Marijuana

[burns1de]

Sure, some claim to have used drugs to reach a higher plane of awareness or oneness with the universe, and I can see how that might be possible. However, all too often those same people have come to depend on the drug(s) of choice to maintain some other sort of equilibrium that appears from this vantage point to be a hindrance.

Maybe for some, but not for me.

Psilocybin mushrooms are a fantastic way to induce a full-blown spiritual awakening in its user (given the right mindset and environment) and it is by far my favourite drug. And yet, I do mushroom trips every six months or so. Anyone who has used a psychedelic drug like this one (or LSD or mescaline, but particularly 'shrooms) will tell you that the 'oneness' feeling that you have with the univers under the influence is something that is faaaar beyond mind-blowing - it truly is mind-expanding. You just don't see things the same way after an experience like this, it completely realigns your perspective and your priorities in life. It's very hard to explain to someone who has never taken 'shrooms, but I believe it's something that everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime.

The fact that this drug is outlawed by governments almost everywhere on Earth is a very good example of how The Man(tm) desperately wants to keep us down and in line, like sheeps. Psychedelics awakens you from the default slumber that the powers that be impose on us from an early age. Once you embark on that journey, there is no turning back.

I'm just glad I awoke like more and more people everyday.

 

[Male Bonding etc]

Yes, I hear that argument from those who've sampled the psychedelics, but I rarely see them actually doing that much with their newfound awareness.

 

[ganja4me]

Wow another thing I have in commin with burns1de. There is nothing better than mushrooms. It is the most amazing and enlightening experience you will ever have. I like to take them and chill in the woods or on a secluded little beach. Either by myself or with one or two other people but it definitely needs to be a peaceful and calm experience for me. It is like dicovering a whole new world and the euphoria is just amazing.

 

[deleted105034]

I do plenty! Do you even know how many vegetables I've turned into bongs???

But seriously though why do you have to do anything with your new awareness? Can't you just umm..be aware of it?

 

[B_Rivas_Boricua4Ever]

I hate weed, the smell alone is disgusting. Far better things to do. It also played a role in my brother's death, may he rest in peace.

 

[Male Bonding etc]

I do plenty! Do you even know how many vegetables I've turned into bongs???

But seriously though why do you have to do anything with your new awareness? Can't you just umm..be aware of it?

Thanks, I think you are making my point for me.

 

[psidom]

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/4356908/
here is something i did with it.:smile:

 

[GBF64]

Bubblegum, Yum!

 

[ganja4me]

Purple Haze, all over my brain....:439:

 

[Male Bonding etc]

2k by ~liquidiris on deviantART
here is something i did with it.:smile:

As with so much art, knowing the artist's intent, frame of mind, recent experiences, and so on can make the art more meaningful to the observer. What you've shown has elements I like, but without drugs or explanation, it does not lift me to a higher plane or guide me to new understandings. Please avoid telling me how many thousands of dollars it sold for. Instead give me some indication of why YOU feel it DOES something.

 

[psidom]

first off you just now came of like a dick
i was cool with you...you seemed rational.
but that whole "please don't tell me you sold it for"....very tactful man.
my point was herb gives patience...i doubt you have the patience to be creative.
learn to love the sacred in life.art and love.

like a cage your body is embodied with a life
to golden for you to see,you are blinded by it's beauty
you are too astounded to crown it.
you are your own and for that you will be stoned.
detoured,and so scared you forget that you forgot how to remember
the roots of this tree will never let you down.
now drink.

 

[burns1de]

As with so much art, knowing the artist's intent, frame of mind, recent experiences, and so on can make the art more meaningful to the observer. What you've shown has elements I like, but without drugs or explanation, it does not lift me to a higher plane or guide me to new understandings. Please avoid telling me how many thousands of dollars it sold for. Instead give me some indication of why YOU feel it DOES something.

Who said anything about money? I think pisdom posted this mostly for the benefit of us fellow psychedelics users - swirling patterns (including fractal-like stuff) is a very common sight/hallucinations when you take sacred mushrooms and LSD, hence the image he posted. Great piece btw, psi.

I'm not sure why you're acting like this...

 

[snoozan]

2k by ~liquidiris on deviantART
here is something i did with it.:smile:

i actually really like this. it's very cool.

i'm an artists and though i don't use weed or psychedelics anymore, they can be fun and help you tap into your creativity. i find my work is different, not better or worse depending on what substance i'm using... or even just what frame of mind i'm in.

i'm bipolar. i take drugs (prescribed mostly) to make me feel less fucked up. i find it interesting in a "brain chemistry is cool" way that i've felt that same awareness and connection with the universe when i'm particularly insane as one does when on psychedelics. i've also had my share of "bad trips" without being on anything.

it's interesting to note that no drugs do anything to your brain that it's not 100% capable of doing on its own. drugs only affect chemicals that are already in your brain.

well, time for me to take my pills.

