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If you smoke marijuana, does that mean that you’re eventually going to start smoking cigarettes? According to one recent study, um, sort of. Apparently, prolonged exposure to THC, which is the main ingredient in marijuana, can make you more vulnerable to the addictive aspects of nicotine, which is found in cigarettes. Basically, new research says that smoking pot can lead to smoking cigarettes down the road, especially for teens.

This sounds a little weird to me. I mean, smoking cigarettes and smoking weed are two entirely different things. How can one lead to another? I was really skeptical about this and hesitant to believe it, but apparently the science is there to back it up. The lead scientist of the study says that in the majority of cases, people start smoking marijuana before they start smoking cigarettes. He adds that teens who smoke weed are even more likely to develop an addiction to cigarettes when they’re older because the longer you smoke marijuana, the greater your risk is for being addicted to tobacco.

To sum things up quickly, a lot of THC in your system makes you more likely to be addicted to tobacco. So if you’ve been smoking pot for a few years, and one day you decide to pick up a cigarette and try it out, you’re more likely to become addicted than someone who has never smoked pot in their life.

Sounds scary, right? Yeah, sort of. Who knew that marijuana could be a gateway drug for cigarettes? As researchers pointed out, cigarettes are usually the ones being called a gateway drug for other drugs… like weed. But I guess that all we knew is wrong. Sigh.

This doesn’t mean that just because you smoke pot you’re going to smoke cigarettes at some point in your life. But if you do smoke marijuana, this is a pretty big warning sign to never consider trying a cigarette. Not only are cigarettes really, really bad for you, but you’re also now even more at risk for getting hooked on nicotine. And as any former smoker can tell you (you can talk to my grandpa about it if you want), nicotine addictions are not fun.

What do you think about this study? Do you smoke cigarettes? Would you ever try? Does this make sense to you? Tell us in the comments.

Which is worse for you: smoking weed or drinking alcohol?

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The Justin Bieber pot pics made Beliebers go nuts. Is Bieber smoking weed such a big deal? | Source: WENN

Pictures of Justin Bieber smoking pot hit TMZ this weekend, and Beliebers and non-Beliebers went nuts. It was like no one could believe that hey, Justin Bieber is an 18-year-old guy, and some 18-year-old guys like smoking weed. The thing is, Justin Bieber isn’t just any 18-year-old guy–he’s a rich, powerful, successful 18-year-old guy who’s probably never heard the word “no.” More importantly, Justin Bieber is an 18-year-old with a pretty spotless reputation (save for that whole Barbara Palvin-Selena Gomez drama).

When the photos first surfaced, a lot of Beliebers were in denial: they claimed the shots were Photoshopped, that it was a Justin Bieber look-alike, that it was just a cigarette or a pretzel (yes, some fans on tumblr said that). No one seemed to want to accept the fact that Justin Bieber is, at the end of the day, a person, and people make mistakes–especially when people are under that much pressure to be perfect. (Just ask Demi Lovato.)

Who’s to blame for Justin Bieber smoking weed? Some pals told TMZ that they think Lil Twist is behind it, calling him a bad influence on the Canadian superstar. But is that really the case? A lot of us have friends that may be into negative stuff, but at the end of the day, we all have free will. We can choose to be like, “No thanks!” and pass the blunt along to the next person who feels like toking up or pass the bottle onto the next person who wants to down a shot. It’s pretty pointless to pin the blame on another person for one person’s actions. Lil Twist, at least in the leaked photos, never held a gun to Justin Bieber’s perfectly-coiffed head and told him, “Bro, smoke this.”

That’s not to say Lil Twist may not have influenced Justin Bieber to try pot. Listen, I get that sometimes pressure can be heavy to do certain things, and FOMO is real. But if anyone pressures you to do something you don’t want to do, that person isn’t your friend, because they don’t actually care about your feelings. And most people aren’t going to be mad at you if you refrain from drinking, smoking, or doing other stuff you’re not too comfy with. In fact, they may not mind at all–more weed for them!

