The phrase ‘everything in moderation’ suggests small amounts of typically ‘bad’ things, like high calorie food or alcohol, are fine as part of a generally healthy lifestyle. So, is this an approach we can confidently take to pretty much anything? The easy answer is no – because although growing numbers of people are labeling things like sugar and gluten as the enemy, there are certain products which are still, (in the eyes of the law at least), defined in most cultures as being seriously bad for you, illegal substances like weed often make this list.

Are you struggling with a weed addiction? Read about how you can quit weed here.

Defining ‘bad’

Perhaps it would help to define what ‘bad for you’ might actually mean, but there isn’t really a universal measurement. Does it depend on the risk of immediate harm, or longer term effects? Is it about addiction? Cost? Negative lifestyle changes such as losing work, not eating properly or forgetting to take a shower? Or could it be all of these things?

The consequences of smoking weed once a week

Marijuana isn’t considered to be a particularly hard drug in many cultures, so enjoying one regular strength joint a week doesn’t seem terribly excessive, especially compared to other risky behaviors like drinking or eating too much. However, the impact will always vary between people, and depend on how much, and what type of weed they smoke on that single day. One ordinary joint inevitably will not have the same effect as two made with a stronger strain of marijuana. Ultimately though, even a casual weed smoker is vulnerable to most or all of the following.

Problems at work

If your workplace has a random drug testing policy in place then you obviously risk being ‘caught’. You may only smoke once a week but the chemical traces hang around for an awful lot longer. This can make planned testing tricky too unless you are given several weeks warning.

Regardless of official policies, dope can affect your general performance or even your safety while on a job. If your duties include driving or operating any kind of machinery an accident could leave you with a huge amount of criminal problems to face, and at best you may well be working slower and be generally less able than you should do the day after smoking weed.

Brain / Lifestyle problems

Studies suggest that the human brain doesn’t fully develop until around the age of 25, which makes the risk of damage from smoking weed – typically leading to a permanently lower than average IQ/lower grades – very high for those in their teens and early twenties. Meanwhile, memory loss as a result of long term casual weed smoking is reported amongst users of all ages, and clear links are emerging between regular weed consumption and both depression and psychosis, even when neither have been an issue in someone’s life pre-weed. Not only that, weed makes many people feel sluggish when it is induced over a long period of time, even in low dosages.

Is marijuana worth it?

Chances are if you are reading this article then you are looking for a reason to justify an existing weed addiction. Any addiction that takes over your life is not a good thing. To be blunt (no pun intended), smoking marijuana for any repetitive amount of time is bad as it can affect many of the chemicals within your body including testosterone. If you’re reading this, then you are probably looking to quit and you might not have the correct information and a clear plan to quit. I’d love for you to read about my story along with some of the unique ways that you can stop smoking weed:

Click here to read more about how I managed to stop smoking weed.