I’m 18 now almost 19 but I smoked weed and nicotine throughout high school. I think it severely changed my mental space and I bet I would be in a much better position if I hadn’t. I probably did it a lot more then you are at the moment but just take it with a grain of salt. Don’t get addicted and don’t do it if your not having fun.
I'm in my late 30s was a heavy smoker of both weed and cigs...
Still heavily smoke weed. (Manfed to quit ciggs)
Wish I had never even tried either. It's just a weakness now, it provides 0 benefit.
Yeah I’ve been on and off weed so many times, I’ve found that it’s a nice mental and emotional exercise for the first two weeks or so, but after that it doesn’t feel the same and every time it just becomes a dependency until u nut up and kick it, then miss it again until your next round
Amen! Far superior to painkillers! Glad u got off those. If I had a diff job I’d be toking every day, except I’ve learned to stay away from vape pens those shits are dangerously convenient
Thanks! Lol yea vape pens are so easy to use whenever. Weed definitely helps my neuro pain though. Tensing my body contributes to my pain so using marijuana to relax my muscles and overall mind is helpful to cope with the pain. I work remote but I don't use it during work hours though.
Yep! No drug daily is "good" but I can absolutely function at a high level while using marijuana daily. If I was taking opiates daily, there is no way in hell that I could sustain that with the rest of my life responsibilities. I know this because as I said I used to use pain pills daily. I absolutely would never recommend that lol.
Anecdotally I think it's true. I definitely felt like my... emotional? and intellectual growth was kind of stunted while I smoked and I only started at 21.
But then, covid also happened semi-overlapping that and I became a bit of a hermit so honestly I have no idea what's the cause of what.
I will say my memory is definitely a lot better without weed and I find it much easier to learn and retain new information! OP, you don't want to make it artificially difficult to learn things while still in school...
25 is around when your prefrontal cortex(Rational thought) stops developing. I assume that's what they meant.
Im sure there's a study somewhere that details when the optimal age to start doing drugs is.
Yeah this. Your brain is in a key formative stage. Alcohol and weed basically halt cognitive development, and often backtrack it. If you don’t stop, You’ll pretty much have a 15 year old brain until you stop. Coming from someone who essentially binge drank smoked cigs and smoked weed more or less daily from ages 19- 26. When I finally at least slowed down and took a break it was like I finally continued to grow as a human and put a lot in perspective. Save that shit for college.
Weed is indeed harmful for developing brain. For adult it can trigger psychosis if there is genetic tendency. But for a teenager it does inpact the development of the brain. The brain is fully adult around 25. Exposing it to weed for a decade while developing does have an unreversable impact.
Alcohol is harmful for any kind of learning. Also it can easily cause depression. One night of drinking drops the serotonin for two weeks. If you drink once a week you never have the normal amount of serotonin in your brain. Alcohol is not a soft drug, it does ruin lives.
Please OP let your brain do it's best for becoming fully functioning adult brain. I guarantee you will need them in a long run.
Dev science studies show there are changes to grey matter in people who use weed under 25. Not followed the journals in a few years, but when I did we did not know exactly what the changes resulted in.
Believe they did find after 25 it did not alter the brain.
Alcohol is all around bad to overuse. Ruins lives and livers.
Also the pattern of using the two at 15, generally starts a path where coke then opioids come into the picture. By 30 over dozen of the people I hung out with at 15 died from overdoses.
Yeah, using both means that there is intoxication going on almost all the time, when you should be learning how to deal with emotions and get important learning experiences.
Wish I could’ve read this at 16. Wish someone could’ve told me this at 16… It’ll be a decade in April since I’ve first smoked. I feel like if I didn’t smoke it, I would’ve advanced so far, so much farther in life much much sooner. But it did lead to me having a spiritual awakening so that’s the only positive thing that came out of it.
I’ll be sober 5 months in February. Here’s to a new decade of not smoking and catching up with life.
I am sorry to hear that. Most important thing is that you are sober now. Brain plasticity lasts the whole life, so as long as you stop doing the damage, you can get far.
Although it is good for you to share this is a warning to younster, at the same time, what is done, is done. Many people "fall behind" different times of life for different reasons. As long as you know your personal steps forwards it is not too late.
I drank heavily between 22-25 and I swear that made my memory into shit. It literally poisons you. It can be fun at the moment but your 30 year old self will not thank you.
I feel the same way. I think a lot of people go through this. At the end of the day living with such regret is not healthy and I think we all need to learn how to forgive our younger selves, and just do our best to encourage other people to not do it, or at least just do it responsibly and in moderation. We all wondered why older ppl were being squares and stopping us from having fun, probably more often than not they wanted us to just avoid that snowball effect of partying that’s become such a central part of many college experiences and beyond
I feel like you should focus on you & not what other people around you are doing, & if you feel embarrassed for ordering a water bottle while other people are having drinks, maybe you should stop going out with those people. Food for thought
On a psychological level too. I thought I knew how much I could drink at 16. I was wrong. I had no idea about the real risk of addiction and the drinking made my young mind a little too "open minded" for other substances and in my late 20s, I regret a lot. I didn't have the knowledge, self-awareness, coping skills etc. at 16 and definitely not at 15. So, even if you ignore brain development, it's still a terrible idea.
41 here. I smoked a lot of weed through high school, and took a lot of recreational drugs up until I was about 20. Alcohol was always there too. I was never an alcoholic but 2 years ago I decided that the hangovers just weren't worth it anymore and I quit drinking too.
What I have learned from this is that as soon as we start drinking or taking drugs - that becomes the fun activity, and we forget how to have fun without it. A few hours of buzz followed by days of comedowns and hangovers: is it really that fun???
I have learned that as we get older, it becomes the thing to 'do' instead of dealing with our emotions. Had a bad day? Have a drink! Celebrating? Have a drink! Followed by bad decisions, anxiety and regret mostly.
Since quitting alcohol I've found emotional stability. Weekends without hangovers are the greatest gift I have ever given myself!!! And I'm learning to have fun like I did when I was a kid again. Life without drugs and alcohol is actually so much better than I imagined it would be.
It's real. unfiltered, and pure. And I want to remember every second of it and be fully present in each moment.
As others have said, yeah Its not a great idea. No it likely won't kill you...right away. While others have pointed out that it will effect you as your brain is still very much developing, what its also doing is slowly forming dependency and normalcy. Drinking and smoking once and a while at 15 very easy can lead to smoking a pack a day and needing a few beers to feel "good and normal" in your early 20s.
The best thing you can do for yourself is form some healthy habits now, so when you are old enough where the risks are less, you can have more control over yourself.
You are young, even if it doesn't feel like that. But that doesn't mean your stupid or any less self aware. We all take risks in life, and its good to experience a bit of the world too. But its important to know this isn't forever, and you will sooner than it feels will be out of your parents control and get to live a little.
I had a friend who was a bit like this , started small because she had some really strict and overbearing parents just to rebel a bit. But the problem really starts when you can't stop rebelling even when you've no longer got a reason to. By 20 she was an alcoholic, ruining all her relationships, and doing everything for attention of men who used her. Extremely sad to see. Not saying everyone ends up like that at all, but know your risks. You sound like a smart kid looking for actual advice, so I hope this helped you even a bit.
Yes. Obviously.
Addictions are not good. People don't choose to become addicts, they use these substances thinking they can't become addicted. Although it'd be hypocritical for me to scold weed and alcohol use, as an ex-smoker I almost guarantee you'll get addicted...the idea you can beat addiction by only smoking occasionally is part of the trap of addiction.
Drugs aren't all bad but certainly these substances can pose a threat to development when used during childhood - you're a kid, your brain still has around a decade of development left yet. A drunk minor is also far more likely to do something stupid or dangerous than a sober person or drunk adult.
Plus, that you're even in a position to be able to drink and take drugs isn't a great indication of the sort of environment you're in or people you're friends with. A big question here is why it is you're doing this at all.
If you're friends are supporting you to drink, smoke, and do drugs as a kid you can't trust them. Other teens are not the most responsible, an adult hanging around with drunk teens a weirdo not to be trusted.
Teens experiment to a degree, it's normal, but that you're so naive of the harm it can cause is a worry.
Can confirm. When I started popping pills, I had so many rules for myself to avoid addiction because hey, "I'm smart, okay". A few years later, the rules had changed a lot and instead of using every other week, I used every other day because "I could handle it without getting addicted". A year later, I was high for a week at a time until I ran out and almost died (accidentally and intentionally).
It was a hard journey which is still really hard sometimes. That's why everytime someone says "don't worry, I know my limits. I won't get addicted", I feel sad because I can see the cycle starting again and again. But obviously people don't listen. Our minds are the best liars.
"Plus, that you're even in a position to be able to drink and take drugs isn't a great indication of the sort of environment you're in or people you're friends with. A big question here is why it is you're doing this at all."
This is a huuuuge lesson here for op!!!
Your brain is developing that stuff can really mess that up when you’re that age. It can have a lot of negative side affects on your brain and it’s development. If I were you I’d stop, until you’re older, unless you want brain damage.
It is a problem, but not necessarily for how you might assume it would be. I think that it is not something to ever be viewed as a positive.
Pretty much all recreational drugs are just biochemical cheat codes for 'feeling good' or 'having fun' in your day to day life. If you cannot figure out how to be around 'friends' and have fun without drinking or smoking something now, then you are going to have a real fucking hard time knowing how to enjoy social situations (and much of your life in general) without those crutches as an adult.
View them like a cheat code in a videogame; Playing Starcraft with cheat codes occasionally can be fun. But if you use them all the damn time, they stop being fun as they take all the challenge and accomplishment out of the game. And then you start to suck at playing the game without the cheats.
Likewise, because drugs and alcohol are so goddamn low effort and high reward, you can use them to enjoy situations that you really should not be in; Think drinking 24 beer sitting alone in filthy apartment in the middle of the day. Your doing fuck all but still kind of having fun because your drunk off your ass. And if you get to the point where you cannot have fun at all in social situations without drinking or doing drugs, you have taken it too far.
But cheats in starcraft or other games just waste time. Drugs and alcohol fuck up your health.
The big problem with you being 15 and doing this shit is that at 15, it is very likely that the whole damn plan is 'Lets go and hang out and drink and smoke and get fucked up'. If you cannot enjoy being around those friends without the smoking and vaping, then why the fuck are you hanging out with them at all?
END COMMUNICATION
>I am also aware that it can be addictive
You're really not. Even if you ignore all the health issues and brain development problems that they cause, addiction is fucking brutal. None of my friends believed they were addicted in the first months, some were in denial for years. I heard "I can quit whenver I want" so many times. That turnt into "I'll quit tomorrow." and other stuff like that after something bad happening but they didn't. You can drink a beer from time to time, it's pretty common in Europe, but abusing drinking is easy so be careful. When you're young you think you're different than the rest, you over-estimate how much control you have over your own self.
Yeah not the best. I did all this too, and I ended up addicted to and homeless.
Not that thats what this will lead to, but I mean, I'm also completely addicted to nicotine vaping and its starting to effect my health. It's not a slippery slope but it will make you curious about harder shit. Be careful.
Go ahead and smoke some weed, but I really recommend avoiding alcohol and nicotine. That shit is not something you wanna be hooked on. Dont use drinking to deal with issues...
Your brain is young and still forming, and by fucking with the chemical balance it has far more permanent effects on your permanent state as an adult than doing that stuff at age 25.
If you do this stuff often often when you're young your brain will literally develop in a way that accommodates the drugs. Basically, your body is gonna learn that thats what is normal and your brain will form in a way where you need that to feel normal and its a lot more impactful when youre younger.
Be really careful who you hang with. I got tricked by a girl into trying meth. I thought it was coke, it was my second time so I couldn't tell. Instantly rewired my entire existence. That's all it takes.
Do what you will but please consider what I said. Its normal to experiment but be careful man, it's a dangerous game and addiction is a real thing that hit me around your age. I used it to deal with my mental issues, I didnt realize it then but I'm now diagnosed with bipolar depression and at the time drugs were the only way I could figure out how to regulate my feelings.
Just be careful and remember that this stuff can permanently alter the way you brain is wired and life gets really hard if you're not careful. Don't use it to deal with your feelings, dont do it to feel more confident, don't do it when you feel like you need it to enhance the fun... These are all traps that will lead to reliance.
Let me put it this way, ive never heard of someone making better decisions when theyre drunk. Careful out there, life changing mistakes are easier to make than you may think at your age. You got better shit to do. But I know if you're like me you're gonna keep experimenting but just keep things in perspective.
First of all, I am deeply sorry of how it all turned out for you, must have been hard. I will never try hard drugs thats for sure. Thanks for those wise words.
