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You mentioned quitting cannabis. If you don't mind elaborating, I'm curious what benefits you have experienced and why you ended up quitting. Thanks!

by cols 7y ago

thomk 7y ago
Ex cannabis user here, so I thought I'd give you my empirical perspective & and opinion. I will tell you what I would tell my own child: Cannabis, like any recreational drug, steals the most precious resource we have: our time. I've been on benders in my life that I simply can not remember what I did during that period, sure, but that's not what I'm talking about. What I am talking about is the time any person needs to become a well adjusted, functioning adult. When you are taking a recreational drug, you are not dealing with life, you are on a 'get away'. Life is the best teacher and recreational drugs are how you forfeit that precious, amazing, education. You don't have to go far to see this in action. Think of someone who is a habitual drug user and ask yourself 'are they emotionally mature?'. They aren't. They are taking an escape. Recreational drugs are antithetical to emotional growth. This type of behavior is ESPECIALLY harmful if you are taking recreational drugs early in life. It simply puts you behind. I wasted 20 years of my life 'partying' even on a casual basis. Time slips away and being high puts time on a damn bullet train. I heard recently that the fastest way for an addict to relapse is a windfall of money. Money doesn't help them get out of their situation because money is hard to manage, particularly if you are emotionally immature. tl/dr: Recreational drugs make you immature which will prevent you from going very far in life.
- duprees_diamon 7y ago
  So which drugs are recreational? Alchohol? MDMA? Caffeine? Just the ones you choose not to use? >Recreational drugs are antithetical to emotional growth. https://maps.org/research/mdma https://maps.org/research/mdma > tl/dr: Recreational drugs make you immature which will prevent you from going very far in life. When I was just a little young boy, Papa said "Son, you'll never get far, I'll tell you the reason if you want to know, 'Cause child of mine, there isn't really very far to go"
- hx2a 7y ago
  I really like this. I never thought about it this way before and am glad you wrote this. I can't think of a single habitual drug user who is an emotionally mature adult. I'm going to save this and say something similar in the future when I have kids.
- athenot 7y ago
  This is well written. Reading this, I can think of other pleasure-based escapes in life that follow the same pattern. Thanks for sharing this!
  - c0vfefe 7y ago
    It's basically a warning against escapist entertainment of any form.
- mistermann 7y ago
  On mobile and don't have time for a substantive reply, but in my experience this comment is misleading. Rec drugs can be a waste of time, depending on how used and particularly when abused, but when used to supplement meditation, I find the experience much more informative than plain meditation.
- Broken_Hippo 7y ago
  This is not my experience at all. I am more motivated to eat healthier, exercise, and so on when I smoke regularly. I spent most of my 20's sober and the opposite in my 30's and overall, my experience in my 30's was much better. I remember about as much either way - at least in the long term. I also learned a second language while mostly stoned. Overall, I'm much more motivated. And I'll state that overall, my life is full of wasted time. I don't have children nor much responsibility, really, and I'm over 40. I'm happy, though, and that isn't just the beer talking. Edit: I can go either with or without and have taken semi-regular breaks from time to time. I'm mostly at weekends now, but that's mostly to save money rather than life stuff.
  - Fnoord 7y ago
    Keep in mind different amounts of THC and CBD lead to different effect, and also different individuals (which gives both of your stories credibility, but also devalues them). I've had multiple psychosis's due to cannabis as I am sensitive to it (possibly related to autism). Therefore, what I will say to my kid (same genepool) is be very careful with alcohol, cannabis, and other drugs. Please, don't.
    - throwaway5d097 7y ago
      I too am autistic and had an experience similar to yours, although I'm not sure if the effect on productivity was nearly as much, but still definitely there and it was a form of escapism. Still, I had plenty of time to reflect and mature while not really getting very high due to very high tolerance, although I also had anxiety problems almost like psychosis. Still managed to get out, sort of interview although probably much worse than sober, and barely work on some code. Eh, been a few weeks now and I still barely code. Only did what was required for school after burning out, before becoming addicted. Almost got CHS after dabbing plenty of CBD (which can also cause CHS, although rare) as well as hash oil. Thankfully I only puked until my stomach was empty, didn't last long and wasn't painful, but I had most of the pre-CHS symptoms. Sometimes I think I could just do a tiny amount as a reward here and there... that it wasn't that hard to quit... maybe I'm fooling myself.
- stronglikedan 7y ago
  > Recreational drugs make you immature which will prevent you from going very far in life. Put a "may" before "make" and a replace "will" with "may", and you have a truthful statement. However, as it stands, it's simply false. Some of us "well adjusted, functioning adults" just use drugs safely and responsibly, because it can make life just a bit more interesting.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - thomk 7y ago
    Ahh, so if you take away the recreational drug, you remove the part of you that has the ability to find life more interesting? Turns out it was the drug the whole time.