That said, the fact is, a lot of people smoke pot, and in a lot of places, it’s legal. What I can’t believe is that he was dopey enough to let the photos leak, because now a lot of angry parents may not buy their daughters tickets to see his shows.

Let this be a lesson: I’m not condoning smoking weed or drinking at all, but I know that regardless of what I tell you, some of you will do it anyway. That’s your prerogative, it’s your life–I’m not gonna tell you what to do, because I think you’re smart enough to decide for yourself! But! If you’re going to smoke pot, drink underage or generally do stuff you don’t want people to see? Please make sure no cameras or phones are out when you do it–and make sure you’re only around people you know you can trust when you do. Unless of course, you want your future boss or college admissions officers to see ‘em!

Do you think Justin Bieber smoking pot is a big deal? Do you think the Justin Bieber pot pictures were real or Photoshopped? How do you think Justin Bieber smoking weed will affect his career? Do the Justin Bieber pot pictures change how you think of or view him? Tell us in the comments!

Justin Bieber confronts the paparazzi!

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In Colorado, legalized marijuana led to pot smoking clubs–where people 21 and up won’t be bothered for smoking weed. | Source: ShutterStock

The pot smoking clubs are becoming popular in Colorado, where–as a lot of you already know–under a new law, people over 21 can carry up to an ounce of marijuana and are allowed to up to grow six marijuana plants. People over 21 are allowed to smoke in private places, but not in public–which is pretty much for their own good, since marijuana is still technically illegal under federal law (which trumps state law always).

The difference between a pot smoking club and a bar with booze (besides the smell)? At bars, people buy alcohol. Since marijuana isn’t legalized nationally yet, pot smoking clubs can’t actually sell marijuana to people who spend time there smoking weed.

Colorado’s marijuana clubs are also serving a different purpose than a bar. Most landlords and building owners don’t care if you drink in your own apartment or house, but a lot of them have rules against smoking–be it pot or cigarettes–because of the smell, the potential damage to property (booze may stain a carpet, but a misplaced cigarette can start a fire). Pot smoking clubs provide a private place where people who register, pay a fee, and are over 21 can smoke without getting into trouble or evicted.

The director of one of the first legal marijuana clubs in Colorado, Club 64 (named after Amendment 64, which legalized marijuana in the state), said that they want to extend the club to not just be about smoking weed, but about getting friends together to do all sorts of stuff–from mountain biking to rafting and skiing. We’d just advise not to bike, raft, ski–or drive–high.

Do you think pot smoking clubs will become as popular as bars? Do you think other states should legalize smoking weed? If smoking weed were legal where you live, would you go to a pot smoking club? Tell us in the comments!

No legalized marijuana where you live? Here’s how to deal if you’re caught with weed.

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A new study says drinking alcohol may be worse for your brain than smoking weed is. But does that mean marijuana is safe? | Source: ShutterStock

You’ve probably heard that drinking alcohol and smoking weed are pretty bad for you, but is one worse than the other? Turns out, the answer is yes. And it’s probably not what you think.

A new study says that for teens, smoking weed is actually not as dangerous in terms of brain damage as drinking alcohol is. Researchers did a bunch of tests on 92 people between the ages of 16 and 20. Half of them already drank alcohol and used marijuana regularly, while the other half either abstained completely or kept their use down to a minimum.

Here’s what they found through brain scans over time: Teens who drank five or more alcoholic beverages twice a week or more–essentially binge drinking–had damage to their brain tissue that could cause memory loss, attention deficit problems, and issues with decision making not only immediately, but also later in life going into adulthood. (Ruh roh!) One of the researchers explained that it becomes a pretty vicious cycle when that happens: “If teens decrease their tissue health and cognitive ability to inhibit themselves, they might become more likely to engage in risky behavior like excessive substance use.” Yikes!

A separate study showed that drinking alcohol lowered test scores, and it happened differently for girls and guys. Girls had a harder time with reading comprehension and interpreting visuals, while guys just struggled to pay attention to what they were doing. (So if you planned on boozing up, we’re not going to tell you what to do–but you just might want to wait until after you take your SATs.)

