Triggering (Substances): How will this affect me?

[Kikseo]

I'm 15 right now, and I feel like drugs have really changed me. I slowly picked up use and am now a heavy user. I don't get the same highs I used to from weed, I laugh at people who say "smoke weed every day" because... that's just not enough for me anymore. I also use ecstasy, i'd say my intake is about 3 pills weekly, I drink on occasion, and I smoke cigarettes constantly.
When I'm sober, though, on the rare occasion, my mind isn't (like most people would assume of me) constantly on drugs. I'm always busy, working on something, drawing... but it has affected me. I can't concentrate as easily. I don't feel like my feet are always fully on the ground. I never stop moving, I'm constantly swaying as I stand.

I don't have any intent to change, please don't try to dissuade me. All I'm looking for is what to expect later on in life.

[Gidig]

Hey-

First, I'd be sure to talk to a doctor about it to get all the clear medical opinions. I don't know where you live or the exact laws, but here they can't report you for things like that unless you're really really hurting yourself.

The part of your post that stands out to me the most, is how many ecstasy pills you're taking. The way they work is they release a lot of serotonin, then your brain runs out and you can get extremely impressed. And eventually (If you haven't reached the point already) it will stop working on you in the same ways because your brain physically can't do it. Ecstasy really does quite a number on your brain compared to various other drugs.

The main long-term effect of weed is said to be cognitive thinking skills. It gets harder to remember things, and it really can take a toll on your short-term memory.

I'm not saying you should stop, and am not trying to talk you out of it. But if you are going to be doing drugs, make sure you really do your research and know what they're doing to your body. It is your body, and you should be taking care of it the best you can. You can Google search and find a lot of information on short and long term effects of drugs and how they work.

Best of luck, be safe!
Maria.

[Aletheia*]

Also keep in mind that weed isn't always JUST weed. It can also be laced with many other substances, including Cocaine. You've been doing these drugs for so long that they no longer have that same effect on your system because you've been taking them for a long time. I know it's not medically possible to die from Weed, and I do think you need to talk to someone about getting help. It could have some serious long-term effects on you, as previously mentioned. There is also the risk of getting caught with it and doing jail time, and at 15 years old, that wouldn't be a very fun thing to do (Ecstacy is also included in previous statement)

[Kikseo]

Let me point out that I'm not trying to sound mean in any way =s thank you guys for helping me.

Shannon...
Weed is weed. I've smoked a lot of weed. I would know in a heartbeat if my weed was mixed with something else. And I know the dealers that sell it to me, and the growers that sell it to them.
On the next point, cocaine is very expensive.. extraordinarily so when compared to weed. Nobody would take any good amount of cocaine and mix it with weed. And you could sure as hell tell me that they might try to mix other drugs in, but I'm really just not worried very much on that topic.
It could certainly have long-term effects on me, just the weed. And I have been forced to talk to people about getting help. I realize I have a problem with drugs. I realize I have no motivation to stop having a problem with drugs. I'm not gonna start ranting about my views on society's perspectives and prohibition, but that'd make for an interesting conversation and maybe I can find an appropriate board to do it in.
As for jail-time... it's weed. Being found for possession of marijuana of less than 40 grams (mind you, up here, 40 grams is $400's worth.. not something I would ever carry around on me) is a misdemeanor. You get a night in the slammer.
The most I've ever carried around was a half-ounce (14 grams) as a reference, and that was a shit ton of weed to have with me. I'm not worried about potential authoritative consequence for my use.
(You could argue that I might get caught with ecstasy, but I've never carried around or saved pills. They go in me as soon as I get them.)

However,
Ecstasy is notoriously impure, but my dealer generally knows what's going in the pills. Sometimes they sell me pills mixed with meth and cocaine. Shit happens.

I used to be really good about researching the drugs I used before I used them, with all the prescription things I got and at first with weed (but I'm not gonna get into my weed-isn't-bad-for-you argument, that's just simply not relevant.) I've experimented with a lot of different drugs, especially THROUGH my ecstasy use.

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

If you want to know what to expect later in life there's a few possibilities. I cant say exactly what it'll be, maybe it'll be nothing of what I'm about to say.

