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Just me, or can weed really ruin your life?

Old 07-30-2014, 07:42 PM
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Question Just me, or can weed really ruin your life?

Hey everyone, I apologize if this has been posted before but this is my first post so I wouldn't know.

Out of all drugs I've experimented with, weed has affected me the most negatively. When I tell people this no one wants to hear it, but I'm unsure if its due to my age and the fact that the majority of college kids smoke and drink, or if its really just me.

Let me know your honest opinions. I'm expecting some to call me crazy.
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Old 07-30-2014, 07:53 PM
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It ruined my life for sure.
I get a lot of people incredulous at that statement too, but it was true for me.

I was hooked for 30 years.

D
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Old 07-30-2014, 08:00 PM
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I believe any drug can ruin someone's life. Different people have different body chemistry and what might not affect one person much at all can be very detrimental to someone else.

My ex-husband was addicted to pot. I know the general consensus seems to be that pot is not addictive, but I'm here to tell you that my ex was addicted to pot. But then again, I know people who could take it or leave it. It really depends on the person.
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Old 07-31-2014, 02:29 AM
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Weed allowed me to enjoy/tolerate boredom. As I used to be bored at home a lot, rather than developing new skills, learning new things, socializing and growing as a human, I would just sit at home, browse the web, listen to tunes and eat lots. It was like this for me for years on and off. When I stop doing it, I start doing other things, like living.
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Old 07-31-2014, 08:16 AM
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Me too, full-blown addict for 20 years. I'm still getting over the idea that it's not a problem or my addiction isn't valid.

Welcome to the forum. There are a lot of us potheads here.
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Old 07-31-2014, 08:24 AM
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Habitually escaping reality is escaping reality (addiction), be it pot, alcohol, coke, facebook, shopping, gambling etc. Hell, I could say im addicted to daydreaming. If you are posting about it, I would lay money that it is an issue for you. I had a boyfriend who couldn't for the life of him go a day without pot. Without it he was the biggest jerk around. I have metpeople who smoke it occasionally without an issue, like people who can have some drinks occasionally without an issue (though pot is illegal, I know). Bad habits break us and good habits make us.
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Old 07-31-2014, 08:28 AM
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Yeah, I hate it. My ex smoke it when we were kids and I told him no more when we got together.

Long story short, he kept doing it behind my back, then pills and ultimately is now schizophrenic.
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Old 08-01-2014, 03:40 PM
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I could never take to it as even a small amount - a couple of puffs of a joint and I was off, proper tripping like I'd had acid. No matter how many times I tried over the years, same thing. Seeing things, the lot.

I ended up in n psychiatric hospital at suffering from depression brought on by megs-flashbacks that stayed with me for as long as a day sometimes. I would just be sitting minding my own business and bang! Wah-Wah-Wah....off my head.

I feel very lucky I didn't end up schizophrenic. In hospital they were at me all the time, "do you hear voices, do you hear voices??)
Lucky escape!!
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Old 08-03-2014, 01:48 AM
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man weed compromised my ability to live and function on so many levels, i wouldnt know where to begin....it was one of a pot pouri of substances I have been addicted to , and that last and hardest to let go of.

living the dream, clean and serene
v
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Old 08-03-2014, 04:18 AM
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It killed a lot of my motivation, that's for sure. I wasted a lot of time just being stoned on my couch on weekends. Some people can smoke all they want and be really outgoing when straight, but for me when I smoke heavy it just kills my motivation even when I'm not on weed.
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Old 08-03-2014, 07:39 AM
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It had a lot of negative consequences for me. It was harder to see the sometimes. Where alcohol might leave me passed out on the bathroom floor or in the hospital, weed never did that.

But it DID keep me from enjoying life. I was chained to it. It made me anxious and less productive and it was my number 1 priority. I didn't even want to spend much time with family members if I couldn't smoke weed around them. And the list of things I sarificied goes on and on.

It took some time for me to adjust and for my brain to heal from the years of alcohol, pot and other random drugs, but now I feel better than I ever did when I was smoking weed. It's been worth it to quit.
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Old 08-03-2014, 08:09 AM
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Dear weed smokers:

How long did it take after quitting weed entirely for you to start having the ability to enjoy ANYTHING again?

I've tried to research weed detox and there is very little useful information out there. I have a family member whose life has been destroyed by weed. Dropped out of college 15 years ago after smoking weed the previous 10 years, and for the past 15 years has been depressed and anxious, even while smoking weed. I recognize that some of this can be depression self medicated by weed, but this person can't seem to find peace without it. He has been diagnosed bipolar, but I don't think that's his problem. The drugs used to treat it make him far worse, so he's off those.

Now, he is depressed, paranoid, and intensely unhappy. He dropped all his friends from the past when this all started, and he has ruined several relationships because of the weed. So now he is alone, too.

I want to be able to tell him how long it takes to even BEGIN to feel better, free of weed. Yes, he's been to the doctor and even a shrink, but nobody seems to be able to help him. He's a complex guy, truly wonderful person, and a talented musician. The weed is the "black hole" in his personality, or at least the form it takes. He quit weed about 4 months ago but relapsed a few days last week. I knew it when he disappeared off the radar for a few days, because that's been his pattern.

I want to help him. I know how to help myself. Please don't tell me to go to F&F here, nobody on there is talking about this particular drug. I just want to know from the weed smokers out there, some real world experience about how you figured out how to quit and how long it took to start the road back to feeling normal.
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Old 08-03-2014, 08:39 AM
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It is emotionally addictive, you think you have to have it. With the strength of it nowadays all the more dangerous in the sense that it stays in the fatty tissue a long time leaving you hazey and trancelike sometimes when you want to be alert and thinking clearly.

Pot smokers inhale deeply, Pot has many Carcinegins in it more than Tobacco they say, so if you value your healthy Pink lungs......

