parents here who are anti weed and psychedelics, how old are you?

[Anonymous]

Weed and psychedelics will f up your brain eventually. I know at least three people who had very paranoid episodes for a lengthy period of time while and after using weed. Studies show it can cause schizophrenia. Good luck to you op. I wouldn’t want you near me or my children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Weed and psychedelics will f up your brain eventually. I know at least three people who had very paranoid episodes for a lengthy period of time while and after using weed. Studies show it can cause schizophrenia. Good luck to you op. I wouldn’t want you near me or my children.

I echo this. Very alarming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not your age, it's your kids' age. With little kids it feels easy to keep things separate and secure. They're pretty oblivious. But when they get older that's a lot more difficult and it doesn't feel as comfortable even if you think they'll never know. And there's always the risk that they start snooping or find out by accident. And if they did decide to try something, they might not dose correctly, or might give it to a friend, or get sick, who knows, all kinds of bad stuff can happen.

I was a child of divorce and as a teen, I knew a lot more about my parents' private lives than they thought I did. Not necessarily bad stuff, but they weren't anywhere near as discreet as they thought they were. And their weed was nowhere near as secure as they thought it was.

You can’t die from cannabis or mushrooms or LSD so I’m really not sure about the “bad stuff that can happen” if people use these substances responsibly.

You can't think of anything bad that can happen when people use these drugs? Really? You sound sheltered.

I know of two people who died during bad trips during their 20s (one jumped out a window and one got hit by a car). Just because you won't OD on the drug itself doesn't mean bad stuff can't happen when you are taking it. This is especially true when these drugs are kept in a house with teens who are way less likely to use them responsibly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm 45 and don't consider myself anti but I don't use any of it. I also don't drink. I smoked a little weed pre-kids and I used to drink alcohol but as I've gotten older I just stopped. Now I do yoga, meditate, eat better, and get solid sleep instead.

I think what I've realized is that most drugs (and alcohol) are bandaids for problems, and when abused of course they make them worse. It's an escape. I don't judge people who use that escape (like I said, I've done it too) but I am highly skeptical of claims that weed or psychedelics are actually helping people. Even my dad and my best friend, who have take weed to help with pain and nausea from cancer, didn't really report back impressive results.

I think at the end of the day the only way to deal with the pain of life is to confront it and learn to release it without pharmaceutical assistance. That's what my meditation and mindfulness practices are for.

So you don't think depression is real? Or you think it can be cured with yoga and some kale? I'm not talking situational depression, I'm talking chemically imbalanced depression.

That is different because no one takes depression drugs because the high they get off them helps then chill out or "opens their mind." They are not recreational drugs that anyone would describe as fun to take. They are targeted drugs intended to disrupt a specific process in your brain (the reabsorption of serotonin) in order to help people with low serotonin levels get to a "normal" level that reduces depression symptoms. They fix the chemical imbalance. There is no risk of addiction with them. In fact, the problem with SSRIs is that they often have side effects that make them harder to take.

Weed and psychedelics don't do this. Like alcohol, they provide relief via obscuring or distracting from problems. They were not designed to address a chemical imbalance, they became popular because they are fun to take, and make people feel out if it or free from the worries of everyday life. Psychedelics specifically cause hallucinations, which is a full break from reality (if an SSRI caused hallucinations, you would be told to stop taking it -- with psychedelics it's the point). Weed, meanwhile, has the problem of or during a wide variety of effects on people depending in type, dose, and the person. It can be a depressant, a stimulant, or even a hallucinogen. The only medical application they've found for weed is pain relief. Weed in particular can be habit forming.

SSRIs, when they work properly, can help your brain function so that you can deal with your problems. Weed and psychedelics distract people from their problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thanks for the feedback. Looks like nobody who disagrees with it is my age.

I am not addicted. Psilocybin is not an addictive drug, and I am able to control the amount of cannabis I ingest, often times going weeks without thinking about it then picking it up again.

I've been against it since I was 16 and saw the ill effects on people I knew. This definitely is not a case of everyone who doesn't like it is an old fogy and everyone your age thinks it's great.

Maybe you need more life experience. Maybe you need to observe the effects over a longer period of time so that they are more visible. Maybe you need to experience your teens finding your stash. Who knows. But it's not really about your age.

Nonsense. An adult is not a 16 year old so you don’t understand the effects at all.

You're here fighting hard to get adults to accept your self-medicating drug use as some kind of beneficial thing. It is, in all likelihood, not. If you're unwilling to own that, perhaps you'd find more support from teenagers on this particular topic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thanks for the feedback. Looks like nobody who disagrees with it is my age.

I am not addicted. Psilocybin is not an addictive drug, and I am able to control the amount of cannabis I ingest, often times going weeks without thinking about it then picking it up again.

I've been against it since I was 16 and saw the ill effects on people I knew. This definitely is not a case of everyone who doesn't like it is an old fogy and everyone your age thinks it's great.

Maybe you need more life experience. Maybe you need to observe the effects over a longer period of time so that they are more visible. Maybe you need to experience your teens finding your stash. Who knows. But it's not really about your age.

