Stiletto Stoners: Is Their Habit Really Harmless?

If you looked into my eyes right now, you would see how worn out I am. For the past month, my days have gone something like this: I wake up by 6 AM, do my best imitation of an Olympic race-walker as I head eight blocks across the city to my office, dash from one meeting to the next, and answer my 300 new emails by noon.

In today's society, so many of us, myself included, work like dogs, get too little sleep--and, when it comes to winding down, we want instant gratification. So, I wasn't surprised when I read the article "Stiletto Stoners" in this month's issue of Marie Claire--a story about the growing number of career women who end a hectic day with a few hits of pot.

What did surprise me was the disappointing coverage of the story on the Today Show. Matt Lauer posed no real challenge when his two guests, Marie Claire's editor-in-chief and an NYU psychiatrist, voiced the opinion that we need to normalize these behaviors.

As a clinician and researcher in the field of substance abuse and as a person in long-term recovery, I think the trend should give us a reason to stop and consider the implications. Why are we so stressed that coming home, putting our feet up, and relaxing with family or friends isn't enough? Why can't we seem to find comfort in things that aren't illegal? Most importantly, do we appreciate or even consider the consequences?

The ladies in the story do not appear to have a life-ruling addiction. But are they at greater risk for developing one? Absolutely. According to the most recent data from the National Household Survey on Drug Use and Health, 947,000 people reported receiving treatment for marijuana use in the past year. This estimate was higher than the estimates for cocaine, heroin, and painkillers--and second only to that of alcohol, for which 2.7 million reported receiving treatment. Based on the latest Treatment Episode Data Sets (TEDS), the proportion of drug treatment admissions listing marijuana as the primary drug of abuse was 16% in 2003 through 2007, up from 12% in 1997; strikingly, more than a quarter of those treated with marijuana as their primary problem were women.

Forget the theory of marijuana as a "gateway" drug. These figures show us that pot, like many other substances, can be abused, even without progression to other drugs, and cause significant detrimental effects on the user.

For those of us who are in recovery, the stakes are especially high. Recently, a friend told me that she occasionally smokes a joint to relax. Even though we both got sober almost twenty-five years ago, I couldn't take her words lightly. Having watched other close friends and family members relapse after years of sobriety, I know all too well that addiction, like any other chronic health condition, requires continued attention and dedication. So why would my friend, who has spent so long managing her condition, take such an enormous risk?

The current administration is making tremendous strides in terms of the way we view, treat, measure, and fund substance abuse. But, I can tell you that legalization is not in their vocabulary. My friend wouldn't risk arrest or put her career or family on the line for a great piece of chocolate, so why does she do it for a few hits of pot?

Is it really that--just as we're determined to get rich quickly or make a gourmet meal in 15 minutes--we crave a quick and easy way to relax, as well? I don't have the answer. And, I'm not the type to suggest that the "Stiletto Stoners" could chill out just as well with a yoga class or a hot bath. I, of course, wish I had a quick fix to get through those relentless days. But, as I told my friend, when we make choices that are potentially self-destructive, it's time to step back--and, for a moment, push pause.

 

Comments

[zonker2012]

12 steppers, most are great people, some are like ex-tobacco users (shrill and judgemental)

[zonker2012]

We should be aware that the vast majority of those 947,000 people who underwent treatment for cannibis "addiction" were there because in the last several years, in several states, laws have been changed by legislators or through the initiative process (by the voters) to send first time arrestees to treatment programs instead of jail. Why? Because it seemed like a giant waste of resources to send non-violent offenders to jail. Turned out it was.

[Hank007]

I read that whole thing only to learn you have no answers? I ave one: Prescription drug deaths per year; 100,000+. Pot deaths ever recorded in history:0.

[tanche]

Pot is here to stay. Get used to it. Nothing wrong with a hit at the end of a long work day. It's a nice way to unwind. Alcohol taste like crap. Let's move along. Next?

[RevRayGreen]

the only danger from smoking marijuana male or female is jail.

say lady, when you are in your 40's, marijuana is preventive medicine for any adult.

Does the "gateway theory" even apply to a 60yr old retired man?

[Schaz]

Statistics for people in treatment/rehab for marijuana use aren't meaningful until you subtract the number that are in those programs by court order. (Their "problem" is that they got busted.)

[Malkin72]

"Why can't we seem to find comfort in things that aren't illegal? Most importantly, do we appreciate or even consider the consequences?"

If it were legal, would an article even be written on the subject?

I think religion is bad for society, but that individuals have the right to decide that it's good for them...why can't the same respect be given for those who use pot.

Would you suggest people give up their beliefs or religion if they were illegal?

[Malkin72]

EVERY SINGLE ONE of the consequences mentioned in this article is artificial.

"Why can't we seem to find comfort in things that aren't illegal? Most importantly, do we appreciate or even consider the consequences?"

