-- Posted by Neugen at 8:02 pm on Aug. 26, 2008 Human beings want to be recognized as part of a group.  They will battle for esteem because they want to be recognized.  A common day example of this battle is sports, where people compete to see who is more physically fit.   Now this next part is my assumption. Groups are ranked higher and lower in the social ladder, and it's the goal of most everyone to try and be part of a higher social ladder.  When a person fails to become part of a higher social ladder, he or she falls down to the next.  Pot is not considered to be a part of the higher up social ladders, so when you're denied esteem from a higher ladder, you fall down in the social standings until you find a ladder that fits you.  Groups that smoke pot, that are lower on the ladder, are easier to become esteemed in.  So when a person is denied access to the upper groups of the social ladder, he or she will fall down to an easier step to gain esteem in.   Thoughts? -- Posted by dreamweaver at 8:03 pm on Aug. 26, 2008 Peer pressure... that's always the answer to the reason why people smoke pot though. -- Posted by 420mike at 8:03 pm on Aug. 26, 2008 Your a fucking moron.  Pot heads are not any lower in society that sober people. -- Posted by xsnortingxashesx at 8:05 pm on Aug. 26, 2008 Well, I can kind of see some truth in this, but since both of my parents are habitual pot smokers, I can see some flaws in there, at least since they don't fit in that. My mom was very mid-level of popularity, and my dad was resident bad ass until he was kicked out of school. Also, most of the people in my school smoke pot, regardless of popularity. -- Posted by Neugen at 8:05 pm on Aug. 26, 2008 Quote: from 420Mike at 11:03 pm on Aug. 26, 2008 Your a fucking moron. Pot heads are not any lower in society that sober people. Maybe I didn't communicate myself correctly but that wasn't what I was saying. -- Posted by matto at 8:05 pm on Aug. 26, 2008 As someone who went through a phase of smoking pot a lot, that's pretty much what happened to me. I moved to a strange place, wasn't accepted easily, started smoking pot, was accepted, then moved back home, and stopped smoking pot, and I'm friends with people who do and do note smoke pot again.  My school is pretty accepting in general, but I had started experimenting with drugs before moving. Psychologically, I'm pretty sure the reason my drug use elevated to the level it was at was in order to be accepted though, as you said. I'm sure that this isn't the case for everyone who habitually smokes pot, though. -- Posted by Neugen at 8:06 pm on Aug. 26, 2008 Quote: from xsnortingxashesx at 11:05 pm on Aug. 26, 2008 Well, I can kind of see some truth in this, but since both of my parents are habitual pot smokers, I can see some flaws in there, at least since they don't fit in that. My mom was very mid-level of popularity, and my dad was resident bad ass until he was kicked out of school.   Also, most of the people in my school smoke pot, regardless of popularity. Yeah I don't mean to present it as fact or being correct, just sort of something that popped into my head. -- Posted by MotoMojo at 8:15 am on Aug. 28, 2008 I would say this is one reason people smoke pot, but everyone has different reasons. Actually, when I started smoking, the idea initially came to me through this forum. I came into contact with folks like Tomekk and Mellownatts, who informed me that pot was not actually Satan's Sow. I got curious, did about 2-3 months of e-research/encyclopedic research, and came to the conclusion that I would feel much safer smoking pot than drinking alcohol. I wouldn't call myself a "pothead", and I don't feel that I was peer pressured at all, since I was alone when I started smoking. People on ALL rungs of the social ladder smoke. It's just that people higher up who smoke are EXTREMELY unlikely to admit it to anyone but their spouse or something, because they have a lot more to lose. (i.e. job, medical license, reputation in community) My girlfriend's dad, a gastroenterologist, and I had a similar conversation, and his sentiment was along the lines of, "I really have to leave the state to 'act a fool.'" -- Posted by The Artful Dodger at 9:18 am on Aug. 28, 2008 I habitually smoke pot cause I like being high. And its fun as a group activity. You make it sound like weed smokers are some kind of personality-lacking bottom-feeders. All sorts of people, of all sorts of social standings and occupations do ALL SORTS of drugs. Athletes, intellectuals, artists, etc. It really doesn't matter. It's a habit. Like smoking cigarettes. But hell of a lot nicer. -- Posted by Event Horizon at 2:48 pm on Aug. 28, 2008 This is true for those who abuse pot. those who use it fall no-where near this category... -- Posted by Wilder at 3:50 pm on Aug. 28, 2008 Where I live, nearly everyone in school smokes pot. Frats and sororities, freshmen and seniors, professors and students both above and undergrad all are largely smokers. Every party has beer pong and people passing around smoke. I was the first one of my friends to want to try to smoke pot; it was a decision made entirely on research and curiosity. As I got older (and started smoking more) I only gained popularity, two factors which I consider largely unrelated. I've never been in a situation like the OP has described, and I have experienced very few stoners in that situation, though I suppose that such a scenario could occur somewhere with the conditions that it describes. -- Posted by Micus at 6:23 pm on Aug. 28, 2008 At my school, all the "popular" kids smoked pot. Some of the "unpopular" ones didn't. I didn't really see a correlation between the two. I smoke pot personally for two reasons; I like the way it feels, and it makes everything more interesting/enlightening. The other, is it's often easier to feel more musical when you're high. It's only natural. Smoking pot then playing music kind of go hand in hand. -- Posted by Event Horizon at 7:48 pm on Aug. 28, 2008 Quote: from Micus at 6:23 pm on Aug. 28, 2008 At my school, all the "popular" kids smoked pot. Some of the "unpopular" ones didn't. I didn't really see a correlation between the two.   I smoke pot personally for two reasons; I like the way it feels, and it makes everything more interesting/enlightening. The other, is it's often easier to feel more musical when you're high. It's only natural. Smoking pot then playing music kind of go hand in hand. Agreed 100% my roommate plays acoustic guitar and I play the Djembe, and anytime we get high and play, the music is so much deeper and, really, natural sounding. As I said before, your view of those who smoke pot may work for the uninspired, and those who only smoke it to fit in, but then, your argument is circular. [Those who smoke it to fit in only smoke it to fit in... duh] -- Posted by MotoMojo at 10:06 pm on Sep. 1, 2008 I totally agree that it can GREATLY enhance musical creativity given the right circumstances. It's truly unbelievable.