Pot smokers, 'why' do you smoke grass?

[sweetheart]

Can you explain what smoking grass does that you like? Funnily,
so many people smoke, yet nobody talks about what exactly they like
about it, and dislike for that matter. Rather we discuss that it
is criminalized by the drugs war.

Yet there must be some reason why you smoke. The drugs warriors
say that the reasons are rebellion against parental control and
silly reasons, as if the drug itself could not be quite pleasant...
as their very premise is that the drug is "not" pleasant...

All people, please speak regarding your cannabis views, but i'm
most curious from regular users, why they like the smoke.
What does it do for you?

[liontamer]

1. I don't smoke

but i'm pretty sure most people who smoke recreationally do it to get high :shrug:

[mikehiggins]

2. Like sex, booze and chocolate cake

it just feels good. What other reason does there have to be?

I am probably the only man my age in this nation who has never smoked pot, or done any sort of illicit drug other than alcohol in my life.

Still and all, it's hardly a difficult question.

[htuttle]

3. The inside of my skull expands to several times it's normal size

It feels downright cavernous sometimes. Also makes me feel right at home here on Planet Earth, no matter where on the planet I am.

Something like that. :)

Otherwise, not much else. Maybe a little drowsy after having a bit too much. :shrug:

[LiberalVoice]

5. Me too!

Well sorta...It feels like my skull is expanding but my skin is not..So my face gets really tight and my ears feel like their gonna pop off!

[sniffa]

4. it gets me high

is what i Like about it....

oh, and i hate my parents. j/k

[Sugarbleus]

6. To piss off John Ashcroft!! n/t

[Marnieworld]

7. Well I happen to be an expert in the subject

Why I smoke? It's relaxing after a day's work. I love listening to music and watching really good movies with it. Weed makes you more aware of the different layers of music and makes you appreciate each instrument more. With movies (I'm a film buff) you can really appreciate all of the visual and thematic elements more. Weed makes you giggle which is a lot of fun. It's a lot of fun to do with someone you really like. Lots of laughs and easier access to your deep thoughts and feelings. Sex is great when you are high and it makes guys last longer if you get my drift. Hmmmm what else? It works great for cramps and nausea. Life can be really hard and when you spark up it makes you remember to laugh and appreciate the good things.

I like to watch anti-dope propaganda flicks like Reefer Madness because they are so absurd. All they show are people giggling and of course we couldn't tolerate that as a society. No one ever gets into an arguement ever. You giggle. You eat. If you're lucky you have sex and then you sleep. OH yah, it really is good for sleep.

Is that enough info for ya?

[billbuckhead]

10. I makes you forget pain that why jocks and cancer patients like

it.

[LiberalVoice]

11. I've been thinking about having sex while stoned...

NEver tried it. I don't know if I would like it. Might be information overload if you catch my drift. I can only concentrate on one thing very well. Seems like too much to handle.

[justjones]

32. You should try it....

It's actually quite nice. :D

As for information overload....it's not like you think about things you wouldn't think about otherwise when having sex. You just think about them on a different level.

[nedlogg]

14. Funny you shouyld mention Reefer Madness

When I was in the Navy, they showed us Reefer Madness as part of their anti-drug training program.

[ghostsofgiants]

59. ...

Reefer Madness is a fucking funny movie.

[LiberalVoice]

8. Most people are different. But me...

Well apart from just being high the weed, for me anyways, makes me think differently. Not dramtically different, but I just see and understand things a bit more clearly and with some more detail. Its complicated.

It also depends on how good the weed is and how much I smoke...sometimes it just knocks me off my ass and I just sit there and stare at the ceiling. But more often then not I am what you would call a "Giddy Smoker". Someone who laughs at nothing and cannot stop.

[RobinA]

29. Exactly

What LiberalVoice said. It made me think differently. Enhances music and movies.

I'm not one who found it relaxing, I could only smoke in a very undemanding place or it made me jumpy. If I was on edge about something it could make me obsess. Or not, depending.

I don't smoke anymore because for some reason it isn't fun anymore. Too much anxiety in my life, it would only enhace it. Plus, I feel like I learned what I could learn from it and now I can think that way on my own. I do miss the music and movies, though

[jonnyblitz]

9. why does anybody do anything they enjoy?