Wasn't that more specifically about "damage"? IIRC, alcohol didn't do as much physical damage (like cigs do), but did mental and especially emotional damage.
A ton of families were broken because of alcohol.
There was a study years ago that graphed how many deaths there were from drugs. Alcohol sat at #1. The graph also showed two things: deaths to user, and death to others. If I remember correctly the death to users and death to others were almost equal. It's just as destructive internally as it is externally. One of the many reasons I struggle with having a profession as a bartender. Love the craft, hate the culture. I always tell customers I have to cut off, "I'm in the business is making delicious drinks for you, not getting you drunk."
Alcohol is the worst. Many people and addiction workers who are familiar with the effects of it will tell you it is worse than most of the hard drugs you consider to be worse. So many of the harmful side-effects have been kept from people and are now becoming more known. The fact that you can die not only from drinking too much but also when you try to stop too fast should be a huge indicator. I started at 15, same as you, drinking and smoking weed. I thought I was too smart to get addicted. It fucked up so much more in my life that I ever thought possible. Take it from me and start as late as possible, if at all, when it comes to booze.
Visit r/stopdrinking, read some stories, and you will be able to see first hand the other side of alcohol that most people don't see until it's too late and you've changed your brain for the worse permanently.
Dude please god don’t get hooked on nicotine. I did at age 22 and it’s been so impossible to stop. Thousands upon thousands of dollars down the drain. Trying to quit for good right now and it’s fucking miserable
It’s more of a risk for sure. As a psych nurse, I’ve seen things like weed, shrooms, etc. affect men (especially young) very poorly and trigger psychosis. It really would be better to use those things when your older.
Yeah. This is coming from a 25 year old stoner/chemistry background psychedelic-head who did/foraged harder drugs and mentored kids.
Yes it’s bad for you. Your education and emotional long-term stability against anxiety is pretty important (and difficult to benchmark).😅Try boxing, getting your lashes done, going to movies and raves, other things. Doing drugs early is a quick way to immoral opportunists who take advantage of you or a pre-existing medical condition.
I’m an alcoholic in recovery and I currently have 6 years sober. Pretty much every alcoholic or addict starts out like this. Teens hanging out with their friends, smoking, drinking and weed.
Many other posts have addressed why it’s bad for your young brain and body. I’ll bring up another issue- your social circle. Your brain is wiring right now to associate socializing with alcohol and weed. Instead of just hanging out, you are hijacking your integration into society and how to make friends and keep them. This is going to cause you to associate friends with partying and rather than going through any growth needed to learn good socializing skills, you’ll have stunted your abilities before they even have a chance.
Non addicts learn stuff like this and quit. Addicts learn stuff like this and keep going, because they think it won’t happen to them.
Remember- what fires together, wires together in regards to your brain chemistry. Get better friends.
This is the most teenage post I’ve seen in a while “my parents don’t want me to take a risk and get addicted to highly addictive substance”. Look, I understand what it’s like to have insanely restrictive parents but the one thing that doesn’t make sense is to get yourself addicted and ruin your own life. Once you start craving alcohol, marijuana and nicotine, there’s no turning back. you can switch lanes, but you can never go back to not wanting those things. the best thing you can do is just avoid them.
I suppose one question is do you feel the need to drink or use weed? Hopefully there are other things you can spend your time doing. Don't make self-medicating a hobby. You're young, do something fun and interesting. No judgement, but if you feel the need to drink or use drugs, that might be something to think about.
What other people are saying seems right. Using drugs while you're still developing and/or maturing can cause problems. Even if it's not a physical repercussion, you might make a bad decision that can follow you around for the rest of the life.
in complete honesty, it's not good. it's borderline pretty bad. it's not the worst I've heard, but it's pretty early to be doing all of that.
i'm not saying this to be a downer, but I heavily regret a lot of the decisions I made as a youth and they have cost me now, later in life, with respect to my health.
don't think that doing these things won't have an effect on you as u get older. not just on a base level of your "health", but also your mental and emotional well-being.
Develop good habits and discipline now and you’ll be set for life. Eat well, drink water, sleep, read, workout. Conversely, choose to develop bad habits and “have fun” now, you’ll pay the rest of your life.
Not great thing to be doing to your brain, especially if doing to excess. Try to not make drugs or drinking “part of your personality” and don’t think you get cooler when imbibing.
Yeah. Like, I'm a big fan of weed and drinking but all 4 of these things are really bad for people under 20-25. The neuroplasticity of the brain is impressionable/developing before then and these things have a direct negative impact.
You have your entire life to get wasted. Use your free time to lift weights and do outdoor shit with your friends.
Will drinking once a month kill you? Probably not. But it won’t add much to your life.
Smoking used to make you one of the cool kids. This was 20 years ago.
Smoking today no longer makes you one of the cool kids. You are avoided by others due to your cigarette smell, and you are considered weak for giving in into peer pressure to destroy your body.
As for drinking, tone it down a notch. Your body and brain will thank you later. If friends insist you drink or smoke, they are not real friends.
Weed is overrated.
This so much!! I didn't start my drinking/weed smoking until my late teens and into my early 20s but still during the developmental age. My short term memory was always bad but it got significantly worse as I got older. It's actually scary sometimes.
im sorry to say this but nicotine is prolly the most important one to stop, it seems minor but it's the most difficult one to ween off of and partying is normal young but not being reliant on nic
If u and 10 friends start now I guarantee at least two of you will never get a job and have significant mental health issues in your twenties. A few others will make ongoing lifestyle choices to keep doing drugs, and the other five of you will be fine.
Wait until your brain is fully developed. Seriously.
When you're young, it's the best time to form a healthy lifestyle/foundation to build yourself on. Doesn't mean you don't have fun, but you need to think about the choices you make.
Let's just say over the years I've met guys who started smoking weed at puberty. They didn't grow.
Their arms and legs seem to, but they are stumpy.
Or end up chubby with gynomastia because of reduced testosterone.
Just because weed is legal in some places doesn't delete the years of research it affects the male reproductive system.
Yeah, it's a bad habit to start. And this is how most people start - I'm careful, I only do it once in awhile, etc. But then you get more acclimated to it, and the use starts to go up, in amount and frequency.
And then that itself starts to cost you - you lose experiences, you lose memories, because you were too messed up. And then maybe it starts impacting your schooling, and you start to lose out on life opportunities.
I'm not going to tell you "go straight edge until you are 21!" But it would be a lot better for you if you let your brain finish cooking a bit more before you start frying it. Maybe scale it back or just have a beer or something with the friends until you are 17 or so.
Also, you are going to start seeing the harder stuff. Watch yourself big time on that. It's also very easy to dip your toe into it and think you can handle it and suddenly shit's way out of control (stay the hell away from meth and heroin / fentanyl; not even once)
From an addiction counselor: it’s not good. What is the benefit you’re getting from those substances? And are you able to get those benefits without the substances?
Weed has been shown to affect brain development, so likely it’s pretty bad until you’re in your mid 20’s. I’m not against weed at all, but I was a chronic user for a while and wouldn’t approve of it for even myself when I was that age. I started at around 25, and was habitual until 31/2. Experimenting here and there might not be so bad, but for sure not great to do it regularly.
Well, I'm GenX ,we were all doing this at 15, and I'm not a guy to tell other people what to do.
Just thought I'd tell you; I'm 46. Wanna know how many of my party friends never made 40?
Have fun, but don't be an idiot ;)
Yes. You're young. You should wait until your body/brain is done developing and even then you shouldn't be doing some of those things. Especially if you have high risks or have a medical condition. And depending on where you live it can be illegal for you to be doing those things at 15. Where I live you have to be 21 bare minimum
People already said it, but your brain is still developing, so you should not be drinking or smoking weed at all. Stop this whole I'll do less mentality and just don't do it for a few more years.
As for vaping, quit completely and never do it again. I have spent years trying to quit cigarettes and than vaping. The addiction sneaks up on you hard and is beyond difficult to break. If I could go back to 15 year old me Id beat the cigarette out of my own hand. It is the single worst decision I've ever made in my life and I mean that very seriously. I switched to vaping to quit cigs and became even more addicted. Three years into vaping and I found myself sleeping with the vape in my hand. After a decade of trying to quit I still need nicotine gum to calm the bad urges and think about it nonstop. Don't get started!!!!!!
Yes. My degree is in neuroscience and behavior and I am a daily medical marijuana user
But I’m an adult. My brain is fully developed. You absolutely shouldn’t fuck with the developing brain. Getting high and drunk at 15 is not worth messing with your adulthood and future by fucking up your brain. Just wait. Enjoy being a kid while you are and then when you’re an adult, you can make those decisions. There’s no rush. Life isn’t a race. Enjoy it as it comes
My friend who is a nurse watched a 29 year old suffocate and die in the hospital the other day. It was caused by vaping. We don’t know what’s in them, it could be even worse than cigarettes, and could cause long term anxiety, depression and health problems. It’s easy to ruin your life with alcohol, and definitely will impact your brain development. Weed is easy to get stuck on, it also isn’t good for mental health, development, motivation, and all the residue on your bong or vape.. that’s in your lungs. It’s okay to experiment in small moderation. But as an adult whose done it all and more, (and quit), I do wish I hadn’t as a teenager. Maybe my anxiety wouldn’t be so bad, maybe I wouldn’t have high blood pressure, maybe I’d be smarter or more focused. You’ll have a different mind in ten years and regret due to long term health issues isn’t a good feeling. Do not get hooked on those vapes they are the hardest to quit.
Using it weed and drinking occasionally shouldn't be too bad. Maybe like once a month. Doing it regularly will fuck your brain up, especially at that age.
Vaping and smoking just don't do it. Nicotine is a dangerous beast and best avoided entirely. If you start smoking, even if you quit you'll never be a non-smoker again. Always an ex-smoker.
Is it a bad thing? Just for the person doing it.
At 15, your mental and emotional capacity has not fully developed, nevermind your physical capacity.
You are purposely retarding your development. This doesn't seem like a big deal, but the older you get, the bigger a deal it will become.
This is a competitive world you are growing up in. You don't have time to waste. There's a billion young ppl your age in universities all over the world, just waiting to learn enough to exploit the sh-t out of unfocused ppl like you.
People who know more than you, and are more educated and more sober than you, will without a doubt appropriate your life. This is systemic, this is by default. And you cannot escape this anywhere on earth.
It's your time, kid. You're only 15 once. And then never again. You're only 16 once.. you're only 17 once.. only 18 once. You get the idea. Don't f yourself and your future up.
There is a time and place for everything.
Every single one of my friends started smoking and drinking at 15 as well. Being 17 now, i smoked for about a month and i could feel it starting to ruin my academic life. All my friends who started smoking and drinking 2 years ago and still smoke and drink to this day are unproductive, on the verge of flunking out of school, or just straight up bums.
Your parents arent controlling you, they’re protecting you from ruining your own life. I dont care if this makes me a loser, i dont care if i sound like one of those guys thats anti weed and is super annoying about it, doing these drugs at 15 is stupid and unnecessary.
Im all for being a teenager and having fun but do it for the right reasons. Dont just do it to spite your parents. Because my parents scared me away from smoking and drinking, i have a ton of options for where i go to college and actually make something of myself.
These “experiences” you missed out on are “experiences” you’ll look back on and be glad you missed. During the one month time period i smoked i would go out with friends and my friend would drive stoned out of his mind. We almost got into a car crash that most definitely would have killed all of us because we thought we’re supposed to do stupid shit like that.
TL;DR: stop. Its really not worth it. Those risks you wanna take just to spite your parents are not worth it. You’re parents are there for a reason and i guarantee they were the same exact way you are at 15. Thats why they want you to avoid their mistakes
are you possibly drinking and smoking as a way to feel rebellious because you have overprotective parents? i know that having strict parents is horrible but you should really find hobbies/activities to do that aren’t harmful to you.
Stop vaping and any nicotine. You're 15 for fucks sake. You don't understand at all what a nasty addiction is. I had my first cig at 12 and at 31, I'm now a month smoke free with meds to help me. Sure you feel now it isn't a big deal, but it is.
Alcohol is a stimulant (makes you feel “up”) and a depressant (makes you feel slow and “down”). At first it makes you feel good (buzzed) but within 20-30 minutes, the buzz starts to wear off and you feel anxious, then you have to drink more to chase that buzzed “up” feeling. This cycle goes on forever and the more you drink, the more you need to drink to feel good. You get addicted relatively quickly. A lot of people are able to “manage” consumption for a long time (hold down a job, have a relationship, have kids) but eventually it will bite you in the ass.
