# What Is The "Safe" Age To Start Smoking Weed? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 17, 2017, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-safe-age-to-start-smoking-weed/796573 "2017-09-17T20:44:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-safe-age-to-start-smoking-weed/796573/1 "2017-09-17T20:44:30Z")
The Conventional Wisdom is that teens and children shouldn’t smoke doob for the probably-real, but-not-fully-understood health risks to their developing bodies, brains in particular. Given this, and putting aside the legal issues, is, say, 18 a “safe” age at which a person can start smoking the wacky tobacky? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-safe-age-to-start-smoking-weed/796573/2 "2017-09-17T20:48:38Z")
Without an objective definition of “safe,” this is best suited to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-safe-age-to-start-smoking-weed/796573/3 "2017-09-17T20:48:59Z")
I’d heard 25. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-safe-age-to-start-smoking-weed/796573/4 "2017-09-17T21:09:15Z")
Just how old are you,any way? Just kidding…I say if you can trot yourself down to local dispensary with your card and prescription and your own money…I would say you’re ‘old enough’. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-safe-age-to-start-smoking-weed/796573/5 "2017-09-17T22:14:50Z")
If the concern is developing brains then the safe age would need to be 25 or older based on current knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-safe-age-to-start-smoking-weed/796573/6 "2017-09-17T22:24:30Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Just how old are you,any way? Just kidding…I say if you can trot yourself down to local dispensary with your card **and prescription** and your own money…I would say you’re ‘old enough’. If one has a prescription, one assumes that one’s doctor might have a more informed opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-safe-age-to-start-smoking-weed/796573/7 "2017-09-17T22:31:28Z")
HeyHomie…good luck finding a doctor who will prescribe for you. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-safe-age-to-start-smoking-weed/796573/8 "2017-09-17T23:05:26Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > If one has a prescription, one assumes that one’s doctor might have a more informed opinion. I have a doctor’s prescription. I legally (as far as California is concerned) got it by talking to an MD on the phone for five minutes. I told him that I needed it for headaches. They only give a shit that you’re 18 years of age or older. I was 12 the first time that I tried the Devil’s weed. I didn’t start smoking in earnest until I was 18 though. It’s an occasional thing for me these days. Most of my buying at the dispensaries is scoring for friends. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2017, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-safe-age-to-start-smoking-weed/796573/9 "2017-09-18T01:12:52Z")
135; it’s still bad for your lungs. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2017, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-safe-age-to-start-smoking-weed/796573/10 "2017-09-18T01:23:12Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > 135; it’s still bad for your lungs. Even if you vaporize it below 200C? I have a terrible time smoking it but vaping is pleasant. The OP said “smoking” but vaping is close enough to the concern to be relevant. I keep hearing that the brain keeps developing until about 25 although brain developing may not equal damage to the brain. ---
**Author:** ![Kimera757](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimera757/32/3765_2.png) [@Kimera757](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimera757)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2017, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-safe-age-to-start-smoking-weed/796573/11 "2017-09-18T01:23:45Z")
The Ontario government has proposed rules to make marijuana legal at age 19 (exactly the same rules for drinking alcohol), which I thought was fairly responsible of them. In Canada, marijuana isn’t legal _yet_, but the federal government will make it legal in July of 2018. There is probably no 100% “safe” age, as it is “bad for the brain” (but only temporarily, at least most of the time), but this isn’t really different than alcohol (which can certainly damage the brain of a youngster, or if used to excess…). Rather, the government fears that developing brains will be permanently affected, whereas developed brains will only suffer temporary intoxication. I also don’t think it’s a good idea to allow children to use marijuana, on the grounds that they aren’t adults and shouldn’t be allowed to make those decisions yet. Naturally actually preventing them from doing so is another story entirely. > [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > 135; it’s still bad for your lungs. I would say someone could eat it instead, and would encourage that over smoking. I don’t use marijuana but I don’t mind other people using marijuana, as long as I don’t have to breathe it in - I don’t want to affect my brain or lungs - and they aren’t driving or working (pretty much exactly like alcohol, only I can’t be made drunk by proxy). But I’ve heard that regulating dosage in marijuana brownies is harder than if you smoke it. