from readin interviews over the years i gather that they all smoked a fair bit of weed from when they first got together as a band in 2000 ish i think. durin the recordin of the first album(and most likeley sum before this period) rob was startin to experience the negative effects of intense skunk smokin.and he gave up either during the album sessions or very soon after.and i recall him sayin he sorta fainted/fell over in the studio and told the other lads "its gotta stop ". so he did stop but i think the other 3 were still lovin the herb so they carried on.
when rob gave up smokin weed .he followed the classic addiction pattern of replacin one addiction with another ,in his case booze and junk food.then over time he got depressed ,to the point of seekin help and gettin medication.and its great he did ,coz hes turned his life around and seems to be lovin life again.in the nme last week i was also supprised that adam was also on anti depressents.he always seemed so together in interviews and that for a hardcore stoner.so i wouldnt be supprised if hes either stopped smokin weed as well or perhaps cut down to more sensible amount. me and all my mates smoked strong skunk solidly for ten years or so and ive seen all of them fall apart in front of me.its a dangerous drug and any1 who says its harmless is a ignorant fool. your always find exeptions to the rules like ianbrown and snoop/howard marks,who dont seem to be affected very much know matter how much they smoke. but 12 and 13 year olds minds cant handle skunk.thats why these black kids(and sum white) in london are goin round stabbin people .i bet nearly all the stabbers smoked skunk and lived in a fantasy world thinkin their sum american gangstar.it makes unstable minds violent and paranoid and it distorts the truth. i loved smokin it was my life. givin up has taken me 4 years on and off .at the worst point i couldnt answer the door to my friends and family ,and at the best i could just about hold conversation with strangers.ive got 2 close mates who ended up in mental hospitals(1 who wanted to kill his brother) and the rest are just damaged souls. i , replaced smokin weed with doin loads of pills and speed,which hasnt helped but i honestl;y can say i think skunk is only less damagin (to the mind) than acid/crack.. it annoys me when people think a person is weak and a lightwieght if they hav a weed addiction .its becomin more and more apparent how damagin skunk is.it dont matter who ur it will catch up with u eventually. its not that great a drug really is it? it makes u lazy, unsocialable.paranoid skint and borin in my opinion. yer its amzin when u first discover it and it really does make music sound amzin and the world seems excitin .but that all passes quickly ,and suddently u dont get a buzz anymore .and u spend years chasin that initial feelin ,and it never comes back .im not tryin to preach but if any young kids read this .hav a smoke but dont let it take over. the less u do it the more ule enjoy it..