I'm the last person who would try and convince anyone that marijuana is good for you. And, like most things people tend to find pleasurable - alcohol, sweets, coffee, etc. - too much is a guaranteed bad idea.
That's the primary reason I decided to give up pot for the year. I was smoking way too much of it, and I knew it wasn't healthy. It wasn't good for me physically (regularly inhaling any type of smoke into your lungs isn't wise) and it wasn't good for me emotionally.
That doesn't mean I don't like it, and it doesn't mean I don't miss it. That's all yesterday's post was about - me missing something I'd always enjoyed.
That said, I was surprised at the number and tenor of the comments generated. I respect and appreciate the views of everyone who reads this blog - a seemingly diverse collection of people from various countries and backgrounds, to say the least - but I do want to respond to a couple of ideas that were raised.
First of all, with regards to pot, I've never said what I will or won't do when this experiment ends for one basic reason: I don't know. In an ideal world, I'd be able to smoke once in a while. Why? Because I enjoy it. Then again, that might be a slippery slope, and the last thing I want to do is go back to being a daily (let alone multi-daily) pot smoker.
Second, it was mentioned as an aside that pot kills brain cells. Well, no matter how widely this is believed - thanks to years of propaganda - it's simply not true. There is no credible, scientific study, nor has there ever been, that proves marijuana kills brain cells. Consider this 2004 article published by none other than M.I.T.:
Government experts now admit that pot doesn't kill brain cells. This myth came from a handful of animal experiments in which structural changes (not actual cell death, as is often alleged) were observed in brain cells of animals exposed to high doses of pot. Many critics still cite the notorious monkey studies of Dr. Robert G. Heath, which purported to find brain damage in three monkeys that had been heavily dosed with cannabis. This work was never replicated and has since been discredited by a pair of better controlled, much larger monkey studies, one by Dr. William Slikker of the National Center for Toxicological Research and the other by Charles Rebert and Gordon Pryor of SRI International. Neither found any evidence of physical alteration in the brains of monkeys exposed to daily doses of pot for up to a year. Human studies of heavy users in Jamaica and Costa Rica found no evidence of abnormalities in brain physiology. Even though there is no evidence that pot causes permanent brain damage, users should be aware that persistent deficits in short-term memory have been noted in chronic, heavy marijuana smokers after 6 to 12 weeks of abstinence. It is also worth noting that other drugs, including alcohol, are known to cause brain damage.
Again, I'm not saying pot is good for you, and I would never suggest that getting stoned in my off-time makes me a better writer, teacher, or thinker. I also respect a person's right to believe what they choose about pot and the effects of pot ... I just think it's important to remember that a belief isn't necessarily a fact.
I'm grateful to every single person who reads this blog. I hope that in the end, I don't disappoint you.
I hope I don't disappoint me.
10 comments:
I'm actually kind of jealous at the apparently wonderful buzz you get out of smoking pot. I lived for two years in the Hague, (yes, one train stop from Amsterdam) and I had five coffee-shops on my street. For the record, you don't buy coffee in coffe-shops in Holland. It was easier and quicker to get a good fat joint of Skunk than a pint of beer. But my point is, even though I stuck with it for 3-4 months because "everyone" was doing it, I never found anything remotely interesting about it. It just didn't do it for me. All that happened was that I lost my ability to express myself and I forgot important stuff the day after. I read your thing about killing brain cells, and all I can say is that I believe we are so diverse as people that we are bound to have different reactions. I just think that my brain couldn't cope with pot, it certainly felt to me as if I were loosing some small grey ones. But if a smart person like you, Karen can go on and smoke pot and still have the clear mind you do, then it obviously has a different effect on you. Of course there is the signal effect for others, but as I have understood it, you don't come into class with a joint in your mouth anyway.
I'm not saying "go ahead, smoke on", because there is obviously a reason you stopped, but I just want to say to the others - chill out!
1. It gets less interesting if it's not stigmatized.
2. I saw NO heavy drug abusers ever in the Hague (the capital of Holland)
3. People were not in drunken fights and raving around in the streets.
4. I believe in educated choices, not laws that only makes it more exciting to break them.
Drugs are a way of altering one's perception of reality. They become harmful when that version of reality starts to outshadow the real version. Wrapping oneself in a belief system like conservative christian dogma is another way of masking reality and making it more palatable. I'm a happy and grateful sober alcoholic, and I see people do this in AA meetings from time to time: using a thought system as a drug. A lowered consciousness is the result of both chemical drugs and unreal ideological platforms.
Have a nice day!
Again, people read too far into what I write...I did not specifically say that pot kills brain cells. ALL foreign substances kill brain cells. Even the inhalation of pure oxygen causes cellular changes in the brain and other parts of the body. My point is that with all the other foreign substances I have no way of avoiding (pollution in the air and surrounding environs), why would I knowingly choose to put foreign substances in my body? I don't even really drink anymore--there is a six-pack of beer in my refrigerator left over from the last Super Bowl. It just isn't worth it. I have enough trouble surviving reality as it is to augment my reality with some kind of substance.
There sure are some strong opinions on the topic of weed. Interestng how much passion the topic raises. I think you are doing a good job finding your own middle ground Karen.
M
Don't worry about disappointing us, Karen. There is no one whose opinion is more important than your own.
M
Your posts reminded me of a conversation I once had with a doctor who was reeling off the negative effects of pot smoking.
He got to the part about pot causing short-term memory loss, and I smiled brightly and said 'I heard it also causes short-term memory loss!'
'It also causes personality disorders!'he roared back.
My own experience as an every-day all-day pot smoker for 12 years is that it shielded me from heart-shattering pain that I was not prepared to face.
However, the inability to feel deep pain also means the inability to experience great joy. Being high on a regular basis creates somewhat of a flatline existence emotionally.
In my experience any activity that is abused merits lifelong caution at the very least. If you take up smoking again, how will you know when you've crossed the line from recreation to dependence again?
To whomever it was that wrote about judgmental ideologies being just as addictive as drugs, and even more damaging, way to go!
That might just be the smartest comment of all (sorry Karen!)
Jeez, Karen writes a wistful Ode to the Joys of Pot and look what she stirs up!
Legalities aside, pot is no worse than alcohol and arguably is more socially responsible. Pot-smoking tends to make you nicer and stupider (and hungrier). Drinking just makes you stupider and, very often, meaner and stupider.
Ideally, Karen ought to be able to smoke pot in moderation and drink in moderation. (And eat in moderation.)
The real risk is addiction, physical or psychological or both. Karen's problems and disappointments have, at various times, led her down all three of these paths. Few of us have escaped at least one of them, especially if you throw in nicotine.
So if you're likely to become addicted, best not go there at all (except for eating, which isn't optional). Addictions let you escape from your problems for a while but also, of course, metastasize them.
In the end, the best path is to be present. Only then is it possible to confront the delusions we all have that cause us such suffering. It's not an easy path, but I see Karen's entries in this blog as early steps along the way.
Mom
i've said it before and i'll say it again ...
my mom rules.
What a can of worms!!! Most definitely a very HOT topic!
Karen, I agree with you - your mom rocks!! I can see where you get your articulate, balanced perspective on life from. You're so lucky to have such an open minded and supportive friend in her.
You never disappoint, in fact you most definitely inspire me to do better, healthier things for myself!
alex
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