ACers; personal preferences

[ALawPoker]

Hmk,

I agree with your thoughts on weed. On one hand, I can say being exposed to it definitely improved my life. And I realize that's quite a statement to make. I'm pretty sure it opened my mind, or at least expanded it, in a very good way. And I think it's made me more comfortable with my view of the world.

On a completely different note, it can also be nice after a frustrating day of poker. Sit down, smoke a bowl, have a beer and a nice meal, and forget about the day. Helps make the daily grind more doable. I've actually played high for a couple weeks before to get through a losing streak. It probably comes across as stoner rationalization, but I firmly believe (at that time) that I was definitely better off being in the right mood to play, rather than be more aware but dreading what I'm doing.

But otoh, what you say is very true. The people who say weed is great and harmless are as full of [censored] as what the government or a church might say about it. I agree that it's better than beer or cigarettes, but you really need to understand what it can do to you when you abuse it.

[Dane S]

Hmk's and your posts don't seem to adhere to my experience. Pot actually tends to increase my attention span, and therefore productivity a lot, strangely enough. I am normally overly anxious and get restless quickly. Pot, at low to moderate levels (can't stress that part enough) calms me down enough to improve my concentration quite a bit, and even more importantly seems to totally kill the procrastination impulse. Anything I do is fun and engrossing, even if it's hard work. One of my favorite things to do after toking is read something challenging or watch a very subtle film or check out art/music I normally find it hard to appreciate... stuff in that vein. I use it pretty sporadically though, and I definitely do notice the downsides you guys are referring to when I smoke too much.

[ALawPoker]

I definitely get increased pleasure in most things I do. But my thing is I'll just put things off that need to be done if they don't seem particularly exciting. I don't really enjoy reading when I'm stoned. My favorite thing to do is play things like pool, ping pong, beirut (really any sport or pseudo sport that isn't heavy on the running... I hate physical exertion when I'm stoned). Or if I'm just by myself, I don't know why, but I love watching the animal channel on TV. Shows about criminals are really cool too. And playing with my dog is also awesome.