I Used To Smoke Pot Every Time I Played A Video Game. Here’s Why I Stopped.

I started smoking pot during my junior year of college, after a loud and messy breakup with my first girlfriend that sent me into an absolutely manic rage. It was shortly after she left, bawling, that one of my roommates asked if I wanted to get high. I guess that was his way of trying to make me feel better. That night I was introduced to a six-foot-bong, which I filled with smoke and cleared twice, and then we all sat down to watch the news.

I wasn't thinking about the breakup anymore or the misery I'd felt in the days prior to calling it quits. All that pain and rage were gone. I was thinking about how funny the news and the commercials were, and then about getting something to eat when I got really hungry out of nowhere. Someone had the idea to get my Super Nintendo Entertainment System, hook it up to the big television in the living room and play 2-on-2 NHL '94.

[gillri]

interesting, I used not be able to play a game without being stoned I found it very hard to immerse myself

I have no such problems anymore because I quit that horrible drug 5 years ago at 23

[BabyTownFrolics]

dont blame weed, that "horrible drug" helps countless people with a variety of ailments. Also there are plenty of folks who enjoy marijuana that lead productive lives full of good jobs and wonderful families.

Your bad experience speaks more to the specifics of your life than it does to a plant and any intrinsic negative attributes that you may perceive said plant possesses.

game on and good luck

[Root]

So true...the only people I know who have a problem with weed is those who abuse it and smoke it 24/7. The ones who use it every so often, myself included, are fine.

The media has put such a negative light on marijuana that it's brain washed people....yet the amount of people who drink and abuse alcohol despite being PROVEN to be worse for you then weed. Hypocrites

[JhawkFootball06]

@BabyTownFrolics

Well said.

[SilentNegotiator]

A lot of drugs that are good for medicinal purposes are "horrible" for you to use for recreation or self-medication. And gillri clearly didn't suggest that a doctor prescribed it.

[joab777]

Sure it does. By that logic, my pain killer addiction that led to worse, has killed friends of mine and almost me is no big deal because they do help millions of people.

While i agree that pot will not affect everytime the same, neither will alcohol, cocaine, heroin etc. But for many, the effects wont be good. I do agree that pot is not as bad as many of these but alcohol and pot can be very deceiving because they dont do the obvious inyrinsic damage. I started with pot as an escape mechanism and i found that pills could make u feel even better without the haze. Very bad!!!! U become addicted and then it takes years to get back to where u started. I love video games and play them alot but no longer can i let them or drugs run my life. Its funny because video game addiction itself is getting very bad. One of the biggest economic problems in Japan is that so many of their men do nothing but play video games. It is a problem in the US too. How can you game 8-12 hrs a day and have it not affect ur life. Now, if u combine pot or other drugs with video games, it becomes very dangerous.

[Qrphe]

Poor you, such a horrible drug not allowing to immerse yourself in your gaming experience. I'm sure this is the exact same case for everyone else

:<

[Mounce]

I know you're basically just on a troll account, so you saying 'horrible drug' is just to provoke others to respond negatively to you. That and you may likely than not even do pot, or had ever.

Either way, if such a story were true, then it'd only be because your own introspective behaviour is flawed and you lack inner-self to really be comfortable with doing it imo. That and, who the hell needs to literally exploit pot to such trivial uses over and over for just playing a game? How about finding a way to enjoy a game normally, are you that desensitized and emotionless that you can't immerse yourself in a game and you need to use drugs to do so? Lol.

It's like, you for an example whether the story be right or wrong I know others with the same story can exist but it's somewhat pathetic and desperate to me that people would need to depend on a plant, harmless or otherwise.... to boost themselves a potential emotion they could have, could have the will power to create for themselves, but they're so weak....that they NEED to socially get into a habit to smoke it, social addictions and habituational patterns are pathetic. :/

[joab777]

Its not pathetic...iys a problem...an addiction, and i hope u never have to deal with one because it will be the hardest thing u ever have to do. And alot more ppl suffer with addiction than u may think because u r alwaus only looking at someone at some point on their timeline od addiction. And most addictions only truely manifest themselves later on. video games can be good and are alot of fun but they offer the same thing that drugs do, an escape, and many ppl find that this escape is enhanced with drugs. Now, if this guy also suffered from mental illness, his reality already sucked which made him 100 x more likely to want to escape it.

[Mounce]

@joab777

LOL.....Addiction, hardest thing to do?

Well I don't know what stupid shit you're rolling in your weed, but it's not like it's chemically addicting unless you sift in 50/50 tobacco or cigarette garbage to reduce the weed used...

Either way, your post made me laugh... "Its a problem" LOL

It either sounds like, you're a troll, a moron who has no fucking idea what cannabis is or does to your body, or something inbetween....

[VanguardOfCalamity]

Tosh had a good point:

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

grow up and do ___ like an adult XD

[Bimkoblerutso]

Weed is probably the safest drug out there at the end of the day, but human beings have the unfortunate ability to become dependent on just about ANYTHING.

I would have to say that at the point when you REQUIRE weed to enjoy other things, you're past the point of using the drug for normal recreational purposes.

Personally, I've never really liked playing games stoned, especially not the ones that require a degree of focus in regards to narrative. I lose too many details.

There's a reason the most well regarded "stoner" experiences are always blatantly broad aural and visual displays.

[Qrphe]

If you anyone thinks marijuana is a harmful drug, then congratulate them, they're one of millions who have been successfully conditioned by our culture and government.

http://druglibrary.org/scha...