:shrug:

[slackmaster]

12. It serves the same purpose as alcohol but is less harmful IMO

n/t

[On the Road]

13. I'm Not a Regular Smoker

It's been seven years in fact. But here's my experience:

--Being in the moment: When you smoke, you're not thinking about doing the laundry, Christmas shopping, or your fight with the boss. Your thoughts may be self-absorbed, but they all in the here and now.
--Changes in social perception: Your characterization of others (in person or on media) is changed. Sometimes you see certain things accurately that you wouldn't otherwise. Other times, your ideas are ludicrous. But it's always interesting. I saw Clinton's acceptance speech in 1992 after smoking a joint and remember very clearly a sense of him trying to impersonate a Baptist preacher. I saw something that I didn't perceive so clearly before or afterward.
--Fascination with Small Things: The ability to find ordinary things obsessively interesting is a nice change, especially for those who are chronically bored.
--Interesting Perceptual Distortions: Not so much hallucinations, but things like sense of distance, time, balance, focus (eg, hyperrealism), etc. Smoking showed me things that our senses do that I hadn't been aware of, simply by exaggerating them.
--Stress Relief: You cannot be a Type A workaholic while stoned.

It's a whole gestalt, and that doesn't do it justice. There are some negatives. Personally, I always felt marijuana was very isolating. That's one reason I was never a habitual smoker. But I certainly understand people who are.

[Ezlivin]

15. Take me away...Calgon?

There used to be a television commercial that showed a woman sinking into a tub of suds, exclaiming "Take me away, Calgon!"

At the end of every day, my wife and I like to sink into a bowl of smoke and exclaim, "Take me away, White Widow/AK47/Mazar/Durban Poison/et al"

Like many previous posters have mentioned, I love the mind-shift I get with MJ and how it allows me to see things from a different perspective. With no "hangover" and no deleterious side-effects, I prefer MJ.

[NeonLX]

16. It sure beats getting drunk and winding up in a fight.

I'd much rather be in a room full of stoners than a room full of drunks. Drunks tend to have much shorter fuses. Stoners are just looking for a bag of Doritos to attack.

[TX-RAT]

21. In all my years in Law enforcement.

I never once had to respond to a marijuana related, domestic, accident, or fight.
Sure can't say that about alcohol.

[JVS]

30. I've been in a couple

Some asshead would get baked and keep trying to explain something. Wouldn't shut up, slapping insued.

[transeo]

17. Insomnia, stress

I have serious trouble getting to sleep some nights and pot always helps. I don't wat to take sleeping pills because of their addictive nature. I also use it if I've had a really stressful day. It's relaxing.

[tridim]

38. Yep, pot is the ultimate sleep aid

IMO it's a solid reason to legalize it. Not to mention the creative burst one gets when dozing off while high.. I can compose complex symphonies in my head and actually hear and control every instrument, but maybe that's just me. It's pretty damn cool!

Pot is the only intoxicant that's completely safe and causes no lasting side effects. It's a miracle, and we should treat it like one.

[DiverDave]

18. It's

very relaxing.
I haven't toked for years, I stopped when I started driving trucks.
Just quit, no withdrawals, no shakes, no bugs crawling up my arms.
Now, when I retire, I ain't agonna have tobaccy in my meerschaum pipe.
So, if you see me on the front porch, in a rocking chair, stop in, sit awhile, watch the game.
And get high with me...lol

[livinginphotographs]

19. Because Joe Camel told me to.

n/t

[richabk]

20. Family perspective...

My grandfather is in the advance stages of prostate cancer. He's been on some heavy duty pain killers for a while, and complains that sometimes they don't help. When that happens, he'll smoke pot. He says that it will almost completely take away his pain. The other benefit is that his condition has greatly reduced his appetite, so when he smokes he'll at least eat something.

[AtTheEndOfTheDay]

22. It tastes good, and it feels good.

I like the ritual of the use of the paraphernalia, your trusty old pipes or the pleasure of rolling a nice joint. I like quality pot and it's great smell as you grind it up in preparation. I like the feeling and taste of the inhalation and the buzz as it descends with a relaxation and stress relieving sensation. I enjoy the relief from chronic aching muscles and worry about daily stresses. It's a pleasurable hobby to grow and learn about the fascinating qualities and characteristics of cannabis. You can get a charge from the fact that being a smoker makes you sort of an outlaw and member of a subculture, a brotherhood of sorts. That's some reasons off hand.

