Weed

Leonidas is happy not this evening. >_>

So it started when a friend who doesn't contact me very much said hello on facebook, which was awesome, so we talked, and then it turned out they were feeling really great, and later it transpired they'd got into weed.

I am very anti-weed.

Medical usage? Yes, bring it in by the truckload for people who are suffering debilitating illnesses and want some relief from the pain. Recreational usage? Gtfo you leafy bastard.

When I talked to friends about it, three people all said essentially "It's better than tobacco/alcohol". But better is a long ride from good, and I don't think I'm alone in the area of the negative effects of marijuana. This is taken from an article on the National Institute of Drug Abuse or NIDA, which is an organisation that takes a look at the effects of drugs and their long-term usage.

"marijuana intoxication can cause distorted perceptions, impaired coordination, difficulty with thinking and problem solving, and problems with learning and memory. Research has shown that, in chronic users, marijuana's adverse impact on learning and memory can last for days or weeks after the acute effects of the drug wear off.2 As a result, someone who smokes marijuana every day may be functioning at a suboptimal intellectual level all of the time."

The same article cites research into the long-term effects as "inconsistent", but what the article makes clear is that addiction CAN happen. Although it only states that about 9% of users can become addicted, it means it's still a risk that's out there. And there are withdrawal symptoms alright...

But the confounding thing here is not the medical side of weed, but the ethical side. What do I do as a friend when someone I care for has got into weed? You could make a good case to suggest that I need to look into the medical side first before I explore this area, but that's why I'm not posing any definites about the ethics of marijuana.

What's more important, my responsibilities as a friend to help them, to try and encourage them not to smoke weed? Or my respect for their free will to let them do what they will? As much as I appreciate the latter, I can't go through with it; I can't remain laissez-faire to the issue of drugs when they're such a problem. But I can see why.

All of this of course throws up questions of how I would act in other situations; if I were to respect my friend's choice in this situation but not for a case of, say, suicide, would that be fair?

All in all, the whole issue is a real confusing one for me. I'm strongly against weed, and would NEVER smoke anything myself, but what do I do when it's my friend? Where are my duties here? What's more important?

~Unhappiness from Leonidas