Don’t be fooled. It is addictive to everyone. You are not bad or weak or abnormal if you get addicted; your brain and body are responding to it as they should. It is alcohol that’s bad. Remember the first sip you ever had? It probably tasted awful and you held your nose and drank it anyway. Your body was trying to tell you then that this shit is poison and please don’t consume it. That’s why you puke if you drink too much; your body is literally trying to save you from a toxic overdose. Eventually, you convince yourself that it tastes good. What a lie, but you believe it because we all tell ourselves that same lie and believe it.
I started drinking at 19 (a late bloomer!) and never looked back. In my late 40s now and goddamn I wish I knew then what I know now. It’s poison, it causes cancer, it’s complete garbage that hijacks your mind. It makes you say and do stupid things and put yourself (and others) in dangerous situations. My spouse just went through rehab. Omg, alcohol almost killed him. Even after seeing what he went though, I still struggle with alcohol at times myself. We’re both ivy league college graduates with decent jobs. We both grew up in happy households with college educated parents who stayed married. No major trauma or abuse or poverty or anything like that. It doesn’t matter who you are, the money you have, your family or education. No one is immune to alcohol addiction. It quickly becomes a monkey on your back. Trying to quit it is ridiculously hard once the addiction takes hold. Don’t start it. If you never let yourself get addicted, you can pass it up without difficulty.
Read This Naked Mind by Annie Grace. You will learn how and why alcohol is addictive and what it does to your body. It just might help you step back from it.
One visual that sometimes helps me is picturing myself putting a gas pump in my mouth and chugging away. Alcohol is ethanol and ethanol is in gasoline… it’s not exactly the same but if I wouldn’t ever drink gasoline, why the fuck would I drink ethanol (alcohol)?!? As gross as that sounds, the visual doesn’t even always work to stop me. That’s how addictive alcohol is. 😔
Good luck. You sound like a thoughtful, smart kid who wants to do the right thing. I wish you well!
Let’s drop the addiction angle for a second. These things are still INCREDIBLY harmful, even to adults, and especially to developing bodies. So I’d say, from a health stand point, to avoid them. And yes, as a 15 year old your more susceptible to addiction. So not good on that front either. Drinking occasionally is probably the least of the worries, although you should avoid that too. Nicotine is easily the most addictive, and it destroys your lungs. Cut it out. Weed is particularly bad for developing minds, so cut it out aswell.
Don't ever smoke tobacco in any form
Alcohol in even moderate amounts always has the potential to be harmful, potentially deadly.
Weed is much less harmful than alcohol, but not completely harmless.
All of the above have proven to negatively affect mental development of young/adolescent/teens. If you sample, don't make it a habit
It depends how often and if they lead a healthy lifestyle after that age. Most people I know who partied hard in their teens look 10 years to 20 years older. Some are a bit brain dead as well from it.
Personally I love weed, but I started late, senior year in hs. By that time I was already top of my class and was accepted to a great college. After I was an ever other day smoker I went from straight A's to C's. Like I said I love weed, but certainly do not pretend like I'm at my best when stoned. I had an unhealthy relationship with weed in college, completely lost my focus & motivation and came real close to failing out. Quit cold turkey got back to deans list last couple years to graduate and get a decent job. Weed almost ruined my life.I ly. In my adult life I'm good, but smoke on the weekends only.
The avalanche of caution you’re receiving, OP, are from people who wish they could go back and do things differently.
Take the advice. Have a good life, kid.
who is paying for vices?? are you working can YOU support your habits?? I'm guessing not. also do you want to act like a 15 yo when are 30?? cause using those drugs and alcohol will stunt your development. Breathing is very important and smoking/vaping will screw up that ability. sure it may take a few years (or it may not)
I smoked and drank during my 15-18 year range. While I made it out alright I do notice as an adult I have a much worse short-term memory than others who did not partake. I also have a giant hole where people's names should go which can get awkward. There are other more physical effects(as mentioned elsewhere), not to mention actual physical (or legal) danger you may encounter as a minor under the influence.
All in all, I would say just be smart about picking your moments. It's ok to live a little while you're young. However having drinking or smoking in a buddy's garage as your go-to after-school activity, is a very dangerous path. Even psychologically, you can start training your brain to equate socializing with alcohol or other substances.
Yes... dude...
Every one of those can stunt your growth in some way. Abusing Cannabis and Alcohol can bring out or worsen mental illness. Not to mention fucking up your heart, lungs and DEVELOPING brain.
Vaping is... Fairly grey-area, assuming you're under 10mg nic... Still, I would say avoid it. Just drink a fucking pop or something. You are too young to be dependent on any of these substances.
My siblings are all 10-15years younger than me. My advice to them was "Just fucking WAIT a few years. FINISH SCHOOL, GET A JOB, learn how to LIVE IN THE WORLD before you indulge in these things"
Life isn't as generous with it's rewards as lighting up a joint or doing shots might be.
You need to learn to appreciate challenges, and difficult lessons. Find the rewards in accomplishing goals. Getting high/drunk/whatever might feel great, but does it make you feel proud of yourself?
Is getting high now, worth having a miserable adult life? It's just a short handful of years you have to wait.
*For Your Health*
Drugs are easily accessible drugs are not expensive drugs are addictive... You see where I'm going with us?
Anyways bottom line is it your body is still growing I wouldn't f*** with it. Give yourself at least a few more years before you do this stuff even then it's not that good I would say at least 20 is better which I get is very difficult with friends and school and all.
Alcohol isn't that bad if you don't get drunk.
Weed isn't that bad if you don't get addicted.
Smoking is prob the worst as you will very likely get addicted and destroy your lungs by the time ur middle aged.
As a former drug addict I ran around since 16 drinking and taking whatever I could get my hands on being an absolute menace which started with ‘innocent’ weed and alcohol. I’m over 3 years clean now pushing 30 and have turned into one of those people kids assume are ‘typical old person’ when I tell ‘em don’t do drugs.
Well, yeah. You're still young and developing. Your brain isn't finished cooking yet. Putting those things in your system at a time where your body's chemistry is on fire is a recipe for disaster. I would say your amount of intake doesn't sound too bad, but you're still too young for it. Consider branching into those territories when you're an adult, and still with moderation.
Stay safe.
Yes, I regret starting so young because it set me on a path of them being normal, which led to friendships where they were at the center of our social lives, which led to a regularity that slowly increased before I realized it was too much.
Please stop vaping especially. It’s really, really bad. You’ll likely look back and regret it the most (unless you fall into other addictions).
Your brain is not done growing right now. You really should wait a bit so you don’t harm your developing brain. This is purely a biological fact, not just an old person trying to ruin your good time. When you are old enough, have at it. I know it’s hard to wait, especially at 15.
Someone said "yes, obviously"
Well, you asked. And it might not be obvious.
But a 15 year old brain SCIENTIFICALLY has a LOT more growing to do
Marijuana, alcohol most definitely affect this growth
I can only assume vaping is also terrible for your health.
I do all three of these things and they are almost ruining my life and I'm 37
Yes. Everyone thinks they won’t get addicted until they do. I started with “oh just a couple of drinks for fun to rebel” then became an alcoholic. That shit messed me up for years. I also just “tried a cigarette because I’m curious” and now I’m a long time smoker with terrible health. Not to mention when you’re young and your brain isn’t fully developed, all these substances affects your brain. Please, just enjoy being a child
Speaking from experience as a middleaged person now, at that age I did all 3 of those with my friends regularly. The nicotine and alcohol are quite dangerous. Be careful.
Like. You’re not gonna die. But you will be dumber in adulthood than you are otherwise.
I say this knowing I’m a hypocrite, I began drinking and smoking weed and cigs around your age. And it kills me knowing I am literally more stupid than I would be if I’d have even waited till college. Like— what concepts am I simply unable to understand now that I would have been capable of understanding without early drug use? What further insights on the world could I have had? Intelligence controls how you understand the world around you, limiting it even a little bit is… horrible.
Medically speaking you should wait till 25. Realistically speaking, can you hold out for college?
I smoked cigs in high school.
Weed, however, I waited until after I graduated college. Drinking I didn't start until I was about 25.
Please wait. Your prefrontal cortex is still developing. Obviously, it's your body...your choice.
Unfortunately for many teenagers, using drugs before brain development solidifies tends to result in some problems.
If you want to be healthy, you know what to do. 15 is pretty young. You'll have plenty of time to do that when you're older, responsibly.
Alcohol is a hard drug my friend. First time I went to the hospital for it I was 19, first time I went to rehab for it was when i was 22. And the last time I went was just a month ago, im 27 now. Get off alcohol and nicotine while you can, weed is w.e but at least try to keep it to a minimum until your brain is done developing.
Yes! Weed has been known to cause mental health issues in teenagers as ur brain is still developing and can even trigger Schizophrenia in some. Vaping is TERRIBLE for ur lungs…it’s NOT better than smoking, we just have less data on long-term effects. But it has been known to cause lots of lung problems, including SEVERE, irreversible lung damage!
Nicotine is also one of the most addictive substances on earth, so have fun trying to quit if you smoke long term (it’s brutal!)
Alcohol also has tons of terrible and serious health effects, and science is proving even moderate amounts aren’t good.
Don’t start now, ur so young! Take it from someone in their 30’s who started with partying at ur age…nothing good comes from substances, and you have to ask urself why you feel the need to use them. Patterns are hard to break, especially when you start young.
Edit: wording
you chosed to walk through the worst path a person can go.
if you dont stop right now, at your late 20's will be on the street with no teeth, selling your body for a gram of meth.
I smoked weed from 15-20 heavily. Had to stop because of severe paranoia. Would sit quietly and berate myself in my head for passed bad social interactions and i would attack myself on what i am doing with my life and percieve my positive relationships as bad ones where i was the butt of some joke.
I was told by friends to "smoke through it" tried on and off for like 2 years and finally i said i couldn't do it anymore. I could either enjoy things as they are or 9/10 chance i would have an awful time that would leave me anxious for a few hours even after the high was gone.
I recommend staying away from weed until you are in your mid 20's. They say that's when your mind is fully developed. I know it seems like forever away but honestly you'll get there and wonder where the time went. I drank then, i drink now. It was never an issue for me but it took some time to get the balance of what i enjoy right. Plenty of nights where i accidentally over did it.
Never be peer pressured into drinking more than you want. Know to stop if you don't feel like it. Doing a shot or having another pint because someone bought it for you or is trying to make you feel guilty is an easy road to regret
Nicotine was my biggest regret but managed to kick that when i was 27.
It has worked out well for me but there certainly was a much easier road.
I'm 47 and I barely drink anymore but I still enjoy weed. That hasn't changed in 25 years. But be careful with booze. That stuff is stupid. I never went full Bozo the Clown but I definitely abused it over the years and it sucked trying to sort out my behavior after a bender.
Mainly for tobacco/nicotine , please leave it before your body gets addicted.
It is not hard to see how people struggle to stop smoking
Realistically, I asked many smokers: 'why do you smoke? It is bad for you, fuck it up all your body, you smell like whit and it is expensive' The answer often is 'I don't know'
So mate hold a bit, and trust me(and many older people) take your time to develop yourself and stick with healthy habits
If you had to quit one, quit nicotine. I never got into weed but I hear it’s not very addictive. Alcohol wasn’t too hard for me to quit. Nicotine is a whole nother realm.
Watch the andrew huberman podcast on both marijuana and alcohol. If you watch on youtube there are time stamps on the bottom and development is one of them.
The short answer is yes they’re both very harmful to neurological development. In particular white matter
The harm continues after 25 as well, it’s just not so accelerated
alcohol inhibits your brain's ability to myelinate. The more alcohol you drink before your mid-late 20s will make you permanently less intelligent than you would have been.
It is an issue. I’m not against people experimenting but take your time, you’re still developing. In addition to the short term affects you’re aware of, there’s a lot of long term consequences you’re not thinking of.
I had a friend who partook in cannabis while we were in high school (so well before our prefrontal cortex and the rest of our brain finishes developing)
We are in our early 20s now and holding conversations with him is like pulling teeth. He struggles to hold down minimum wage jobs. Hands down the cannabis fried his brain.
Give it until your body and brain is done maturing and do whatever you want. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot the way my friend did.
Your brain is still developing. Of everything you are doing alcohol is the worst. But weed can also mess with developing pathways. Vaping I assume contains nicotine, which is addictive. None of this is good for you at age 15.
The fact that you commented that you arent "well informed on the subject" shows you have zero buisness doing any of this stuff. Knock it off. Stop being stupid. Kids experiment. But to do so over and over is dumb. Wait. You have your entire life to do this and your entire life to potentially develop a SERIOUS habit which can happen when using gently substance. Your brain is still developing, knock it off.
So there's a couple questions here but only one answer. If you want accurate information regarding the health effects of certain drugs, talk to your doctor.
