Moderation (My Experience of Substance Abuse)

Member Name: Peakly

Product:	My Experience of Substance Abuse
Date:	07/06/01 (152 review reads)
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Argh… just let me get this bit out of the way, ok? God knows how this one is going to be received.

+ Cannabis, I suppose, is the drug it’s ok to like - the others being either too dangerous, or too legal for us to be flippant about. Heroin scares us, tobacco bores us… cannabis on the other hand, fills the remaining void perfectly – enjoyable effects, non-addictive and, just to spice things up a bit, illegal. Everyone feels qualified to argue for the legalization of cannabis, ironically (but actually), no one more so then those that have little to no experience with the drug at all. That’s because they look at facts, and they think it’s enough. They consider the known health-risks, they draw the comparison with tobacco, they weigh it all up and decide. And, of course, from the boring, heart-less, logical, sigh-inducing moral point of view they are completely right. If we consider facts, and figures, and laws, and rights, and everything else we like to think matters, it’s true – cannabis should be legalised. I agree. You got me. Legalization, however, is not what this opinion is about. I’m simply clearing things from the start, because everyone who is not frequent cannabis-user, always consider cannabis in relation to its legalization, and that’s not what I intend to write about. It’s a related-topic that, through so many people basing opinion on information over experience, has grown to the point that it over-shadows everything else cannabis is about. Sorry, just wanted to get that in before I start +


If my story was an exciting, or shocking one, it would be about cocaine or heroin. It’s not, it’s about cannabis. Good old, safe, friendly weed – rock 'n' roll, college, Jay and Silent Bob (the Kevin Smith character, not Dooyoo member), right? How many of us think like this, without really thinking at all. How many of us have smoked maybe t
en joints in our life, watched the right movies, listen to the bands and decided from this that cannabis is ok. Cool, even. Acceptable, for sure. Before you think I’m patronizing you, let me say – I did. Yep. If I remember rightly, the whole reason I got into smoking dope in the first place was because I was young, and already involved in everything else associated with the scene. But how many of us have smoked every day of our lives, often through depression, and grew slowly sadder because of it? How many have watched friends, gradually deteriorate from lively, energetic, articulate people into slow and clumsy people, not nearly as alert or able as they once were. And how many of us have watched ourselves, do the same. People tend to forget, that when cannabis is used in excess it is just as damaging as any other drugs, just in different, perhaps more subtle ways. It’s in my title, and it’s about to follow – one word, the key to avoiding the dangers, the word I wish someone had whispered in my ear – moderation. MMMOODDDEERRAATTIIOONN. Smoking weed is a wonderful, calming, experience, that can improve upon nearly all the things we take for granted – talking, eating, listening to music…. But, there are dangers, and only through moderation can these be avoided.

Since smoking cannabis at a rate of just about every day, sometimes several times a day, I’ve noticed definite changes within myself. I’m less articulate, I stumble over words and phrases I never did before. My writing has gone down hill – sometimes I get stuck on the simplest of sentences, I make glaring grammatical and spelling errors. I used to be charming, now I’m frustrating. I used to write with imagination, now I do not. Imagine what it is like, to suddenly find yourself getting worse at one of the few things you’ve ever prided yourself upon. These changes were virtually impossible for other people to
have noticed, but I notice them and they scare me. People say cannabis isn’t physically addictive, and they’re right, it isn’t. However, it’s the most physiologically addictive substance I’ve ever encountered. Whenever I experience stress, even mild, I start thinking about having a pipe. If I’m left in my own company, I use it to calm my thoughts and pass the time. I used to be a jumpy, nervous, anxious person, while now (in real life at least), I’m continuously indifferent towards people and things. You may think it sounds advantageous, but looking out from the inside, and then back at yourself, it causes only unhappiness. And I’m not even a bad case. I have friends that respond slower to conversation, so much so that it’s obvious even to new people they meet. Of course, it takes a certain type of person, in a certain state of affairs, but building up a dependency on cannabis is a fast and easy process. At first, the drug makes your problem disappear, then, in time, it creates new ones to the point you feel almost nostalgic for the first. Thankfully, I’m far from there yet, but it gets to point when people simply can not function without being stoned. They can’t cope socially, or mentally without it. I’m sorry, really sorry, that this section of the opinion sounds like a government warning, and has been boring. Though I hope it serves a purpose, and that purpose is this: if you’re reading, and you smoke dope now and then – keep it that way. Allow it to remain the thing it seemed to be when you began. Smoke on occasion. In moderation. Allow yourself to tread the slippy slope to habitual use, and I promise you your heart will sink every time you indulge. It will cease to be a pleasure, and become only a chore. I’ve seen it happen to many people, many times, and have felt the early symptoms myself. Moderation. Seriously.


