Colos trended last month and despite working with substance use and addiction patients, it didn’t occur to me what the trend was about until I mentioned Colorado in a conversation with my cousin and he echoed colos.
Marijuana is the most widely produced and used illicit drug globally, with its use spanning across all ages. Even worse, there’s this misconception that it’s not only safe, but actually healthy, and inspiring; especially for creatives. Is it really?
Sure, it can make you euphoric and relaxed, and many users take it for reasons such as needing to clear their head and forget their sorrows, but what happens when the high wears off? The problems remain and the adverse effects set in. Poor sleep and appetite, low mood, anxiety, paranoia, hallucinations, poor memory, reduced attention, learning difficulties, slow physical and mental coordination, and more.
Long term use comes with even more consequences: respiratory diseases-especially when smoked, possible cardiovascular and visual problems, mental illnesses like schizophrenia and substance use disorder amongst others. Weed in pregnancy causes harm to the unborn child as well. The social consequences go without saying; from problems in personal relationships i.e. with family, friends and loved ones over substance use, to those at school, work and bigger social settings as a result of poor performance.
You may wonder if all this isn’t overkill, but it really isn’t. Even worse, how many people do you know that use only weed? Marijuana is a gateway drug; its use almost always precedes the use of other illicit drugs like cocaine, hallucinogens like LSD and ecstasy, methamphetamine, abused prescription drugs, to mention a few. So what do you think? Is weed harmless or not?
Featured images: Getty images
