for pot smokers
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Great Lakes
Posts: 9
for pot smokers
So hey everyone, first time posting on here.. been floating around on here about a month.
I'm having a hard time with accepting if i'm an addict. I'm a pot smoker since i was 15, 29 now. I basically stopped because my psychiatrist said he wouldn't provide my meds for my bipolar, depression and anxiety if I couldn't pass a drug screen.
I've always felt like, it's only pot.. what's the big deal?
I quit 5 weeks ago and have been feeling crappy since and pretty angry at him. I'm not a child and didn't think it was right for him to do that. Last night I got high, today would've been 5 weeks clean.
So, I don't know what i'm getting at.. just seeing if any other pot smokers have struggled, too.
Flora
I'm having a hard time with accepting if i'm an addict. I'm a pot smoker since i was 15, 29 now. I basically stopped because my psychiatrist said he wouldn't provide my meds for my bipolar, depression and anxiety if I couldn't pass a drug screen.
I've always felt like, it's only pot.. what's the big deal?
I quit 5 weeks ago and have been feeling crappy since and pretty angry at him. I'm not a child and didn't think it was right for him to do that. Last night I got high, today would've been 5 weeks clean.
So, I don't know what i'm getting at.. just seeing if any other pot smokers have struggled, too.
Flora
Member
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 525
sure did. you're not just giving up pot & THC, you're giving up a lover, your favorite habit.
Your brain chemicals need some time. But your mental health gets frustrated cuz ya can't escape the way you've loved for 15 years. If you can be a stoic and make friends with your anger & frustration, you'll get through this. Though, that's easier said than done.
Your brain chemicals need some time. But your mental health gets frustrated cuz ya can't escape the way you've loved for 15 years. If you can be a stoic and make friends with your anger & frustration, you'll get through this. Though, that's easier said than done.
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,442
it's only pot.. what's the big deal?
That's addiction Flora - it may have been an FU as well, sure, but that's addiction for ya - we'll use anything as a reason to get high.
Pot nearly destroyed my life. Full stop.
It may be harmless for a lot of folks, but it's no more harmless to me than alcohol was.
It took me twenty years to realise that - I hope you realise it sooner, Flora.
D
Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: florida
Posts: 26
Flora,
I'm so sorry your having a problem. Personally I love pot. Always have probably always will. I don't need it though. If i'm out, no big deal, its nice to have but I have never felt bad after not having any or wondered if I was addicted. When I started asking myself if I had a pill problem I figured that if I was asking myself that then I probably did. Pot for me is great but not something I NEED to deal or enjoy life. I am a fond believer that just b/c I don't get addicted to it doesn't mean you can't and vise verca on any drug. For example I know people that have done crack and fell in love and others that done it and just didn't do much for them. Someone very close to me has been on pretty much every drug you can name and now only smoke pot and he is a wonderful successful man and if he needed to quit today I know he could, I've seen him do it. I wish you so much luck figuring this out. Oh, and I don't know what medicine you are on but if smoking is effecting meds you need for your health it is prob not a good idea to smoke.
I'm so sorry your having a problem. Personally I love pot. Always have probably always will. I don't need it though. If i'm out, no big deal, its nice to have but I have never felt bad after not having any or wondered if I was addicted. When I started asking myself if I had a pill problem I figured that if I was asking myself that then I probably did. Pot for me is great but not something I NEED to deal or enjoy life. I am a fond believer that just b/c I don't get addicted to it doesn't mean you can't and vise verca on any drug. For example I know people that have done crack and fell in love and others that done it and just didn't do much for them. Someone very close to me has been on pretty much every drug you can name and now only smoke pot and he is a wonderful successful man and if he needed to quit today I know he could, I've seen him do it. I wish you so much luck figuring this out. Oh, and I don't know what medicine you are on but if smoking is effecting meds you need for your health it is prob not a good idea to smoke.
Big Idiot Man Child
Join Date: May 2004
Location: La
Posts: 5,664
I can take it or leave it. Doesn't do much for me other than make me more stupider and paranoid and it's kinda high school so I don't smoke it. And I quit cigarettes. And I'm exercising. And I'm about to drink some skim milk.
thank you
thank you
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Great Lakes
Posts: 9
Originally Posted by windysan 
I can take it or leave it. Doesn't do much for me other than make me more stupider and paranoid and it's kinda high school so I don't smoke it. And I quit cigarettes. And I'm exercising. And I'm about to drink some skim milk.
thank you
thank you
Member
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Guelph, Ontario
Posts: 640
Hey did you say you were bipolar I thought you said that in the chat. Pot and bipolar don't go together. I knew a girl in treatment who was addicted to pot and she was bipolar and it made her manic and psycotic.