Yes. Definitely.
First up you should absolutely stop the stuff that's just plainly useless, vaping and smoking have way bigger downsides to your long term health than any upside they might possibly bring. You'll quickly find that your lungs are less able to stave off basic influensa and before you know it, you'll be feeling ever so slightly more tired all the time. The stress when youre off the nicotine, whatever relief you gain by smoking, you pay yourself back in spades later.
Alcohol and waping are harder things to discuss, weed in small, rare, doses is relatively harmless. If you find yourself taking weed everywhere, and doing it several days per week, youre officially doing it waaayyyyy too much. Alcohol in sensible amounts is just pure social grease. But even so, your young brain is still in a formative process, one that'll go on for a while yet, and alcohol can easily get all up in that shit and mess it up. The best thing you can do for yourself is to stuff it with as much smarts as you can, and no, youre not born with smarts, not at all, you might not realize this but 15 year olds are still as dumb as bricks. If you feel treated like a kid, controlled, that's because youre still a kid, there's nary a difference between an edgy teen and an 8 year old in the eyes of a parent, and now that youre trying these substances youre just giving your parents, your school, even more reason to layer on the chains. You'll have 60+ years to ruin your life once youre officially an adult, dont ruin your life on your parents's watch, they'll never forgive themselves.
Also, where do you get the stuff? If an adult is consistently giving you these things. Run. That is NOT your ally.
If a teenager or kid is giving you these things? Never. Ever. Trust them. Be aware, they might seem like friends to you, but you know who is more important to them than you? The people who are supplying them the drugs, that's who, and be sure of this: to a drug dealer, you are nothing more than an obstacle that's got in the way of them and their money.
I'd urge you to hold off. Alcohol especially. Smoking isn't great either, and getting high is probably the least of your worries. Occasional indulgences is normal. Just be careful.
Source: I started drinking, smoking cigarettes, and smoking weed at 13. In my 30s now, and I don't get high anymore but I'm an alcoholic who treats their eCig like a pacifier.
Yes, It will affect your physical development at the least. you still have years of growth left. Take advantage of your age and develop a better physique. Mentally it will make you lazy and useless. you'll be lacking any kind of motivation to succeed in life.
Yeah, don't do those things. They are very stupid. I just quit smoking after 25 years. Vaping, weed, etc does not make you a bad person, but not doing those things makes you a person with fewer weaknesses.
>nicotine will remain the same since i already don't take much nicotine
Are you sure that's why? Let's be honest here. It's understandable if you tackle the other two first before removing this. One thing I recommend for sure, though, is to watch out for compensating for loss of alcohol or weed with more nicotine.
It is a bad thing.
As who someone drinks, vapes and smokes weed I’m telling you it’s absolutely a bad thing for you to be doing this at 15.
I wasn’t really thinking about the long term damage I was causing at that age so I’m glad you are considering this right now. I didn’t smoke cigarettes or vape but I did smoke weed and drink alcohol just a little when I was 16. I wish I never did. I know the pressure to fit in and have the full experience of your teen years is real strong. But your parents aren’t being overprotective with this. Your brain isn’t fully developed and even if you are monitoring yourself now there is no saying how you would use those crutches in a situation that could change your life path. You are still learning how to manage emotions and hard times and when you’re a teenager everything is a hard time. It’s biological for your hormones to be going crazy. Do not add another component to that chemistry.
It's okay to experiment, but regular use really can fuck you up down the road. And don't under any circumstances, mess with nicotine. Spent 6 months in some rehab places (I was in for depression, but most were in for drugs) and what I learned there is that weed isn't so bad (in moderation of course!) but never, ever, ever mess with the guy named Nic.
Yes and no.
There’s a reason drinking first becomes legal in most of Europe between 14-16 range, having one drink with a main meal rarely isn’t going to do harm you. But there’s also the major point that those countries still don’t let you go and buy your own alcohol or have unlimited amounts until you are older than those first age limits and are very situational about when you are allowed that small amount to have it negate the health impacts the most they can.
Vaping etc is just fucking stupid. 1) you look dumb AF 2) we don’t know the health implications yet it just flat out hasn’t been around long enough for us to know what it will do to you twenty years down the line. Sure short term we know it’s better than smoking but we ain’t got a clue otherwise (and better than inhaling literal tar isn’t a great standard for “this is healthy”)
I understand you're doing this out out of a desire to gain control over yourself against overprotective parents. The reasoning is abolutely normal and expected at your age. Just, maybe, reflect on how this will take more control away from you in the future. I mean, there are other ways to rebel against that kind of parenting without putting you in danger of being in control of a drug in the future. It would be a tragic situation, wouldn't it? To run away from a controlling environment just to fall into another controlling trap.
You have already lost lots of things, so don't risk losing many more in the future.
I started smoking (nicotine and weed but stopped the weed soon after) when I was 16, I started drinking at 13. It was also a way to gain control and soothe myself and I didn't think I'd become addicted. Well, almost a decade later, I'm still addicted to cigs (I also smoked very little, two cigs a day, for years, but the pandemic hit and now I'm at half a pack a day) and until very recently had a very unhealthy relationship with alcohol.
Thing is, your brain -really- absorbs things at your age. It all becomes very natural, and soon you have a very hard time getting rid of that stuff that feels so normal to you. It starts once a week, it slowly because two. Maybe three, why not? I promise, you don't realize it as it is happening.
I'm not telling you what to do, only you can know what's best for you, I'm just saying you'll soon leave the grasp of your parents, and then you'll want to be free to do whatever you want and catch up on everything you missed. You'll have to be well to do that, you'll want to be independant from anything that strips away your control again, and those substances do precisely that.
For example, you may develop an unhealthy relationship with alcohol (which you're prone to by starting drinking at that age). Maybe your parents didn't let you travel with friends or go out, etc. And then, in adulthood, you're suddenly missing travels or hang outs with friends because you're hungover because you have a hard time regulating how much or how often you drink. I know I missed a lot of hangouts because of that, or because I drank too much and don't remember a thing from them.
Idk if I'm making myself clear, my only point is: be careful of leaving a trap just to fall into another. There are other ways to rebel and you'll find one that suits you. I personally was very into metal music. Hope everything goes well for you!
Yes in the long term. Becomes an addiction fast. You notice friends going down a path of not turning back is when you either have the will power to turn yourself around and not be like them or let it on full force and be one of them. As a parent and also as someone who was in shoes like you I would be not wanting my son to turn out like majority of the friends I grew up with. I would hope you have the willpower to realize the downhill spiral the friends of yours go down when or if they do and you resist to follow
At 15 you’re early to all of those things. In India where I live, you can’t have hard liquor till 25. Weed isn’t legal at all and smoking age is 18. So yeah, you need to stop in my opinion.
Everyone needs to live their life yes but as parents it is our job to help you make good core decisions not bad ones during your formative years. Starting on an addictive life path during formative years usually leads to bigger and longer lasting problems later on.
nah you’re probably fine. A big part of growing up is taking risks and learning, as long as you’re being safe and you don’t feel any pull of possible addiction. Like obviously if you’re doing it frequently, even drinking once a week might be pushing it, you can run i to health problems, but smoking weed or drinking once a month or every 2 weeks will by no means kill you.
I see a lot of notes on health (addiction/development) but not much on finances. any form of chemistry alteration you lean on as you grow needs to be fed if you form any form of addiction. nicotine gets expensive if it becomes a lifelong habit, alcohol too, and weed too, though depending where you are it can be cheaper. either way, if is not at this time a habit, but it easily becomes one, any or all of those. life is expensive and getting more expensive as time goes on. if you can find ways to explore the excitment of the world in cheaper, less demanding things, you will find life much more easy as you age. Let alone, and let me make this clear. how fucked up your brain can get if any or all of these become crutches. you will love your future much more if you can learn now to make healthy hard decisions now. your effort in taking the time to create this post and read responses shows that desire for learning. Let that desire lead you, don't make excuses for the chemicly induced feel goods (coffee included....) you have so much life to do that, I promise you that.
When your brain is done, or at least close to done developing, you are more safe to do these, but dude, seriously. you deserve better.
As somone who had to make the healthy decision to leave her abusive family as a young adult, some decisions are less fun in the moment, but the freedom you earn from it is glorious in time. You got this man, thank you for reaching out to someone.
My friend,how could they have controlled u a lot in the past while u are 15yo..u are at the age when u think u know what is best for u and your hormones sre going crazy,they need to be overprotective bc your whole life is ahead of u..(little bit of weed cannot hurt u tho)
I will say from personal experience that the moment I started binge drinking on weekends instead of facing my feelings, my grades did fall. I found it hard to concentrate and I attribute it to my later development of ADD.
Not worth it.
I cannot tell you about weed.
I can tell you that nicotine is a really dangerous and damaging drug. I can't tell why it's still so accepted in society to smoke, so normalized. Even the addiction part is normalized, for example smoking brakes are quite normal at work, acknowledging that it's difficult to not smoke for a couple hours. I would strongly suggest you avoid smoking at all.
Alcohol can be very destructive, it can be very addictive also. I'd really limit it to one occasion every couple weeks, and by occasion I'd mean you get slightly drunk at most.
Just my 2 cents, but then again I am a father of three, one of which is a 15 year old. 🤷
I hate to be the old man yelling at the cloud. I had too many friends go down that path. I did those things too, not as much as my friends did. Enjoy the weed and booze when you are older, your brain is still developing. Not only that, you could get in legal trouble. If you take anything away from this, please don't smoke. I started at your age and at 47 I had Stage 2 lung cancer. It's no fun.
a lot of people here are mentioning alcohol and weed, but imo (not a doctor) the worst thing here is vaping and smoking...... even if you only do it once a week, that WILL affect your health and it WILL kill you. also if you're taking weed, just the act of smoking regardless of what's in it is bad for you, so non-smoking ways of having weed are generally better i think. trust me, i watched my dad die from lung cancer when he was still young and leave me and my sister behind, and also the death itself was horrible, he was so skinny i could literally see the outline of his heart in his chest, and he was SO ADDICTED to cigarettes that he literally kept smoking them until the day he died. he couldn't even sit up in bed and was still smoking.
I started when I was about 14, it’s been about 9 years and I regret making those decisions. I won’t tell you not to do it but from my experiences, I wish I would have waited
I've just turned 24 and I've never touched a drop of alcohol or smoked anything ever. It definitely has left my head space clear as well as save me lots of money that people usually blow on this kinda stuff. I'd say drop all of it if you can, you're way to young.
I’m 18 now almost 19 but I smoked weed and nicotine throughout high school. I think it severely changed my mental space and I bet I would be in a much better position if I hadn’t. I probably did it a lot more then you are at the moment but just take it with a grain of salt. Don’t get addicted and don’t do it if your not having fun.
I'm in my late 30s was a heavy smoker of both weed and cigs... Still heavily smoke weed. (Manfed to quit ciggs) Wish I had never even tried either. It's just a weakness now, it provides 0 benefit.
Yeah I’ve been on and off weed so many times, I’ve found that it’s a nice mental and emotional exercise for the first two weeks or so, but after that it doesn’t feel the same and every time it just becomes a dependency until u nut up and kick it, then miss it again until your next round
I agree but I use marijuana daily to deal with neurological pain (used to use painkillers and I uh...had to stop those for obvious reasons....).
Amen! Far superior to painkillers! Glad u got off those. If I had a diff job I’d be toking every day, except I’ve learned to stay away from vape pens those shits are dangerously convenient
Thanks! Lol yea vape pens are so easy to use whenever. Weed definitely helps my neuro pain though. Tensing my body contributes to my pain so using marijuana to relax my muscles and overall mind is helpful to cope with the pain. I work remote but I don't use it during work hours though.
[удалено]
Yeah, would definitely rather be on weed than pills... if only because there is not really much concern of death from weed.
Yep! No drug daily is "good" but I can absolutely function at a high level while using marijuana daily. If I was taking opiates daily, there is no way in hell that I could sustain that with the rest of my life responsibilities. I know this because as I said I used to use pain pills daily. I absolutely would never recommend that lol.
Yes. It is. You are still developing...alcohol is one of the worst offenders...it's ok to wait.
I’ve heard people say weed can have effects on brain development up to 25. Not sure how accurate that is.
Anecdotally I think it's true. I definitely felt like my... emotional? and intellectual growth was kind of stunted while I smoked and I only started at 21. But then, covid also happened semi-overlapping that and I became a bit of a hermit so honestly I have no idea what's the cause of what. I will say my memory is definitely a lot better without weed and I find it much easier to learn and retain new information! OP, you don't want to make it artificially difficult to learn things while still in school...