Meanwhile, the test subjects who kept on smoking weed showed very little to no brain damage. Pretty interesting considering one is legal when you’re 21 and the other isn’t (depending on where you live, that is), isn’t it?

Still, don’t get too excited about the effects of marijuana (or the apparent lack thereof) just yet. The scientists in the study said that a lot of research results on marijuana haven’t been consistent because there are a lot of variables involved. “One reason is that marijuana can really vary. Different strains contain different levels of THC and other marijuana components,” one researcher explained. “For example, some studies have suggested one component, cannabidiol, may actually have neuroprotective effects.” (Basically, different types of marijuana can affect you differently–and one component of marijuana may actually be good for you, but they’re not sure.)

One could argue that if marijuana were legalized, it could be regulated the way alcohol is, so that the different ingredients and components could be recognized and understood better, but that may not happen. And while smoking weed may not have shown brain damage in this particular study, another showed that using marijuana for a long time can actually lower your I.Q., which is pretty scary.

Do you think drinking alcohol is really more harmful than smoking weed? Do you think smoking weed has long-term negative effects? If you drink alcohol or smoke weed, have you noticed a difference in your grades? Tell us in the comments!

Is smoking weed really so bad?

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With the new marijuana laws, smoking weed isn’t seen as that a big deal anymore. | Source: Shutterstock

If you’re in that camp, you’re not alone. A new study says that teens think smoking weed occasionally isn’t a big deal at all, especially in places where it’s considered okay in the eyes of the law. Research says that 41.7 percent of eighth graders think smoking marijuana once in a while is harmful; 66.9 percent say smoking weed is pretty dangerous if you do it regularly.

Those numbers are way down from 1991, when the government first started looking into how young adults feel about marijuana use. And it turns out your views on smoking weed tend to change as you get older–you’re likely less opposed to it. Only about 20 percent of high school seniors said smoking weed once in a while is harmful, while 44 percent think using marijuana is bad if you do it regularly.

Of course, the government isn’t too stoked about the news. They expect increases in marijuana use now that there’s not as much of a legal stigma against smoking weed. The reason they’re up in arms about it? Studies have shown that smoking marijuana in your teens may actually result in alower I.Q. as an adult and leads to an increased chance of becoming psychologically addicted to it. (That may be part of the reason that legal marijuana is only available to those 21 and over in Washington and Colorado.)

Smoking marijuana is up in teens, but it may not be all bad news for the government: Though smoking weed has gone up pretty much across the board, fewer young adults are using other illegal drugs. That sort of kills the “gateway drug” argument against marijuana, right?

In any case, marijuana is still illegal under federal law, even though President Obama said those who use marijuana legally under Colorado and Washington’s state laws wouldn’t really be hounded it for it.

But that still means that if you live there and smoke weed if you’re not 21 yet, you’re probably still subject to trouble–so if you’re going to do it, be careful, be smart, know your rights, and know what you’re up against. Smoking weed illegally can get you in serious trouble if you’re caught. We’re not telling you what to do–you’re smart enough to make your own decisions. We just want to make sure you’re as informed as possible when you make them and that they’re the best possible for you. Because if you can’t tell, we sort of dig you here.

Do you think marijuana should be legalized? Do you think smoking weed is a big deal? Have you ever taken risks in order to smoke weed? Do you think marijuana is addictive? Do you think waiting til age 21 to smoke weed is a good rule? Tell us in the comments!

We bet these celebs are happy that smoking weed is legal in Colorado and Washington!

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Yes, it’s true. Weed is legal in two states. If you’re over the age of 21-years-old, you can use it recreationally. And, hey, you can even sell it if you want to! So I’m sure there are tons of people over in those states rejoicing, and I’m even more sure that there are tons of people here vowing to move to one of those states (spoiler alert: they won’t). I’m also sure that these 10 celebrities below are pretty thrilled about the news. Is this going to happen in other states? Who knows. But I’m sure these stars wish it will.

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Rihanna

If you follow Rihanna on Instagram or Twitter, then you should know the girl loves marijuana. I mean, she dressed up as weed for Halloween this year. That's dedication.

Starbux/WENN.com

Snoop Dogg

I mean... obviously. I don't think I need to go on.

