Title ^^ marijuana takes the edge off anxiety and social anxiety and gives me a small boost in about everything and it just overall helps
Not sure how to respond to the poll, but from my personal experience I am not a fan of marijuana. Reasons: I have lost a close friend of mine to it (addicted). Some of friends from my high school deal it and they have been lead to other harder drugs. I smoked weed for a bit but then one time I had a hit that was laced with something (PCP) and this has deterred me from getting another high ever since. Studies show that it slows mental/cognitive functions over long use. Is harmful to lungs and reduces oxygen capacity over time. (Can be regenerated through exercise - i.e Micheal Phelps). Obviously this doesn't apply to everyone who smokes weed and I should know better than to use personal experiences over statistics but in my opinion I'm against the use of mary-jane. I do however do not view others who use it in a bad way because it is a lifestyle choice. I also do not wish it to be criminalized because the opposition is more trouble than it seems.
It can be both. It's a tool. I know people who have been smoking Marijuana everyday for 25, even 40 years, my mother included, and they are all sharp like a blade mentally, while on the phisical some of them should be dead or on a wheelchair according to doctors. Also, you don't have to smoke. You can vape or eat it. Marijuana has saved lots of lives, not strictlt medically speaking, and the ones that do get from marijuana to other stuff surely aren't because of the marijuana itself. In fact, if our goverenments were a little more honest and said "kids, you shoulnd't be doing weed, but if you really have to, don't move to other stuff, because it's really fucking bad" instead of "WEED IS AS DANGEROUS AS HEROIN YOU FUCKERS" less kids would start doing hard stuff.
Marijuana is a terrible method for treating anxiety or depression, ask your doctor. They cannot argue with your anecdotal evidence, but they'll be able to point to the studies on how it treats depression/anxiety (it doesn't) and how it slows cognitive development in teens and young adults.
I would look into it more then! As of yet, all of the studies I have seen state weed and depression mix poorly, so dig a little. I might be wrong, what I want is for you to think. Are your symptoms truly being alleviated and not a placebo effect nor a numbing out of existence? Is the improvement measurable? Is the improvement solely contributed to the marijuana? What other methods (counselling, exercise, walks in the woods) are helpful to you managing your anxiety and depression? What are you doing to actually deal with reality? What are you doing to escape it? What are you feeling right before you light up - what do you really want in that moment? Take the time to check these things, measure, and research them. If your actions could provide temporary relief but cause lasting damage, would it not be better to make sure there was no danger to yourself?
I believe cannabis is one of the least harmful and addictive drugs out there. If legality wasn't an issue I'd choose to take a few currently illegal drugs over legal drugs like alcohol and tobacco. If people generally took cannabis over alcohol I suspect there would be fewer social problems on weekends too! That said, masturbation is harmless for many people but, as we know, can become a huge problem for some.
I fully support marijuana legalization. However, just like alcohol and burgers, you should not over indulge. There are many responsible people I know though who smoke weed like maybe a couple times a year and drink that occasional beer. The biggest consumption problem in America is actually hidden sugar content in the food. Essentially, industrialized food is the problem but the media mostly ignores it because it's not a ratings grabber.
I believe it depends on your starting point, your reason for smoking and if you are being self-honest. Medically, to treat pain, weed is a great medicine. But, I don't think it can treat your anxiety/social-anxiety or psychological problems. See, when you smoke to get rid of your anxiety, you are being dishonest with yourself because you are actually suppressing/numbing the anxiety instead of actually facing and addressing it once and for all. I understand how it feels like it is helping, perhaps temporarily, a bit like how porn/masturbation does the same thing, it numbs all the fear and the pain for a while, while the high lasts, but as soon as the high is gone, the fear and the pain resurfaces and you have to get high again to numb/suppress it - that's how the cycle of addiction is formed. Also, when you choose to bury/numb/suppress your thoughts and emotions through a chemical or anything, really, those thoughts and emotions will compound and increase the next time they rise, until eventually you cannot handle reality at all or you have a complete mental breakdown or something happens that will force you to face yourself violently and without mercy, that is the consequence of numbing yourself. I know it's hard, it's painful, it seems like there is no way out, but to actually overcome your problems, you have to let yourself feel that pain, you have to let yourself go through the hardship and grow, always grow. Seeking help is also good, try to help yourself as much as possible, a drug can't do that, only human contact will and that is exactly what you're running away from with social-anxiety (I know). Good luck.
I don't think its black and white as good or bad. If you abuse anything it will be bad obviously, so its not inherently bad. I have smoke marijuana sometimes and it makes me feel good, and people have smoked it for thousands of years with no issues. If you're comparing it to other drugs, I think its better than tobacco and alcohol. Its probably only still illegal so the pharmaceutical industry can make money off of psychiatry or other medical fields.
I can't disagree with any of the responses here. In my experience, the best thing i can say about marijuana is that it can be,a fun party drug, and it appears to have some medical uses. Beyond that, there's a lot of gray. Yes, marijuana may be less addictive than other substances...but it is still addictive. Trust me, i was addicted to it. In moderate doses, it may be relatively safe for many people...but it's a drug, it intoxicates you and there can be consequences. And excessive use over an extended period of time will certainly harm you. Let me put it this way. Throughout my life i've used it, and i've always supported policies and politicians that have tried to decriminalize or even legalize its use. That being said, im now the father of a pre-teen boy....and now i see things very differently. I'm very worried that weed is becoming easier and easier for young kids to get, and this has the potential to destroy many lives.
Especially because marijuana is now 4 times more powerful that ever before, and it's also EXTREMELY cheap and easy to get nowadays. Also, kids that are unfamiliar with it might very well smoke real bad stuff believing it to be weed.
Marijuana has a lot of medical benefits. However, due to difficulty in controlling its use, it is considered as illegal in many countries. My advice is that you procure a prescription from a doctor if it is not banned in your country. But personally, I would not recommend weed in treating your anxiety. There are a lot of substitutes out there which are natural and efficient. If you continue to use marijuana, you will be addicted to it because it has properties that would lead you to crave more and more. You would also have to increase your dosage of intake because your body will adjust in time. There is a reason why the Government banned the use of it. It knows that it has a lot of benefits but the fact that it is declared as illegal, it knows that it would bring more destruction than benefits. Praying for your recovery, brother.
Bigotry, ignorance, and the trouble that it would cause to organized crime/pharmaceutic companies and other kinds of industries (it's one of the most versatile plants ever)
i like weed if i dont have anything to do and i can sit around and watch cartoons and listen to music. If im around people it brings all my vulnerabilities to the surface. If its around people i dont know or trust it makes me anxious as shit. Im a big fan of mushrooms and acid though. Helps you explore all the little crevices of your subconcious