Dee74

I know it's not easy, I've never said it was?

It took a lot of work and change for me to not want to get high.
Sorry if I ever fail to convey that.

I know about cross addiction too.
I traded pot for booze. It wasn't a good trade.

actually the mental aspect of pot withdrawal was one of the the hardest things I ever had to go through - mainly because everyone tells you it's so benign.

I ripped peoples head off - way more than in alcohol withdrawal...I was *pissed* - for months. My drinking in earnest started in part as a way to manage that rage.

I felt like an idiot for having a problem, for stopping and for feeling so bad.

I missed pot for *years* after.

so...I'm losing your point here... are you saying marijuana is like cigarettes and ice cream? Genuine question - you lost me.

is it an acceptable recovery tool then?

D

bigsombrero

I am certainly not here to defend prescription marijuana nor would I recommend anyone use it as a recovery tool. I did get a little off-track there: I just used cigs/coffee/ice cream as an example of items that we still manage to "abuse" even while we are sober. In my case I have constructed unhealthy relationships with each of these items. The alcohol is gone from my life - which is great! But even as a sober individual, my addictive behavior, alas, is alive and well. I guess I was just chewing aloud there and got off track.

Thanks for sharing that info about your issues with marijuana. I can understand those feelings and I get where you're coming from due to similar experiences in the past.

Db1105

Drinking alcohol is just one symptom of my alcoholism. So is smoking pot.

Dib42

My Doctor suggested to me that I substitute marijuana for a plethora of other medications I was supposed to be taking. At first I thought he was a hack and a nut job, but after deciding to try his suggestion, I quit drinking, I no longer needed my cortisol, I drop my ibuprofen intake to only rare occasions, I sleep well, I am less irritable, most importantly i'm rarely ever in that state of rotating pain, also I enjoy the little things in life ever so much more, and if I start really craving some whiskey, it'll dull those cravings as well.

That is my experience, I'm not going to say you should or you shouldn't but I saw so many people opposed to the idea, that i'd make a case for it.

Dib42

People often tell me that I'm just replacing one addiction with another. I agree, but I look at it as "Harm Reduction". Ideally I would replace Alcohol with long walks, a sport, healthy eating, etc... but unfortunately all those things are more enjoyable to me with alcohol. So if I'm in a position to choose drinking, or partaking in a doctored up browny, I'm pretty sure its easy to decide which will put me in the grave quicker.

*I should also include that its very likely i suffer from fibromyalgia (my wife calls it the whiner's disease, but she's insensitive like that, and I love her for it). Not confirmed yet, but its the Dr's theory, so I have outside issues other than just alcoholism*

sparky78

Welcome, I give you credit, its a pretty monumental task to undertake to try and get a thumbs up for a mj maint. program on a recovery site!

I would give recovery a try before any moderation or maintenance program. If your track record's like mine, alcohol and/or drugs have created a lot of chaos and misery in your life. They also causes brain damage, which causes PAWS (Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome), which can reverse for the most part but NOT if you are still using substances that are causing more damage.

Personally for me I never had a problem with pot. But I do have a problem with taking things to get outside of myself, which always leads back to alcohol, so I stay away from pot and other drugs too.

Its just too much of a risk for me.