Source: Judy Eddy/WENN.com

Cameron Diaz

The star has admitted that she thinks "weed is awesome". I'm pretty sure she now thinks Colorado and Washington are awesome as well.

Source: WENN.com

Charlize Theron

Remember those pictures of Charlize smoking an apple pipe? Yeah... I think she would be into the legalization of weed.

Source: Ian Wilson/WENN.com

Justin Timberlake

I've always thought of Justin has a kind of goody two-shoes, but the dude actually loves pot. He told Playboy that it helps him "turn his brain off".

Source: Nikki Nelson/WENN.com

Kristen Stewart

A while ago, K-Stew was photographed smoking on a front stoop... and then she told Vanity Fair that smoking pot is no big deal. So I'd say she's pretty into it, wouldn't you?

Source: FayesVision/WENN.com

Lady Gaga

Rihanna wasn't the only celeb who decided to go as weed for Halloween... so did Lady Gaga. Did I miss that trend? Anyway, I think that speaks for itself.

Source: WENN.com

Lil Wayne

Again, this should be pretty obvious. It's Lil Wayne. Does he rap about anything else? Well, yeah, but none of it makes much sense.

Source: JLNphotography/WENN.com

Miley Cyrus

I know, I know, Miley was caught smoking salvia and not weed. But then at her 19th birthday, she basically admitted to being a stoner, so... I'm gonna go ahead and say I don't think it was salvia.

Source: Twitter

Seth Rogen

In case you couldn't tell from his movies (Pineapple Express, anyone?), Seth "smokes a lot of weed" when he writes. You coulda fooled me! JK. That's the least surprising news ever.

Source: Dan Jackman/WENN.com

Are you happy Colorado and Washington legalized marijuana? Do you think every state should? Or do you think it’s a terrible idea? Tell me about it in the comments.

Can smoking weed make you dumber?

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Then my mom kindly told us that, “Your father and I smoke marijuana, but we’ll never do it in front of you,” and of course they tossed in, “We better not catch you smoking pot! Ever!” I never saw my parents do it, but I knew when they were doing it because it was the only time their bedroom door was locked. I should mention I grew up in the city so we lived in apartments, not houses. Odors travel in small places.

When a friend came over in sixth grade I remember being so embarrassed when she said, “It smells like . . . weed in here.” I completely refused to acknowledge that she was 100 percent correct. “No it doesn’t.” She fought with me about it, but I just wouldn’t admit it. See, I didn’t care that my parents were potheads. I just didn’t want people to think my parents were bad.

Truthfully, it made me wonder if they were? It made me question whether or not the people who fed me, clothed me, and told me I could grow up to be anything I wanted were bad parents because they did drugs. All signs at the time pointed to yes. All the “special” episodes of Degrassi. The “special” programs at school. Everything said it was wrong. I felt a bit betrayed by them. I thought any good parent would be able to give it up if they were going to have kids.

Then one day at school all of my friends were complaining. “My mom won’t let me shave my legs!” “My parents treat me different because I am girl!” “My parents are getting divorced and my mom won’t let me see my father!” Everyone was going down the line, trying to outdo each other to see who had the worst parents. But when it came my turn I couldn’t really think of anything. My parents gave me a lot of freedom and support. They wanted me to be my own person. They didn’t even take me to church because they wanted me to find religion on my own. They wanted me to be me not a tiny version of them. If I had no complaints then how could I ever think they were bad parents? It’s not like they got stoned and forgot me at the mall or anything.

I was being judgmental of my parents because of what other people told me. My parents are adults, they can make their own decisions. As long as they protect, love and support me, I shouldn’t be too worried about what they do in private.

Have your parents ever done drugs are alcohol in front of you? Let us know in the comments!

Totally. Weird. | Twitter

On the one hand it seems plain wrong. Even if the reasoning behind it is to have your kids use drugs and alcohol in a safe environment with adult supervision, it still feels like parents are only encouraging their kids to get down with shady stuff. Snoop Dogg is a notorious pothead, I can only imagine that it made marijuana seem like a minor offense to his son. We also can’t forget that all of this is illegal. Weed is illegal for everyone, while alcohol is illegal for minors. Why allow your kids to get into legal trouble? Even if the parent is willing to get alcohol, letting your kids do business with shady drug dealers can make things messy and possibly dangerous.

