If I didn't know otherwise Daffy, I'd think you were someone I know very well. She also was brought up in childrens' homes and suffered the same type of abuse as yourself. She was kicked out onto the streets when she was 16, and was very soon pregnant by some waster who left her immediately. The pattern continued, and she now has 5 children by different fathers, but she's now turned her life around, and is studying for a uni degree as a mature student.
She tried cannabis a few times, to try & calm down after getting angry and self-harming. Luckily it hasn't affected her or increased her desire to go down that path again, but from what I've seen of another long-term user, it HAS. I can remember him as being a pleasant, happy guy, but he's now fearful and sometimes withdrawn. He forgets easily, and he can't hold down a job. He's been smoking weed every day for 25 or more years, and there's definitely a change in him from when he didn't.