- ericmcer 7y ago
  Cannabis is just a substance, if I drink kombucha and eat broccoli while at a party it’s still going to be a “waste of time”. If I get high and go for an 8 mile hike and meditate at the top of a hill it’s going to be a great experience and really feel like an important and memorable use of my time. Granted alcohol and weed hinder self discipline but don’t blame the substances for your actions. Have you ever done a long run or bike ride and had a beer or two at the end? It is pure joy!
  - Broken_Hippo 7y ago
    I don't really enjoy exercise at all, at least when I'm sober. Get stoned, use an app to tell me where I'm walking, and wind up at a picturesque spot with music in my ears, though? Or go on a scenic route to a grocery store that is a bit further? These are wonderful things.
    - thomk 7y ago
      My point exactly. Imagine if we actually developed the discipline to not only exercise but to also enjoy it. Think of how competent and emotionally strong we would feel. We could have all the wonderful things we crave and more. Or we can take a shortcut and learn nothing.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
- heurist 7y ago
  Have worked with very successful people who smoke cannabis daily. Had no idea until they told me after we were no longer working together. Moderation in all things.
- excursionist 7y ago
  > Cannabis, like any recreational drug, steals the most precious resource we have: our time. Everything 'steals time'... watching TV, reading books, listening to music, working a job, etc. > Life is the best teacher and recreational drugs are how you forfeit that precious, amazing, education. Not at all. It really depends on which drugs, how you use them, etc. > You don't have to go far to see this in action. Think of someone who is a habitual drug user and ask yourself 'are they emotionally mature?'. They aren't. They are taking an escape. Recreational drugs are antithetical to emotional growth. I've met plenty of people who regularly use recreational drugs and who seemed wise, calm and content. > I wasted 20 years of my life 'partying' even on a casual basis. Cannabis is not really a party drug. There are vast differences between various 'recreational drugs'. It's how you use them that matters.
  - ripsawridge 7y ago
    Yes, everything 'steals time,' but the biggest time stealers are those things which chemically alter your brain, such as alcohol, cannabis or other drugs. They alter the organs of perception in ways that reading a book or walking a dog do not. Of course this is the fun of them. But also the downside.
    - excursionist 7y ago
      Depends how you define 'biggest time stealers' - tv and video games are huge time stealers for many people. And the fact that drugs have a chemical effect on the brain does not mean they are necessarily worse than, say, watching some braindead tv show while stuffing your face with fast food, or sitting in a classroom for hours listening to a monotone voice regurgitate some dull bullshit you don't care about. Many people have had beneficial experiences with drugs, for example Steve Jobs with LSD.
- roddux 7y ago
  It frustrates me that the tech scene seems to accept such behaviours as smoking weed quite easily. Note the numerous replies to your comment clamouring to it's defence! I've not known a single long-term user of cannabis to be a happy, healthy adult. Quite the opposite. I think the dangers of cannabis are quite understated and the current trend toward mass-legislation concerns me. It should be noted that I live in England, where we are renown for having stronger strains... This perhaps affects my outlook.
- sizzle 7y ago
  Add alcohol, gaming addiction, lack off a social support group, and underlying undiagnosed mental health disorders to the list of things that hold you hostage from entering balanced adulthood. Wish I was more self aware or had family to help support me in my younger years in seeking help. It's hard not to beat yourself up in hindsight when things seem so crystal clear now when you have traded all your vices for positive routines. In my case it took falling in love with the right person who had their shit together personally and professionally to pull me from the grips of substance abuse hell and my self destructive risk taking and addictive personality. Mediation and mindfulness was key in my recovery as a dependable tool to shut my brain impulsivity down and regain control over the negative neural pathways I've reinforced for years abusing substances. Don't knock it until you try it and see it through until you can start to think clearly without craving your vices and giving into them. Push back hard and you'll be rewarded with clarity and control over your life to set up positive routines. Good luck.
ThrustVectoring 7y ago
It's not a causal study, but there's a correlational link between low trait Conscientiousness and chronic cannabis use. It might just be that slackers are more OK with being high all the time, but the worrying risk is that cannabis use damages your ability to organize and self-motivate yourself.
bob457 7y ago
I used to smoke a bowl almost every night. I quit because it had a number of affects on me I didn’t like: (1) it made me sleep poorly. (2) it made me paranoid/anxious, as in I would become hyper focused on all the ways my life could hypothetically fall apart (3) I couldn’t manage to do much besides sit on the couch and watch tv or game (4) I would basically become paralyzed by overanlysis, to the extent that I couldn’t really talk to people. Friends of mine smoke regularly have basically the opposite experience. It really appears to me that weed affects people in really different ways, so it’s hard to make a general statement.