Just pot... I used to think that too, especially when my parents would throw out my pot supply and I would think whats the issue. Pot was never that much of an issue for me, but I don't use it, why because it makes me want other drugs. When I was in treatment I relapsed on pot a few times. Got kicked out of a program for PTSD because of using pot which made me feel really bad because it was just pot right.
You may not be into other drugs now but it could happen. You pdoc has a reason for not wanting you to smoke pot it will effect your meds, and if you wanta feel better then you need the meds.
No matter what is said, pot is still a drug. It still makes you high. True in some cases it can be used properly and be helpful but it can also be abused. I don't think you have a medical reason for using pot so ya probably not a good reason to use so better to avoid. Pot can still destroy your life as much as any drug.
Just pot... I used to think that too, especially when my parents would throw out my pot supply and I would think whats the issue. Pot was never that much of an issue for me, but I don't use it, why because it makes me want other drugs. When I was in treatment I relapsed on pot a few times. Got kicked out of a program for PTSD because of using pot which made me feel really bad because it was just pot right.
You may not be into other drugs now but it could happen. You pdoc has a reason for not wanting you to smoke pot it will effect your meds, and if you wanta feel better then you need the meds.
No matter what is said, pot is still a drug. It still makes you high. True in some cases it can be used properly and be helpful but it can also be abused. I don't think you have a medical reason for using pot so ya probably not a good reason to use so better to avoid. Pot can still destroy your life as much as any drug.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Laguna Niguel
Posts: 135
I never liked it and it's a dead give away when your on it anyone that's tryed it can tell,it not only makes you stupid but nothing gets done,it is a gateway to harder drugs, was for me plus your supporting the drug cartels,now I hate pot damn it.
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,442
Again....pot nearly destroyed my life - this is my personal experience - and I know I'm not the only one on the board who's had that experience.
This is a recovery board.
Let's remember that.
D
This is a recovery board.
Let's remember that.
2. Outside Agendas: No posts of an overtly political or religious nature OR posts promoting advocacy of particular personal, medical, legal, religious, political, or non-profit causes. The forums are intended for offering mutual personal support related to recovery from addiction or recovery for family and friends. This is our primary purpose. Debating controversial subjects should be taken elsewhere. Limited references are allowed, but the forums should not be used to convert others. Do not post content or links to and from sites that flame someone's person, religious beliefs, race, national background, sexual orientation, or recovery program/method. It is inappropriate to promote the use of alcohol or drugs on our addiction recovery forums.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Colorado
Posts: 664
Flora I know how you feel. I gave up drinking 10 months ago, but pot only about 8 months ago (yes I still consider my sober date 10 months ago for those in the program wanting to wag a finger), because it was harder to give up, even though I wasn't getting as much from it. Pot can be as addictive as any other drug and can have bad withdrawal effects, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. When you've been on it straight for 14 years, you're probably going to feel like he.ll the first few weeks, even months after getting off of it. I read, and was told, pot doesn't leave your brain for about six months after stopping use. The reason your doctor doesn't want you on weed when taking psych meds is because they basically interfere with reaction. Pot is also a depressant, as well as a stimulant and hallucinogen, so it's not going to help the depression part of your bi-polar disorder and will promote mania. At one point pot was like my anti-depressant, a lover, a friend. But in one day it sent me into a nervous breakdown and my body never reacted to it the same, though I kept doing it.
Only you can know if you're an addict. If you're here, you probably have an inkling. If you were unable to stop doing your drug or activity despite the negative consequences or problems it created for you, you're probably an addict. The only effective way to keep addiction at bay is with abstinence.
I realized after being off pot for a few months, my cognitive functioning and memory started coming back online and I started reading again, something I had mostly put off because pot had made me too lazy, impatient and created a lack of focus in me. It also mostly made me anxious, paranoid and twitchy, all side effects of taking it while on psych meds. And I realized I had just outgrown the drug and that it wasn't serving a positive purpose in my life. Now I'm a lot less anxious and my moods are more stable. I hope I don't come across as preachy, that's not my intent. I don't personally decry marijuana, despite the havoc it caused in my life, nor alcohol, because for some people they can handle it, same with drinking, and as evidenced in 13 states it has some purported medical purposes. But I certainly wouldn't advocate it, especially not for someone in their teens as their brains are still growing and pot can stunt that development. And regardless of the debate on whether or not it's physically or psychologically addictive, it's addictive for many people and does ruin lives, a fact that, sadly, gets laughed at by some, including addicts themselves.
