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We have a gradual nationwide trend in which laws are being made to restrict or prohibit tobacco use, and other legislation is passing that makes marijuana legal and accessible. These are both addictive substances (especially considering the greatly increased potency of today's pot) and it seems paradoxical that this reversal is taking place.  

Concerning tobacco's harmful effects, the argument doesn't hold water that pot smoke is just as bad for your lungs as tobacco smoke. This is because marijuana can be put in olive oil, baked in brownies and so on. While the only way of getting tobacco, in a manner that "does the trick" for us, is to smoke it.  

I honestly wish tobacco was just made into an illegal drug, rather than peddled and hugely taxed. My budget on Social Security would be so much better if I wasn't paying for these filthy things.  

On the other hand, studies have been done indicating that nicotine can help the minds of people with schizophrenia. Furthermore and probably because of that, it is probably about twice as hard for someone with schizophrenia to quit.  

At one point, I was able to go "cold turkey" for a week. And then I was in the same room as someone who smoked an electronic cigarette, and I was triggered. I was back to smoking the same evening.  

A comedian once said, and this is very true, that cigarettes don't do anything for you (meaning don't get you high) except to satisfy your need for another cigarette. Stephen King, in his book "On Writing" said (and this is not an exact quote) that a cigarette might help you write, but the problem is that it kills you while it is doing so.  

I have met a man whose life was ruined by smoking. His home had giant oxygen tanks that kept him alive, and he had periodic breathing attacks in which the oxygen had to be turned up. He was dying a horrible death of emphysema and lung cancer, and I was applying to work for him in In-Home Support. When I got home I phoned him to decline being considered.  

And yet I am still a smoker. I have said to family who are concerned for my health that in order to get free of the smoking habit I would need to go into an inpatient rehab of the sort used for drug addicts and alcoholics. If I try to quit now, the level of discomfort and the withdrawal symptoms would make me nonfunctional, and I would not be able to maintain most of my responsibilities--I would probably also turn into a werewolf.  

Studies have been done showing that nicotine is good for the brains of those with schizophrenia. Perhaps this is why the mental health treatment system doesn't do anything to discourage smoking. If anything, they accommodate it. This is like saying our lives aren’t valuable, and anything making it easier for us to be managed is a plus.  

Back to the comparison with marijuana, it could be a mistake to legalize it. At least for persons with schizophrenia, marijuana can worsen psychosis. On the other hand, some people who suffer from schizophrenia or other mental illness "self-medicate" with alcohol, and this situation is no better than tobacco or pot.