 

[D_Gunther Snotpole]

it's interesting to note that no drugs do anything to your brain that it's not 100% capable of doing on its own. drugs only affect chemicals that are already in your brain.

I don't quite go that far. Sure, the brain chemicals are there, but their release and interaction are changed by the substances in the drug ... which itself is not already in the brain. That's why drugs can cause dependence.
The feeling I get stoned on weed (still an occasional indulgence) or on mushrooms (nothing for several years, but still exerting an appeal) is entirely different from my normal experience.

 

[ganja4me]

It puts you in a completely different state of mind. Words can't really describe it accurately and detailed enough.

 

[Mr. Snakey]

My best friend from Naples smokes it like crazy. I love the taste of it and thats it. He dont deal in comerical bullshit either. We are talking some serious tree. I get nothing from it and dont smoke it.

 

[Male Bonding etc]

first off you just now came of like a dick
i was cool with you...you seemed rational.
but that whole "please don't tell me you sold it for"....very tactful man.
my point was herb gives patience...i doubt you have the patience to be creative.

My apologies. I was jumping between threads and success-as-defined-by-dollars-earned was on my mind. Being a dick was not not my intent.

Regarding patience, creativity, and doing something meaningful, I am generalizing here, but my experience with people who regularly do drugs (including alcohol used in excess) is that they get too patient, complacent really, about what is meaningful beyond their own egocentric perspective. Thus, yes, they can be extremely creative and push the envelope in the arts, but they too easily withdraw from challenges that require long term commitment. Meanwhile, they are too impatient and too quick to jump into the immediate challenges; thus, they are too easily angered and become confrontational about things of momentary or solely personal importance.

I am sure you will insist there are holes in my assertions, but please take a little time to consider what I am saying and observe your own behaviors and those of your friends who are regular users.

 

[burns1de]

Regarding patience, creativity, and doing something meaningful, I am generalizing here, but my experience with people who regularly do drugs (including alcohol used in excess) is that they get too patient, complacent really, about what is meaningful beyond their own egocentric perspective. Thus, yes, they can be extremely creative and push the envelope in the arts, but they too easily withdraw from challenges that require long term commitment. Meanwhile, they are too impatient and too quick to jump into the immediate challenges; thus, they are too easily angered and become confrontational about things of momentary or solely personal importance.

"Do drugs"... as if all drugs had the same effect on people. An habitual user of cocaine will not act the same way as an abitual user of heroin or an habitual user of hashish or an habitual user of alcohol... When people start abusing the drugs, then it becomes a problem usually. Of course, 'abuse' is loosely defined and varies from people to people, which is why I tend to stay away from generalizations.

I am sure you will insist there are holes in my assertions, but please take a little time to consider what I am saying and observe your own behaviors and those of your friends who are regular users.

I did, and it's true for two or three of them, really not the majority. The biggest procrastinator I know never takes any drugs, except for the government-ok'd and socially-acceptable ones (alcohol, and then he only drinks socially).

 

[playainda336]

Well I'm not saying it's healthy but it's not that bad. Some scientists did tests on weed and said they don't believe it even causes cancer. Vaporizers are supposed to get rid of most of the toxins in it. Anything that you smoke is going to do some damage to your lungs but weed does a lot less damage than tobacco will. Blunts will do the most damage because of the paper. If you are smoking just the weed it is not that bad.

​

Any kind of bad is bad enough for me. I take a Kantian stance on smoking.

 

[Male Bonding etc]

When people start abusing the drugs, then it becomes a problem usually. Of course, 'abuse' is loosely defined and varies from people to people, which is why I tend to stay away from generalizations.

I try to avoid generalizaations also, but they do help us function sometimes, and they do stand "generally" in some circumstances.

Whatever drug you wish to focus on, it appears that a large number of people who use that drug regularly run the risk of abusing that drug. Abuse is a subjective term, but I personally have a low tolerance for when people have allowed something to alienate them from important relationships and to muddy their cognitive skills. Someone else might consider it abuse when a person makes choices that endanger life and limb, both their own and others'. Some only think it's abuse when someone is addicted or so habitually uses a substance that they do it without thought.

It may surprise you that I do NOT think the current laws making SOME drug use illegal are helpful. Let them all, or most of them, be legal! However, I do see this as an education issue, a social issue, a self-esteem issue, and body chemistry issue. If a person is happy, healthy, engaged socially, and feeling generally balanced and productive, he or she is unlikely to be using drugs. Do we have a lot of people self-medicating? Of course! Do we have a lot of people who are unhappy, alienated, unappreciated, and so on? Sure! And we have a lot of drug abuse, but it does not solve the problem, and in many (if not most) cases, it exacerbates it.