Smoking pot when you’re sixty years old is bound to have its dangers. There’s likely no way you can justify to yourself, at least on a regular basis, as not having a harmful effect on you.
But chances are, if you’re reading this, you’re going to do it anyway.
I had a heart attack last summer. A pretty good one. Doctor thought it was brought on by smoking. That’s a good way to quit by the way. It could be when the nurse shaved my pubes just before they made incision brought the issue clearly into focus.
The result of that, in addition to not smoking, is eating right. I’d flirted with it for years, but this is the first time I’ve actually done it right. For an extended period, with the occasional binge. I’m not a puritan.
I tend to have one or two drinks a day. Which can be considered healthy.
And I have been exercising. Not enough, but it was a strange winter.
In short, I’m doing about everything I should. It feels good. But my soul craves vices.
Or at least, a vice.
Choosing is easy. I’ll take weed over sugar, salt, grease, alcohol … even Reese’s products. Which for me used to be the fifth food group.
So how to do it safely? If that option exists, it would be edibles.
But I’m old fashioned. It’s not just THC. Part of the Mediterranean diet is finding the joy in the egg, not seeing it as a simple source of protein. Ditto for cannabis. Sure, the buzz is important. But so it the ritual.
The good news is, if you’re like me, you don’t have a lot of tolerance built up. Legal cannabis in Illinois is stronger than what we remember. And usually stronger than the commercial weed on the black market. So you can smoke less.
Concentrates are even more potent. Which means you can smoke even less. Unlike with flower, concentrates are turned into vapor, rather than smoke, which is supposed to be easier on the lungs. There isn’t a lot of research on the subject, but that’s the early conclusions.
In short, a lesser of two evils. Less damage and less inhaling.
People can, and often do, point to how marijuana relaxes them and lowers their blood pressure. It could be true. I don’t think about it a lot. It’s worth a bit of risk, but not worth dying for. Keep it in moderation, smoke as little as you can.
And enjoy every day that you do, so it’s all worth it in the end anyway.