You mentioned quitting cannabis. If you don't mind elaborating, I'm curious what benefits you have experienced and why you ended up quitting. Thanks!

by cols 7y ago

You mentioned quitting cannabis. If you don't mind elaborating, I'm curious what benefits you have experienced and why you ended up quitting. Thanks!

thomk 7y ago

Ex cannabis user here, so I thought I'd give you my empirical perspective & and opinion. I will tell you what I would tell my own child: Cannabis, like any recreational drug, steals the most precious resource we have: our time. I've been on benders in my life that I simply can not remember what I did during that period, sure, but that's not what I'm talking about. What I am talking about is the time any person needs to become a well adjusted, functioning adult. When you are taking a recreational drug, you are not dealing with life, you are on a 'get away'. Life is the best teacher and recreational drugs are how you forfeit that precious, amazing, education. You don't have to go far to see this in action. Think of someone who is a habitual drug user and ask yourself 'are they emotionally mature?'. They aren't. They are taking an escape. Recreational drugs are antithetical to emotional growth. This type of behavior is ESPECIALLY harmful if you are taking recreational drugs early in life. It simply puts you behind. I wasted 20 years of my life 'partying' even on a casual basis. Time slips away and being high puts time on a damn bullet train. I heard recently that the fastest way for an addict to relapse is a windfall of money. Money doesn't help them get out of their situation because money is hard to manage, particularly if you are emotionally immature. tl/dr: Recreational drugs make you immature which will prevent you from going very far in life.