On the other hand there isn’t a single teenager I know that when told not to do something didn’t do it anyway. No dating? LOL. No sex? Like you’re going to find out? Can’t wear this outfit? I’ll just change at school. Being a teen is essentially being super sneaky. If you’ve told your son or daughter to stop drinking and smoking pot enough times you may have to come to terms with the fact that they are going to do it anyway. Why not protect them from some of the harsher consequences, like drunk driving or binge drinking? A friend of mine would hang out with gross adults in super shady places just to get alcohol. He would binge drink a bunch of hard liquor and get sick. In reality, if it would have been legal he would have gotten a beer and stopped there.

When teenagers really want something they usually figure out how to get it. If getting it and doing it is dangerous, maybe the best solution is to have parental guidance. Telling people not to do something isn’t helpful, it’s the same logic that leads to STDs and pregnancy when all you preach is abstinence. Showing someone how to do something, that may have consequences, responsibly is usually the most effective way to prevent those negative consequences.

Personally, I would never want to drink or do drugs with my parents. It sounds majorly awkward. I also think that even if “cool parents” demand their kids drink and smoke at home only, they would still want to do it without their parents hovering around them. At least, maybe in that case the kids would still be informed on how to handle things. Freshman year of college my roommate’s parents told her, “If you’re going to smoke weed and you have the munchies, be smart about it. Have a banana ready instead of eating a ton of candy. Potassium levels are the first thing to drop when you get high.”

Still, totally awkward.

How do you feel about “cool parents”? Let us know in the comments!

She may not be smiling once she realizes smoking weed may lower her IQ later on. | Source

Just a disclaimer before you read any further: We’re not here to steer towards or away from smoking weed. What you do with your life is totes your business. We just want you to know all of the risks–not just the legal ones–involved with smoking weed before you start, because you’re smart and deserve to make informed decisions.

That said, a new study suggests that smoking marijuana in your teens may be linked to a lower I.Q. later on.

The study points out, too, that there isn’t a definitive link between smoking weed when you’re over 18 and having the same effects, so it may reinforce previous studies that suggested marijuana use is most detrimental to the developing brain, not the developed brain.

Researchers from New Zealand tested IQs of 1,000 13-year-old volunteers to start (since at that time they likely weren’t smoking weed much, if at all). The researchers then tested the IQs of the same volunteers numerous times and took surveys about their marijuana use until age 38. Out of the 1,000 participants, 52 of them reported becoming “dependent” on marijuana–that is, smoking weed despite the health, social or legal risks associated with it, while 92 of them reported becoming dependent on marijuana at a later age. A decline in IQ only showed in those subjects who used marijuana before turning 18. It’s worth noting, however, that in those subjects who used marijuana, there was never any measure reported of how much or how potent the marijuana was, it was simply of how often they used it.

Those who reported being dependent on marijuana before turning 18 showed an average drop in IQ of eight points, which means, statistically, that they’d rank higher than only 29 percent of the population rather than 50 percent had the drop not occurred. What’s more, quitting smoking weed didn’t seem to affect the results at all.

One expert in the study urged teens to avoid smoking marijuana until they turned 18, just to avoid the mental health issues it may pose later on, while another advised that avoiding it altogether may be the best idea in the long run. They all agree, however, that much more research should go into the dangers of smoking weed as teens and its effects on the brain.

Listen–we know that some of you are going to smoke marijuana no matter what anyone says. And that’s fine. Just know the risks you’re taking before you take a hit, that way you can be sure it’s something you really want to do.

Do you think marijuana can lower your IQ or that more research needs to be done? Will a chance of a lower IQ deter you from smoking weed? Do you think marijuana should be legalized? Would you wait until you turn 18 to start smoking weed now that this study came out? Tell us in the comments!

Do You Think Pot Should Be Legalized?

