Group items tagged

Alcohol is a depressant, but caffeine, cocaine, methamphetamine, and ecstasy are stimulants. Marijuana is not really classified as either because it has a mix of effects. Depressant does not mean it causes depression, it means that it slows down certain metabolic processes. For marijuana this is primarily manifested by muscle relaxation and lowered blood pressure, or basically the relaxed or drowsy feeling most people experience when on this drug. Stimulant is basically the opposite, it stimulates certain metabolic processes. This is why people who are on cocaine or meth or ecstasy are generally energized, and addicts are frequently very thin because stimulants suppress the appetite and speed up metabolism. Some people who smoke marijuana have almost the opposite effect than most people - they get very anxious. It causes increased heart rate (and low blood pressure, that was intentional in case you are questioning that), and that can make people feel anxiety. That effect is considered a stimulant effect.

All stimulants and depressants alter brain function, usually temporarily but if abused or overused can cause a permanent change in brain function. Stimulants are more known for causing permanent chemical imbalances when abused, even permanent psychosis (hallucinations, or general misperception of reality). Many people have the misperception that prescribed stimulants (amphetamines like Ritalin, Adderal, Focalin, etc.) are completely safe because of their use as a pharmaceutical. While they are safe if used as prescribed, they still have potential to cause the same side effects as illegal stimulants if they are taken more than prescribed or in different ways (like snorting, or breaking a capsule, or injecting).

The other problem with lumping marijuana into these categories is that unlike most of them, marijuana is not chemically addictive. Drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine cause a chemical change in the brain which causes a chemical addiction in addition to a physical addiction. Though many will try to tell you that it is chemically addictive, they are really mistaking physical addiction for chemical addiction. If it makes you feel good, you want to keep feeling that way so you keep doing the drug. Chemical addiction includes severe withdrawal symptoms with abrupt discontinuation of the drug. While there are some withdrawal symptoms associated with it's use, they are usually restricted to people who smoke a lot for a long time, and the symptoms are not medically dangerous. If a cocaine addict were to stop abruptly, that person risks death from withdrawal symptoms if not properly taken care of. A more practical explanation would be: you don't see very many people lose their job, house, family, and belongings because of pot, but that situation is frequent among cocaine or meth addicts. The other complication of marijuana is that there is a legitimate medical use for it, while cocaine, meth, ecstasy, and alcohol have no medical use. Just in case someone tries to argue this, cocaine and heroin used to be used in hospitals about a century ago, but are no longer used because the health risks of their use far outweigh the benefits.

claudinator 3 months ago I smoke weed more than once daily and have for years I have an extremely active and successful job plus anything I have wanted I have achieved I used marijuana as a medicine for my insomnia because I rather not take sleeping pills and I also use marijuana to help me with my anger because I would rather not take pill so all I can say is everyone has there own opinion good or bad and nobody should rub it in other people's faces Flag 2 people liked this. Like Reply Reply Anonymous 1 week ago in reply to claudinator You forgot to mention how it also helps you forget punctuation and spelling.  Flag 2 people liked this. Like Reply

REASON WEED SUCKS #1: IT’S A WASTE OF MONEY (NOT APPLICABLE TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA)

REASON WEED SUCKS #2: IT MAKES YOU DUMB