duprees_diamon 7y ago
So which drugs are recreational? Alchohol? MDMA? Caffeine? Just the ones you choose not to use? >Recreational drugs are antithetical to emotional growth. https://maps.org/research/mdma https://maps.org/research/mdma > tl/dr: Recreational drugs make you immature which will prevent you from going very far in life. When I was just a little young boy, Papa said "Son, you'll never get far, I'll tell you the reason if you want to know, 'Cause child of mine, there isn't really very far to go"
hx2a 7y ago
I really like this. I never thought about it this way before and am glad you wrote this. I can't think of a single habitual drug user who is an emotionally mature adult. I'm going to save this and say something similar in the future when I have kids.
athenot 7y ago
This is well written. Reading this, I can think of other pleasure-based escapes in life that follow the same pattern. Thanks for sharing this!
- c0vfefe 7y ago
  It's basically a warning against escapist entertainment of any form.
mistermann 7y ago
On mobile and don't have time for a substantive reply, but in my experience this comment is misleading. Rec drugs can be a waste of time, depending on how used and particularly when abused, but when used to supplement meditation, I find the experience much more informative than plain meditation.
Broken_Hippo 7y ago
This is not my experience at all. I am more motivated to eat healthier, exercise, and so on when I smoke regularly. I spent most of my 20's sober and the opposite in my 30's and overall, my experience in my 30's was much better. I remember about as much either way - at least in the long term. I also learned a second language while mostly stoned. Overall, I'm much more motivated. And I'll state that overall, my life is full of wasted time. I don't have children nor much responsibility, really, and I'm over 40. I'm happy, though, and that isn't just the beer talking. Edit: I can go either with or without and have taken semi-regular breaks from time to time. I'm mostly at weekends now, but that's mostly to save money rather than life stuff.
- Fnoord 7y ago
  Keep in mind different amounts of THC and CBD lead to different effect, and also different individuals (which gives both of your stories credibility, but also devalues them). I've had multiple psychosis's due to cannabis as I am sensitive to it (possibly related to autism). Therefore, what I will say to my kid (same genepool) is be very careful with alcohol, cannabis, and other drugs. Please, don't.
  - throwaway5d097 7y ago
    I too am autistic and had an experience similar to yours, although I'm not sure if the effect on productivity was nearly as much, but still definitely there and it was a form of escapism. Still, I had plenty of time to reflect and mature while not really getting very high due to very high tolerance, although I also had anxiety problems almost like psychosis. Still managed to get out, sort of interview although probably much worse than sober, and barely work on some code. Eh, been a few weeks now and I still barely code. Only did what was required for school after burning out, before becoming addicted. Almost got CHS after dabbing plenty of CBD (which can also cause CHS, although rare) as well as hash oil. Thankfully I only puked until my stomach was empty, didn't last long and wasn't painful, but I had most of the pre-CHS symptoms. Sometimes I think I could just do a tiny amount as a reward here and there... that it wasn't that hard to quit... maybe I'm fooling myself.
stronglikedan 7y ago
> Recreational drugs make you immature which will prevent you from going very far in life. Put a "may" before "make" and a replace "will" with "may", and you have a truthful statement. However, as it stands, it's simply false. Some of us "well adjusted, functioning adults" just use drugs safely and responsibly, because it can make life just a bit more interesting.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- thomk 7y ago
  Ahh, so if you take away the recreational drug, you remove the part of you that has the ability to find life more interesting? Turns out it was the drug the whole time.
ericmcer 7y ago
Cannabis is just a substance, if I drink kombucha and eat broccoli while at a party it’s still going to be a “waste of time”. If I get high and go for an 8 mile hike and meditate at the top of a hill it’s going to be a great experience and really feel like an important and memorable use of my time. Granted alcohol and weed hinder self discipline but don’t blame the substances for your actions. Have you ever done a long run or bike ride and had a beer or two at the end? It is pure joy!
- Broken_Hippo 7y ago
  I don't really enjoy exercise at all, at least when I'm sober. Get stoned, use an app to tell me where I'm walking, and wind up at a picturesque spot with music in my ears, though? Or go on a scenic route to a grocery store that is a bit further? These are wonderful things.
  - thomk 7y ago
    My point exactly. Imagine if we actually developed the discipline to not only exercise but to also enjoy it. Think of how competent and emotionally strong we would feel. We could have all the wonderful things we crave and more. Or we can take a shortcut and learn nothing.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
heurist 7y ago
Have worked with very successful people who smoke cannabis daily. Had no idea until they told me after we were no longer working together. Moderation in all things.
excursionist 7y ago
> Cannabis, like any recreational drug, steals the most precious resource we have: our time. Everything 'steals time'... watching TV, reading books, listening to music, working a job, etc. > Life is the best teacher and recreational drugs are how you forfeit that precious, amazing, education. Not at all. It really depends on which drugs, how you use them, etc. > You don't have to go far to see this in action. Think of someone who is a habitual drug user and ask yourself 'are they emotionally mature?'. They aren't. They are taking an escape. Recreational drugs are antithetical to emotional growth. I've met plenty of people who regularly use recreational drugs and who seemed wise, calm and content. > I wasted 20 years of my life 'partying' even on a casual basis. Cannabis is not really a party drug. There are vast differences between various 'recreational drugs'. It's how you use them that matters.
- ripsawridge 7y ago
  Yes, everything 'steals time,' but the biggest time stealers are those things which chemically alter your brain, such as alcohol, cannabis or other drugs. They alter the organs of perception in ways that reading a book or walking a dog do not. Of course this is the fun of them. But also the downside.
  - excursionist 7y ago
    Depends how you define 'biggest time stealers' - tv and video games are huge time stealers for many people. And the fact that drugs have a chemical effect on the brain does not mean they are necessarily worse than, say, watching some braindead tv show while stuffing your face with fast food, or sitting in a classroom for hours listening to a monotone voice regurgitate some dull bullshit you don't care about. Many people have had beneficial experiences with drugs, for example Steve Jobs with LSD.
roddux 7y ago
It frustrates me that the tech scene seems to accept such behaviours as smoking weed quite easily. Note the numerous replies to your comment clamouring to it's defence! I've not known a single long-term user of cannabis to be a happy, healthy adult. Quite the opposite. I think the dangers of cannabis are quite understated and the current trend toward mass-legislation concerns me. It should be noted that I live in England, where we are renown for having stronger strains... This perhaps affects my outlook.
sizzle 7y ago
Add alcohol, gaming addiction, lack off a social support group, and underlying undiagnosed mental health disorders to the list of things that hold you hostage from entering balanced adulthood. Wish I was more self aware or had family to help support me in my younger years in seeking help. It's hard not to beat yourself up in hindsight when things seem so crystal clear now when you have traded all your vices for positive routines. In my case it took falling in love with the right person who had their shit together personally and professionally to pull me from the grips of substance abuse hell and my self destructive risk taking and addictive personality. Mediation and mindfulness was key in my recovery as a dependable tool to shut my brain impulsivity down and regain control over the negative neural pathways I've reinforced for years abusing substances. Don't knock it until you try it and see it through until you can start to think clearly without craving your vices and giving into them. Push back hard and you'll be rewarded with clarity and control over your life to set up positive routines. Good luck.

ThrustVectoring 7y ago

It's not a causal study, but there's a correlational link between low trait Conscientiousness and chronic cannabis use. It might just be that slackers are more OK with being high all the time, but the worrying risk is that cannabis use damages your ability to organize and self-motivate yourself.

bob457 7y ago

I used to smoke a bowl almost every night. I quit because it had a number of affects on me I didn’t like: (1) it made me sleep poorly. (2) it made me paranoid/anxious, as in I would become hyper focused on all the ways my life could hypothetically fall apart (3) I couldn’t manage to do much besides sit on the couch and watch tv or game (4) I would basically become paralyzed by overanlysis, to the extent that I couldn’t really talk to people. Friends of mine smoke regularly have basically the opposite experience. It really appears to me that weed affects people in really different ways, so it’s hard to make a general statement.