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2017, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-safe-age-to-start-smoking-weed/796573/12 "2017-09-18T01:37:35Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I’d heard 25. Yes, 25 seems to be today’s best estimate for when the brain is fully developed, according to the [cites](http://mentalhealthdaily.com/2015/02/18/at-what-age-is-the-brain-fully-developed/) [I’ve seen](https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=1&ContentID=3051). [This book on _The Teenage Brain_](https://www.amazon.com/Teenage-Brain-Neuroscientists-Survival-Adolescents/dp/0062067850/ref=sr_1_1_twi_pap_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1505698384&sr=8-1) has a chapter on pot, that talks about the effects on pot/THC on the developing adolescent brain. One quote mentions 16, not as a safe age, but at least an age after which it’s safer than before: > [@](#): > > Early teen users are twice as likely to become addicted, and those who indulge in pot before the age of sixteen have more trouble with focus and attention and make twice as many mistakes on tests involving planning, flexibility, and abstract thinking. Also, the younger a pot smoker is, the more he or she smokes. Bottom line: The earlier the use, the greater the abuse. > > Jensen, Frances E.; Nutt, Amy Ellis. The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist’s Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults (p. 151). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2017, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-safe-age-to-start-smoking-weed/796573/13 "2017-09-18T01:42:48Z")
> [@Kimera757](#): > > But I’ve heard that regulating dosage in marijuana brownies is harder than if you smoke it. I think that comes from the delayed onset of effects combined with bad use; It may take 1-2 hours for edible pot to kick in so some people figure it’s had little/no effect and take more then all of it kicks in. LSD has the same problem among insufficiently careful users [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QekelC00V28](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QekelC00V28) Also, I think smoking destroys a fair bit of the THC and perhaps CBD whereas vaping and eating keep more of it intact. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2017, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-safe-age-to-start-smoking-weed/796573/14 "2017-09-18T01:45:18Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > Even if you vaporize it below 200C? I have a terrible time smoking it but vaping is pleasant. The OP said “smoking” but vaping is close enough to the concern to be relevant. \ Good point. I don’t know enough about vaping to comment. We look to you for leadership. 😉 > [@Kimera757](#): > > \ I would say someone could eat it instead, and would encourage that over smoking. I don’t use marijuana but I don’t mind other people using marijuana, as long as I don’t have to breathe it in - I don’t want to affect my brain or lungs - and they aren’t driving or working (pretty much exactly like alcohol, only I can’t be made drunk by proxy). But I’ve heard that regulating dosage in marijuana brownies is harder than if you smoke it. Quite agree. In my case, my sinuses would kill me long before the lungs revolted. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2017, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-safe-age-to-start-smoking-weed/796573/15 "2017-09-18T01:48:32Z")
> [@Kimera757](#): > > I would say someone could eat it instead, and would encourage that over smoking. I don’t use marijuana but I don’t mind other people using marijuana, as long as I don’t have to breathe it in - I don’t want to affect my brain or lungs - and they aren’t driving or working (pretty much exactly like alcohol, only I can’t be made drunk by proxy). But I’ve heard that regulating dosage in marijuana brownies is harder than if you smoke it. Eating it has a completely different effect and one that many don’t find pleasant. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2017, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-safe-age-to-start-smoking-weed/796573/16 "2017-09-18T01:50:14Z")
^ Because of the caffeine from the chocolate? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2017, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-safe-age-to-start-smoking-weed/796573/17 "2017-09-18T01:56:31Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > ^ Because of the caffeine from the chocolate? No. It’s a totally different high. It’s more of a body high. It’s the same if it’s a sugar cookie or a mint candy. ---
**Author:** ![BobBitchin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@BobBitchin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobBitchin)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2017, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-safe-age-to-start-smoking-weed/796573/18 "2017-09-18T01:57:06Z")
I’m also guessing 25, based on the idea weed is reportedly bad for developing brains,.and the brain reportedly keeps developing till 25. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2017, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-safe-age-to-start-smoking-weed/796573/19 "2017-09-18T01:57:20Z")
at the very least I’d say 25 since the brain has more or less finished developing, however more realistically I’d go with 80 ---
**Author:** ![stone111000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/48db29/32.png) [@stone111000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stone111000)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2017, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-safe-age-to-start-smoking-weed/796573/20 "2017-09-18T02:04:50Z")
25+,but better no weed,no smoking,no vape…buddy [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-safe-age-to-start-smoking-weed/796573.md?page=2)