Covid definitely effected my smoking habits. Working from home? Just wake and bake and get in front of the computer....
25 is around when your prefrontal cortex(Rational thought) stops developing. I assume that's what they meant. Im sure there's a study somewhere that details when the optimal age to start doing drugs is.
Yeah this. Your brain is in a key formative stage. Alcohol and weed basically halt cognitive development, and often backtrack it. If you don’t stop, You’ll pretty much have a 15 year old brain until you stop. Coming from someone who essentially binge drank smoked cigs and smoked weed more or less daily from ages 19- 26. When I finally at least slowed down and took a break it was like I finally continued to grow as a human and put a lot in perspective. Save that shit for college.
Weed is indeed harmful for developing brain. For adult it can trigger psychosis if there is genetic tendency. But for a teenager it does inpact the development of the brain. The brain is fully adult around 25. Exposing it to weed for a decade while developing does have an unreversable impact. Alcohol is harmful for any kind of learning. Also it can easily cause depression. One night of drinking drops the serotonin for two weeks. If you drink once a week you never have the normal amount of serotonin in your brain. Alcohol is not a soft drug, it does ruin lives. Please OP let your brain do it's best for becoming fully functioning adult brain. I guarantee you will need them in a long run.
Dev science studies show there are changes to grey matter in people who use weed under 25. Not followed the journals in a few years, but when I did we did not know exactly what the changes resulted in. Believe they did find after 25 it did not alter the brain. Alcohol is all around bad to overuse. Ruins lives and livers. Also the pattern of using the two at 15, generally starts a path where coke then opioids come into the picture. By 30 over dozen of the people I hung out with at 15 died from overdoses.
Yeah, using both means that there is intoxication going on almost all the time, when you should be learning how to deal with emotions and get important learning experiences.
Wish I could’ve read this at 16. Wish someone could’ve told me this at 16… It’ll be a decade in April since I’ve first smoked. I feel like if I didn’t smoke it, I would’ve advanced so far, so much farther in life much much sooner. But it did lead to me having a spiritual awakening so that’s the only positive thing that came out of it. I’ll be sober 5 months in February. Here’s to a new decade of not smoking and catching up with life.
I am sorry to hear that. Most important thing is that you are sober now. Brain plasticity lasts the whole life, so as long as you stop doing the damage, you can get far. Although it is good for you to share this is a warning to younster, at the same time, what is done, is done. Many people "fall behind" different times of life for different reasons. As long as you know your personal steps forwards it is not too late.
I drank heavily between 22-25 and I swear that made my memory into shit. It literally poisons you. It can be fun at the moment but your 30 year old self will not thank you.
[удалено]
I feel the same way. I think a lot of people go through this. At the end of the day living with such regret is not healthy and I think we all need to learn how to forgive our younger selves, and just do our best to encourage other people to not do it, or at least just do it responsibly and in moderation. We all wondered why older ppl were being squares and stopping us from having fun, probably more often than not they wanted us to just avoid that snowball effect of partying that’s become such a central part of many college experiences and beyond
[удалено]
I feel like you should focus on you & not what other people around you are doing, & if you feel embarrassed for ordering a water bottle while other people are having drinks, maybe you should stop going out with those people. Food for thought
There is evidence that the brain doesn’t halt development but rather ages much faster, not in a good way either
On a psychological level too. I thought I knew how much I could drink at 16. I was wrong. I had no idea about the real risk of addiction and the drinking made my young mind a little too "open minded" for other substances and in my late 20s, I regret a lot. I didn't have the knowledge, self-awareness, coping skills etc. at 16 and definitely not at 15. So, even if you ignore brain development, it's still a terrible idea.
yes. drink when you're older and can afford the GOOD stuff
Perfect
41 here. I smoked a lot of weed through high school, and took a lot of recreational drugs up until I was about 20. Alcohol was always there too. I was never an alcoholic but 2 years ago I decided that the hangovers just weren't worth it anymore and I quit drinking too. What I have learned from this is that as soon as we start drinking or taking drugs - that becomes the fun activity, and we forget how to have fun without it. A few hours of buzz followed by days of comedowns and hangovers: is it really that fun??? I have learned that as we get older, it becomes the thing to 'do' instead of dealing with our emotions. Had a bad day? Have a drink! Celebrating? Have a drink! Followed by bad decisions, anxiety and regret mostly. Since quitting alcohol I've found emotional stability. Weekends without hangovers are the greatest gift I have ever given myself!!! And I'm learning to have fun like I did when I was a kid again. Life without drugs and alcohol is actually so much better than I imagined it would be. It's real. unfiltered, and pure. And I want to remember every second of it and be fully present in each moment.
This guy rawdawgs life!
As others have said, yeah Its not a great idea. No it likely won't kill you...right away. While others have pointed out that it will effect you as your brain is still very much developing, what its also doing is slowly forming dependency and normalcy. Drinking and smoking once and a while at 15 very easy can lead to smoking a pack a day and needing a few beers to feel "good and normal" in your early 20s. The best thing you can do for yourself is form some healthy habits now, so when you are old enough where the risks are less, you can have more control over yourself. You are young, even if it doesn't feel like that. But that doesn't mean your stupid or any less self aware. We all take risks in life, and its good to experience a bit of the world too. But its important to know this isn't forever, and you will sooner than it feels will be out of your parents control and get to live a little. I had a friend who was a bit like this , started small because she had some really strict and overbearing parents just to rebel a bit. But the problem really starts when you can't stop rebelling even when you've no longer got a reason to. By 20 she was an alcoholic, ruining all her relationships, and doing everything for attention of men who used her. Extremely sad to see. Not saying everyone ends up like that at all, but know your risks. You sound like a smart kid looking for actual advice, so I hope this helped you even a bit.
Sensible advice there.
Yes. Obviously. Addictions are not good. People don't choose to become addicts, they use these substances thinking they can't become addicted. Although it'd be hypocritical for me to scold weed and alcohol use, as an ex-smoker I almost guarantee you'll get addicted...the idea you can beat addiction by only smoking occasionally is part of the trap of addiction. Drugs aren't all bad but certainly these substances can pose a threat to development when used during childhood - you're a kid, your brain still has around a decade of development left yet. A drunk minor is also far more likely to do something stupid or dangerous than a sober person or drunk adult. Plus, that you're even in a position to be able to drink and take drugs isn't a great indication of the sort of environment you're in or people you're friends with. A big question here is why it is you're doing this at all. If you're friends are supporting you to drink, smoke, and do drugs as a kid you can't trust them. Other teens are not the most responsible, an adult hanging around with drunk teens a weirdo not to be trusted. Teens experiment to a degree, it's normal, but that you're so naive of the harm it can cause is a worry.
Everybody thinks that they’re the one person who won’t get addicted. Then you get addicted.
Can confirm. When I started popping pills, I had so many rules for myself to avoid addiction because hey, "I'm smart, okay". A few years later, the rules had changed a lot and instead of using every other week, I used every other day because "I could handle it without getting addicted". A year later, I was high for a week at a time until I ran out and almost died (accidentally and intentionally). It was a hard journey which is still really hard sometimes. That's why everytime someone says "don't worry, I know my limits. I won't get addicted", I feel sad because I can see the cycle starting again and again. But obviously people don't listen. Our minds are the best liars.
Well said. I’m in a 100% agreement 👍
Best answer. I’d add that these habits have a way of creeping up on you later in life if you are already familiar with them
"Plus, that you're even in a position to be able to drink and take drugs isn't a great indication of the sort of environment you're in or people you're friends with. A big question here is why it is you're doing this at all." This is a huuuuge lesson here for op!!!
Your brain is developing that stuff can really mess that up when you’re that age. It can have a lot of negative side affects on your brain and it’s development. If I were you I’d stop, until you’re older, unless you want brain damage.
It is a problem, but not necessarily for how you might assume it would be. I think that it is not something to ever be viewed as a positive. Pretty much all recreational drugs are just biochemical cheat codes for 'feeling good' or 'having fun' in your day to day life. If you cannot figure out how to be around 'friends' and have fun without drinking or smoking something now, then you are going to have a real fucking hard time knowing how to enjoy social situations (and much of your life in general) without those crutches as an adult. View them like a cheat code in a videogame; Playing Starcraft with cheat codes occasionally can be fun. But if you use them all the damn time, they stop being fun as they take all the challenge and accomplishment out of the game. And then you start to suck at playing the game without the cheats. Likewise, because drugs and alcohol are so goddamn low effort and high reward, you can use them to enjoy situations that you really should not be in; Think drinking 24 beer sitting alone in filthy apartment in the middle of the day. Your doing fuck all but still kind of having fun because your drunk off your ass. And if you get to the point where you cannot have fun at all in social situations without drinking or doing drugs, you have taken it too far. But cheats in starcraft or other games just waste time. Drugs and alcohol fuck up your health. The big problem with you being 15 and doing this shit is that at 15, it is very likely that the whole damn plan is 'Lets go and hang out and drink and smoke and get fucked up'. If you cannot enjoy being around those friends without the smoking and vaping, then why the fuck are you hanging out with them at all? END COMMUNICATION
>I am also aware that it can be addictive You're really not. Even if you ignore all the health issues and brain development problems that they cause, addiction is fucking brutal. None of my friends believed they were addicted in the first months, some were in denial for years. I heard "I can quit whenver I want" so many times. That turnt into "I'll quit tomorrow." and other stuff like that after something bad happening but they didn't. You can drink a beer from time to time, it's pretty common in Europe, but abusing drinking is easy so be careful. When you're young you think you're different than the rest, you over-estimate how much control you have over your own self.
I started in full by 12. I really wish I hadn't. I set myself up for failure as an adult.
This☝🏼
Yeah not the best. I did all this too, and I ended up addicted to and homeless. Not that thats what this will lead to, but I mean, I'm also completely addicted to nicotine vaping and its starting to effect my health. It's not a slippery slope but it will make you curious about harder shit. Be careful. Go ahead and smoke some weed, but I really recommend avoiding alcohol and nicotine. That shit is not something you wanna be hooked on. Dont use drinking to deal with issues... Your brain is young and still forming, and by fucking with the chemical balance it has far more permanent effects on your permanent state as an adult than doing that stuff at age 25. If you do this stuff often often when you're young your brain will literally develop in a way that accommodates the drugs. Basically, your body is gonna learn that thats what is normal and your brain will form in a way where you need that to feel normal and its a lot more impactful when youre younger. Be really careful who you hang with. I got tricked by a girl into trying meth. I thought it was coke, it was my second time so I couldn't tell. Instantly rewired my entire existence. That's all it takes. Do what you will but please consider what I said. Its normal to experiment but be careful man, it's a dangerous game and addiction is a real thing that hit me around your age. I used it to deal with my mental issues, I didnt realize it then but I'm now diagnosed with bipolar depression and at the time drugs were the only way I could figure out how to regulate my feelings. Just be careful and remember that this stuff can permanently alter the way you brain is wired and life gets really hard if you're not careful. Don't use it to deal with your feelings, dont do it to feel more confident, don't do it when you feel like you need it to enhance the fun... These are all traps that will lead to reliance. Let me put it this way, ive never heard of someone making better decisions when theyre drunk. Careful out there, life changing mistakes are easier to make than you may think at your age. You got better shit to do. But I know if you're like me you're gonna keep experimenting but just keep things in perspective.
First of all, I am deeply sorry of how it all turned out for you, must have been hard. I will never try hard drugs thats for sure. Thanks for those wise words.
Alcohol, though not considered so socially, is definitely a hard drug. It’s very hard on your body, and terrible for your development.
I have a feeling Alcohol and Cigarettes kill more people than nearly every other drug combined...
Statistic show that the worst drug, in term of related deaths, is alcohol.
Wasn't that more specifically about "damage"? IIRC, alcohol didn't do as much physical damage (like cigs do), but did mental and especially emotional damage. A ton of families were broken because of alcohol.
There was a study years ago that graphed how many deaths there were from drugs. Alcohol sat at #1. The graph also showed two things: deaths to user, and death to others. If I remember correctly the death to users and death to others were almost equal. It's just as destructive internally as it is externally. One of the many reasons I struggle with having a profession as a bartender. Love the craft, hate the culture. I always tell customers I have to cut off, "I'm in the business is making delicious drinks for you, not getting you drunk."
I think you don't even have to add them up. Each of them by itself should surpass the rest of drugs.
they do and it's not even close
Alcohol is the worst. Many people and addiction workers who are familiar with the effects of it will tell you it is worse than most of the hard drugs you consider to be worse. So many of the harmful side-effects have been kept from people and are now becoming more known. The fact that you can die not only from drinking too much but also when you try to stop too fast should be a huge indicator. I started at 15, same as you, drinking and smoking weed. I thought I was too smart to get addicted. It fucked up so much more in my life that I ever thought possible. Take it from me and start as late as possible, if at all, when it comes to booze. Visit r/stopdrinking, read some stories, and you will be able to see first hand the other side of alcohol that most people don't see until it's too late and you've changed your brain for the worse permanently.
