Under the heading of responsible use, if you use pot when you are younger than, say, 21-25 (around the time when the brain is physically and cognitively mature) you run an increased chance of physical addiction (as opposed to the psychological addiction some adults experience) and harming your developing brain.
Certainly it shouldn't be used chronically (no pun intended) by any age group -- heck, anything in excess is bad for you, even Flintstone vitamins.
Just to be clear (as in, disclaimer time), I'm not encouraging anyone to smoke pot, adult or otherwise. Legally, of course, you shouldn't use pot at all, but since that doesn't stop millions of users, I think it is important to encourage responsible use, not merely spout phrases like "just say no."
The government's tactic of pretending that making it illegal will stop its use, and then distorting facts to scare people out of using it, isn't really a solution, no matter how many billions of dollars we spend on it. As such, my stance is not to advocate drug use, but rather to argue for personal choice, responsible use, and fight the disinformation and stupid policies that the government and conservative groups like to use.
Anything I say about the relative effects (as compared to alcohol or other substances) and mental or medical benefits of pot are in the context of responsible, occasional adult use, or medical use, in a perfect world where it was legal but controlled the same as alcohol, or cars.
So, in short, lets keep in perspective its overall benefits versus real dangers, the amount you have to smoke to see any potential negative effects, and the source of any information on it (the White House and DEA are not exactly un-biased or objective in the information they seek, or provide, on the topic).
As in all things, be informed and make your own choices.
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