I was not going to post on this topic again

Like any drug there are people who have a propensity to addiction and those who do not Cannabis in itself is not an addictive substance but it can create a psycological addiction I have known people who smoke, eat hash butter/cookies etc. for the past 50yrs and remain productive members of society with good jobs, families and good lives (one person who went on to become an olympic swimmer)

Then there are others like my ex husband who was both an alcoholic and a hash addict. the hash addiction was more manifested in his behaviour when he could not get it rather than behaviour while taking it. There can also be an interaction when using both weed and alcohol together.
During all these years I have never once come across either professionally or personally any individual who was dangerous while stoned on weed.
Yes it has been shown to trigger psychosis in schitzophrenia but in this instance it is the psychosis that is the problem not the trigger.
I personally do not like being stoned (or drunk) so I don't use it but I would absolutely prefer to spend an evening with people who are using weed recreation ally than spend an evening with drunk people.
Having said all that I would prefer to see someone taking weed getting it from a grower who does not use harmful chemical sprays or if using hash to make sure they are getting it from a source which supplies product that does not have harmful chemicals added to it eg. Soapbar is a hash product which was originally produced by mixing lots of 'crap' with small amounts of hash to divert customs or drug enforcement from the actual hash which may have been re routed in some other direction. The problems arose when the dealers without conscience found that when 'soapbar' got past officials they could then profit from it by selling it anyway to those forced to buy from back alley dealers because of the illegality of it and those people ended up using a dangerous end product which has an unknown mix of many drugs, washing powders, sand, lsd etc which can cause the equivalent to 'acid trips' or psychotic instances which would of course lead to other major problems and possible addiction to drugs they did not know they were imbibing in the first place. Legalisation of it at least ensures that people are getting untainted properly grown derivatives of the cannabis plant.
One of the main reason weed is known as a gateway drug is a result of people having to buy it in 'gateway' situations as a direct result of it being illegal. again, I know many people about 10yrs older than me who have been smoking it for years but safely getting it from a local friend or growing one or two plants themselves
Finally the vast medicinal value of weed is being recognised and in the case of some patients (a ten yr old girl in this country finally got a license for it when her parents fought to get it after months of having to bring the child to holland for medication when docs told them to bring her home to die because they could not control her seizures).
Irreparable damage has been done following overdose of pharmaceutical drugs like acetaminophen whereas as Mojo said 'good luck on trying to od on weed'. one would just fall asleep, get a very dry mouth and probably a major dose of the munchies!
The depiction of people in tv shows etc of people 'stoned' is not a true picture of actuality. people might spend hours trying to solve the 'problems of the universe' but generally speaking are never as 'out of it' as very drunk people (from alcohol use) and there are no hangovers either and certainly no violence unless combined with alcohol or other substances.
Worldwide abuse of sugar is far more dangerous with obesity levels, particularly in the US (70.9% of men and 61.% of women) at dangerous levels causing huge health problems and many preventable deaths.
I do not support young adults in early stages of mental illness using it or any other substance no more than i would support handing out sugar products to diabetics in a back alley if sugar became illegal and they were addicted to it.
as SHL says ..everything in moderation.
Oh and Kisses, i assume you know that thc stays in your system for at least six weeks and would show up in a random drug test so if you can get it on prescription where you live it might be a good idea to do so.
peace and thanks for an interesting post.

I didn’t read other people’s responses, but I have a medical license. It’s guessing game to find out what’s best for you, and it’s been expensive, but so helpful for me. Positively life changing, but is definitely not for everyone.

@oldc LOMBO

I think that plenty of people will grow in home. The lines are out of control. You can get more for your money from the streets and I don't even smoke any more and know this. But I'm happy recreational weed is here.

@Irish AMAN!

Weed for me it's the smoke thing. Second , for me it's tioo complicated.

You have to know good weed from bad. Before Illinois leaglized it you needed a "weed guy"

If people want it, I say leaglize it everywhere.

Unfortunately when you legalize a substance...you don't get to choose who gets it or uses it, so Young Adults with Mental Illness in this day and age will be the quickest to self-medicate.

As for those who claim its not addictive.....your wrong.

" Marijuana use can lead to the development of problem use, known as a marijuana use disorder, which takes the form of addiction in severe cases. Recent data suggest that 30 percent of those who use marijuana may have some degree of marijuana use disorder. People who begin using marijuana before the age of 18 are four to seven times more likely to develop a marijuana use disorder than adults.

Marijuana use disorders are often associated with dependence—in which a person feels withdrawal symptoms when not taking the drug. People who use marijuana frequently often report irritability, mood and sleep difficulties, decreased appetite, cravings, restlessness, and/or various forms of physical discomfort that peak within the first week after quitting and last up to 2 weeks. Marijuana dependence occurs when the brain adapts to large amounts of the drug by reducing production of and sensitivity to its own endocannabinoid neurotransmitters.

Marijuana use disorder becomes addiction when the person cannot stop using the drug even though it interferes with many aspects of his or her life. Estimates of the number of people addicted to marijuana vary, in part because epidemiological studies of substance use often use dependence as a proxy for addiction even though it is possible to be dependent without being addicted. Those studies suggest that 9 percent of people who use marijuana will become dependent on it, rising to about 17 percent in those who start using in their teens.