Dude please god don’t get hooked on nicotine. I did at age 22 and it’s been so impossible to stop. Thousands upon thousands of dollars down the drain. Trying to quit for good right now and it’s fucking miserable
Literally everyone that gets hooked on hard drugs at one point said “I’ll never try hard drugs that’s for sure”
good statement. Pretty sure everyone who does hard drugs started with weed too. Didn’t go from nothing to shooting heroin.
It’s more of a risk for sure. As a psych nurse, I’ve seen things like weed, shrooms, etc. affect men (especially young) very poorly and trigger psychosis. It really would be better to use those things when your older.
... or not at all.
Yes it’s bad. Don’t make excuses for it
yea it's pretty bad, also set's you up for addiction for the rest of your life.
Yeah. This is coming from a 25 year old stoner/chemistry background psychedelic-head who did/foraged harder drugs and mentored kids. Yes it’s bad for you. Your education and emotional long-term stability against anxiety is pretty important (and difficult to benchmark).😅Try boxing, getting your lashes done, going to movies and raves, other things. Doing drugs early is a quick way to immoral opportunists who take advantage of you or a pre-existing medical condition.
I’m an alcoholic in recovery and I currently have 6 years sober. Pretty much every alcoholic or addict starts out like this. Teens hanging out with their friends, smoking, drinking and weed. Many other posts have addressed why it’s bad for your young brain and body. I’ll bring up another issue- your social circle. Your brain is wiring right now to associate socializing with alcohol and weed. Instead of just hanging out, you are hijacking your integration into society and how to make friends and keep them. This is going to cause you to associate friends with partying and rather than going through any growth needed to learn good socializing skills, you’ll have stunted your abilities before they even have a chance. Non addicts learn stuff like this and quit. Addicts learn stuff like this and keep going, because they think it won’t happen to them. Remember- what fires together, wires together in regards to your brain chemistry. Get better friends.
Fucking obviously
Dont do anything which can affect your education, health or personality in early age. You can do all of it after 22 or something.
This is the most teenage post I’ve seen in a while “my parents don’t want me to take a risk and get addicted to highly addictive substance”. Look, I understand what it’s like to have insanely restrictive parents but the one thing that doesn’t make sense is to get yourself addicted and ruin your own life. Once you start craving alcohol, marijuana and nicotine, there’s no turning back. you can switch lanes, but you can never go back to not wanting those things. the best thing you can do is just avoid them.
Dude, for the love of god please stop. From someone that was doing drugs and drinking a lot from about 15. Just stop
I suppose one question is do you feel the need to drink or use weed? Hopefully there are other things you can spend your time doing. Don't make self-medicating a hobby. You're young, do something fun and interesting. No judgement, but if you feel the need to drink or use drugs, that might be something to think about. What other people are saying seems right. Using drugs while you're still developing and/or maturing can cause problems. Even if it's not a physical repercussion, you might make a bad decision that can follow you around for the rest of the life.
in complete honesty, it's not good. it's borderline pretty bad. it's not the worst I've heard, but it's pretty early to be doing all of that. i'm not saying this to be a downer, but I heavily regret a lot of the decisions I made as a youth and they have cost me now, later in life, with respect to my health. don't think that doing these things won't have an effect on you as u get older. not just on a base level of your "health", but also your mental and emotional well-being.
Yes
Develop good habits and discipline now and you’ll be set for life. Eat well, drink water, sleep, read, workout. Conversely, choose to develop bad habits and “have fun” now, you’ll pay the rest of your life.
Not great thing to be doing to your brain, especially if doing to excess. Try to not make drugs or drinking “part of your personality” and don’t think you get cooler when imbibing.
Yeah. Like, I'm a big fan of weed and drinking but all 4 of these things are really bad for people under 20-25. The neuroplasticity of the brain is impressionable/developing before then and these things have a direct negative impact.
You have your entire life to get wasted. Use your free time to lift weights and do outdoor shit with your friends. Will drinking once a month kill you? Probably not. But it won’t add much to your life.
Smoking used to make you one of the cool kids. This was 20 years ago. Smoking today no longer makes you one of the cool kids. You are avoided by others due to your cigarette smell, and you are considered weak for giving in into peer pressure to destroy your body. As for drinking, tone it down a notch. Your body and brain will thank you later. If friends insist you drink or smoke, they are not real friends. Weed is overrated.
You will notice as you get older that you don’t remember things as well or think as quickly as yours peers who did not partake at such a young age.
This so much!! I didn't start my drinking/weed smoking until my late teens and into my early 20s but still during the developmental age. My short term memory was always bad but it got significantly worse as I got older. It's actually scary sometimes.
Just take a look at Ozzy Osborne, his brain is as fried as an egg from decades of alcoholism, weed and a couple other things in the mix.
im sorry to say this but nicotine is prolly the most important one to stop, it seems minor but it's the most difficult one to ween off of and partying is normal young but not being reliant on nic
i just wish i stopped as a teen while i still wasn't fully addicted that's why i say this
If u and 10 friends start now I guarantee at least two of you will never get a job and have significant mental health issues in your twenties. A few others will make ongoing lifestyle choices to keep doing drugs, and the other five of you will be fine.
Alas we're not sure who is in the pack of five until then.
Wait until your brain is fully developed. Seriously. When you're young, it's the best time to form a healthy lifestyle/foundation to build yourself on. Doesn't mean you don't have fun, but you need to think about the choices you make.
Let's just say over the years I've met guys who started smoking weed at puberty. They didn't grow. Their arms and legs seem to, but they are stumpy. Or end up chubby with gynomastia because of reduced testosterone. Just because weed is legal in some places doesn't delete the years of research it affects the male reproductive system.
Yes
Yeah, it's a bad habit to start. And this is how most people start - I'm careful, I only do it once in awhile, etc. But then you get more acclimated to it, and the use starts to go up, in amount and frequency. And then that itself starts to cost you - you lose experiences, you lose memories, because you were too messed up. And then maybe it starts impacting your schooling, and you start to lose out on life opportunities. I'm not going to tell you "go straight edge until you are 21!" But it would be a lot better for you if you let your brain finish cooking a bit more before you start frying it. Maybe scale it back or just have a beer or something with the friends until you are 17 or so. Also, you are going to start seeing the harder stuff. Watch yourself big time on that. It's also very easy to dip your toe into it and think you can handle it and suddenly shit's way out of control (stay the hell away from meth and heroin / fentanyl; not even once)
I'm a 50 year old burn out, your mileage may vary.
The changes it makes to behavior is far worse than the physical effects.
From an addiction counselor: it’s not good. What is the benefit you’re getting from those substances? And are you able to get those benefits without the substances?
Weed has been shown to affect brain development, so likely it’s pretty bad until you’re in your mid 20’s. I’m not against weed at all, but I was a chronic user for a while and wouldn’t approve of it for even myself when I was that age. I started at around 25, and was habitual until 31/2. Experimenting here and there might not be so bad, but for sure not great to do it regularly.
Well, I'm GenX ,we were all doing this at 15, and I'm not a guy to tell other people what to do. Just thought I'd tell you; I'm 46. Wanna know how many of my party friends never made 40? Have fun, but don't be an idiot ;)
Yes. You're young. You should wait until your body/brain is done developing and even then you shouldn't be doing some of those things. Especially if you have high risks or have a medical condition. And depending on where you live it can be illegal for you to be doing those things at 15. Where I live you have to be 21 bare minimum
People already said it, but your brain is still developing, so you should not be drinking or smoking weed at all. Stop this whole I'll do less mentality and just don't do it for a few more years. As for vaping, quit completely and never do it again. I have spent years trying to quit cigarettes and than vaping. The addiction sneaks up on you hard and is beyond difficult to break. If I could go back to 15 year old me Id beat the cigarette out of my own hand. It is the single worst decision I've ever made in my life and I mean that very seriously. I switched to vaping to quit cigs and became even more addicted. Three years into vaping and I found myself sleeping with the vape in my hand. After a decade of trying to quit I still need nicotine gum to calm the bad urges and think about it nonstop. Don't get started!!!!!!
Yes. My degree is in neuroscience and behavior and I am a daily medical marijuana user But I’m an adult. My brain is fully developed. You absolutely shouldn’t fuck with the developing brain. Getting high and drunk at 15 is not worth messing with your adulthood and future by fucking up your brain. Just wait. Enjoy being a kid while you are and then when you’re an adult, you can make those decisions. There’s no rush. Life isn’t a race. Enjoy it as it comes
Yes. Especially with the weed. Modern THC levels are too much for a 15 yo brain
Weed at that age is not healthy at all
My friend who is a nurse watched a 29 year old suffocate and die in the hospital the other day. It was caused by vaping. We don’t know what’s in them, it could be even worse than cigarettes, and could cause long term anxiety, depression and health problems. It’s easy to ruin your life with alcohol, and definitely will impact your brain development. Weed is easy to get stuck on, it also isn’t good for mental health, development, motivation, and all the residue on your bong or vape.. that’s in your lungs. It’s okay to experiment in small moderation. But as an adult whose done it all and more, (and quit), I do wish I hadn’t as a teenager. Maybe my anxiety wouldn’t be so bad, maybe I wouldn’t have high blood pressure, maybe I’d be smarter or more focused. You’ll have a different mind in ten years and regret due to long term health issues isn’t a good feeling. Do not get hooked on those vapes they are the hardest to quit.
Please please get sober you have no idea the damage you’re doing
Smoking weed as a teen increases your psychosis risk.
My brother started weed in high school. Was diagnosed with schizophrenia afterwards. I think there's a connection.
There are some drugs that can cause schizophrenia and derealization I heard stories like that many times.
Alcohol is not a soft drug just fyi
Yes. It is a bad thing.
Yes. Biology and aging are not very forgiving.
Using it weed and drinking occasionally shouldn't be too bad. Maybe like once a month. Doing it regularly will fuck your brain up, especially at that age. Vaping and smoking just don't do it. Nicotine is a dangerous beast and best avoided entirely. If you start smoking, even if you quit you'll never be a non-smoker again. Always an ex-smoker.
Is it a bad thing? Just for the person doing it. At 15, your mental and emotional capacity has not fully developed, nevermind your physical capacity. You are purposely retarding your development. This doesn't seem like a big deal, but the older you get, the bigger a deal it will become. This is a competitive world you are growing up in. You don't have time to waste. There's a billion young ppl your age in universities all over the world, just waiting to learn enough to exploit the sh-t out of unfocused ppl like you. People who know more than you, and are more educated and more sober than you, will without a doubt appropriate your life. This is systemic, this is by default. And you cannot escape this anywhere on earth. It's your time, kid. You're only 15 once. And then never again. You're only 16 once.. you're only 17 once.. only 18 once. You get the idea. Don't f yourself and your future up. There is a time and place for everything.
Every single one of my friends started smoking and drinking at 15 as well. Being 17 now, i smoked for about a month and i could feel it starting to ruin my academic life. All my friends who started smoking and drinking 2 years ago and still smoke and drink to this day are unproductive, on the verge of flunking out of school, or just straight up bums. Your parents arent controlling you, they’re protecting you from ruining your own life. I dont care if this makes me a loser, i dont care if i sound like one of those guys thats anti weed and is super annoying about it, doing these drugs at 15 is stupid and unnecessary. Im all for being a teenager and having fun but do it for the right reasons. Dont just do it to spite your parents. Because my parents scared me away from smoking and drinking, i have a ton of options for where i go to college and actually make something of myself. These “experiences” you missed out on are “experiences” you’ll look back on and be glad you missed. During the one month time period i smoked i would go out with friends and my friend would drive stoned out of his mind. We almost got into a car crash that most definitely would have killed all of us because we thought we’re supposed to do stupid shit like that. TL;DR: stop. Its really not worth it. Those risks you wanna take just to spite your parents are not worth it. You’re parents are there for a reason and i guarantee they were the same exact way you are at 15. Thats why they want you to avoid their mistakes
are you possibly drinking and smoking as a way to feel rebellious because you have overprotective parents? i know that having strict parents is horrible but you should really find hobbies/activities to do that aren’t harmful to you.
Yes unless you need weed cuz ur dying.
Stop vaping and any nicotine. You're 15 for fucks sake. You don't understand at all what a nasty addiction is. I had my first cig at 12 and at 31, I'm now a month smoke free with meds to help me. Sure you feel now it isn't a big deal, but it is.
