as much pot as you wanted and you wouldn’t get aggressive (which was the case with me and getting drunk).  You’d smoke and smoke, eat and eat, smoke and just pass out.  Of course you could get hit with strong paranoia which could make the experience very unpleasent.  Just like alcohol, your body builds a tolerence to THC (which is the active substance in pot that gets you high).  The higher the tolerence, the less likely the paranoia will hit, which leads to a much more mellow and calming high.  As tolerence increases, the time that the high lasts decreases over time.   When I frst starting smoking, a joint would keep me ripped out of my skull from anywhere between 3 and 4 hours, after 4 years of vaporizing/bonging/smoking joints – I was lucky to stay at the plateau high for more than an hour – even with prime kush.

On to some key questions that people starting out with pot ask themselves (at least I did)

What are the negative effects to recreational use?

Lets assume this can be 2-4 times a month – as often as the average person would drink on a night out.  The definition of recreational can vary, but for arguements sake, lets go with my numbers.   Smoking pot this often wouldn’t really have any long-term effects on an individual.  You’d get high, get dry mouth, get hungry, eat, and pass out – or party on.  There is such a negative stigma surrounding pot that people will judge you for smoking it, even as infrequently as this.  It’s really personal preference.  People can smoke once every few months and still be judged.  If you’re in the once every few months, or up to 4 times a month (I’m being generous) you’re in the safe zone, and don’t have too much to worry about – if you’re an adult.  A student has a bit more to worry about though, depending on when it’s done.  THC inhibits REM sleep, as a student, REM sleep is very important because 5/7 days in the week you’re going to school, studying, and trying to do well.  People (myself included) make the claim that they study better while high.  Sure you may be able to read, be a bit more focused, but you won’t be absorbing the information AS WELL as you would if you had done it sober.  Those individuals that deny this are chronic users.  Study sober if you want to do well and don’t listen to the potheads that tell you otherwise.

It’s all about moderation.  If someone drank every single night, and got drunk – we’d call them an alcoholic – so why is it considered OK to smoke a joint or two every day?  It isn’t, nor should it be.  That being said, as a recreational user you don’t have as much to fear long-term.

Is pot addictive?

Weed by itself is NOT addictive.  What IS addictive though (more psychologically, and moreso if you have an addictive personality) is the high.  I went through a stage where I loved being high, and that’s all I wanted to do.  When I started smoking I said I’d never do it by myself or every day – but it’s something I started to enjoy.  Going for a 2-3 hour walk every night, listening to music, and smoking a joint.  It left me with a lot of thinking time.  But the high alone was something I loved.   I always said ” I can stop whenever I want”, but the days that I wouldn’t, I would say to myself  “It’s not hurting me, I enjoy it, so why should I deny myself it?”.  It’s easy to just not smoke any, but it’s easier to just smoke it instead and enjoy it and not give it a second thought.  That is the problematic part.  There are many people who don’t go through this, they may not have addictive personalities.  If you have to try to not smoke, then it has a hold on you.

What are negative long term effects of prolonged use?

The first and formost thing, is short term memory.  There was a point when I had a 3 foot zong.  It was a bong that had a Z from the mouthpiece to the bowl.  My friend and I would smoke full bowls for hours and hours every night.  After 2 months of that, I had a very difficult time carrying on a normal conversation at work. Mid-conversation I’d forget what we were talking about.  If you’ve ever watched “Click” with Adam Sandler, I was on permanent auto-pilot in life.  Even when it shattered, and we went back to a smaller bong/vaporizer/joints I still had the same memory problems, except it started to effect long term memory as well.  These times were probably the peak of my pot smoking.

The next problem is sleep.  Chronic use significantly hinders REM sleep, to the point where dreams just stop happening.  If you’ve ever smoked a joint right before bed to help you sleep, when you wake up you probably don’t feel as well rested as you could.  Many times I had the urge to just continue sleeping and forget about work, because without REM, you’re not getting the proper rest you need, your BODY and MIND needs it too.  The best thing I can say is, when you’re tripping out and you’re high – consider that your dreamstate – you’re giving up your REM dreams to get high.  Cut out the weed, especially before bed and the dreams and rest will return.. The dreams for the first week will likely be the most vivid in a long time.

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51 days ago, I gave up the pothead lifestyle.  I’ve been high a total of 8 times over this period.  My memory is slowly recovering.  4 years of damage won’t fix itself in a day.  My sleep is also a lot better, and for the first time in years, I’m dreaming again.  I don’t smoke alone anymore, and in social functions I’ve actually turned heads when I’ve declined partaking in a joint.  I used to be the guy who was either rolling a joint, smoking a joint, or in his own world because he had just smoked a joint.

Not everyone will share my opinions, because most wouldn’t have the same experiences as me.  There will be those that will be greatful to some extra insight, and to those that would rather say “omg pot is fine, you make it sound so bad” go start your own blog and post your opinions there.  Pot has downsides, and only those who have experienced it first-hand and have left chronic use in the past will be able to fully relate.  You only live once.  Don’t live life on auto-pilot, because there are experiences that should become memories and you will hate yourself if you forget them because of pot.