Ok, now that nasty bit
is out of the way, I can say some positive things. The newly-clichéd legalization debate is not the only reason why people, all people, like to talk about weed. It’s because it can lead to marvellous experiences. It may surprise you in light of all I have said so far, but I remember my early experimental days with great fondness. Don’t miss-judge my first section – I’m not warning you against the use of cannabis, I’m warning against the habitual use of cannabis, and against wrongly presuming it’s harmless in all cases. Different. Many of the more pedantic Dooyoo members will undoubtedly shoot me down for this, citing hypocrisy, because first I said ‘avoid it’ then I go on to explain how enjoyable it is. If you chose to ignore this reasoning, or repute it, then fine, but I’ll say it only once – my only recommendation is of moderate use, and my opening is a warning only against using cannabis too much. I’ll leave it up to you, intelligent people to decide where exactly that line lays for you.

Smoking a joint with friends is a fine experience. It’s no different to sharing a bottle of wine. In the early days, some of my best times were had simply with close friends, passing round a ‘jay’ and laughing till our heads came off. After a while, the hunger (or ‘munchies’) would kick in, and then began a desperate, frantic attempt to find and prepare food – often with hilarious consequences. If cannabis is combined with good company, it can become just as valid an asset as a good film, or anything else collectively enjoyed. Listen to music with a steady rhythm, and you’ll find yourself enjoying what you hear on levels you wouldn’t have even considered when sober. You’ll be flying, bouncing on the strings of every bass guitar, soaring, with every beat of the drum, exploding into a million pieces and falling like rain-drops at the clash
of every symbol. There is no doubt, that cannabis can be a source of harmless fun. Sometimes you’ll get paranoid, or feel ill if you over-indulge in one go, but establish your own best-suited conditions and there is no reason, at all, why smoking cannabis shouldn’t be a worthwhile experience.


In conclusion to this strange, miss-jointed piece (no pun intended), my experiences in cannabis have lead me to believe the following – smoking dope can, if moderated wisely, be an excellent social aid, just as much so as alcohol. As far as the legalization debate goes, I’m indifferent, though I think in practise it wouldn’t be as great as many people like to believe – the hush-hush, under-the-table method of purchase is one of the only things that ensure cases like those I described earlier are avoided by most people. And so that leads me to perhaps the main drive of this opinion, and my reason for writing. Cannabis is only harmless on paper, and in the minds of people who think they know about it but don’t. There is a line, it’s thin, and to some of us it’s hard to see. Continually using cannabis can destroy a person, it can slow them down and hack-away at their intelligence and awareness. I’m a mild (though sadly growing) case, but I’ve seen worse, and believe me it’s not a ‘cool’ or exciting thing. It’s useless, truly, utterly useless. For me, smoking dope began as an occasional thing, and for many people it remains that way. This stage, I recommend to all. Allow it to develop into a habit, however, and you’ll scare yourself badly. It’s like slowly being eaten alive, so slowly you’re forced to suffer alone because no one else notices. Don’t go there, keep it for now and then. Moderation, ok?





PS - I did dabble with the idea of including some tongue-in-cheek, fun bits in this op - a ‘cannabis lingo
217; section, best music to trip to, how to realise you’ve been ripped off, etc. I decided not to, firstly because I’m not sure it would trivialise my serious bit (and/or you wouldn’t find it funny), and secondly because I don’t know how many of you would be wanky and consider if ‘irresponsible’ to young users (who probably smoke already). If you have any feelings on this… you would like to read it… you think I was wise to keep it out… leave a comment and I’ll act accordingly. Cheers. And I’m really sorry this has been bland, really. S**t.

PSS – I just looked and realised how lame this seems beside Heroin addiction ops, etc. Sorry again. Xxx.


END OF OP (for Jill)

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