Soon, I wasn't happy until I picked up an eighth and rolled up a blunt or packed my bowl. When I would stop, I would feel so numb. I soon got depressed, but luckily found a counselor and worked through that dark time with exercise and meditation. People really downplay how damaging getting high all the time can be.
It's strange though, because this doesn't happen to everyone. Some people can get stoned all day everyday and live a very happy, productive life. I wish I was in this category, but nothing good lasts forever.
Other posters have thrown in personal annecdotes in more words but this one is against the prevailing narrative so it's dead.
"There is moderate evidence that cannabis or cannabinoids are effective for: • Improving short-term sleep outcomes in individuals with sleep disturbance associated with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic pain, and multiple sclerosis"
That's not everybody, of course, but it's enough to say that weed can have positive effects on sleep quality.
In the article you cite, cannabis can help when your sleep cycle is _already_ f'ed. But then you have to have a real long talk with yourself and ask why? Why, when there are better medicines to manage sleep disturbance in the short term which actually improves your sleep. (I am genuinely asking, even OTC sleep medicines will work better than weed)
Weed cannot have positive effects for the layperson because it increases time between REM cycles. Again, if your lack of sleep affects your REM cycle (i.e. its already f'd) then you are doing no harm, but you are not doing much good either.
Maybe you missed my original comment. If you are getting a full 8 hours of sleep every night then you should _not_ be drinking caffeine after 4pm. Likewise, you should also NOT drink alcohol before bed. Further, weed, the topic of this thread, should be avoided after 4pm due to its prolonged effects on your body including impact to REM sleep.
That said, seeking to be routinely intoxicated could itself a symptom of something else wrong in their work or personal life. This would be a non-controversial statement to make about "hard drugs", alcohol, video games, risky relationships, etc...
Cannabis changes my perception of time and significantly affects my attention. I would never drive in that state, or even cross the street, I'm sure I'd get hit by a car... I don't think other people are that different.
Broadly speaking, I am pro-legalization of Pretty Much Everything, on the basis that proper education and appropriate treatment programs for heroin users are better for society than jail time.
But that comes with the need to implement pragmatic, evidence-based policies for how we approach drug use as a society.
A lot of neural development happens before your mid-20s, with a very large chunk happening during your adolescent years. Recreational drug use before your mid-20s, which includes alcohol and nicotine, really has a massive impact on your entire life.
I would argue that "soft" drugs, like low-percentage alcohol (beer and wine), maybe cocoa tea (not purified cocaine), and possibly low-percentage CBD should be relatively safe for adolescents from sixteen onwards.
Medical professionals, feel free to chime in if I'm wrong here. :)
Hard alcohol, nicotine, cocaine, and such, on the other hand, should have some access barrier for those under the age of twenty-five (90th percentile for complete neural development).
I wouldn't advocate an outright ban or criminalization -- if a teenager wants some weed and vodka, they're going to get it -- but putting some barriers in place to discourage consumption for the under-aged would be wise.
All of this, of course, needs to be coupled with comprehensive education.
The abstinence-only approach of "Just Say No" doesn't equip kids to really understand the full impact of the drugs they choose to use, and because of that, there's a lot of misinformation out there, ranging from "weed will make you crazy" to "it's completely safe for kids".
Neither of those things is true, and if we want to empower people to make good decisions, we must first be honest with them about the impact and trade-offs of the options on the table.
You still need a regulatory framework, and I would strongly argue for compulsory education on drug use, not to mention treatment programs, all of which should be funded through use taxes.
Otherwise, though, I agree very much with the libertarians that that empowering individuals to make their own life-choices is far more beneficial to society than criminalization and prohibition.
Without education, social support, and access to mental health care, a drug free-for-all could very well lead to such disastrous results that there is a backlash that returns us right back to criminalization and prohibition.
I mean, heavy use either way may be bad and boundaries are important with anything (weed, beer, chocolate, etc), but smoking the strongest stuff may be extra bad.
It's very unfortunate.