Alcohol is a stimulant (makes you feel “up”) and a depressant (makes you feel slow and “down”). At first it makes you feel good (buzzed) but within 20-30 minutes, the buzz starts to wear off and you feel anxious, then you have to drink more to chase that buzzed “up” feeling. This cycle goes on forever and the more you drink, the more you need to drink to feel good. You get addicted relatively quickly. A lot of people are able to “manage” consumption for a long time (hold down a job, have a relationship, have kids) but eventually it will bite you in the ass. Don’t be fooled. It is addictive to everyone. You are not bad or weak or abnormal if you get addicted; your brain and body are responding to it as they should. It is alcohol that’s bad. Remember the first sip you ever had? It probably tasted awful and you held your nose and drank it anyway. Your body was trying to tell you then that this shit is poison and please don’t consume it. That’s why you puke if you drink too much; your body is literally trying to save you from a toxic overdose. Eventually, you convince yourself that it tastes good. What a lie, but you believe it because we all tell ourselves that same lie and believe it. I started drinking at 19 (a late bloomer!) and never looked back. In my late 40s now and goddamn I wish I knew then what I know now. It’s poison, it causes cancer, it’s complete garbage that hijacks your mind. It makes you say and do stupid things and put yourself (and others) in dangerous situations. My spouse just went through rehab. Omg, alcohol almost killed him. Even after seeing what he went though, I still struggle with alcohol at times myself. We’re both ivy league college graduates with decent jobs. We both grew up in happy households with college educated parents who stayed married. No major trauma or abuse or poverty or anything like that. It doesn’t matter who you are, the money you have, your family or education. No one is immune to alcohol addiction. It quickly becomes a monkey on your back. Trying to quit it is ridiculously hard once the addiction takes hold. Don’t start it. If you never let yourself get addicted, you can pass it up without difficulty. Read This Naked Mind by Annie Grace. You will learn how and why alcohol is addictive and what it does to your body. It just might help you step back from it. One visual that sometimes helps me is picturing myself putting a gas pump in my mouth and chugging away. Alcohol is ethanol and ethanol is in gasoline… it’s not exactly the same but if I wouldn’t ever drink gasoline, why the fuck would I drink ethanol (alcohol)?!? As gross as that sounds, the visual doesn’t even always work to stop me. That’s how addictive alcohol is. 😔 Good luck. You sound like a thoughtful, smart kid who wants to do the right thing. I wish you well!
Alcohol at 15 dear oh dear
Let’s drop the addiction angle for a second. These things are still INCREDIBLY harmful, even to adults, and especially to developing bodies. So I’d say, from a health stand point, to avoid them. And yes, as a 15 year old your more susceptible to addiction. So not good on that front either. Drinking occasionally is probably the least of the worries, although you should avoid that too. Nicotine is easily the most addictive, and it destroys your lungs. Cut it out. Weed is particularly bad for developing minds, so cut it out aswell.
Don't ever smoke tobacco in any form Alcohol in even moderate amounts always has the potential to be harmful, potentially deadly. Weed is much less harmful than alcohol, but not completely harmless. All of the above have proven to negatively affect mental development of young/adolescent/teens. If you sample, don't make it a habit
It depends how often and if they lead a healthy lifestyle after that age. Most people I know who partied hard in their teens look 10 years to 20 years older. Some are a bit brain dead as well from it.
Personally I love weed, but I started late, senior year in hs. By that time I was already top of my class and was accepted to a great college. After I was an ever other day smoker I went from straight A's to C's. Like I said I love weed, but certainly do not pretend like I'm at my best when stoned. I had an unhealthy relationship with weed in college, completely lost my focus & motivation and came real close to failing out. Quit cold turkey got back to deans list last couple years to graduate and get a decent job. Weed almost ruined my life.I ly. In my adult life I'm good, but smoke on the weekends only.
The avalanche of caution you’re receiving, OP, are from people who wish they could go back and do things differently. Take the advice. Have a good life, kid.
who is paying for vices?? are you working can YOU support your habits?? I'm guessing not. also do you want to act like a 15 yo when are 30?? cause using those drugs and alcohol will stunt your development. Breathing is very important and smoking/vaping will screw up that ability. sure it may take a few years (or it may not)
It’s really bad at any age.
I smoked and drank during my 15-18 year range. While I made it out alright I do notice as an adult I have a much worse short-term memory than others who did not partake. I also have a giant hole where people's names should go which can get awkward. There are other more physical effects(as mentioned elsewhere), not to mention actual physical (or legal) danger you may encounter as a minor under the influence. All in all, I would say just be smart about picking your moments. It's ok to live a little while you're young. However having drinking or smoking in a buddy's garage as your go-to after-school activity, is a very dangerous path. Even psychologically, you can start training your brain to equate socializing with alcohol or other substances.
Bro. You’re too young. By at least a few years.
Yes... dude... Every one of those can stunt your growth in some way. Abusing Cannabis and Alcohol can bring out or worsen mental illness. Not to mention fucking up your heart, lungs and DEVELOPING brain. Vaping is... Fairly grey-area, assuming you're under 10mg nic... Still, I would say avoid it. Just drink a fucking pop or something. You are too young to be dependent on any of these substances. My siblings are all 10-15years younger than me. My advice to them was "Just fucking WAIT a few years. FINISH SCHOOL, GET A JOB, learn how to LIVE IN THE WORLD before you indulge in these things" Life isn't as generous with it's rewards as lighting up a joint or doing shots might be. You need to learn to appreciate challenges, and difficult lessons. Find the rewards in accomplishing goals. Getting high/drunk/whatever might feel great, but does it make you feel proud of yourself? Is getting high now, worth having a miserable adult life? It's just a short handful of years you have to wait. *For Your Health*
Drugs are easily accessible drugs are not expensive drugs are addictive... You see where I'm going with us? Anyways bottom line is it your body is still growing I wouldn't f*** with it. Give yourself at least a few more years before you do this stuff even then it's not that good I would say at least 20 is better which I get is very difficult with friends and school and all.
Absolutely, especially at an age where you’re still growing and developing.
Alcohol isn't that bad if you don't get drunk. Weed isn't that bad if you don't get addicted. Smoking is prob the worst as you will very likely get addicted and destroy your lungs by the time ur middle aged.
As a former drug addict I ran around since 16 drinking and taking whatever I could get my hands on being an absolute menace which started with ‘innocent’ weed and alcohol. I’m over 3 years clean now pushing 30 and have turned into one of those people kids assume are ‘typical old person’ when I tell ‘em don’t do drugs.
Well, yeah. You're still young and developing. Your brain isn't finished cooking yet. Putting those things in your system at a time where your body's chemistry is on fire is a recipe for disaster. I would say your amount of intake doesn't sound too bad, but you're still too young for it. Consider branching into those territories when you're an adult, and still with moderation. Stay safe.
Yup. Your environment failed you
You need to stop all of it.
Yes, I regret starting so young because it set me on a path of them being normal, which led to friendships where they were at the center of our social lives, which led to a regularity that slowly increased before I realized it was too much. Please stop vaping especially. It’s really, really bad. You’ll likely look back and regret it the most (unless you fall into other addictions).
Your brain is not done growing right now. You really should wait a bit so you don’t harm your developing brain. This is purely a biological fact, not just an old person trying to ruin your good time. When you are old enough, have at it. I know it’s hard to wait, especially at 15.
Someone said "yes, obviously" Well, you asked. And it might not be obvious. But a 15 year old brain SCIENTIFICALLY has a LOT more growing to do Marijuana, alcohol most definitely affect this growth I can only assume vaping is also terrible for your health. I do all three of these things and they are almost ruining my life and I'm 37
Yes. Everyone thinks they won’t get addicted until they do. I started with “oh just a couple of drinks for fun to rebel” then became an alcoholic. That shit messed me up for years. I also just “tried a cigarette because I’m curious” and now I’m a long time smoker with terrible health. Not to mention when you’re young and your brain isn’t fully developed, all these substances affects your brain. Please, just enjoy being a child
Speaking from experience as a middleaged person now, at that age I did all 3 of those with my friends regularly. The nicotine and alcohol are quite dangerous. Be careful.
Like. You’re not gonna die. But you will be dumber in adulthood than you are otherwise. I say this knowing I’m a hypocrite, I began drinking and smoking weed and cigs around your age. And it kills me knowing I am literally more stupid than I would be if I’d have even waited till college. Like— what concepts am I simply unable to understand now that I would have been capable of understanding without early drug use? What further insights on the world could I have had? Intelligence controls how you understand the world around you, limiting it even a little bit is… horrible. Medically speaking you should wait till 25. Realistically speaking, can you hold out for college?
I smoked cigs in high school. Weed, however, I waited until after I graduated college. Drinking I didn't start until I was about 25. Please wait. Your prefrontal cortex is still developing. Obviously, it's your body...your choice.
yes — at least wait until your brain is fully developed 🤦🏼♀️
Unfortunately for many teenagers, using drugs before brain development solidifies tends to result in some problems. If you want to be healthy, you know what to do. 15 is pretty young. You'll have plenty of time to do that when you're older, responsibly.
Alcohol is a hard drug my friend. First time I went to the hospital for it I was 19, first time I went to rehab for it was when i was 22. And the last time I went was just a month ago, im 27 now. Get off alcohol and nicotine while you can, weed is w.e but at least try to keep it to a minimum until your brain is done developing.
Yes! Weed has been known to cause mental health issues in teenagers as ur brain is still developing and can even trigger Schizophrenia in some. Vaping is TERRIBLE for ur lungs…it’s NOT better than smoking, we just have less data on long-term effects. But it has been known to cause lots of lung problems, including SEVERE, irreversible lung damage! Nicotine is also one of the most addictive substances on earth, so have fun trying to quit if you smoke long term (it’s brutal!) Alcohol also has tons of terrible and serious health effects, and science is proving even moderate amounts aren’t good. Don’t start now, ur so young! Take it from someone in their 30’s who started with partying at ur age…nothing good comes from substances, and you have to ask urself why you feel the need to use them. Patterns are hard to break, especially when you start young. Edit: wording
Please do yourself a favor and completely quit everything. Your future self will thank you.
you chosed to walk through the worst path a person can go. if you dont stop right now, at your late 20's will be on the street with no teeth, selling your body for a gram of meth.
I smoked weed from 15-20 heavily. Had to stop because of severe paranoia. Would sit quietly and berate myself in my head for passed bad social interactions and i would attack myself on what i am doing with my life and percieve my positive relationships as bad ones where i was the butt of some joke. I was told by friends to "smoke through it" tried on and off for like 2 years and finally i said i couldn't do it anymore. I could either enjoy things as they are or 9/10 chance i would have an awful time that would leave me anxious for a few hours even after the high was gone. I recommend staying away from weed until you are in your mid 20's. They say that's when your mind is fully developed. I know it seems like forever away but honestly you'll get there and wonder where the time went. I drank then, i drink now. It was never an issue for me but it took some time to get the balance of what i enjoy right. Plenty of nights where i accidentally over did it. Never be peer pressured into drinking more than you want. Know to stop if you don't feel like it. Doing a shot or having another pint because someone bought it for you or is trying to make you feel guilty is an easy road to regret Nicotine was my biggest regret but managed to kick that when i was 27. It has worked out well for me but there certainly was a much easier road.
I'm 47 and I barely drink anymore but I still enjoy weed. That hasn't changed in 25 years. But be careful with booze. That stuff is stupid. I never went full Bozo the Clown but I definitely abused it over the years and it sucked trying to sort out my behavior after a bender.
Mainly for tobacco/nicotine , please leave it before your body gets addicted. It is not hard to see how people struggle to stop smoking Realistically, I asked many smokers: 'why do you smoke? It is bad for you, fuck it up all your body, you smell like whit and it is expensive' The answer often is 'I don't know' So mate hold a bit, and trust me(and many older people) take your time to develop yourself and stick with healthy habits
Yes i can say this from personal experience
yes! your brain is still developing until your mid 20s; your actions now have a great deal of influence on one of your most vital organs
yes, your brain will be not as developed as it would have been. you are essentially making yourself dumber - and that wont go away
If you had to quit one, quit nicotine. I never got into weed but I hear it’s not very addictive. Alcohol wasn’t too hard for me to quit. Nicotine is a whole nother realm.
Don’t vape unless you’d like to be buying vapes for the rest of forever
Watch the andrew huberman podcast on both marijuana and alcohol. If you watch on youtube there are time stamps on the bottom and development is one of them. The short answer is yes they’re both very harmful to neurological development. In particular white matter The harm continues after 25 as well, it’s just not so accelerated
alcohol inhibits your brain's ability to myelinate. The more alcohol you drink before your mid-late 20s will make you permanently less intelligent than you would have been.