Your doctor's not trying to punish you or make you suffer, he wants to help in the best way he knows how and he knows that psych meds just don't work very well when illicit drugs or alcohol are in the way. Indeed he's trying to save you from throwing your money down the toilet by taking meds that won't work. I did that for a good three years and I wouldn't recommend it. Give yourself some substantial clean time and you'll find the cravings subside and you'll be functioning on a level you haven't remembered for a long time.
Only you can know if you're an addict. If you're here, you probably have an inkling. If you were unable to stop doing your drug or activity despite the negative consequences or problems it created for you, you're probably an addict. The only effective way to keep addiction at bay is with abstinence.
I realized after being off pot for a few months, my cognitive functioning and memory started coming back online and I started reading again, something I had mostly put off because pot had made me too lazy, impatient and created a lack of focus in me. It also mostly made me anxious, paranoid and twitchy, all side effects of taking it while on psych meds. And I realized I had just outgrown the drug and that it wasn't serving a positive purpose in my life. Now I'm a lot less anxious and my moods are more stable. I hope I don't come across as preachy, that's not my intent. I don't personally decry marijuana, despite the havoc it caused in my life, nor alcohol, because for some people they can handle it, same with drinking, and as evidenced in 13 states it has some purported medical purposes. But I certainly wouldn't advocate it, especially not for someone in their teens as their brains are still growing and pot can stunt that development. And regardless of the debate on whether or not it's physically or psychologically addictive, it's addictive for many people and does ruin lives, a fact that, sadly, gets laughed at by some, including addicts themselves.
Your doctor's not trying to punish you or make you suffer, he wants to help in the best way he knows how and he knows that psych meds just don't work very well when illicit drugs or alcohol are in the way. Indeed he's trying to save you from throwing your money down the toilet by taking meds that won't work. I did that for a good three years and I wouldn't recommend it. Give yourself some substantial clean time and you'll find the cravings subside and you'll be functioning on a level you haven't remembered for a long time.
Member
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Dayton, OH.
Posts: 879
Actually studies show that alcohol is the true gateway drug. Something else I learned in my skoolin'. LOL. Schooling. 
Commercials, media, and the government are trying to scare people when they say pot is the gateway drug. It's all about the money they are making in the end results, from the "war on drugs". Which many will tell you, professionals and people in the streets, is a losing war from our side, but a winner from the government's side. Think of all the money they are making. OH MY! LOL
That said, Flora, I totally agree with AcceptingChange. Well put and well thought out. And only you can decide if you're addicted to pot or not. I know it's something I can take or leave and haven't smoked it in over 3 years (by then I was off on bigger things! Like, crack!). I don't think it should be illegal, but I also do not get angry if my doctor said I couldn't have it. Now if he tried to take away my caffiene, we'd have a fight. MINE. The difference being, for now, is caffiene is legal and pot is not, but the feelings are similar. I would be frustrated and confrontational about quitting cigarette smoking too. But again.. A little different. I was under the impression that pot could help stabilize bipolar, but that never came from really reliable sources, and your doctor IS a reliable source! Now presenting it as "if you come back dirty you won't get your meds" doesn't ring right with me. One, you're bipolar. YOU NEED to have some form of treatment to control your mood swings and threats like that are unethical. It's something a P.O. might say (only they'd say "If you come up dirty, you're going to jail!). I'd check into getting another doctor and make sure you are 100% about smoking weed and the effects it could have on you while on your meds. And take that advice. If a doctor says don't smoke it, don't do it. ANY doctor or all doctors.
Although I understand. How many times I'd have a couple alcoholic drinks while taking vicodins (as prescribed!) and the bottle says not to do that. But when you feel this strongly about not smoking pot, I think you have to ask yourself why you feel this way and read AcceptingChange's response again. I think that summed it up really well. And you might come back knowing you are an addict or you might realize it's not worth getting worked up over and just stop or you might not take any advice and keep on smoking.
Keep coming back too. We're here to help and be supportive! I know many people, here, who had a problem with pot and they know their stuff (like Dee, luv ya man!) and are very wise and happy to share! And they really know. Going from computer screens, it's harder to know, but if you really want to get some help and think you're addicted, then reach out. We're here for ya!
