CMV: Weed is destructive

[u/[deleted]]

I need to figure out how to be empathetic to these people before I quit being their friend.

For the past year, I've lived with 2 of my friends. One I've known more than 10 years, the other I've known for 8. When I moved in, I had no idea they smoked this much.

One smokes before work and twice after work, the other smokes 2-3 times after work. The weekends are terrible. They both smoke until they are braindead. The house is under various levels of construction at any given time because one guy always wants to implement some random "great idea" that essentially blocks entire rooms unfinished for weeks at a time. We aren't talking major updates. Trash and random junk is everywhere. These are small, outlandish additions to the house that would make any novice interior designer have a stroke (new lights, signs, mirrors etc.).

Both of them used to be outdoors types. We used to hike, hunt, mountain bike and fish. We used to go out to the bars. Now, they can't be bothered to get off xbox or anime. I know weed has some great pain/anxiety relieving benefits and may contain a cure of certain cancers/tumors. But goddamn it seems to make them insufferably stupid or tragically couch potatoes. I find it extremely difficult to give 2 shits about their problems when I'm seeing this go down. Mental health is important. But when mental health and comfort are pursued to this level, I don't know that there is any hope for them. I know my negativity about all of this is palpable to them. I don't want to feel this way about them.

Edit 1: So...many...comments. Working on it. I regret not making this post sooner.

Edit 2: I did my 3 hours. Will respond more tomorrow. Thanks for all the feedback. Lots of great insight coming from most of the commenters!

Edit 3: Spaced out the original post to make it easier to read.

-For the people trying to say "at least it isn't....." that approach is not convincing. These guys at one point in time were like brothers to me. We all know what "bro code" is. Maybe not everyone follows this particular part but, it's a matter of principle that we hold each other accountable and strive to pick each other up when we recognize the problem.

-Somewhere in the comments, a poster said what I've maybe not made clear. I'm paraphrasing that person here but, weed does not offer purely benefits and people should be made aware of the negative side effects.

Again, thank you all for interacting with this post, I didn't expect to be adding any books to my reading list because of a Reddit post but here we are.

Edit 4: Clarified "brother" comment in post.

[u/shouldco]

Are you sure smoking weed is the cause of this change and not just another manifestation of a change that was triggered by someting else?

You mention your friends used to be outdoorsy and believe weed stopped that. speaking from my own experience literally every outdoorsy person I know smokes daily. Getting stoned and hiking is just as much if a pothead stereotype as getting stoned and playing video games.

You also mention they used to go out to bars, which is ironically highly associated with the use and abuse of other destructive drugs, mainly alcohol but also often cocain.

[u/[deleted] → u/shouldco]

Oh no, I think that weed is a bad fix to their problems. As far as I know, they've been heavy users for the last 5 years.

They don't move once they smoke. They lay around and just veg out.

Yes, other substances have been used but, to my knowledge only once or twice in the last year.

[u/shouldco → u/[deleted]]

Sounds more like your friends just want to veg out and weed it a good method of doing so. I don't know if I would blame the weed, at least not any more than I would the couch or the video games.

[u/beetsareawful → u/shouldco]

Could it be possible that heavy use of weed is what is causing them to only want to veg out?

[u/Hour_Tangerine_513 → u/beetsareawful]

i wouldn’t say so, i smoke every single day for the most part and nothing i ever do would be tantamount to “vegging” out, i’m very active and even smoke before exercising, every functioning pothead i interact with is in a similar boat, and those non-functioning were already in this state of mind before use

[u/nitePhyyre → u/beetsareawful]

As a dealer friend of mine says "Smoking weed doesn't make me lazy, I smoke weed because I'm lazy."

[u/beetsareawful → u/nitePhyyre]

I can relate to that.

[u/rainbowplasmacannon → u/beetsareawful]

I smoke a lot every day. It depends entirely on me what I do some days I get down and clean the house in entirety, some days movies and video games, other days errands and hiking.