OD i think it's awesome that you aren't stuck in pre-concieved notions. The simple fact is that marijuana isn't any more harmful than tobacco or alcohol ( or Mcdonalds for that matter).

That said i would like to share my own experience. I tried smoking at age 14 ( i already smoked tobacco at the time). At the time i used to get paranoid like it was nobody's business. I kept trying every 6-12 months through my teens up till i was 22 and it was the same every time. didn't like it at all.

However at 22 i decided that i was not gonna let it scare me. And i just LOVED it. I used to smoke occasionally , but since then my usage got pretty much out of hand. I smoked a couple of joints every day for years. It was the only thing that could relax me and the only thing that would free my mind to see and concieve some of the most wonderful and fruitful ideas in my life.. Once you get past the amazement phase, you get surprised at the clarity with which you are willing to see things. very often things that i had inhibitions about thinking about, would be easy to work through while under the influence. I have become a calmer and more patient man ( I was a hyper hyper HYPERactive kid).

Or so i thought. The simple fact is that marijuana doesn't CAUSE peace.. it dulls pain enough for you to find peace inside yourself. It doesn't CAUSE you to think wonderful thoughts. It dulls the pain of painful thought enough for you to focus on good thought. It doesn't CAUSE you to love unconditionally. It dulls anger enough for you to find the love inside yourself.

I have now stopped smokng every day. Now its once a week on sunday. And it's just better this way. Marijuana really keeps you from learning new things. What it does is make you okay with what IS. So while it makes you comfortable with who you are and what you do, it also takes away the desire and incentive to change.

Please note that marijuana can never create anything. It can only help you focus on good things by dulling your senses to bad things.

The point is that everything you can do under the influence of marijuana, you can do WITHOUT it. It merely makes it easier by redirecting your focus.

Anyhow i still strongly suggest that everybody try it at least once in their life. If for no other reason than to catch a glimpse of that which is possible without the aid of any agent. And NO DOUBT it will have a POSITIVE effect on those who have no other way of reducing pain. Both in terms of their physical and their mental discomfort.

Lastly, don't worry. It is not possible for it to kill you. Just in case the thought haunts you while ur high ( as it did with me int he beginning).

Enjoy smoking, make sure you have water or juice handy, some munchies, a book or a TV nearby and in a place and environment that you are comfortable with.