5 ms·

It's hard for me to relate to this. I smoke daily, and probably what most would consider a lot. I however also travel for work and or other reasons and often go

by evo_9 8y ago

It's hard for me to relate to this. I smoke daily, and probably what most would consider a lot. I however also travel for work and or other reasons and often go days or a week without smoking. It has no noticeable effect on me. It could be because I'm extremely active and fit. I workout basically 7 days a week, mostly because I do a lot of intense stuff 'for fun' (aka, play hockey 3-4 days a week, etc). I'm not saying it's not true, just pointing out this could be related to things beyond just pot. Aka, inactivity, perhaps an already down mental state, etc etc. I also take a shit-ton of vitamins and sups, I'm about to turn 51 and I train hard and play hard because I'm often skating against high-level 18-20 year old's etc, so I'm quite driven to stay at the top of my game. Possible some of the vits/sups I take are offsetting whatever the pot is doing to others. Diet, exercise, sleep - so many factors goes into feeling well. Addiction though, man that's a lot more extreme than I would label my desire for pot. I mean I certainly enjoy it and even sometimes wish I had some on a trip, but it's a passing though more than anything. Update: one point I should note, I only smoke Sativa's, or sativa heavy hybrids. Not sure if that's a factor but thought I was worth noting.

tzar 8y ago
How long have you been smoking daily? From the article: > Unlike with opioids and stimulants, marijuana dependence tends to develop slowly: Months or years may pass before symptoms begin to affect a dependent user’s life. The case is similar with alcohol dependence: it can take quite a long time.
- fhood 8y ago
  I suspect once a day use isn't enough to cause serious dependency (for most people), so long as it isn't being used for self medication. I suspect physical dependency probably results from use as a teenager (when the brain is changing rapidly) or from near constant use, such that your body/brain begins to treat the chemical changes as a baseline and adjust for them.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- evo_9 8y ago
  I've been smoking daily, with the exception of travel breaks, since my early 20's and I'm about to turn 51.
- Zooper 8y ago
  It's also worth noting that this "Addiction" that takes so long to develop goes away in about 1-2 weeks.
  - inks 8y ago
    Most addictions “go away” in about 1-2 weeks. Even opiate addiction goes away after a max of a week, it’s the psychological effects that last unlike say benzodiazepine which has a recovery time measured in years.
- jjulius 8y ago
  So I originally wrote this post to respond to the user "havesmoked" who posted a similar comment in response to you to what I'm about to share. They deleted their post, but I figured I'd still post mine. ---- I also don't know why I'm posting this beyond sharing my anecdotal experience, lol. I'm pretty much like you on this one. I've been smoking pot for about ten years now (I'm 31), and half of that I'd say has been fairly heavy usage, and for the last 2-3 years a single week for me has, on average, seen me consume: 1 eighth of flower, 50-100MG of edibles depending on weekend activities, and most of a .5G vape cartridge. That seems like a fucking outrageous amount of pot, but I've shown continuous growth professionally (worked all the way up to my current "Director" position) and I've never had a problem traveling and suddenly spending a week or two cold turkey. Like you, I've always been cognizant of the fact that I could end up relying on it as a crutch, and have been wary of the fact that there's not much quality scientific data around marijuana to make me feel comfortable continuing this way. My wife and I are also at a point in our lives now where we'd like to start having children. We met with a doctor last week to discuss a few things, and the "marijuana lowers your sperm count" conversation that I was anticipating did certainly come up. I've known this time has been coming for a while and had no problem immediately cutting back as of last Thursday. It's been just over a week now of reducing my intake to just 4-5 hits per evening, late at night and shortly before bed so I don't get the urge to just keep smoking after I've started. It's been incredibly easy to kick, I'm gonna save a boatload of cash, and I don't spend the day craving it. I appreciate the clearer head that I have, and the increased productivity I feel. But that doesn't mean it's easy for everyone, as I'm sure people use this as a crutch for a variety of reasons. Edit: I think one of the things that has helped me keep my consumption reduced compared to other people in this thread (someone mentioning nearly an eight per day) has been my refusal to do dabs. Those are incredibly more potent and can really quickly kick your tolerance up a notch. I did one just once and it hit me so hard I immediately fell back and had to lean in place against a wall without moving for 20 minutes. I don't know how people can do that shit regularly.
hutzlibu 8y ago
"I only smoke Sativa" Devinitively a factor in my experience. Sativa usually makes more active, indica more stoned... But it is also about personality. I could not smoke everyday. There are times when I do, but that only works to a certain point and then I have to stop, or I would not do anything at all anymore. Persons close to me actually smoked themself to death this way. My main takeaway is, if my mind is thinking a lot about ganja, then it is too much. I like to do things. And quite some activitys can be improved being high, but it should be about the activitys, not the smoke. When the focus goes to smoking for the sake of smoking ... then it is wrong in my experience. But you seem to be doing it the right way...
myWindoonn 8y ago
The article says that this sort of heavy use can be measured in oz/wk, with 1-2 oz/wk being quite a lot. I am the heaviest cannabis consumer of my peers, and I barely consume a quarter oz/wk. It sounds like addicts are much heavier users! On the other hand, tobacco smokers can be addicts at 1-2 cigs/day, but not necessarily chain-smoking 1-2 pks/day like the most-addicted smokers. Perhaps there's a continuum.
- draw_down 8y ago
  Whoa, I’m a heavy user with a high tolerance but an ounce would take more like a month to get through, not a week. 2 oz a week is just nuts.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
- pnloyd 8y ago
  I know several people who are consuming mind boggling amounts like this. But I think at this point using the actual plant material is impractical as what they are doing is vaporizing extracted oil, aka "dabs". I don't smoke anymore for practical reasons, but I have done one of these dabs in the past and it essentially incapacitated me to the point where I felt extremely uncomfortable and had to remain stationary for at least an hour unable to do anything at all. My extreme THC consuming friends are doing something like 6-7 of these per evening and functioning fairly normally. This is what's mind boggling to me.
schrodinger 8y ago
Just wanted to chime in that I’m the same way. Smoke every night when at home, but I’ve just been out of the country for work for a week and actually didn’t even think about it once until reading this thread.
hunter23 8y ago
This is literally the most pseudoscience I've seen at the top of a HN post.
zepto 8y ago
Presumably that lifestyle has also protected you from all the other 10% risks you haven’t fallen prey to yet?