[redqueen]

23. I always assumed it was for the same reason people drink wine or beer.

:shrug:

[Bandit]

24. In 1970 I was stationed in Germany and my Company Commander

told me to my face that he preferred the men in his unit to smoke hashish because they were always around and in shape to do a job if needed while those that drank alcohol would end up in fights downtown and cause much trouble and were never around during emergencies and if they were they were in no shape to participate. the ones who got drunk all the time were constantly creating problems among the German people while the "potheads" were virtually never in trouble. I'm sure things are much different now though.

[SheepyMcSheepster]

25. as many posters have previously said

it is relaxing. it allows me to exam my life and the things around me with a more level head. when i have tuff decisions to make, being high kind of helps me think about and focus on what is really important to me.

another poster mentioned being able to appreciate the different layers of music when stoned, i find this true as well, being high and listening to music and being sober is completely different. i also create music and playing high is much more interesting and fun, i often stumble on to bit and peices when i am stoned that are much different from what i create sober.

basically, i think i can sum it up by saying pot allows you to approach the world around from a different prespective. it allows me to step outside of the normal me and actually take a closer look at the world around me and a closer look at what i am.

pot makes the day in day out rat race seem quite insignificant, for me that is quite a relief.

i do not really drink alchohol much anymore, i find drunks to be pretty annoying and dumb. pot is my beer at the end of a working day. it gives me a chance to detach a bit and get back to being me.

also, one other thing to add, when i smoke pot, i am usually working on something, i find it to be quite motivational and inspiring. unlike drinking i find that i can be very productive and creative.

i like pot alot, it is a shame that it is illegal for me to grow. it is funny when a government tells you that you can not have access to a plant that grows naturally on this planet.

[onecitizen]

26. If I had some.........

I'd smoke some. But I don't have any. I would smoke it for my MS symptoms. It helps when nothing else will, so I hear. Would love the opportunity to find out for myself.

[salvorhardin]

35. I used to smoke semi-irregularly

but have'nt in many years for two primary reasons:
1) Can't afford it
2) I'm afraid of the drug laws

In recent years I've developed a lot of muscular pain, especially in my legs probably related to lymphedoema. I really wish marijuana was easier to get around here because I think it'd help tremendously and allow me to be more active. I have a hyrdocodone prescription, but only take it when the pain becomes intolerable because I hate the drug. For the first couple of hours it's great, and really helps the pain but it makes me very nauseated and I'm wiped out for days afterwards and that's with only with one 10/500 pill.

Also, I'd have to say that when I was smoking I was much more creative, but that may be illusory because I was much younger then.

[JVS]

27. I started in hopes of moving on to harder more dangerous drugs

[gollygee]

55. LOL! :) n/t

[Alpharetta]

28. when I did

it made movies a LOT better. And music too. and just hanging out. and food.

and yoga. jeez you can really enjoy stretching after you smoke.


Why I don't:
I respond to emergencies better. With 3 kids, you DON'T want to be high when you take one of them to the emergency room for stitches, broken bones, etc.

I feel more confident as a communicator. Less likely to forget someone's name or a train of thought. I feel wittier and funnier when I haven't been smoking for a while.

[SheepyMcSheepster]

31. yeah, doing yoga after a smoke is great

it really lets you feel what you are doing with your body and i tend to take my time a little more.

[skygazer]

33. It is the best stress reliever there is

Mellows me out, lets me relax, allows my thoughts to quit barging around in my head like a rhino with a hemmorhoid... I don't care for alcohol - zones me out too much and leaves me feeling physically crappy. Pot's a nice, natural, mellow high. I once had a psychaitrist who told me that if it helped with my issues, go right ahead and smoke. She saw nothing wrong with it (I suspected that she ran home after a tough day at the office and lit up a fattie herself). :hippie:

[laruemtt]

34. i've always preferred

mushrooms. get passed the sickness and you're in heaven.

[Ravenseye]

36. Ask Laura Bush...

...I hear she has some experience with Mary Jane.

[HEIL PRESIDENT GOD]

37. Cocktail of meds

The combo a doctor gave me for my stomach problems, asthma, and stress/anxiety would probably kill me in about six months.

I blame the aforesaid on you-know-who, so I could say I blaze because George Bush made me.

Once a doctor asked me if I wanted a pill to help me quit smoking cigarettes. I said, could you tell me the pharmacology on that? He said, It's um something we um give people for depression. I said, Ah, neurotransmitter reuptake inhibitor? Thanks, but crank (which I ain't touched in ten years) always made me wanna smoke like a mo-fo...