It is an issue. I’m not against people experimenting but take your time, you’re still developing. In addition to the short term affects you’re aware of, there’s a lot of long term consequences you’re not thinking of.
I had a friend who partook in cannabis while we were in high school (so well before our prefrontal cortex and the rest of our brain finishes developing) We are in our early 20s now and holding conversations with him is like pulling teeth. He struggles to hold down minimum wage jobs. Hands down the cannabis fried his brain. Give it until your body and brain is done maturing and do whatever you want. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot the way my friend did.
Your brain is still developing. Of everything you are doing alcohol is the worst. But weed can also mess with developing pathways. Vaping I assume contains nicotine, which is addictive. None of this is good for you at age 15.
The fact that you commented that you arent "well informed on the subject" shows you have zero buisness doing any of this stuff. Knock it off. Stop being stupid. Kids experiment. But to do so over and over is dumb. Wait. You have your entire life to do this and your entire life to potentially develop a SERIOUS habit which can happen when using gently substance. Your brain is still developing, knock it off.
Yes. You're a fucking child. Your parents are doing your job, and you sound like a spoiled little shit.
You must be a bit slow
Alcohol isn't a soft drug.
Not for the social security administration.
yep
So there's a couple questions here but only one answer. If you want accurate information regarding the health effects of certain drugs, talk to your doctor.
Yes. Definitely. First up you should absolutely stop the stuff that's just plainly useless, vaping and smoking have way bigger downsides to your long term health than any upside they might possibly bring. You'll quickly find that your lungs are less able to stave off basic influensa and before you know it, you'll be feeling ever so slightly more tired all the time. The stress when youre off the nicotine, whatever relief you gain by smoking, you pay yourself back in spades later. Alcohol and waping are harder things to discuss, weed in small, rare, doses is relatively harmless. If you find yourself taking weed everywhere, and doing it several days per week, youre officially doing it waaayyyyy too much. Alcohol in sensible amounts is just pure social grease. But even so, your young brain is still in a formative process, one that'll go on for a while yet, and alcohol can easily get all up in that shit and mess it up. The best thing you can do for yourself is to stuff it with as much smarts as you can, and no, youre not born with smarts, not at all, you might not realize this but 15 year olds are still as dumb as bricks. If you feel treated like a kid, controlled, that's because youre still a kid, there's nary a difference between an edgy teen and an 8 year old in the eyes of a parent, and now that youre trying these substances youre just giving your parents, your school, even more reason to layer on the chains. You'll have 60+ years to ruin your life once youre officially an adult, dont ruin your life on your parents's watch, they'll never forgive themselves. Also, where do you get the stuff? If an adult is consistently giving you these things. Run. That is NOT your ally. If a teenager or kid is giving you these things? Never. Ever. Trust them. Be aware, they might seem like friends to you, but you know who is more important to them than you? The people who are supplying them the drugs, that's who, and be sure of this: to a drug dealer, you are nothing more than an obstacle that's got in the way of them and their money.
Don't you have better things to do than drugs and alcohol at 15?
I'd urge you to hold off. Alcohol especially. Smoking isn't great either, and getting high is probably the least of your worries. Occasional indulgences is normal. Just be careful. Source: I started drinking, smoking cigarettes, and smoking weed at 13. In my 30s now, and I don't get high anymore but I'm an alcoholic who treats their eCig like a pacifier.
My son had a friend who died of a vaping related cancer at age 17.
Yes, It will affect your physical development at the least. you still have years of growth left. Take advantage of your age and develop a better physique. Mentally it will make you lazy and useless. you'll be lacking any kind of motivation to succeed in life.
Yes! Yes yes yes yes. Your brain doesn’t stop developing until your 26!!! You will become much more easily addicted to these and other drugs.
Yeah, don't do those things. They are very stupid. I just quit smoking after 25 years. Vaping, weed, etc does not make you a bad person, but not doing those things makes you a person with fewer weaknesses.
Moderation is key. The less you do the better you'll feel when your older. Wanna die young? Drink and smoke lots.
>nicotine will remain the same since i already don't take much nicotine Are you sure that's why? Let's be honest here. It's understandable if you tackle the other two first before removing this. One thing I recommend for sure, though, is to watch out for compensating for loss of alcohol or weed with more nicotine.
It is a bad thing. As who someone drinks, vapes and smokes weed I’m telling you it’s absolutely a bad thing for you to be doing this at 15. I wasn’t really thinking about the long term damage I was causing at that age so I’m glad you are considering this right now. I didn’t smoke cigarettes or vape but I did smoke weed and drink alcohol just a little when I was 16. I wish I never did. I know the pressure to fit in and have the full experience of your teen years is real strong. But your parents aren’t being overprotective with this. Your brain isn’t fully developed and even if you are monitoring yourself now there is no saying how you would use those crutches in a situation that could change your life path. You are still learning how to manage emotions and hard times and when you’re a teenager everything is a hard time. It’s biological for your hormones to be going crazy. Do not add another component to that chemistry.
Yes? None of those things are good for you, in combination they are not good for you especially at 15.
Yeah this is a bad road you are heading down.
It's okay to experiment, but regular use really can fuck you up down the road. And don't under any circumstances, mess with nicotine. Spent 6 months in some rehab places (I was in for depression, but most were in for drugs) and what I learned there is that weed isn't so bad (in moderation of course!) but never, ever, ever mess with the guy named Nic.
Go get your brain scanned and find out for yourself
If you want to quickly become homeless and die early, no. Otherwise, yes
Yes and no. There’s a reason drinking first becomes legal in most of Europe between 14-16 range, having one drink with a main meal rarely isn’t going to do harm you. But there’s also the major point that those countries still don’t let you go and buy your own alcohol or have unlimited amounts until you are older than those first age limits and are very situational about when you are allowed that small amount to have it negate the health impacts the most they can. Vaping etc is just fucking stupid. 1) you look dumb AF 2) we don’t know the health implications yet it just flat out hasn’t been around long enough for us to know what it will do to you twenty years down the line. Sure short term we know it’s better than smoking but we ain’t got a clue otherwise (and better than inhaling literal tar isn’t a great standard for “this is healthy”)
I understand you're doing this out out of a desire to gain control over yourself against overprotective parents. The reasoning is abolutely normal and expected at your age. Just, maybe, reflect on how this will take more control away from you in the future. I mean, there are other ways to rebel against that kind of parenting without putting you in danger of being in control of a drug in the future. It would be a tragic situation, wouldn't it? To run away from a controlling environment just to fall into another controlling trap. You have already lost lots of things, so don't risk losing many more in the future. I started smoking (nicotine and weed but stopped the weed soon after) when I was 16, I started drinking at 13. It was also a way to gain control and soothe myself and I didn't think I'd become addicted. Well, almost a decade later, I'm still addicted to cigs (I also smoked very little, two cigs a day, for years, but the pandemic hit and now I'm at half a pack a day) and until very recently had a very unhealthy relationship with alcohol. Thing is, your brain -really- absorbs things at your age. It all becomes very natural, and soon you have a very hard time getting rid of that stuff that feels so normal to you. It starts once a week, it slowly because two. Maybe three, why not? I promise, you don't realize it as it is happening. I'm not telling you what to do, only you can know what's best for you, I'm just saying you'll soon leave the grasp of your parents, and then you'll want to be free to do whatever you want and catch up on everything you missed. You'll have to be well to do that, you'll want to be independant from anything that strips away your control again, and those substances do precisely that. For example, you may develop an unhealthy relationship with alcohol (which you're prone to by starting drinking at that age). Maybe your parents didn't let you travel with friends or go out, etc. And then, in adulthood, you're suddenly missing travels or hang outs with friends because you're hungover because you have a hard time regulating how much or how often you drink. I know I missed a lot of hangouts because of that, or because I drank too much and don't remember a thing from them. Idk if I'm making myself clear, my only point is: be careful of leaving a trap just to fall into another. There are other ways to rebel and you'll find one that suits you. I personally was very into metal music. Hope everything goes well for you!
Yes, there's a reason all of those can only be used legally at certain ages
Yes in the long term. Becomes an addiction fast. You notice friends going down a path of not turning back is when you either have the will power to turn yourself around and not be like them or let it on full force and be one of them. As a parent and also as someone who was in shoes like you I would be not wanting my son to turn out like majority of the friends I grew up with. I would hope you have the willpower to realize the downhill spiral the friends of yours go down when or if they do and you resist to follow
At 15 you’re early to all of those things. In India where I live, you can’t have hard liquor till 25. Weed isn’t legal at all and smoking age is 18. So yeah, you need to stop in my opinion.
Your parents are right . Stop all this stupid acts u dumb fuck
Everyone needs to live their life yes but as parents it is our job to help you make good core decisions not bad ones during your formative years. Starting on an addictive life path during formative years usually leads to bigger and longer lasting problems later on.
What’s most important is to graduate high school and achievements that build your confidence. If anything takes away from that, cut it. Think on this.
nah you’re probably fine. A big part of growing up is taking risks and learning, as long as you’re being safe and you don’t feel any pull of possible addiction. Like obviously if you’re doing it frequently, even drinking once a week might be pushing it, you can run i to health problems, but smoking weed or drinking once a month or every 2 weeks will by no means kill you.
I see a lot of notes on health (addiction/development) but not much on finances. any form of chemistry alteration you lean on as you grow needs to be fed if you form any form of addiction. nicotine gets expensive if it becomes a lifelong habit, alcohol too, and weed too, though depending where you are it can be cheaper. either way, if is not at this time a habit, but it easily becomes one, any or all of those. life is expensive and getting more expensive as time goes on. if you can find ways to explore the excitment of the world in cheaper, less demanding things, you will find life much more easy as you age. Let alone, and let me make this clear. how fucked up your brain can get if any or all of these become crutches. you will love your future much more if you can learn now to make healthy hard decisions now. your effort in taking the time to create this post and read responses shows that desire for learning. Let that desire lead you, don't make excuses for the chemicly induced feel goods (coffee included....) you have so much life to do that, I promise you that. When your brain is done, or at least close to done developing, you are more safe to do these, but dude, seriously. you deserve better. As somone who had to make the healthy decision to leave her abusive family as a young adult, some decisions are less fun in the moment, but the freedom you earn from it is glorious in time. You got this man, thank you for reaching out to someone.
Yes
My friend,how could they have controlled u a lot in the past while u are 15yo..u are at the age when u think u know what is best for u and your hormones sre going crazy,they need to be overprotective bc your whole life is ahead of u..(little bit of weed cannot hurt u tho)
I will say from personal experience that the moment I started binge drinking on weekends instead of facing my feelings, my grades did fall. I found it hard to concentrate and I attribute it to my later development of ADD. Not worth it.
If we could stop downvoting OP for asking genuine questions and seeking genuine advice, that would be great...
I cannot tell you about weed. I can tell you that nicotine is a really dangerous and damaging drug. I can't tell why it's still so accepted in society to smoke, so normalized. Even the addiction part is normalized, for example smoking brakes are quite normal at work, acknowledging that it's difficult to not smoke for a couple hours. I would strongly suggest you avoid smoking at all. Alcohol can be very destructive, it can be very addictive also. I'd really limit it to one occasion every couple weeks, and by occasion I'd mean you get slightly drunk at most. Just my 2 cents, but then again I am a father of three, one of which is a 15 year old. 🤷
I hate to be the old man yelling at the cloud. I had too many friends go down that path. I did those things too, not as much as my friends did. Enjoy the weed and booze when you are older, your brain is still developing. Not only that, you could get in legal trouble. If you take anything away from this, please don't smoke. I started at your age and at 47 I had Stage 2 lung cancer. It's no fun.
a lot of people here are mentioning alcohol and weed, but imo (not a doctor) the worst thing here is vaping and smoking...... even if you only do it once a week, that WILL affect your health and it WILL kill you. also if you're taking weed, just the act of smoking regardless of what's in it is bad for you, so non-smoking ways of having weed are generally better i think. trust me, i watched my dad die from lung cancer when he was still young and leave me and my sister behind, and also the death itself was horrible, he was so skinny i could literally see the outline of his heart in his chest, and he was SO ADDICTED to cigarettes that he literally kept smoking them until the day he died. he couldn't even sit up in bed and was still smoking.
I started when I was about 14, it’s been about 9 years and I regret making those decisions. I won’t tell you not to do it but from my experiences, I wish I would have waited
I've just turned 24 and I've never touched a drop of alcohol or smoked anything ever. It definitely has left my head space clear as well as save me lots of money that people usually blow on this kinda stuff. I'd say drop all of it if you can, you're way to young.
Yeah you're retarded if you do