Marijuana usage

Factual Questions
1

I searched on this a bit and didn’t really find what I was looking for.

When I was in high school and college (1960s and '70s) many people I knew (possibly most - I don’t know) smoked marijuana. Several kept it up for quite a few years after college age, some into their 40s.

I’m 48 now, and I’d guess that most of my friend are +/- 10 years of my age, with a smattering outside that range. And while I know a couple or so do still smoke pot, almost all have given it up. Not that they’ve gone “pure” or anything; most of them do drink at least occasionally, if not a lot.

So, has anybody studied what I am (tonight anyway) possibly detecting as a, oh, 5 to 20 year life of marijuana usage before some kind of spontaneous remission? Or are my observations just way off?

2

You mean, you’re asking if anybody’s ever done a federal study on the fact that people get smarter as they get older? :smiley:

3

I asked Google to show me “senior citizens marijuana” and it gave me this.

http://seniors-site.com/forum/mj1.html

Now, Mike, he’s been smoking a loooong time. :smiley:

4

I used to yes. Not even tempted any more. You have never noticed there are no old junkies?

5

I know lots of people who have continued to smoke pot throughout their lives and are now in their 40’s and 50’s. And with no apparent ill effects, BTW.

I think the reason most people stop smoking is because once they get out of college or start families it just becomes harder to get, and less socially acceptable.

Plus, unlike alcohol you can’t take marijuana without becoming impaired. For people with jobs and children, there just aren’t many opportunities to indulge in that. In the same vein, I note that while many people continue drinking as they get older, very few people get regularly drunk (unless they have a drinking problem), whereas when they were younger they’d get drunk regularly at parties. Most people who drink (such as myself) might have a glass of wine with supper and maybe a beer late at night, and that’s about it.

Part of it probably has to do with being unable to handle it as you get older. When I was 18, I could drink until I fell down, and the next day I’d have a hangover until noon and then feel totally normal. The last time I drank a lot recently (probably a year ago or so), it pretty much ruined the rest of my weekend. When you’re almost 40 you just can’t bounce back the same way. Now I’m very conscious of how much I drink, because the hangover is a bitch.

6

Well Duckie, that was an interesting quote, and perhaps Mike has been at the pipe for a bit, but it sheds no light on the question at hand.

Reeder might be closer to the mark. Yes, there are few old junkies - they either expire or get better.

What I am wondering about is not so much the catastrophic drug addictions, such as heroin or methamphetamine, but the apparent expiration of the habituation to the much milder psychotropic, marijuana.

On preview I see Sam’s post and note:

That makes me think the question is more one of societal environmental variables than just one of some spontaneous remission kicking in after X years.

7

Betty Ford.

8

Hell, I’m only 31 and I find that the cannabis buzz holds less and less appeal for me. Never thought I’d see the day, but a glass of wine is a lot more pleasant.

9

So, are we on to a thought here? That perhaps something about the cannabis high becomes less appealing as one ages? Or something like that?

Or is it even correct to say that people do turn away from marijuana with the passage of time? We’ve had a couple of folks check in with seemingly corroborating observations, but I don’t really know that this is the case.

10

No old junkies? Two words:

Iggy Pop.

At least, he looked like a junkie in the music video for trainspotting.

If you like, you can think of other aging rock stars instead.

11

I used to smoke a lot in my younger days, and I have found no long lasting effects.

Some say attention span is affected, or the ability to complete a thought, I have found that not be true.
I used to smoke a lot in my younger days, and I have found no long lasting effects.

Some say attention span

12

not true, especially if you smoke regularly. people usually don’t bother smoking small enough amounts. unlike alcohol, there isn’t much that marijuana offers apart from the high, and debatable health benefits (about as debatable as the health benefits from alcohol; i.e. users agree, others are skeptical).

13

I don’t know if this helps or not, but last year I had the pleasure of sharing lunch in one of the House cafeterias with Gary Storck, Board Member of IMMLY, as in “Is My Medicine Legal Yet?” Gary is a nice guy in his 50s, I think, and he had just got out of a number of meetings with some of the heavy-hitters in Congress.

Anyway, as best I can tell IMMLY has a rather large contingent of elderly members and supporters, all of whom support the legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

14

I’m going to weigh in on the “less socially acceptable” side. The cannibus high does not impair function nearly as badly as alcohol. And no hangover, either! I agree that as I age I can’t handle a big hangover as easily as I used to. But I have no trouble the morning after smoking grass that a cup of coffee can’t cure. It might be a little harder to get out of bed (but it’s always hard to get out of bed!), and I might feel a little sluggish, but nothing near as bad as if I had drank a shitload the night before. I think that the perception is that smoking pot is a college thing, while sipping scotch or wine is an adult thing. As long as you practice moderation in all things, you’ll be fine.

