<Throwaway because co-workers are stalking me on hackernews and marijuana is still taboo over here, although legal>.
Sorry for the long post, I feel I need to say this.
I smoked daily and multiple times a day starting at 28 and until 33. During this time, I switched jobs twice for higher pay, learned a lot and I was very uninhibited to the extent that I grew my social life tremendously.
One of my favorite things to do was to get high and solve leetcode problems. I could do it for hours. I will never forget the stuff I learned while high, I was focused to the extent that I feel those things etched into my brain (I'm talking algorithms, competitive programming tricks, etc..). I rarely played games or wasted time when I wanted to relax, I mostly read books (about mind bending stuff) or listened to good music while drawing.
I was super productive at work also. I never smoked at work but the 9-10 hours of sobriety during the work-day were laser focused.
But all my intellectual ventures have been at the expense of my lifting hobby so I stopped going to the gym for 5 years.
But at one point, it all took a turn for the worse. I started getting panic attacks and some severe anxiety. My heart rate used to go over the roof and one day I realized that I was burning out at work, marijuana wasn't making me feel better anymore, I was just smoking to get to the baseline of 'meh'. So 5 years later, I realize that:
a) I don't have too many memories since I started smoking pot.
b) I'm morbidly obese and my resting heart rate is dangerously high.
c) I'm burned out at work.
d) I'm an addict.
And I stopped. After stopping, I went through the worst 3-4 months of my life. Severe panic attacks that I was prescribed medication by a doctor. Depression, insomnia, irritability and the scariest IMO, depersonalization... Marijuana withdrawal is real. Not as 'real'/dangerous as opiates or alcohol but there is no mention whatsoever in the pop culture about it. If I knew how it would have been, I would never have smoked daily. It took me about 6 months of existential crises and bouts of deep depression to be decently productive again, to be able to feel 'normal' and to feel that I got my cognitive function back on track.
I haven't touched it for about 2 years now and I don't believe I ever will. I learned a lot about myself, most important thing being that I'm vulnerable to addictions.
I am one of the most liberal (in the European sense) person you'd meet. I would legalize all drugs, everything. And I am happy that marijuana is legal. Because now, perhaps the medical profession will take a closer look at it and people will be more informed (at least more informed than I was).
Sorry for the long post, I feel I need to say this.
I smoked daily and multiple times a day starting at 28 and until 33. During this time, I switched jobs twice for higher pay, learned a lot and I was very uninhibited to the extent that I grew my social life tremendously.
One of my favorite things to do was to get high and solve leetcode problems. I could do it for hours. I will never forget the stuff I learned while high, I was focused to the extent that I feel those things etched into my brain (I'm talking algorithms, competitive programming tricks, etc..). I rarely played games or wasted time when I wanted to relax, I mostly read books (about mind bending stuff) or listened to good music while drawing.
I was super productive at work also. I never smoked at work but the 9-10 hours of sobriety during the work-day were laser focused.
But all my intellectual ventures have been at the expense of my lifting hobby so I stopped going to the gym for 5 years.
But at one point, it all took a turn for the worse. I started getting panic attacks and some severe anxiety. My heart rate used to go over the roof and one day I realized that I was burning out at work, marijuana wasn't making me feel better anymore, I was just smoking to get to the baseline of 'meh'. So 5 years later, I realize that:
a) I don't have too many memories since I started smoking pot.
b) I'm morbidly obese and my resting heart rate is dangerously high.
c) I'm burned out at work.
d) I'm an addict.
And I stopped. After stopping, I went through the worst 3-4 months of my life. Severe panic attacks that I was prescribed medication by a doctor. Depression, insomnia, irritability and the scariest IMO, depersonalization... Marijuana withdrawal is real. Not as 'real'/dangerous as opiates or alcohol but there is no mention whatsoever in the pop culture about it. If I knew how it would have been, I would never have smoked daily. It took me about 6 months of existential crises and bouts of deep depression to be decently productive again, to be able to feel 'normal' and to feel that I got my cognitive function back on track.
I haven't touched it for about 2 years now and I don't believe I ever will. I learned a lot about myself, most important thing being that I'm vulnerable to addictions.
I am one of the most liberal (in the European sense) person you'd meet. I would legalize all drugs, everything. And I am happy that marijuana is legal. Because now, perhaps the medical profession will take a closer look at it and people will be more informed (at least more informed than I was).