What happened on Wall St. was (evidently) legal, but we all know it was CRIMINAL. Smoking pot is illegal, but there is nothing "criminal" about it. It hurts no one beyond the user (debatable anyway) and is certainly less harmful than plenty of legal options.

Putting people in jail for smoking pot is CRIMINAL.

Innocent people are in jail because of the self righteous intolerance of people like Ms. Carise.

What if chocolate was made illegal....after all people like Charlie Rangel and David Vitter get to decide what is legal...would there be anything "criminal" about eating chocolate?

Of course not, but...it would ruin your life, using the standards set for pot in this article.

[LadyR]

Lighten up, and light up!

[sort84]

"My friend wouldn't risk arrest or put her career or family on the line for a great piece of chocolate, so why does she do it for a few hits of pot?"

That's such an easy statement to make in a a vacuum...

"But, as I told my friend, when we make choices that are potentially self-destructive, it's time to step back--and, for a moment, push pause."

Yeah, like getting up, breathing in polluted air, hoping you don't get hit by a bus/truck/­comet/heli­copter/etc­.

Honestly, the only reason that weed is a gateway drug is because the only way to get it is from drug dealers. If it were plausible to obtain weed at a dispensary, it would completely eliminate the need for pot smokers to have to associate with drug addicts.

When people smoke weed, they can still lead productive normal lives; when people shoot heroin into themselves, it is difficult/­impossible to lead any sort of normal life. So, I can of course see why you must treat potheads the same way you would treat a junkie...

The war on marijuana has been lost and is just costing the country money that could be allocated to actually helping people instead of locking up those found guilty of victimless crimes.

[SpiralUp]

This is the problem with the recovery industry. You have to pathologize perfectly normal behavior.

"Why can't we seem to find comfort in things that aren't illegal?" ?? Why would something that people take comfort in BE illegal? Are your recovering friends currently abstaining from chocolate too? If not, then they are not risking their recovery by eating it, are they? But a person who is 'addicted to alcohol', which you and your industry have turned into a medical/clinical condition, is then forever forbidden to partake of any other psychoactive substance? So what about the psychoactive substances of caffeine, theobromine, sugar, chamomile tea?

Cannabis has it's uses, and of course it has it's potential pitfalls. As does every substance and experience on this planet.

Cannabis [and all other drugs] should not be illegal just because some people have adverse reactions to them. You are responsible for your own life and health. Stay out of other's affairs.

[coveark]

I am in agreement with you . I had a shorter but along the line comment that was scrubbed.

You are right in your assessment about reactions. It is right on.

Also, you are never over addiction until you stop obsessing about it. When you forget about it and it no longer is a FORCE in your thoughts, then you are over it.

Your last two sentences.­..........­..........­priceless.

[fpie]

Before I retired I was a designer. Pot was a useful work tool. Stuck for an idea? Have a toke and the job was off and running. And the work I did buzzed was always more financially sucessful, more original.
Now living in the boonies I sadly don't run in those circles anymore so I don't have much access. But I do miss it sometimes.
As to the down side. If you smoke multiple times a day it's probably not good. If you drive your car at high speeds or eat to excess that's not good either. All things in moderation. If you have no self control abuse of anything is just a symptom of a deeper problem. Don't project that onto everybody else. Some of us are just living out here.

[GreatNews27]

Don't worry, I'm sure the feds are tracking these women down as we speak so that they may feel the wrath of justice in the form of a 20 year prison sentence. How else will we keep our crown as the country with the largest prison population on Earth?

[brady61995]

we all have our vices, if you want to hit the bottle or the pipe or in my case the coffee pot its your business. heroin and cocaine i dont think should be legal but i have no issues with pot. whatsoever.
I just say no but thats my choice. i think that heels should be outlawed so woman are not forced to think they have to wear them. they can be fun to wear and they do not make you smarter or more attractive or more interesting if anything they are a sign of compliance and doing what is expected, kill the heels. if i had to walk in those all day i would want to smoke pot too.

[PlaceboStudman]

Do you advocate for the abolition of after work "happy hours" at bars and restaurants, where often times companies will rent an entire room for "mixer" flowing with alcohol?

And if you dont advocate for the abolition of "happy hours", but are advocating for the abolition of the "stiletto heel" trend, what, pray tell, is the difference?

A man or woman who smokes a joint a night in the comfort and safety of their own home is far less dangerous to themself and others than the men and women who attend after work "happy hours" then potentially drive intoxicated.

Are you really advocating this from a safety and health perspective, or only because it is (currently) illegal?

As for Obama's policy, I suspect (and hope) that he is taking a state-by-state approach, and will not change federal law until numerous state laws have changed. And they ARE changing with the increase in medical marijuana, and no less than 3 potential marijuana legalization issues on the ballot in Ca next year.