For me personally it's done nothing but ruin my family. I had smoked a lot with my brother and a few cousins who lived with us growing up. When we first started it was nice on the weekends with some tequila or vodka. But as time progressed it became an everyday thing. One of our friend's father was a dealer and so we would buy from him. But it turned into just hanging around that friend's place waiting for someone to smoke us out if no one had any money. Eventually, in order to keep my relationship with my significant other and my parents, I quit. But the original group still does it. But now, they won't hang out with you unless you have weed. They won't do anything with you unless you can get high before hand. And if your a non smoker you are basically not a part of their life anymore. They go to each other's birthday parties and each other's functions because you can smoke before, during, and after, but only show up for one holiday a year for my family (we live 15 minutes away from each other).

Why does it bother me now? I guess it's just that growing up they were my best friends really. We used to set up two tv's and two xboxs in our room sometimes to play together all night during weekends or parties. We used to go do go carts and movies. We used to go to parties even if no one was drinking just to dance and eat.

Needless to say, I graduated, got a degree. My brother is working on his degree but his life is always in some sort of crisis because his girlfriend catches him spending their money to smoke out girls that he cheats on her with. And then she catches him in the act of cheating but always takes him back after he spends what little income he has on something expensive for her as an apology. So when he refuses to help out sometimes at home financially it breaks my parent's hearts because they know he's smoking away all of his income. His girlfriend smokes too. My cousins who lived with me, as I mentioned only show up to one holiday a year and only pay attention to or chill with other smoking family members. Never come over, never hang out, never do anything except for figuring out how they are getting high that day. None of them graduated high school, they don't have drivers licenses or cars, and they pawn all their stuff to buy weed.

It just sucks that we used to be close and now we aren't.