I found marijuana to be incredibly addictive in my 20s, despite the fact that I only liked 1/3rd of its effects. As I got older I found the undesirable 2/3rd o

I found marijuana to be incredibly addictive in my 20s, despite the fact that I only liked 1/3rd of its effects. As I got older I found the undesirable 2/3rd of effects to be overwhelming. This was especially obvious as I improved my health. I eat better and even workout more at 44 than I ever did at 22. Despite a plethora of legal marijuana options now, I have very little desire to use it (or any drugs, I really don't want to interfere too much with my hormones or at all with my dopamine reward system.) If I hadn't taken the path in life that I did, I might instead be desiring or dependent on drugs much stronger than marijuana at age 44. I feel a sense of gratitude for the training that led me away from drugs and a sense of empathy for those who were not encouraged down the same path. I grew up on the Internet from 1991 (including the various archives of alt.drugs) with an intense curiosity for drugs, and also a sense of danger from the stronger ones (in particular opiates and stimulants.) This also left me with the idea that marijuana was both harmless and low-cost, addiction wise. It took me quite a long time to understand the negative effects that it had on me. Chief was excessive eating. I could not work off the amount of food that I could eat while high. The negative effects on my body hormones from carrying this extra weight seemed to be reinforcing to the addiction. It's a crazy ride.