Nonsense. An adult is not a 16 year old so you don’t understand the effects at all.

On the contrary, I was 16 and was seeing the ill effects on adults I knew at the time. Long-term use can lead to all sorts of problems, including lung disease for example. And it's a giant waste of time that causes people to be lazy and accomplish little. That may not seem like a big deal but if you see how pathetic long-term stoners are in their 70s, with no savings and no professional skills and basically dependent on welfare and charity, it's sad.

I'm an adult now and I still see the same things I saw at age 16. It was not easy growing up in a town with a serious substance use problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not your age, it's your kids' age. With little kids it feels easy to keep things separate and secure. They're pretty oblivious. But when they get older that's a lot more difficult and it doesn't feel as comfortable even if you think they'll never know. And there's always the risk that they start snooping or find out by accident. And if they did decide to try something, they might not dose correctly, or might give it to a friend, or get sick, who knows, all kinds of bad stuff can happen.

I was a child of divorce and as a teen, I knew a lot more about my parents' private lives than they thought I did. Not necessarily bad stuff, but they weren't anywhere near as discreet as they thought they were. And their weed was nowhere near as secure as they thought it was.

You can’t die from cannabis or mushrooms or LSD so I’m really not sure about the “bad stuff that can happen” if people use these substances responsibly.

You sound young and/or sheltered. As you get older you see the bad things. With alcoholism its actually death -- chronic alcoholics start dying in their 40s and 50s, which is frightening and gruesome. But with weed it is more subtle -- an inability to tolerate normal life ups and downs without it, increased anxiety when not on it, and an inability to meet their goals for themselves. Paranoia that starts to ruin your relationships. a feeling of disconnection from their children and spouse. It's not going to kill you but it slowly starts to mess up your life.

I'm not a weed teetotaler and have smoked maybe 20 times in the last 25 years. But I have seen what happens to me "wake and bake" friends after 20 years and its honestly very sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not your age, it's your kids' age. With little kids it feels easy to keep things separate and secure. They're pretty oblivious. But when they get older that's a lot more difficult and it doesn't feel as comfortable even if you think they'll never know. And there's always the risk that they start snooping or find out by accident. And if they did decide to try something, they might not dose correctly, or might give it to a friend, or get sick, who knows, all kinds of bad stuff can happen.

I was a child of divorce and as a teen, I knew a lot more about my parents' private lives than they thought I did. Not necessarily bad stuff, but they weren't anywhere near as discreet as they thought they were. And their weed was nowhere near as secure as they thought it was.

You can’t die from cannabis or mushrooms or LSD so I’m really not sure about the “bad stuff that can happen” if people use these substances responsibly.

You sound young and/or sheltered. As you get older you see the bad things. With alcoholism its actually death -- chronic alcoholics start dying in their 40s and 50s, which is frightening and gruesome. But with weed it is more subtle -- an inability to tolerate normal life ups and downs without it, increased anxiety when not on it, and an inability to meet their goals for themselves. Paranoia that starts to ruin your relationships. a feeling of disconnection from their children and spouse. It's not going to kill you but it slowly starts to mess up your life.

I'm not a weed teetotaler and have smoked maybe 20 times in the last 25 years. But I have seen what happens to me "wake and bake" friends after 20 years and its honestly very sad.

This. For one thing, it only takes one bad decision to drive a car while high or drunk and that's it. I also knew someone who accidentally set his house on fire cooking while high. And there's the risk of accidental overdose. As the decades go by, chances are high that you will experience or observe these things.

As for the long term, it absolutely does have an effect. It disconnects people, makes them mentally fuzzy and slow. Poor working memory, poor executive functioning, fatigue. They don't progress through life in the same way. Career-wise, earnings, but also just personal maturity that comes with experiences and efforts rather than dozing on the couch. Social circle becomes more and more drug-oriented, and work takes a back seat to drug use. Then there's the lung disease, the increased cancer risk, the vape chemicals, and whatever else is in what you're taking that you may or may not know of. I grew up with drug culture in the 70s and believe me, I see it now crystal clear as my parents' generation is aging and dying, often younger than they could have.

OP does not want to hear this and will probably not believe it. But this is what I see.

[Anonymous]

53.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not your age, it's your kids' age. With little kids it feels easy to keep things separate and secure. They're pretty oblivious. But when they get older that's a lot more difficult and it doesn't feel as comfortable even if you think they'll never know. And there's always the risk that they start snooping or find out by accident. And if they did decide to try something, they might not dose correctly, or might give it to a friend, or get sick, who knows, all kinds of bad stuff can happen.

I was a child of divorce and as a teen, I knew a lot more about my parents' private lives than they thought I did. Not necessarily bad stuff, but they weren't anywhere near as discreet as they thought they were. And their weed was nowhere near as secure as they thought it was.

You can’t die from cannabis or mushrooms or LSD so I’m really not sure about the “bad stuff that can happen” if people use these substances responsibly.

You can't think of anything bad that can happen when people use these drugs? Really? You sound sheltered.

I know of two people who died during bad trips during their 20s (one jumped out a window and one got hit by a car). Just because you won't OD on the drug itself doesn't mean bad stuff can't happen when you are taking it. This is especially true when these drugs are kept in a house with teens who are way less likely to use them responsibly.