Give it up for good!

Yes I had the same problem, smoked and drank till it's almost too late.... Don't do as I did !

The good news is quitting Weed far easier than Alcohol on account of the withdrawal/sympoms you face when you stop Alcohol.
Weed will leave you feeling blue but that wears off if you remain active.

God Bless.
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Old 08-04-2014, 07:10 AM
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Google Post Accute Withdrawal Syndrome or PAWS.

It can take 6-12 months to fully recover from weed, alcohol or other drug use. Depression, anxiety, anger, and just feeling generally flat emotionally are very common during the early months of recovery. But with time, the brain heals and things do get better.

Exercise and eating well help, but it just takes time.
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Old 08-04-2014, 12:05 PM
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Googling PAWS does not help me at all. Done that. I already know all that stuff, and I have my own history of opiate withdrawal and experience with PAWS.

Withdrawal from weed is NOTHING like anything I have encountered. What I am looking for here, is REAL LIFE EXPERIENCE from actual weed smokers, or ex weed smokers, who have quit weed and what they actually experienced.

Thanks for trying to help. But telling me about how to look up PAWS is not helpful.
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Old 08-04-2014, 04:41 PM
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Originally Posted by FT View Post
Dear weed smokers:

How long did it take after quitting weed entirely for you to start having the ability to enjoy ANYTHING again?

I've tried to research weed detox and there is very little useful information out there. I have a family member whose life has been destroyed by weed. Dropped out of college 15 years ago after smoking weed the previous 10 years, and for the past 15 years has been depressed and anxious, even while smoking weed. I recognize that some of this can be depression self medicated by weed, but this person can't seem to find peace without it. He has been diagnosed bipolar, but I don't think that's his problem. The drugs used to treat it make him far worse, so he's off those.

Now, he is depressed, paranoid, and intensely unhappy. He dropped all his friends from the past when this all started, and he has ruined several relationships because of the weed. So now he is alone, too.

I want to be able to tell him how long it takes to even BEGIN to feel better, free of weed. Yes, he's been to the doctor and even a shrink, but nobody seems to be able to help him. He's a complex guy, truly wonderful person, and a talented musician. The weed is the "black hole" in his personality, or at least the form it takes. He quit weed about 4 months ago but relapsed a few days last week. I knew it when he disappeared off the radar for a few days, because that's been his pattern.

I want to help him. I know how to help myself. Please don't tell me to go to F&F here, nobody on there is talking about this particular drug. I just want to know from the weed smokers out there, some real world experience about how you figured out how to quit and how long it took to start the road back to feeling normal.
Googling PAWS does not help me at all. Done that. I already know all that stuff, and I have my own history of opiate withdrawal and experience with PAWS.

Withdrawal from weed is NOTHING like anything I have encountered. What I am looking for here, is REAL LIFE EXPERIENCE from actual weed smokers, or ex weed smokers, who have quit weed and what they actually experienced.

Thanks for trying to help. But telling me about how to look up PAWS is not helpful.
Not sure there's any need to be so tart FT.
You asked a question and got some experiences/responses.

I can't give you a definitive answer either because, just like alcohol or indeed opiates, it varies.

I gave up pot full time around 15 years ago but I started drinking more to compensate and eventually went back to smoking when I could.

When I finally gave up alcohol and pot in 07, it took about 3 months for me to feel anything remotely like happiness or joy, and then a few more months to trust those feelings.

If your friend has been depressed and anxious for 15 years then there's obviously something else going on here, besides weed.

The weed won't have helped but I doubt simply removing it will be enough to magically transform anyones life who's been emotionally troubled for that long.

I had to start again - revise my friendships, what I did for fun, the way I dealt with problems...all that took a while.

I look back and it took me at least a year to rebuild a life I enjoyed.

It's nice of you to want to help FT but I think all of this stuff is stuff only your relative can do - if he wants to.

D

Last edited by Dee74; 08-04-2014 at 06:00 PM.
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Old 08-04-2014, 05:57 PM
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I quit weed five months ago after many attempts. Had been smoking daily for 22 years. I agree that different drugs effect people differently for sure. I had done my fair share of drinking and drugging of all sorts but only weed had any power over me. FT - it took me 2 -3 months. My real life experience is in my long thread if you want to read a play by play.
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Old 08-04-2014, 07:16 PM
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Those were the kind of answers I was looking for. Real life experience, real weed users.

Dee, you know me and my "knee jerk" responses by now.

I don't want to sound rude, but I try to stay away from giving advice to others if I don't have the actual experience to back it up. I would not know the first thing about how to help someone with cocaine, crack, meth, or other things not in my experience base.

I probably could have started my own thread, but the OP asked the right question and I hoped there would be more responses.

MA has been less than helpful.

The person involved is MUCH more than my "friend." And my "relative" more than wants to put weed behind him, he has already quit and is seeking answers the medical community cannot give him. Just like here, I can't give him answers to something I know nothing about. Maybe I'll know more in a few months as I go through this with him, and perhaps then I can add something to a thread like this one.

Thanks Dee and wacky bunny. What thread are you referring to -- can you give me a title?
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Old 08-04-2014, 07:20 PM
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For some reason I wrote friend instead of relative...I fixed one and missed the other. My apologies.

WB's thread is here
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...pot-again.html

DG has a similar one here....


http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...wakenbake.html

D
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Old 08-04-2014, 07:20 PM
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Almost ruined my life way back in 1976. In grade 9 I joined in with a group of stoners at my middle school. Almost failed the grade, got into acid, basically it took me over. My parents sent me away to a boarding school the next year to straighten me out and get me away from my peers. Believe me, weed is just as lethal as any other substance out there. It blows my mind that two states have legalized the stuff.....
>AH
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