I smoked when I was 13-14. The very first time I got high as a kid is a story for another time. I quit when I was 14 and started again when I was 21. I'll never, ever forget the experience I had my first time smoking weed after 7 years off. I was literally tripping. It felt the way a lot of people describe psychedelics. I thought something had gone wrong and freaked out. I can say it changed my life forever. I met up with three buddies in one of their garage, two veteran smokers. They smoked bowls and only let me take 3 hits, I remember specifically they wouldn't let me take more. I started feeling it. After about 15 minutes I was laughing and 'high'. It kept getting stronger and I didn't hit my peak until around 40 minutes after I smoked. It kept getting stronger. I kept getting higher and I got this hot feeling in my stomach that I couldn't get rid of. I was freaking out about having to drive home and about having to see my parents the next day and looking all weird. I started freaking out about all kinds of stuff. My social anxiety wasn't there I was too high to be self conscious. We just sat in the garage, listening to metal and smoking cigarettes. A song that was only 3-4 minutes felt like 3-4 hours and I kept getting lost and coming back, remembering the song was still playing and it felt like it'd been hours since it started. At one point I didn't feel like i was in control. The 'trip' fastened itself to my brain and wouldn't let me divert my mind to anything else but it. All I could think of was how unbearably stoned I was and the whole time wishing it would end. It was like a floodlight in my face. I had some really weird experiences that night I'll never forget. I still look back at it, five years later. My buddies told me they were starting to get nervous because I was so nervous and they didn't know what I'd do, and that I was acting like I was on acid or something. My eyes were marooned, puffy and I looked like a zombie. Socially smoking brought my 'personal tolerance' up over the next while. I don't hang out with those buddies anymore and I kind of miss them. We still talk sometimes but that's it. Lately in spite of smoking every day my tolerance is getting nearer to the point it was when I started five years ago. I always thought if anything the weed would get less powerful as you age but maybe I'm wrong? ..