[truthspeaker]

39. Makes me feel good and helps me relax.

I like the way music sounds when I'm high. Funny things are even funnier. Menial tasks are less boring. Nature looks more interesting. My mind seems to make connections that it wouldn't otherwise, with results that can be insightful, hilarious, or stupid. Bike rides and ski excursions are more fun.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

40. same reason i love a glass of wine

[sweetheart]

41. Can't discuss smoking grass in GD

This subject is just too politically incorrect for GD... how
unfortunate. I realize the mod's dillemma, to leave a pothead
thread in a place where people might think half of DU smokes grass..

Some day, i hope it is as politically correct to discuss getting
stoned as it is to bait and bash people's religious views.

This is not a lounge thread. It is dead serious, to speak up for
what smoking "really" is, and not the lies of the drugs war.

[truthspeaker]

43. a mod moved it? Weird. I know we've discussed legalization there.

Maybe the experience itself is more of a lounge topic.

I forgot to mention the taste. Regular dirt-weed usually tastes bad, but sometimes it has a nice flavor. But kind bud tastes and smells fantastic. It truly is a pleasure to savor the flavor, much more so than tobacco, even good tobacco (and good tobacco is expensive!). I also really like the flavor of hashish. Or, ideally, kind bud mixed with hash.

[sweetheart]

44. that sweet smoke

Though i love the sweet odour of perfect buds, it is definitely
the high and the distance from "rat race" culture that the stoned
void seems to afford.

I love writing stoned, poetry and creative stuff that really seems
to pour out of the fingers with a good smoke. Were it legal, i would
grow several varieties, and would probably smoke a less strong,
more satisfying breed. As it is illegal, i simply get the best i can
and sometimes it is too strong by my taste.

Some good charras (rolled indian pollen) can be a real treat as well.
I would like a dream weed, one with the least hangover, a lucid
funny high, and no munchies.... it makes me fat, throwing my diet
out the window. It would be even bettter, if the ideal weed did not
have harsh smoke as well, so i can do exercise and yoga without
feeling like my athsma is aggravated.

If anyone has some of this weed, please send me some. :-) I've been
on a "northern lights" diet from holland, and would prefer a hawaiian
or british columbia sensamilla.

[salvorhardin]

46. What about vaporization?

Never tried it, but from what I understand it's all the benefits of MJ without the harsh smoke.

[Marnieworld]

48. Vaporization rocks!

I've been doing it for a few months now and you get higher and I no longer have a smokers cough. You heat the weed without burning it so you just get THC without all of the carcinogens of burnt plant material. It's probably adding years to my life.

[Misunderestimator]

50. It has nothing to do with the subject...

As I experienced recently, only "political" topics are allowed in GD. Has nothing to do with the subject matter at all. A thread of mine was moved, and I questioned why because it was a serious thread for which I was hoping for serious responses, which is why I posted it in GD instead of the Lounge. It was moved to the Lounge, because it had nothing to do with politics.

[sweetheart]

52. Yes, however redefining cannabis's effects IS political

We have been blizzarded with lies about what cannabis is, and to
have users speak up with what their own real experiences are, is
taboo... geez, even a high school student might read it! oh! ;-)

The war on drugs politically represses all points of view that buck
their draconian need to imprison and make war on people. FOr the
lounge, i would have asked a more casual question, but i asked the
one thing you never ever hear on mainstream media. What does it feel
like. Why do you like it. THis is totally repressed, and i'll
smoke some weed and pretend that it was not political, but my sense
feels a political sting behind this particular one.

I understand, as during this democratic campaign, swing voters who
are anathema to cannabis might see that many people smoke it and
speak freely, thereby feeling unwelcome at DU. I fully forgive any
jumpyness on mods behalf... we must win in november, and i respect
their call... but this one was political.

[Misunderestimator]

54. I agree... However, the original topic needed to be framed as such...

I'm only explaining why it was moved from my own experience. I assure you that they did not move it because of the topic, but because it wasn't framed as relating to politics.

You have absolutely NO argument from me.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

65. I agree...

I even suggested starting a Drug Issues thread in J/PS ("Gungeon"), but Skinner roundly rejected it stating that it wasn't an issue, he felt, deserved its own thread. That's a shame because any drug policy issues posted there get lost in all the gun topics.

[jukes]

42. mood elevation

& libido enhancement, big-time!

[henslee]

45. If you do puff, do it in a vaporizer (link) your lungs will thank you.

http://www.vaporbrothers.com/

[sweetheart]

57. I have a vaporizer, and am unimpressed

It takes way more weed, and maybe just takes more getting used to
than i've given it. Perhaps if i had more, cheaper weed, then i
could afford to vaporize.