Oh the old “jumped out a window” canard. Never heard that one before /s

Psychedelics don’t actually make you jump out of windows.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not your age, it's your kids' age. With little kids it feels easy to keep things separate and secure. They're pretty oblivious. But when they get older that's a lot more difficult and it doesn't feel as comfortable even if you think they'll never know. And there's always the risk that they start snooping or find out by accident. And if they did decide to try something, they might not dose correctly, or might give it to a friend, or get sick, who knows, all kinds of bad stuff can happen.

I was a child of divorce and as a teen, I knew a lot more about my parents' private lives than they thought I did. Not necessarily bad stuff, but they weren't anywhere near as discreet as they thought they were. And their weed was nowhere near as secure as they thought it was.

You can’t die from cannabis or mushrooms or LSD so I’m really not sure about the “bad stuff that can happen” if people use these substances responsibly.

You can't think of anything bad that can happen when people use these drugs? Really? You sound sheltered.

I know of two people who died during bad trips during their 20s (one jumped out a window and one got hit by a car). Just because you won't OD on the drug itself doesn't mean bad stuff can't happen when you are taking it. This is especially true when these drugs are kept in a house with teens who are way less likely to use them responsibly.

Oh the old “jumped out a window” canard. Never heard that one before /s

Psychedelics don’t actually make you jump out of windows.

Yes they do boo

[Anonymous]

I’m not anti weed per se but it’s bad for developing brains, so I’m against teenagers and very young adults partaking in it more than rarely.

I smoked pot in my mid twenties and haven’t really since I started having kids. I’m not opposed to it, and will maybe do it rarely. I drink occasionally as well.

When raising kids, I think it’s tablestakes to demonstrate a healthy relationship with substances that are ok in moderation.

I’m 37.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not your age, it's your kids' age. With little kids it feels easy to keep things separate and secure. They're pretty oblivious. But when they get older that's a lot more difficult and it doesn't feel as comfortable even if you think they'll never know. And there's always the risk that they start snooping or find out by accident. And if they did decide to try something, they might not dose correctly, or might give it to a friend, or get sick, who knows, all kinds of bad stuff can happen.

I was a child of divorce and as a teen, I knew a lot more about my parents' private lives than they thought I did. Not necessarily bad stuff, but they weren't anywhere near as discreet as they thought they were. And their weed was nowhere near as secure as they thought it was.

You can’t die from cannabis or mushrooms or LSD so I’m really not sure about the “bad stuff that can happen” if people use these substances responsibly.

You can't think of anything bad that can happen when people use these drugs? Really? You sound sheltered.

I know of two people who died during bad trips during their 20s (one jumped out a window and one got hit by a car). Just because you won't OD on the drug itself doesn't mean bad stuff can't happen when you are taking it. This is especially true when these drugs are kept in a house with teens who are way less likely to use them responsibly.

Oh the old “jumped out a window” canard. Never heard that one before /s

Psychedelics don’t actually make you jump out of windows.

DP. Someone I knew personally got a bad batch of weed in college and jumped out a window after hallucinating. She tragically passed away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not your age, it's your kids' age. With little kids it feels easy to keep things separate and secure. They're pretty oblivious. But when they get older that's a lot more difficult and it doesn't feel as comfortable even if you think they'll never know. And there's always the risk that they start snooping or find out by accident. And if they did decide to try something, they might not dose correctly, or might give it to a friend, or get sick, who knows, all kinds of bad stuff can happen.

I was a child of divorce and as a teen, I knew a lot more about my parents' private lives than they thought I did. Not necessarily bad stuff, but they weren't anywhere near as discreet as they thought they were. And their weed was nowhere near as secure as they thought it was.

You can’t die from cannabis or mushrooms or LSD so I’m really not sure about the “bad stuff that can happen” if people use these substances responsibly.

You can't think of anything bad that can happen when people use these drugs? Really? You sound sheltered.

I know of two people who died during bad trips during their 20s (one jumped out a window and one got hit by a car). Just because you won't OD on the drug itself doesn't mean bad stuff can't happen when you are taking it. This is especially true when these drugs are kept in a house with teens who are way less likely to use them responsibly.

Oh the old “jumped out a window” canard. Never heard that one before /s

Psychedelics don’t actually make you jump out of windows.

DP. Someone I knew personally got a bad batch of weed in college and jumped out a window after hallucinating. She tragically passed away.

It wasn’t likely even a “bad batch.” For some people a large dose of THC can cause psychosis.

[Anonymous]

This post is really odd. We are all presumably parents here so our responsibilities and interests towards our kids are based on our assessment of the risks of activities not on some kind of “I’m too cool for school” attitude. I don’t GAF if OP thinks old people are uncool and hysterical about weed and LSD. I did weed and LSD and I don’t have an issue if other adults do it. But I absolutely know they have risks and I don’t want my kid to incur them. With weed specifically we also know a lot more about the effects on mental health that we did not before. My assessment of risks for myself as an adult are totally different from my responsibility towards my kid.