In 6 days it's going to be a month that I haven't smoked, don't even think about it anymore. I smoked 5 years straight, and I know all too well how it affected me personally.
I could probably write a 20 page report on the real, unpropagandized effects of marijuana, I talked about a lot of my views with an 8 year chronic smoker and the effects were the similar across the board. I don't mean the obvious ones, but the real psychological impact of being a daily user.
One of my marijuana theories is this: Whatever negative effects you have from marijuana will become ingrained in your subconscious mind. Changing the mind and self.
Let me explain how this gradual impact happens,
1. Conscious thought integrates into the subconscious, this is a fact.
2. Marijuana causes paranoia, fear, anxiety and doubt in your conscious self while "high", also fact. As with any drug, different effects for different people but even if the thought is perceived as a joke when high, it doesn't stop it from occurring. The occurrence of the negative thought pattern is the basis for my whole theory.
What's the resulting effect from all of this if you are a daily/chronic user? You are actively training your mind to hold specific thinking/feeling patterns. These patterns are so gradually reinforced and the time span so large that it by the time you have changed your minds identity, you have no comparative self to compare your current self with.
This also explains why a lot of marijuana users stop after a while because they become too paranoid while high after years of use. Marijuana, I believe amplifies ones current unconscious states(fear/paranoia/doubt etc..), if the negative effects are being ingrained gradually, it perfectly fits why different people stop at different lengths of time depending on how strong these factors were in themselves.
I hadn't thought about it in this light before, and it was just one more downside to the "joke drug" I went in thinking it would never become a problem 5 years ago. I'm also curious if you guys agree/disagree?
I'm not trying to preach or discourage anyone from smoking, in fact I don't even regret smoking myself, but the above alongside many other logical realizations made me stop for now, I might return at a later point in my life - but on a much more casual basis. As with everything, moderation is key.