10 of 33

Benign

Write now Article Tools

Smoking pot can have benign effects - as long as it doesn't rule your life. Just like with everything else, you need to strive for balance. Smoking marijuana recreationally is akin to eating large amounts of chocolate with every meal. Although chocolate is great, you need more variety in your diet to stay healthy. Smoking pot is only meant to be an occasional treat for the healthy and absolutely essential for those who cannot get painkillers in any other way.

Comparison With Other Drugs

Cannabis does contain more tar than normal tobacco cigarettes, which is another reason why you should only smoke it occasionally. But, "normal" tobacco cigarettes are far more of a health hazard than the occasional joint. They are also far more addictive.

Studies have shown that the nicotine in tobacco cigarettes is more addictive than heroin, including a sobering s1987 study put out by the Addiction Research Center of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. In my life, I knew people who got off heroin, but could not kick their cigarette habit. Both drugs will kill you - it's just heroin does it a lot faster. Marijuana is like granola bars in comparison.

Smoking pot is also less harmful than drinking alcohol, which claims far more lives per year than just about any other drug in the world.

My Own Story

When this writer was homeless in England, pot was the only option open to me to take care of a toothache. I did not like the other effects pot did to my body (loosening my bowels suddenly, for instance) so I haven't smoked or made marijuana chai in years. Since I'm now able to afford a dentist, I use a dentist when I have a toothache. But I am grateful that pot existed to get me through a very painful time in my life (literally and metaphorically).

You don't need to mix the marijuana with tobacco, although that seems to be the preference.
There are many herbal tobacco-less smokes on the market. You could also pursue other ways to consume pot rather than smoking it. Baking it into food is one option.

Prison Control

When I lived in England, I also talked to police, social workers and "screws" (prison workers). They found that prisoners who had access to marijuana made them calmer and less violent. But, as marijuana stays in your system for 30 days, it has not become the drug of choice for UK prisons anymore, which makes being inside of a prison far more dangerous than a few years ago. The drug of choice now is heroin, which purges itself from the body in only a few days.

Smoking pot does have its place in a healthy society.

Learn more about this author, Rena Sherwood.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Is smoking pot benign or a serious health hazard??
We want to hear your view. Write now!