I stopped smoking pot because I realized it made me dumber. Am I onto something?

Stoned. Bored. Got me thinking...<br><br>I used to be a heavy smoker (weed, but sometimes tobacco). I eventually stopped because I realized I was dumber when I smoked. I was more forgetful, my memory was shot and I was just generally unaware of my surroundings. (I would be driving to the same intersection every day and still get confused and start going the wrong way, for example). I stopped smoking and suddenly my memory came back, my surroundings were more vivid... Everything just seemed more real.<br><br>The other day, I was listening to the radio and I heard a commercial for this smoking shop, and it was like the guy was trying to make me not want to smoke weed. All the benefits he mentioned sounded like negatives. "Weed will help you forget all your worries!" and "You'll be way less aware of your surroundings!" and "Your memory won't be as sharp!"... I was thinking "Are these good things?" If I can't remember anything, am I not just better off not smoking? I don't want to forget anything. I want to remember everything. Why would I intentionally make myself dumber?<br><br>So I stopped smoking.<br><br>Now it's gotten to the point where I feel like the whole world is trying to make me dumber. All the commercials for the different strains of weed (marketing towards *kids*) with their bright colors and obnoxious visuals... It all seems like an obvious attempt to make me dumber. Every commercial for beer, liquor and other drugs... They're all trying to make me dumber! The internet is full of attempts to make me dumber.<br><br>The entire entertainment industry is built on intentionally making me dumber! All the movies and shows with forgetful, lazy and stupid protagonists. The repetitive "humor" that makes you laugh without actually thinking. All the video games and Esports... I recently went to the official Twitch website and was watching the stream of the most popular game at the moment, and it was just some guy who was playing this mindless, repetitive game where his character just runs around and shoots everything. The stream was incredibly popular and it was also being streamed on dozens of other channels... It was like the whole world was playing the same dumb game all at once.<br><br>I'm not really trying to sound like an elitist or anything, but it just feels like the whole world is "dumbing down" in general.<br><br>Am I onto something?