LogFAQs > #966896439

To start off with, "weedbro" isn't synonymous with "pro-weed". Every time this topic comes up, I have to disclaim up and down that I'm pro-legalization and pro-regulation and pro-decriminalization - the latter to the point of releasing people in jail for weed-related offences. That's not just a smokescreen for me to crack down on the Devil's Lettuce or whatever the fuck - as someone who drinks way too much, I'm pro-weed because I think it's probably less harmful than excessive alcohol abuse. Let's get that out of the way: I have criticisms with how weed is presented as a substance with no downsides, but I am wholly pro-weed.

And what makes that so fucking hard is when the stupidest motherfuckers on the planet make these drooling statements about how weed/THC is less lethal than water, how smoking it is fine because there's no ammonia or other additives like in tobacco etc. And I've just discovered my next least favourite argument: telling people who've struggled with pot that it wasn't the weed that impacted them, it was that person's underlying mental conditions that weed exacerbated that was the real culprit. That, or that critiquing the mental effects of weed is bad because "you're in a minority of people that experience these effects this severely" - as if that disqualifies you from having anything important or relevant to say.

A YouTuber I follow just put up a community ask about how they're one year sober from weed, and that he's willing to answer any questions. He goes on to elaborate that marijuana usage amplified a sense of dissociation within his brain and made it significantly worse, to the point that he still deals with this amplified dissociation to this day, and that a big part of breaking free of weed as a substance he relied on was overcoming the spin that weed was some miracle drug.

Keep in mind, this is in reference to his own experiences getting clean from weed, which he sees as having a negative effect on his life. He's not saying "weed is bad, period", he's talking about how it affected him negatively on a community post about him being sober for a year which is something he's both proud of and willing to field questions about.

Enter this guy:

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/0/1/7/AAbh80AADgIB.jpg
So he's in a minority of people who experience these problems, as if that discounts his struggles with smoking, and his own mental issues and paranoia are why things got worse for him when he was smoking.

Substance abuse is often fed by underlying mental health issues. But when those substances actively fuck with our brains and make us worse, and we realise what's happening and make a concerted effort to sober up, responding to that with "well actually it wasn't the substance that made things worse, it was you" is really fucking shitty. I feel like this is like telling a recovering alcoholic that they just couldn't handle their liquor.

And it's hard to talk about this because of course addiction issues are exacerbated by personal issues. Alcohol amplifies unhappiness, but there's often an underlying unhappiness that alcohol abuse feeds on. There is such a thing as blaming a substance for personal failings, like cursing someone out and blaming it on the alcohol.

But when you talk about how a substance affected you, and how you had to make a concerted effort to stop using it because it was making you worse - it's a real kick in the dick to hear someone go "well actually it's not the substance's fault, you're in a minority of people who are affected by this and you're blaming your own lack of responsibility and personal issues on a substance that I personally have had no such issues with. It's irresponsible to claim that these issues were caused by a substance when the real cause was your own shortcomings as a person".

Like who fucking does that?

You try to articulate a point like this and the fucking defence squad rolls out in full force to undermine the point and spruik for pot in place of the original point. You have the really entrenched people who are saying that any dissent from the party line is only to weaken the pro-weed platform and make it harder to legalise, and that a weed-critical viewpoint is ignorance informed by Big Pharma's years of disinformation against marijuana. And no matter how much you say "no, actually - I want weed to be regulated and sold like alcohol and tobacco, because I agree that it's a better alternative", the party line has to be "weed has no downsides, it's not addictive, it doesn't affect brain chemistry even if you smoke it for 30 years".

I'll reiterate that I'm pro-weed. I believe in legalisation, regulation and decriminalisation. But weedbros are fucking abhorrent, and downplaying anyone whose life has been negatively impacted by weed as a minority too small to seriously consider is irresponsible and shitty. Legalise weed, fuck weedbros.