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No thanks. | Source: Shutterstock

I’ve never smoked anything. I don’t smoke in part because I have really sensitive eyes (which I didn’t know until recently–we’ll get to that in a minute) and mild sports-related asthma that I’d rather not worsen, but mostly for other reasons. Getting super wasted on ANYTHING seems pointless. It’s expensive (I’d rather spend my money on dessert and shoes) and I really hate the smell of both cigarettes and weed. I also pretty much don’t sleep around, like, at all. Keep in mind, what other people do is their business and doesn’t bother me–until it affects me directly.

What’s unfortunate is that a lot of people who don’t know me that well assume, for whatever reason, that I’m down for whatever at any and all times. Maybe it’s the people I hang out with–some can be considered somewhat shady characters, though I think they’re good people. Maybe it’s my voice, which trails off into what some may consider a stereotypical stoner cadence, or my boobs, which some people interpret as making me easy (because that makes sense). What these people don’t realize is that I accept people as they are, I’ve always kind of sounded like Fran Drescher on Xanax, and I have to be really smitten with someone just to make out with him.

That said, the fact that I’m essentially a nun compared to a lot of people I know, still takes some people by surprise. Case in point: Mike (name has been changed to protect the douchey).

I met Mike through a mutual pal and thought he was super cute–he was really tall, with a gloriously handsome face and awesome thick, wavy hair. He was also hilarious and whip smart. Pretty much, if you took away the “tall,” it seemed like I met the male version of myself. Ahem. Anyway, I was crushing pretty hard, and we got to know each other better at a party one night when we spent the entire thing together just talking and laughing for hours. By then I was crushing even harder–and he finally asked me out. Schwing!

Fast forward to our, uh, date. The show we were going to wound up getting cancelled, so we decided to grab takeout and watch a movie at his apartment. (Dumb move, I know, but the promise of a specific horror flick and wonton soup made it seem a little more legitimate.) This would have been cool, except for a few things.

We stopped at a bar on the way to his place for him to meet up with a pal to pick something up. I’d been picturing a laptop or something, but no. Mike stopped to buy weed. I figured, whatever, it’s his life–not my business. We moved along and got back to his place, which was tiny–and it was rainy and chilly, so the windows were closed. Fine.

We hung out for a bit, and despite my warning him not to get more than his hopes up because I’m pretty prude, Mike tried getting handsy. When I moved away from him, he got frustrated. Really not cute.

Mike proceeded to scowl and smoke up, which, again, is his business–and we were on his property, so I wasn’t about to tell him not to. Not my place, right?

This made me sick–and mad. | Source: Shutterstock

Maybe, but I should have spoken up regardless. The scent of weed has never been my favorite to begin with and has always gotten me a little nauseous for some reason, but this was way worse than any other secondhand smoke I’d ever been subjected to. This was an enclosed, tiny space–and he was smoking skunk weed, which smells exactly how it sounds. Why would anyone want that?! What’s more, my eyes got really itchy, which was bad news bears. My contact lenses were starting to get dry from all the smoke, and I still had to drive home.

It became increasingly clear that Mike was kind of a scumbag–not because of his smoking, but because of his inability to tolerate the word “no” and his total lack of empathy for my reaction to his weed smoke. So I left and headed home, still gagging from the smell. My eyes began burning, so I put in a few rewetting drops and hoped for the best. I went to bed feeling a little gross, but figured it’d pass.

Wrong. When I woke up the next day, I couldn’t open my eyes all the way, and they burned so badly that I felt like someone poured industrial strength shampoo into my poor peepers. I had to call out of work because, well, how was I going to get there if I was pretty much blind? I then had to call my BFF to drive me to my eye doctor, who had to give me prescription drops–apparently all the smoke had aggravated my contacts so much that they actually scratched my eyes up miserably.

So, yeah. Sue me for not being “down to party” or whatever. I’d really rather just grab a pint of ice cream, hang out with cute dogs or go to the movies with friends. At least doing those things won’t land me in the doctor’s office. Oof.

What do you think about partying? Do you have friends who party more than you think they should? Tell me in the comments!

This Girl Never Got High In High School

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