inhaling smoke is always harmful. the whole "weed is a plant, and plants are good" argument is invalid. so is tobacco & that's bad for people. sorry for my rants, but my grandfather passed away a few months ago from lung cancer because he smoked from when he was 14 until about 15 years ago.

Weed is not harmless. Sure it may have some benefits, but it changes the chemistry of your brain and after continued use may make your brain unable to function the way it needs to without the chemicals in the weed you smoke. Any substance that alters brain chemistry should be used in moderation and only when necessary. In other words as long as a doctor feels it will benefit you and they monitor its effects weed should be fine. Its like anything else you put in your body only put what and how much your body needs or it will have negative effects on your health. Even some vitamins are leathal in certain levels.

See everyone commenting is brainwashed too. ;-; I understand what you're saying and you're right. sorry there's lots of dumb people.

#53 Brain chemistry is only altered in those who are heavy smokers... Anything is excess can potentially be bad for you and cannabis is no exception.

56 - Have you considered that not everyone who doesn't agree with you is brainwashed? The studies on harmfulness seem to be about a 50/50 between sides.

59 that is false... the feeling of getting high that you like from smoking weed is the result of the chemicals in the weed changing the chemical balance in the brain and alters the neural pathways in the brain.

Being "high" means your brain is being altered

It's not the inhaling smoke that is extremely harmful, it's tobacco. Tobacco contains chemicals that can cause cancer, but weed can't

64- Look up the real reason cannabis was made illegal... You may not like what you find.

My uncle had heart failure two months ago just about. He stopped smoking until a week or two ago; it pisses me off that he continued his habit even after it caused his heart failure.

Sorry, but smoke from any source, particuraly plant sources, forms tar in the lungs when it meets the moisture there. Not to mention that is can trigger schizophrenia, psychosis, comas, cause apoplexies, weight disorders, heart problems, blood pressure problems, depression... So saying it is "harmless" is as much of a load of bullshit as saying that alcohol is good for you. And all that is barely touching on the damage tar buildup would cause over the years. If people want to use it, fine, but people need to stop spreading misinformation about how it is a 'harmless' substance, just like people need to stop glamorizing alcohol and ignoring the damage it causes over time even with only 'occasional' frequency.

It is a drug, just an increasingly legal one

Just because something is legal in some places doesn't mean it isn't a drug. Put the blunt down and think for a second. Besides, a person can be morally against a legal action and act this way as well.

Advil is a drug, coffee is a drug, heroin is a drug, weed is a drug. Weed is a useful, fun, and reasonably safe one but it's still a drug.

No, it's a drug. Alcohol is a drug too, yet it's legal. Drug doesn't mean bad, medications are drugs.

Not sure how "useful" it is

Drugs are anything that alter the normal chemical based processes in a being in any manner. It does have some merits in treating pain that is unaffected by other medication, or in cases where the patient cannot be put on other medication for pain, but in both those cases the refined form is more useful in controlling the symptoms while minimizing risks of contaminates and avoiding the hazard associated with inhaling plant based smoke.

#77 it has tons of medicinal uses, please educate yourself. Also, bottom line, it's useful for getting baked

He said he smoked it once, which could have been when he was a teenager.

I don't know why this got downvoted. I was thinking the exact same thing! Op should just ask her mother if she ever smoked weed and see what she says. I bet if she answers honestly it will be yes, even if it were only once.

I highly doubt that literally every single young person in the seventies smoked weed. People would likely say of my generation that we all had sex and got drunk in highschool, but not I. As with all stereotypes, there will be exceptions here and there.

There's something to be proud about