In the early 1990s, the average THC content in confiscated marijuana samples was roughly 3.8 percent. In 2014, it was 12.2 percent. The average marijuana extract contains more than 50 percent THC, with some samples exceeding 80 percent. These trends raise concerns that the consequences of marijuana use are worse than in the past, particularly among those who are new to marijuana use or in young people, whose brains are still developing."

Cited from NIH: National Institute on Drug Abuse

In 2015, about 4.0 million people in the United States met the diagnostic criteria for a marijuana use disorder;3 138,000 voluntarily sought treatment for their marijuana use."

OldC please just stop. SERIOUSLY. Your entitled to your opinion. But if this thread irks you that much stop posting. All your information is straight out of pocket. WE GET IT YOUR AGAINST IT. End of discussion. Move on to another post. Either you smoke or you don't. Clearly you don't! Point blank period. Their are many others that prefer the natural. Then these pharmaceutical companies and there side effects. PHARMACEUTICAL LAWSUITS LEFT AND RIGHT. Not for weed I never had a problem with bizzle and I didn't get munchies. Seroquel got me up to 206, I'm finally back to 104 and I got to 104 on these demon meds with lowering adjustments going off. Because I'm going straight bizzle. Personally I'm quitting all meds again and just blazing as needed just like old times. Addiction you had me rolling with that. BENZOS AND ADDICTION
GO HAND AND HAND. Thats addiction. No worries of weight gain and WORST of all tardive dyskinesia. MORE THAN Half the meds I tried gave me TD. TD IS SATAN!!!!!! I only been on meds since 2013 because I moved too far from my bizzle man and the experience SUCKS. Good for you and your opinion but we get it. I posted this thread to get opinions. YOURS IS CLEAR. You straight sound like 50 and I'm from the suburbs of the Chi. Of course you'll post again. But I'm done posting. Thank you pritzker!!!!!! I'll go natural and will grow my bizzle. Legit 90% of the people in my building blaze. Guarantee you won't hear a commercial if you smoked bud and experienced uncontrollable movements, weight gain like 60 pounds in 2 months, numbness in your fingers yada yada. Done posting. Over it!

Per your Request ***EDITED***

Actually Lady I'm done with your insulting childish reactions to intelligent informative posts. When you decide to make a ridiculous decision and stop all your medications and just self medicate with your Marijuana "Bizzle" and all of your BiPolar Symptoms come back causing your life to go to hell I'm sure there will be folks around the BiPolar Support Board for you cry to.

But since you've chosen to attack me personally, run your mouth at me, be totally disrespectful and be ridiculous because you don't like it when people don't share your opinion and post medical facts about a topic, I assure you I will not waste one more ounce of my time with you or your problems.

Have fun blazing!

Consider this your EDIT. Have a great day!

Do u know of any benzo lawsuits? I talked to many people and no one would help me cause lawyers in Arkansas suck. Benzos destroyed me. Medical pot is helping me get my life back. I’m 33 and not concerned with developmental problems- olderC. Wtf does oldercper mean. Older cock-loving person? I started Smoking at 19. Anyway, I’m not going to address the negative tone from olderc. Let me know if u know about any klonapin lawsuits. I have rediculous notes on my last 2 years of hell. Well, it’s not rec in Ar. Only medical right now. No home growing aloud. Lame. Anyway, congrats on the weight loss! Beyond happy for you. Really. I cannot imagine how that must feel. OlderC May post whatever he wants. I understand, but it’s also Important to let you be you. You know what’s good for you. No one else. No one else. You haven’t been taking steps lately. You’ve been making leaps. Halloween- I would’ve never guessed you would have been able to change your situation as dramatically and positively as you have. I am truly proud of you and I enjoy reading your no BS attitude. Keep it up. Keep your head up. Keep smiling. I know you go to your library a lot. I watched a movie last night and it really helped me clear my head when I was under a lot of stress. It was simple. It was sweet. It was meaningful. The Spitfire Grill. Maybe they have it at your library. Just an idea you can keep in your back pocket to help on a bad day. I’m sorry people haven’t been kind on here. Sadly, people are dicks. But thanks again for posting.

This was uncalled for BradleyS oldercper was being helpful.

Who wants popcorn?! But for real, can’t we be civil and kind? Let’s let everyone have their own opinion. Do what is right for you and don’t judge others cause you have no idea what they are or have been going through.

Also, I am Switzerland.

I'm an advocate like you are Brad, but PCer is a woman, and you shouldn't speak that way with a female. I know you didn't know, but you might want to think about editing your comment.

Old C shluld edit to then her comment telling me to let my life life go to hell and cry to weed smokers. DONE AND DONE. This female knows I just got out of domestic violent relationship very recently. This is her reaction over weed. . HAVE YOU NOT EXPERIENCED tardive dyskinesia for more than 24 hrs plus it can be permanent. Done and done, Eating popcorn with kisses.

I have. I'm treatment resistant. All those small-print warnings that start `In rare cases, a patient may experience...' is what I get. Hives to TD to full-on psychosis. Wellbutrin, disguised as Zyban (an anti-smoking med) literally drove me out of my skin. TD is awful.

I'm just saying as I guy, I can't talk to a female that way. I wasn't raised like that.