And whoever said there are no old junkies is totally off base. William Burroughs was well over 80 when his heart finally gave out. We should all be so lucky. Taken properly, heavy opiates won’t kill you, they’ll just enslave you for a very long time.

15

I know a couple of people who still smoke regularly and are in their 40’s but they seem to be in a state of arrested development. They are having trouble with their jobs or they can’t keep a job, they are having major problems with money (one of them owes $50,000 on his credit card!) but it is always someone else’s fault. And they use these problems to explain why they still smoke instead of seeing that the constant smoking may have gotten them into the mess they are in.

I think most people grow out of it, they have responsibilities they have to attend to and smoking pot a lot doesn’t help with that.

(But then I am incredibly biased - so maybe you shouldn’t listen to me.)

16

I think there’s a combination of factors here, most of which have been touched on. I don’t think it’s physiological, though - the factors I can think of are psychological and sociological:

1 - After you’ve done something for “thrill” or “novelty” a bunch of times, and know what to expect, it isn’t thrilling or novel anymore. I’ve heard several people say, when they weren’t actually even that old, that they quit smoking dope because all it did anymore was put them to sleep.

2 - The rebellion factor. Part of the allure is that it is “forbidden fruit”. As you get older, you have less need to visibly rebel against society, or at least you learn to pick your fights.

3 - Changing social climate. I’m not talking about change of individual status here. Most of the way through the 70’s, there were professional people who smoked marijuana. It was illegal, but tacitly accepted in many, many circles.[sup]1[/sup] Because of this, it was easily available, and someone who might simply enjoy smoking a little dope now and then would have some float their way without much trouble, even if they didn’t hang around with “drug dealers”. Not now. I think a vast majority of people fall into the category that they might enjoy a little dope now and then, but if it’s going to be too much of a hassle to get, the hell with it.

4 - Then there IS change of individual status. People with responsible jobs and families tend to have to give up all-night drinking binges, camping out in ticket lines for entertainment events, taking off for road trips on a whim, and, yes, illegal drug usage. Gather your rosebuds while ye may.

[sup]1[/sup] - I think this might have eventually led to the legalization of dope, except that society decided to push their luck back then and try the same process with cocaine. Some smaller slice of professionals were snorting up lines in the 70’s, too, and all but the most prudish of circles at least had some passing knowledge of the stuff. While most people can smoke weed occasionally and not become obsessed by it, entirely too many people cannot manage “casual” use of coke.

17

Samuel L. Jackson to Bridget Fonda in “Jackie Brown”:

“Girl, smoking that shit is gonna rob you of your ambition.”
“Not if your ambition is to get high and lay on the couch.”

In college (when I smoked pot the most) I didn’t have very many responsibilities - go to class a little, study a little bit now and then, work a few hours a week so that I would have a few dollars in my wallet, and that was about it. I had all the extra time in the world to get stoned and contemplate the universe. I just don’t have the luxury of that kind of time now. Still, every once in a while getting a buzz on is great - it is just what the doctor ordered.

As to whether it is more or less socially acceptable, I’d say that with the aging of us boomers it actually becomes more acceptable. I’m 38 and several of my friends my age and older still occasionally smoke a little pot. We’re all upstanding, responsible people with good, professional jobs. I’ve smoked pot with judges, lawyers, doctors, corporate executives, etc. Did we take bong hits 'til we couldn’t form coherent sentences and started to dribble on our shirts? No. A little toke, along with a good glass of wine, and that was about it.

18

I’m 34, and I smoked regularly (several joints every evening) for about 5 years, but stopped doing this when I was about 28, for the following reasons:[ol][li]Impaired short-term memory was hampering job performance.[/li][li]Increasing incidence of paranoia after smoking.[/li][li](Possibly related to 2) Inability to sleep after smoking - my brain would ‘chatter’.[/li][/ol]I still live in a culture where smoking is acceptable, and still have the odd toke every 2 or 3 months, but usually I don’t bother, even though I still have some in the house.

Giving up was simple - I just stopped.

19

Slightly off topic: I’ve tried and tried with many different people in many different situations over the course of 20 years and not once have I gotten a high from smoking Marijuana. I did drink some as tea for a while and it was actually pretty good. Alcohol does effect me normally though. Weird.