First, your drug use continues and you begin taking harder drugs including amphetamines, oxytocin, etc... . Biologically, oxytocin is one hell of a hard drug, probably the fastest-addicting drug (i.e. approx. 2 weeks). With your current unwillingness to get off drugs you may continue further into drug use. You'll become tolerant to some drugs, experience cross-tolerance and take larger doses more frequently.
Second, you continue with your drugs but are able to control it in such a way where you can still have academic success. Being on drugs doesn't mean you're academically doomed.
Third, you continue with your drugs briefly but gradually get off of them for whatever reasons with difficulty. Depending on the drugs you're on and how addicted you are, you may be involuntarily admitted to psychiatric hospitals, put on antibuses, etc... .
Fourth, you carry more and more drugs with you, become near getting caught so you take all them and over-dose, either land in the hospital with or without permanent damage or simply die.

There's always risks with deterioration of your body from the drug use when it's chronic. What can happen is silly to ask because the possibilities fill textbooks.

[Kikseo]

I've taken a lot of different drugs, I just didn't list the ones I don't consistently use. I've taken amphetamines, ketamine, vicodin, morphine, cocaine, and methamphetamine, as what I would consider what I've done as "hard" drugs.

I'm already on the second path. I've got good-ish (they're raising) grades, consistent Bs, and my goal is a 3.6+ cumulative GPA. My use is stereotypical druggie loser status, in fact the majority of my friends are dropouts, dropping out, or just apathetic about education and the world in general, and I generally use more than most of them do.

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

Originally Posted by Kikseo

I've taken a lot of different drugs, I just didn't list the ones I don't consistently use. I've taken amphetamines, ketamine, vicodin, morphine, cocaine, and methamphetamine, as what I would consider what I've done as "hard" drugs.

I'm already on the second path. I've got good-ish (they're raising) grades, consistent Bs, and my goal is a 3.6+ cumulative GPA. My use is stereotypical druggie loser status, in fact the majority of my friends are dropouts, dropping out, or just apathetic about education and the world in general, and I generally use more than most of them do.

Then it's a matter of time until you overdose or slip down. I suppose there's a potential that you could get caught with the drugs. I have 2 personal examples, both people I know. First one was a kid I was acquitences with at high-school and he did just about every drug under the sun, sometimes even at school. Sometimes he came to school on drugs (or off, not sure which) behaving in irratic somewhat aggressive ways. End result was he skipped so many classes, was late for so many, kept getting in trouble and you could notice physically it's like he was whithering. Eventually he got booted out and teachers tried helping but didn't matter.
Second is someone also from high-school and at the same university I go to. He's brilliant despite popping pills, drinking and smoking weed. He has around a 3.8 cGPA focusing in microbiology and pharmacuticals. In high-school around grade 11 he began doing more drugs such as prescription pain killers (not sure if he did others) and he started flunking some tests and labs but quickly recovered. Currently I've heard mixed answers of him on/off drugs but he physically he's a stick although he always was a stick in high-school.

Point is, you can be functioning well despite taking drugs but it can be a matter of time until control is lost. The damages can be quite real and I know you said not to persuade your drug use so I'll stop my post here.

[Maloo]

i'm going to say that in the future, you can expect to die. A hell of a lot sooner than you should have.

[SoSick]

Here's exactly what is happening:

The more you do it, the less enjoyable it will become, because your brain realizes that it's releasing too much of the hormone that gets you high. It shuts of the glands that release it, so you end up chasing the high and using dangerous amounts in order to feel just normally happy. You will no longer feel happy, on or off drugs.

Also, mixing drugs and alcohol can cause brain damage, swelling of the brain, damage to the nervous system, and usually death and insanity.

Just an outlook. Not trying to persuade you at all, but that's just the facts. The majority of people I come in contact with are on drugs and alcohol, and you can tell.

[Kikseo]

Originally Posted by Myss

i'm going to say that in the future, you can expect to die. A hell of a lot sooner than you should have.

is that necessarily a bad thing?

lol.

I'd prefer to die than to have some sort of very harsh mental issues, though. Like absolutely no short-term memory... or a lack of common sense/logic... or some sort of mental mathematic deficiency, etcetera. That sort of thing.

I don't want to get any stupider, really. I don't mind dying (and this isn't gonna turn into a depressing topic, I'm not depressed, I just wouldn't mind dying), as stupid as that might sound, but I don't want to have to live any stupider than I already am, if that makes sense.

[Maloo]

Well I think the people who care about you would mind if you die, so that's kind of selfish. What's the point of wasting all your money and your whole life on stuff that's just going to kill your brain and your body?