The little vapour tube did not give me the satisfaction of a good
pipe hit... (hate bongs... stink, stinky water, cleaning.. yeech!)

I'm still in search of the perfect pipe. I gotta titanium one,
that is air-cooled, but it has some aluminum parts... I have a
hot fire (coal) to clean the pipe, and just want an all-stainless
or all-titanium pipe that i can pitch in to the fire to clean without
solvents, salt water, or any of the methods of de-tarring a pipe.

My second complaint about pipes is that they fall over when you sit
them on a table... and when really stoned, fall over more easily.
I'm gonna get a kiln and make my own pipe out of china-clay with a
flat bottom.

I'm sure you're right, and i've gotta give the vapourizer another
shot before i write any more bad reviews.. ;-)

[dancing kali]

47. Because I like it.

I don't drink much... I come from a long line of alcoholics and hate the smell of alcohol and bars. In addition, I have a very low tolerance for alcohol - I'm the archetypal cheap date... one glass and I'm under the table. I can smoke pot and still function.

Pot makes me feel good. Pot doesn't make me maudlin or violent. I don't get sick after smoking pot. I don't get the bed spins after getting stoned. I can still walk after smoking... I fall down when I've been drinking. I am happy and mellow after a toke and nasty and loud after a few drinks.

Pot is good for easing migraines, pms, perimenopause, cramps, muscle aches, settles my stomach, helps me de-stress and makes for a good sleep aid if I want to sleep but I can still function if I don't want to sleep. Alcohol gives me headaches, upsets my stomach and pretty well incapacitates me.

Neither are good for driving or operating heavy machinery or doing any kind of activity that requires safety considerations - although when I'm stoned I still have the sense to know that my judgement is impaired... alcohol kills any possibility of having good sense.

Does that answer your question?

"Some of us drink after work... the rest of us smoke dope" - "Industrial Strength Tranquilizer" - The Austin Lounge Lizards

[liberalitch]

63. Yea... all that and more.

[LoZoccolo]

49. I would smoke it to help me sleep if I could get ahold of it.

I have problems with insomnia which are pretty much just situational and stress-related. My doctor prescribed Ambien and I take it every now and then without problems but I do hear that some people can have some pretty nasty side-effects like hallucinations. Plus if I take it two nights in a row, I have trouble sleeping the third night. I'd rather just take a drag or two of pot as it's a natural hypnotic, but I don't really know anyone who can get me some anymore.

[sweetheart]

53. have you tried antihistamines?

The side effect of some of those things is sleepiness in the extreme,
without the "dead sleep" of sleeping pills. If all you want to do
is sleep, cannabis might be more than you bargained for. :-)

However, i can't believe you can't get weed. I bet you, that i
could fly to wherever you live, and score some weed that day without
knowing anyone. Its too easy... start with a taxi driver, or
someone loading baggage at an airport... one of those friendly
folks who guides travellers in and out of cities... they all know
where weed is avaialable.

I've tested this in cities around the world, and without fail, there
is always a good toke around. TO up the stakes of the bet, getting
some weed in less than an hour might be more challenging. ;-)

On top of that, you can order it on the internet, in case you can't
seem to connect. For MS sufferers and people with chronic illness,
they can order online from several charities and arrangements that
make chocolates (cannabinoids dissolve in fat/oils), and other forms.

If you really want some weed, it'll come to you. Heck, how do you
think laura bush looks so stoned... she's probably found a whole pack
of smokers at the white house willing to score for her.

[Nikia]

51. For me it is a fun social thing

I am such an uptight, stressed out person. I am naturually introverted. Pot helps me talk and have fun. It also helps me bond with people. I have fun laughing and talking about absurd things that are sometimes not so absurd. It is a change in perception that is generally happy.

[scarlet_owl]

56. Being high is a pleasant feeling.

That's it for me.

[Taverner]

58. I like it because, if used infrequently..

It makes me feel good, mellow and euphoric

[sundog]

60. good meditation

[Spiffarino]

61. Don't smoke it any more

I always found that it made me docile at first, then paranoid. I don't like feeling that out of control, so I just don't do it any longer. However, I know folks who've done it on a regular basis for years and they function very well.

[MsConduct]

62. It rounds off the sharp corners

of my mind.



Peace

[BayouBengal07]

64. Well at first

I just wanted to be able to say I tried it. Then I did it to get high. My dad tried it in college.