pipe

I'm new to this site, and new to pot as well...I just turned 15 a few weeks ago, and I got stoned for the first time a few days afterward. If the research I've done is anything to go by, marijuana is a pretty much safe drug, with the only real health problems being when you smoke the plant, cause it might cause light lung problems later in time.
Anyway, from what I understand, its a bad idea for adolescents to use pot, as it might somehow interfere with growth. Assuming I get stoned somewhere between once a week and 2/3 times a month, is there any real harm ? I'm new to this, but due to the risk of getting in trouble + the fact that its hard/costly for me to obtain pot, I'm planning on keeping my use limited to just a few times a month. So, my question is, would this light use affect my growth considerably, or would the effects be minimal/virtually nonexistent? Any help with this would be much appreciated...

SirSmokesAlot

LOL! Not the "It will stunt your growth" myth. Sheesh! They have tried that with coffee, cigarettes, and beer... Now I guess its Marijuana's turn! There is a lot of false propaganda out there.

Greenman

If you really want a pretty good read on marijuana I would suggest reading the IOM report for starters. That will give you a good starting ground for your quest of information.

The IOM report can be found at http://www.marijuana.com/pdf/iom.pdf

Peace.

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KWhite

First of all, I started at 11, good bad or indifferent, it is fact.
I am 6`1 and weigh in at about 200 lbs.
If that stunted my growth, thank goodness.

lxl Ash lxl

there's a couple things i don't understand about this report.. first it says "Although marijuana smoke delivers THC and other cannabinoids to the body, it also delivers harmful substances, including most of those found in tobacco smoke. Has this been proven?
Also, later in the report, it says "When interpreting studies purporting to show the harmful effects of marijuana, it is important to keep in mind that the majority of those studies are based on smoked marijuana, and cannabinoid effects cannot be seperated from the effects of inhaling smoke of burning plant material and contaminants." What contaminants? Yes, of course inhaling burning plant carbon won't be good for you... but exactly what contaminates are found here? How bout a study for that...

I haven't read the rest of the report much past that point, I figure what's the use? It's going to tell me what I already know, plus some myths that probably managed to stick around.

Correct me if I'm wrong though... I wasn't aware of any contaminants in my smoke besides the burning plant material.

It sounds like this report is based first on what the government says.. THEN they do the actual studying, making the govt. happy by keeping part of their propoganda just because it's illegal.

sheesh.. maybe I should have put this post in another category.. I did a lot of ranting..

And if smoking stunts my growth, good. I don't want to be tall anyway. It calls attention to me. Ick.

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Greenman

It does have a lot of government bias to it, exaggerating certian truths and minimizing other ones. But if we were to look objectionally at the movements own responses to this question we would be just as biased. The IOM, I think, does a good job of going middle ground on the issue, and giving mention to both sides, emphasizing the governments because it itself is part of the gvt.

So it provides a good foundation in which to question and learn more. Is it an accurate article, in comparison to some of the other studies the government has done on marijuana, apsolutely. Does it tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Of course not.

Reguarding the harmful substances question. Any burning material breathed in through the lungs is going to have harmful particles and gases in it, either from the marijuana itself or from the instrument used to smoke the marijuana (ie. copper pipe). Reguarding the contaminates question, anything that is in your lungs that is not supposed to be there (including the THC) is a contaminiate.

But if you are going to focus on contaminates and harmful gases and particles in the air, then lets look at automobile exhaust, which is loaded with tons of heavy metals and carbon dioxcide. Living in a city in and of itself is bad for your lungs, and much worse than marijuana.

The one thing that marijuana does not have that tobacco does is low levels of radioactive particles on the plant from the soil and fertilizers used to grow it. And it is these radioactive particles, particularly polonium 210 that are the cause of a fair portion of lung cancer in people.

As you can see, it isn't that the IOM was inaccurate, it just chose to leave out certian details and explainations. But what it actually said is for the most part true.

Peace.

DaisyCrazy

If anything marijuana smoking is a good thing for developing poeple. The earlier the better, I say. Go here... http://cheaptalk.marijuana.com/420/s...&threadid=1756 ...and read what I mean

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Greenman

Marijuana.com in no way endorses marijuana use by minors. Information here is provided to minors because it is our belief that those who want to do it will do it reguardless, and it is better that they are aware of the truth surrounding the drug than to be left with the government lies. But there is a difference between poviding information and actually encouraging its use. There is a large liability attached to that, and it is something that we really don't need.

Peace.

DaisyCrazy

I'm sorry Greenman, but I just want to share the happiness I feel, with as many people as possible... Never again.

Greenman

That was more of a general comment than a specific rebuttle to you Daisy. Nothing wrong with wanting to share the happiness, just make sure to be aware of who you are talking to, and to do it appropriatly.

Peace