The phrase "burnt out hippie" exists for a good reason. I was widely regarded as brilliant when I started smoking. After 30 years of smoking almost every day, and about 5 years of smoking a few times a year, I'm noticeably dumber than peers who didn't smoke, who I used to run circles around. With very few exceptions, I've only used weed. For me, the biggest harm was brain damage.
I'm curious what you're really trying to say here and why feel the need to compare yourself to your peers in such a way. Do you feel like you wasted those years because your peers are "smarter" than you now?
Exactly that. It's hard to have any sort of control over a lifetime, but I went to university, have worked in software, and some of the friends I compare myself to did the same. I'm still "smart". But I feel like smoking as much as I did has accelerated my age-related cognitive decline.
I don't feel that I wasted the years, but I do think that the thousands of hours spent stoned were a complete waste and have decreased the potential quality of the latter half of my life.
