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Comment by theAnonMe | Hacker News Reader

I've smoked for 15+ years, I earn in the top 5% of the UK writing software for big players if that is a metric you respect. Only as a software developer although I've had the opportunity to be "promoted" I chose to write code...for more money. However I recognize that the amount I am smoking of current is affecting my cognitive load (I think). If I was drinking alcohol in the same amount I smoke cannabis I'd be an alcoholic like my father. Hmmm, wonder if there is a genetics issue...

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I've got high almost daily for the past 15 years. I'm also a programmer and I am proud of what I have accomplished. A year ago I quit smoking and started preparing and eating edibles instead. This was for health reasons but another benefit is that I am now able to dose myself much more precisely. There is a level which improves my productivity and focus, where I really feel in the zone. Sometimes when I am trying to solve a difficult problem, getting high helps me to break through.

Maybe not genetics, however there is something to be said for blaming the parents. With an alcoholic father you may have developed a slight bit of 'co-dependency' growing up, leading to things like wanting to find comfort in weed and going the extra mile to make your employers happy. As a society we are not well educated about personality disorders (which exist on a scale) and how these develop in childhood with resulting addiction related issues. The general debate on drugs is naive because we do not understand these underlying causes.

> wonder if there is a genetics issue

I believe it is fairly well established that addictive behavior runs in families.

There are top earners on opiates, too.

jeanne calment has lived 118-ish years, some people said she sometimes smoked, which is likely at that period of history. But how is it a proof of any kind regarding life expectancy, wouldn't she have lived 125/130 years without.. same goes for you

smoking definitely affects brain, all the body, it has no positive effect

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