An Observation of My Friend the Weed and Cigarette Smoker

This article will not be about the dangers of smoking weed or cigarettes, neither will it be detailing the health woes that should give those that indulge in these activities time to reflect on what the smoking is doing to their health.

He used to be one of my closest friends and we grew up on the same street and started experimenting with weed and cigarettes in our early teens. Most parents are clueless as to why kids take up smoking, simply because most are too busy chasing a paycheck instead of paying close attention to what their kids are doing on a daily basis.

We both managed to graduate high school and the trip to college was challenging due to our daily pot habits. I was able to get a two year degree from a local community college, while he dropped out of the four year college he attended with almost $40,000 in student loans and no diploma. Thirty five years later, he’s still paying off the student loan debt, which might last his whole lifetime.

It took the breakup of my last marriage for me to realize the dangers of my drugging and drinking on a weekly basis. They always say good things can come out of a bad situation, provided it did not kill you.

The demise of my marriage was devastating to my psyche, for then I realized I had loved her more than any human being should love another. While dealing with my breakup sadness and depression I came across a hypnotic recording about the dangers of smoking and how to quit within seven days.

Out of pure curiosity I gave it a try, and it made me a free man from the demons attached to weed and cigarettes. This was over 15 years ago. Since it worked for me and I felt very good to be high-free, I gave the recording to my friend but he never utilized it.

I slowly rebuilt my live to reflect my non-smoking habit and I had to cut many friends loose, except for my good buddy. It was obvious to both of us what was happening, for I stopped participating in the weekly smoke all you want party with plentiful alcohol and loose women for companion.

It is true that when you change your bad lifestyle choices, many of your so called friends will at first try to get you to change your mind and if that doesn’t work, most will simply consider you square and stay away from you. I can testify that misery do indeed love company!

My buddy is a good person and talented, but the daily pot smoking and constant drinking has taking a toll on his mental capacity. It is only when you stop smoking weed do you notice that most habitual smokers develop a train of thought that can be called sporadic.

They laugh at things you would not consider funny, and their ability to keep things in proper context will suffer. For those that smoke weed on a regular basis, only an outsider that his toxic free will be in a position to confirm certain observations.

Right now, I see my friend every three months, and while the friendship vibe is still present, we seem to be going our separate ways eventually, which is hard for me to deal with as we’ve both survived some tough situations together.

I have tried different ways to get my friend into a treatment program to beat those smoking demons once and for all, but he frowns on my help and calls it an effort on my part to control his life.

Since I get to see him three or four times within the year, I am in a good position to notice the downward deterioration of his health from a distance.

What I noticed about his Health

Poor Dental Health

The first think you notice when around him is the poor state of his dental health. Not that he has bad breath per se, but the regular weed and cigarette smoking has turned his teeth into a permanently yellow color. Also, the smoking breath that permeates from his words is will drive a non-smoker away.

A year ago, I got him a complete dental checkup including cleaning treatment with x-ray. The dentist told him his gums are receding and might soon cause his teeth to start falling out.

He called the dentist conclusion delusional and incompetent, and he ended up blaming me for sending him to a complete moron of a medical doctor. Mind you, this dental practitioner only deals with high end clientele and that visit, which I paid for, cost me over five hundred dollars.

He looks too Skinny

While most people that smoke weed and cigarettes on a consistent basis will experience weight gain, the reverse is the truth for my friend. In fact, he looks so boney that I am afraid a strong wind might just blow him complete away to another dimension.

On a side not, there are ugly purple looking veins along his legs, thighs, and arms. When he first showed me, I jumped out of my seat for some were as big as fat muscle veins. It was pointless asking him to get it looked at by a doctor, as that might create another argument.

His Brain Power

He used to be smart and able to recite information that made sense. All of that is now gone with the weed smoking. I call his thought process spasmodic, which to me describes the true nature of how he thinks. He lacks the ability to hold a lucid conversation on the same subject matter for long period of time.

While we’re talking about business ideas, his conversation will shift to different topics that has nothing to do with the original focus of the conversation. Most regular weed smokers are not aware of it, but the casual observer that is free of cannabis influence will notice it.

Talking to him sometimes is like talking to an irresponsible adult, with a warped view of the world. I now try my absolute best to keep from having a meaningful conversation with him. I have adopted the attitude of going along with his erratic thought lines whenever we do talk.

His Place of Residence

My buddy is a talented graphic artist and works for one of the top firms in the city. He makes close to 75K every year, but you would not know it by looking at him. He could easily double his salary by taking on a few after-hour gigs, but he refuses to compromise his time for smoking.

I have visited his apartment three times in the last four years and what I saw is not fit for a human being to reside in. He has clothes and empty beer bottles everywhere. The apartment complex where he resides is pretty good and in a middle class area, for I used to be a tenant in a bigger unit. He refuses to spend any time to keep the unit clean.

He rarely cooks and simply gets by with pizza and Chinese food delivery. Since the unit is spacious enough, his other weed buddies use it as a place to conduct their weekly getting wasted parties. A normal human being will not find the old chairs clean and comfortable to sit on, which is how awful it looks in that dungeon.

My Ultimate Line of Action

I have learned the hard way that you cannot help someone that does not realize they have a problem, so I have decided to let my friend be. I have moved further away after buying my own home and will probably not be seeing him anytime soon.

While I keep the conversation line open, we only speak about once or twice every month. I have stopped offering advice as to how he can get himself cleaned up and sober. Unfortunately, his toxic lifestyle choice was affecting my need for semblance of a normal life.

Despite been high on a regular basis, he’s still able to put out amazing work for the company he works for. Can you imagine what he can do if he gets sober and cleans his act up? Contrary to what some might think, people you allow around you can influence you more than you realize.

Choose to be friends and close to people that reflects your values in life. Since I do not smoke, neither will I date a female that does. While I make no personal judgment about how one should live their life, it is my choice to stay away from people that engage in activities I know from personal experience will only bring health woes and poor financial outcomes in the future.

Presently, the fight to regulate marijuana smoking is raging on across several states in our nation, despite all the overwhelming evidence that it does more harm than good. I might surprise some of you by saying all types of presently illegal drugs should be legalized and taxed.

The individual should be free to choose their own poisons and the government’s role is to simply educate about the dangers, enforce the laws, and stop exercising the power of allowing certain poisons like alcohol, cigarettes, and banning others.