by evo_9 8y ago

tzar 8y ago

How long have you been smoking daily? From the article: > Unlike with opioids and stimulants, marijuana dependence tends to develop slowly: Months or years may pass before symptoms begin to affect a dependent user’s life. The case is similar with alcohol dependence: it can take quite a long time.

fhood 8y ago
I suspect once a day use isn't enough to cause serious dependency (for most people), so long as it isn't being used for self medication. I suspect physical dependency probably results from use as a teenager (when the brain is changing rapidly) or from near constant use, such that your body/brain begins to treat the chemical changes as a baseline and adjust for them.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
evo_9 8y ago
I've been smoking daily, with the exception of travel breaks, since my early 20's and I'm about to turn 51.
Zooper 8y ago
It's also worth noting that this "Addiction" that takes so long to develop goes away in about 1-2 weeks.
- inks 8y ago
  Most addictions “go away” in about 1-2 weeks. Even opiate addiction goes away after a max of a week, it’s the psychological effects that last unlike say benzodiazepine which has a recovery time measured in years.
jjulius 8y ago
So I originally wrote this post to respond to the user "havesmoked" who posted a similar comment in response to you to what I'm about to share. They deleted their post, but I figured I'd still post mine. ---- I also don't know why I'm posting this beyond sharing my anecdotal experience, lol. I'm pretty much like you on this one. I've been smoking pot for about ten years now (I'm 31), and half of that I'd say has been fairly heavy usage, and for the last 2-3 years a single week for me has, on average, seen me consume: 1 eighth of flower, 50-100MG of edibles depending on weekend activities, and most of a .5G vape cartridge. That seems like a fucking outrageous amount of pot, but I've shown continuous growth professionally (worked all the way up to my current "Director" position) and I've never had a problem traveling and suddenly spending a week or two cold turkey. Like you, I've always been cognizant of the fact that I could end up relying on it as a crutch, and have been wary of the fact that there's not much quality scientific data around marijuana to make me feel comfortable continuing this way. My wife and I are also at a point in our lives now where we'd like to start having children. We met with a doctor last week to discuss a few things, and the "marijuana lowers your sperm count" conversation that I was anticipating did certainly come up. I've known this time has been coming for a while and had no problem immediately cutting back as of last Thursday. It's been just over a week now of reducing my intake to just 4-5 hits per evening, late at night and shortly before bed so I don't get the urge to just keep smoking after I've started. It's been incredibly easy to kick, I'm gonna save a boatload of cash, and I don't spend the day craving it. I appreciate the clearer head that I have, and the increased productivity I feel. But that doesn't mean it's easy for everyone, as I'm sure people use this as a crutch for a variety of reasons. Edit: I think one of the things that has helped me keep my consumption reduced compared to other people in this thread (someone mentioning nearly an eight per day) has been my refusal to do dabs. Those are incredibly more potent and can really quickly kick your tolerance up a notch. I did one just once and it hit me so hard I immediately fell back and had to lean in place against a wall without moving for 20 minutes. I don't know how people can do that shit regularly.

hutzlibu 8y ago

"I only smoke Sativa" Devinitively a factor in my experience. Sativa usually makes more active, indica more stoned... But it is also about personality. I could not smoke everyday. There are times when I do, but that only works to a certain point and then I have to stop, or I would not do anything at all anymore. Persons close to me actually smoked themself to death this way. My main takeaway is, if my mind is thinking a lot about ganja, then it is too much. I like to do things. And quite some activitys can be improved being high, but it should be about the activitys, not the smoke. When the focus goes to smoking for the sake of smoking ... then it is wrong in my experience. But you seem to be doing it the right way...

myWindoonn 8y ago

The article says that this sort of heavy use can be measured in oz/wk, with 1-2 oz/wk being quite a lot. I am the heaviest cannabis consumer of my peers, and I barely consume a quarter oz/wk. It sounds like addicts are much heavier users! On the other hand, tobacco smokers can be addicts at 1-2 cigs/day, but not necessarily chain-smoking 1-2 pks/day like the most-addicted smokers. Perhaps there's a continuum.

draw_down 8y ago
Whoa, I’m a heavy user with a high tolerance but an ounce would take more like a month to get through, not a week. 2 oz a week is just nuts.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
pnloyd 8y ago
I know several people who are consuming mind boggling amounts like this. But I think at this point using the actual plant material is impractical as what they are doing is vaporizing extracted oil, aka "dabs". I don't smoke anymore for practical reasons, but I have done one of these dabs in the past and it essentially incapacitated me to the point where I felt extremely uncomfortable and had to remain stationary for at least an hour unable to do anything at all. My extreme THC consuming friends are doing something like 6-7 of these per evening and functioning fairly normally. This is what's mind boggling to me.

schrodinger 8y ago

Just wanted to chime in that I’m the same way. Smoke every night when at home, but I’ve just been out of the country for work for a week and actually didn’t even think about it once until reading this thread.

hunter23 8y ago

This is literally the most pseudoscience I've seen at the top of a HN post.

zepto 8y ago

Presumably that lifestyle has also protected you from all the other 10% risks you haven’t fallen prey to yet?