I’m wondering if anybody else is finding this “issue” as overblown as I am.
Being an old man these days my partying times are fewer and further between – the days of multiple days per week at pub/clubs/parties are loooooong gone, I simply don’t have the ability, stamina or energy.
However on the odd occasion I do still have a genuine dip, and these days I’m finding that it’s true, many of the younger brigade are hitting the pipe (amongst other things) as their poison of choice.
The social impact I’ve found personally is fairly underwhelming. I have a number of friends and acquaintances who now seem to have a smoke on a semi-regular basis, and every time I’ve been there at the time, there’s been absolutely none of the fearsome effects that you hear so much about in the media.
People get high on it, party, act like drugged up geese etc, and then go about their lives. I really have seen no better or worse effects or addictive behaviour than many other party drugs such as ecstacy, coke, speed, etc etc. Obviously you get the odd punter who takes things too far, but I’ve found the same people do that no matter what the substance, including alcohol.
Yet if you listen to the media or politicians it’s the great scourge of our generation and will destroy us all. Which makes me wonder whether it’s just another convenient scapegoat / distraction / story for society’s ills, and the reality of it is really no different to many other drugs.
I don’t mean to downplay the damage it can do and has done to many people, I just feel like it’s not that much different to any other drug which can also do this when used to excess.
Am I naïve and our cities are burning, or have you found the same?? Is there a chemical answer to the question – is there something truly unique in how it effects the body and mind?
Being an old man these days my partying times are fewer and further between – the days of multiple days per week at pub/clubs/parties are loooooong gone, I simply don’t have the ability, stamina or energy.
However on the odd occasion I do still have a genuine dip, and these days I’m finding that it’s true, many of the younger brigade are hitting the pipe (amongst other things) as their poison of choice.
The social impact I’ve found personally is fairly underwhelming. I have a number of friends and acquaintances who now seem to have a smoke on a semi-regular basis, and every time I’ve been there at the time, there’s been absolutely none of the fearsome effects that you hear so much about in the media.
People get high on it, party, act like drugged up geese etc, and then go about their lives. I really have seen no better or worse effects or addictive behaviour than many other party drugs such as ecstacy, coke, speed, etc etc. Obviously you get the odd punter who takes things too far, but I’ve found the same people do that no matter what the substance, including alcohol.
Yet if you listen to the media or politicians it’s the great scourge of our generation and will destroy us all. Which makes me wonder whether it’s just another convenient scapegoat / distraction / story for society’s ills, and the reality of it is really no different to many other drugs.
I don’t mean to downplay the damage it can do and has done to many people, I just feel like it’s not that much different to any other drug which can also do this when used to excess.
Am I naïve and our cities are burning, or have you found the same?? Is there a chemical answer to the question – is there something truly unique in how it effects the body and mind?
