Source: ShutterStock

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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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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