Pot
 

I am going to get a lot of flak for this post, but I'm making it anyways.

I'm so sick of this.

My little brother and sister are potheads. They've also used several other drugs.

• My sister's effort my sister has put into her art has gone down, and so has the quality.
• My little brother and sister go on long walks, come back and make a mess in the kitchen
• My little brother has no income and somehow manages money to buy pot
• My mother has caught dealers trying to make a delivery to them
• My little sister sold her prescription meds to a friend
• That friend was kicked out of school and had to get a GED
• My little brother got caught shoplifting a lighter
• My little brother got a blackeye in a drug related fight
• They have skipped out on family dinners where my older sister her husband and their baby visit to smoke pot instead.
• They smoke pot in the morning
• My sisters failing half of her high school classes
• My little brother's asthma has been terrible, and he has missed a lot of school.
• My little brother acts out in school and is constantly getting detentions and suspensions
• All they seem to care about is smoking pot. They always ask when I am going to leave for work or when my mother is going to leave for work or when my mom is going to get back.
• Most of the deaths in this area are directly related to drugs

Despite all this, they keep claiming marijuana does nothing and the strain in the relationship between them and my mom is all my mom's fault. My mom is fighting with them right now. Nothing has worked to resolve this issue. My little siblings have honestly turned into different people since they have started smoking pot.

no shit. so sorry. they DO have a psychological dependence problem. it's not really chemical-- but it's still an addiction.

addicts will always make excuses though. goes with the territory.

That sucks for you siblings, but it sounds like they're still pretty young. I suppose I was the same way in high school, it doesn't mean they've been given a death sentence or anything. They'll grow out of it.

they will probably grow out of it. hopefully they wont turn into one of those walking abortions with beads and josticks and weird sandals.

when they're 30 and working at BK, maybe.
I don't really like potheads. Atleast the lazy shithead ones.

I know more than a few people who smoked pot every day before school and got straight A's.
I also know many productive citizens who use drugs judiciously.
Everyone is different.
Best to wait until a decent level of maturity in any case.

Also, anyone who thinks drinking and cigarettes are OK/normal but complains about pot is a moron.
Alcohol is far worse, and far more accepted.
I'll take potheads over drunks any day.

If they're still into drugs at 30, even BK won't hire them.

druggies get around anything.

You sort of just contradicted yourself by what you said about alcohol. It is about the person, not the drug. I drink and it doesn't affect my life. Other people ruin their lives with alcohol.

I agree, everyone is different. Some people can smoke pot and not have it mess with their functionality. It seems to me from what I have seen though, that very few people are like that.

My little brother and sister are also friends with people who have done/tried coke and heroin. They've also said that "nobody gets addicted to heroin on their first or second try."

What I really, really, really hate is that everytime I am of high spirits, potheads assume that I am "on something." They ask it almost as if everything is incredibly boring until you are on something, that you need to be high to enjoy yourself. That to me is sickening.

My sister is 18 and my brother is 15. My sister is graduating high school tomorrow I think, she hasn't taken the SATs or ACTs yet.

I hope they will grow out of it, but that's really not very comforting. They are creating turmoil now.

I didn't contradict myself at all.
Everyone is different.
A LOT more people ruin their lives with alcohol in any case, but people can drink with no adverse effects as well.
Same with pot.
It's just one choice vs another.
Emiprically, alcohol is far more addictive and FAR more physically damaging than pot. This is solid fact.

There is use and there is abuse.
Yeesh.

OK, that makes more sense put that way.

Everytime my Mom confronts them about their pot use, they point out that she and I drink alcohol. It just really ticks me off, because neither my Mom or I are negatively affected by alcohol and we both condemn alcoholism.

I think it really revolves around addictive personalities. Many people in my family have nearly ruined their lives with alcohol addiction, and I have a very similar personality to virtually every one of them. So I don't drink. I know people who can easily drink all night or just as easily go sober for a year just by choosing to (and have seen them do both without a sweat). I know that if I drank there's a good chance I wouldn't be able to do that, so I take precaution and just don't drink. For some people it's perfectly fine. It really does depend on the person. Having an addictive personality doesn't make you a bad person, it just makes drugs/alcohol a bad choice.

Well, it would be best to cover your own asses if you're gonna give someone a hard time about their choice of relaxants, or if you want to set a consistent example.
Sticky situation though, for sure.

That is why I purposefully waited until I was 18 years old, out of the house, before enjoying my mary jane.

But it isn't really pot that we are really upset about (I guess I shouldn't have titled this thread pot, it is misleading) it is their attitude towards pot and the way they have been acting.

Well, then you need to switch the argument to one about responsibility, balance, moderation and functionality. Sounds like they need a few tips in that area.
That's the most reasonable way to work in the real world anyway.

haha

that's a tricky argument, because addicts tend to believe they can "control" their habit-- "oh i only get drunk at nights" type of thing. if you're not talking about addicts, there is a place for discussing responsibility, balance, moderation, etc. however, with addicts this does not apply-- they are simply hooked whatever the personal, financial and social cost. in that case the discussion needs to turn towards solving emotional problems through therapy or other constructive avenues, rather than the addiction of choice (drugs, sex, gambling, food, etc).

Yeah, but a lot of people CAN control their recreational habits, but aren't believed by people who have been fed all kinds of skewed info and/or treatment rhetoric.
Tough situation.
Moderation is key with whatever.
All I was saying is that lots of people think drinking after work and on weekends with frequency is perfectly normal, but that pot is somehow worse. I will never buy that argument.

then again, I smoke pot and find it a better antidepressant that all the Effexors and Remerons I'm taking. Also, I don't get nauseous if I forget to take them after 2 days, whereas pot.. I can live without it when I don't have enough cash (to pay these fucking CEOs at Pfizer or Wyeth or whatever).

Yeah I agree that chronic potsmoking is bad. On the other hand, there are some ppl with diseases where, for instance, they cannot digest food and never feel like eating. But pot makes them hungry, so they eat. Same with any disease that require medication that have weird side-effects. But apart from that,yeah I agree, it's not good at all.