Commercials, media, and the government are trying to scare people when they say pot is the gateway drug. It's all about the money they are making in the end results, from the "war on drugs". Which many will tell you, professionals and people in the streets, is a losing war from our side, but a winner from the government's side. Think of all the money they are making. OH MY! LOLThat said, Flora, I totally agree with AcceptingChange. Well put and well thought out. And only you can decide if you're addicted to pot or not. I know it's something I can take or leave and haven't smoked it in over 3 years (by then I was off on bigger things! Like, crack!). I don't think it should be illegal, but I also do not get angry if my doctor said I couldn't have it. Now if he tried to take away my caffiene, we'd have a fight. MINE. The difference being, for now, is caffiene is legal and pot is not, but the feelings are similar. I would be frustrated and confrontational about quitting cigarette smoking too. But again.. A little different. I was under the impression that pot could help stabilize bipolar, but that never came from really reliable sources, and your doctor IS a reliable source! Now presenting it as "if you come back dirty you won't get your meds" doesn't ring right with me. One, you're bipolar. YOU NEED to have some form of treatment to control your mood swings and threats like that are unethical. It's something a P.O. might say (only they'd say "If you come up dirty, you're going to jail!). I'd check into getting another doctor and make sure you are 100% about smoking weed and the effects it could have on you while on your meds. And take that advice. If a doctor says don't smoke it, don't do it. ANY doctor or all doctors.
Although I understand. How many times I'd have a couple alcoholic drinks while taking vicodins (as prescribed!) and the bottle says not to do that. But when you feel this strongly about not smoking pot, I think you have to ask yourself why you feel this way and read AcceptingChange's response again. I think that summed it up really well. And you might come back knowing you are an addict or you might realize it's not worth getting worked up over and just stop or you might not take any advice and keep on smoking.
Keep coming back too. We're here to help and be supportive! I know many people, here, who had a problem with pot and they know their stuff (like Dee, luv ya man!) and are very wise and happy to share! And they really know. Going from computer screens, it's harder to know, but if you really want to get some help and think you're addicted, then reach out. We're here for ya!
Member
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Colorado
Posts: 664
I'm sorry, but perhaps I'm showing my ignorance, so please enlighten me, but while I think pot can bring great relief to people's pain, nausea, glacouma and other afflictions, I think prescribing pot for any mental disorder is silly and irresponsible. I want to see the solid, peer-reviewed research that shows marijuana significantly helps people with bi-polar disorder because for now I don't believe it. Another member on here reported being prescribed it for bi-polar, but my psychiatrist is a recovering alcoholic and while medicinal pot is legal here, I don't think she would ever think to prescribe pot to someone with depression or bi-polar disorder. Marijuana is a depressant, stimulant and hallucinogen. I had a friend who's bipolar and I saw no evidence that pot ever stabilized her moods, quite to the contrary. Sure that's one isolated case, but am I the only to whom that idea sounds insane. Again if you can show me a link to some evidence I'll believe it.
Flora, regardless of whether it's "good" for you or not, if it's a destructive force in your life, even if it just makes you unproductive or cognitively slow, get rid of it and get on a path to recovery. I'm not sure what meds you're on, but marijuana can really clash with psych meds in a manner that would make continue smoking unpleasant. That's one of the reasons I don't smoke anymore. But I'd say if you're on a site for addicts, questioning your pot use and your doctor doesn't want you to be on any drugs, those may be signs you have a problem and need to stop. But it's up to you ultimately if you can accept the consequences that come from your drug and alcohol use. In the end, for me, the negatives outweighed the positives.
Flora, regardless of whether it's "good" for you or not, if it's a destructive force in your life, even if it just makes you unproductive or cognitively slow, get rid of it and get on a path to recovery. I'm not sure what meds you're on, but marijuana can really clash with psych meds in a manner that would make continue smoking unpleasant. That's one of the reasons I don't smoke anymore. But I'd say if you're on a site for addicts, questioning your pot use and your doctor doesn't want you to be on any drugs, those may be signs you have a problem and need to stop. But it's up to you ultimately if you can accept the consequences that come from your drug and alcohol use. In the end, for me, the negatives outweighed the positives.
Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: florida
Posts: 26
okay I dont think anyone's response to this that I have read has "promoted" the use of pot. Everyone is just saying their personal feelings about it. Some believe it is a gateways drug, some don't. Some get addicted some don't. Just like with any other drug. I think everyone is right in their own way b/c pot along with other drugs effects everyone differently. Some of you come off like since its your opinion its right bottom line. I'm just trying to not be judgemental but, ya know that's just my opinion....doesn't make it right.
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,442
It's my decision to decide if a rule is being contravened. I'm happy to discuss that with anyone who wants to PM me.
Right here, tho - I think we need to get this thread back on track.
If anyone has any advice or experience to share with Flora about her situation, go ahead.
Anything else is off topic.
D
Right here, tho - I think we need to get this thread back on track.
If anyone has any advice or experience to share with Flora about her situation, go ahead.
Anything else is off topic.
D
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