[WeedyOne]

MMMMM I cant stop.... Its so relaxing.

I come home from a hard days work to just chill out smoke some pot and play some games!

[ThatXboxGuy]

Your parents must be so proud.

[Daver]

Who are you to judge someone you dont even know...

[WeedyOne]

Im a college graduate and work as a quality engineer at a manufacturing company, yes they are proud.

Ignorant people...

My parents know i smoke pot but dont care because they know im responsible enough to not let somthing like smoking pot ruin my life. I also have a "smoking" hot girlfriend (believe it or not) and enjoy other activities besides smoking and gaming such as wakeboarding, surfing, hiking, camping, fishing, hunting...

I know i know at this point i just feel like im bragging but i have a pretty good life lol.

[teedogg80]

I love weed and gaming. Do both everyday! Hell I got one fired up as I'm typing this.

@disagrees wanna take a drag?

[ThatXboxGuy]

You're so cool!

[ThatXboxGuy]

My high school years were spent smoking weed.I'm a grown man now.No grown man should brag about smoking dope.

Leave that to the kiddos like 420Bongwater420 or whatever highly creative usernames you see them bragging with.

[FunAndGun]

All three of your comments here are pretty immature for a "grown man".

How condescending are you.

[guitarded77]

I think that was the longest and simultaneously pointless article I have ever read.

[SonysOldNews]

Agree! I lost interest when I saw that this joker was bi polar. Go to the doctor buddy and get some lithium. Jesus.

[Hellsvacancy]

Im a hardcore stoner, im not really proud of it

I think about stopping all the time, im honestly smoking right now

I think to myself if I stop, I wont enjoy music, film and gaming etc as much as I do

[mydyingparadiselost]

I quit for 5 years, I promise entertainment is still entertaining with or without pot. Also maybe the easiest habit to break ones self from, after a week it's smooth sailing :)

[axerated]

Interesting read, like a nostalgic trip back to my own college days... I also use to have the same habit of buying weed whenever I bought/rented video games cos it felt like it completed or complemented the experience, still do sometimes but I guess it's all about moderation. With that said, I'm still gonna be buying a fat sack the day gtav comes out and losing myself in a lack of responsibility for old times sake, just like I did with San Andreas in college.

[TwistedMetal]

drugs are used to forget your problems so instead of fixing the problems you just cover them up. this can be said about a lot of things and is why society is in a down hill spiral. instead of trying to better yourself to get a girl, you instead fap on the internet. instead of finding a good decent person to be with. you find a piece of crap person and just smoke and do drugs to forget all the bad and stress. if you have stress you should be trying to find out why you are stressed and fix that problem not lighting up a cig or whatver your vise is.

[darx]

I guess!

[Heisenburger]

I was on the track to becoming one of those people who never did anything without smoking. Whether it be food, movies, tv, video games, I always planned it around me smoking first.

I wouldn't even play my new games without it.

Now let me say that I'm not one of those people(no offense) that blame anything but myself.

One day, a dry day, I was sitting there bored ... I thought "I'll play X game". Then thought "no I'll wait until I can get some stuff."

I would have rather sat there and done nothing than to do it without being high.

I remembered back when I just enjoyed things for what they were.

Marijuana is not something one can become addicted to, however I would say that I found a way.

I quit smoking cigarettes around by birthday going on four years. I quit smoking weed three years ago.

Maybe once or twice a year ill indulge myself. For me, that's all I can do. I do not have the willpower not to constantly do it if it's around.

People blaming weed? Man up and take responsibility. You have to take control.

My roommate smokes constantly. He doesn't do it in the living room. He also isn't like me in the sense that he can do it, or not do it when he has some. Whereas if I had some I HAD to do it.

That's why you can't blame YOUR problem on weed. My roommate is living proof for me.

If you are not like me, then there is nothing wrong with doing it recreationally.

It's only when you do or think of nothing else is when it's become an issue.

It's an interesting can of worms for me because anytime I talk about it(never) or think about it I get the itch.

I went past the point where I could pace myself. My only advice would be to simply give yourself some basic parameters as to how often you do it. Know thyself. If you're cool, keep it that way.

Thank you for indulging -me-.

God bless.

[bakagaijin78]

I think people can become addicted to good experiences. So its not really the drug thats the problem, its the constant need to feel that good feeling. I think for some people (not ALL people of course) they do something and its really fun for them at the time and then when its over they think about it and want to replicate that experience again. It makes sense really, because why *wouldn't* you want to have fun?

I tend to be like that to a fault. I actually see many parallels between this story and my own experiences. It may not be the same mood-altering substance in my case, but it's pretty much the same reasons.

I think its kind of ignorant for many of the comments here that say 'grow up' and 'get over it'. I think if you haven't dealt with mood disorders or with people who have them it can be hard to understand.

[PS3gamer4life]

Weed aint no drug

[PS3gamer4life]

Love smoking when im playing the game

[jmac53]

Best gaming moment ever was when I was high playing Crimson Skies. Flying through caves, dodging missiles, and taking down Zeppelins. Man I hope they make a next gen Crimson Skies!

[LiViNgLeGaCY]

Is this what journalism has come to? I mean, really?

[Double_O_Revan]

Is it because you started seeing the Goldeneye health bars in your everyday life? that would freak me out too.

[CcreapMurda310]

I smoke cuz it gives me knowledge.

[microgenius]

i quit smoking just make cannibutter oooooooohhhhhhh god
without harm yourself by smoke it makes you high for 6 houre
smoke is about 2 houre