Dee74

Before we get too far off track lets get back to the original question which focused on the addict:

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Bostonsportsfan

There is

Johno1967

[QUOTE=Dee74;4398963]Before we get too far off track lets get back to the original question which focused on the addict:

IMHO, I would say if the OP has an addictive personality whether its alcohol, pot or gambling its not going to end well. Reason I do none of the above and neither should the OP.

caboblanco

yes. I've known a few. One that thought there was an actual person living inside his head. he got better but was still suffering hallucinations when i lost contact with him over a year he first came out of the hospital. You can read

pro- marijuana literature or you can visit psych wards, rehabs, and mental hospitals. They will paint two different pictures on the "effects" of the substance.

sugarbear1

Anything that gets me out of my head can be detrimental to me.

I prefer staying stopped from all substances today.

MattyBoy

If you are an alcoholic, the chances are you have an addictive personality to some degree. In which case, although pot may seem the less of two evils when you're smoking it (no hangover, little noticeable physical side effects etc), it can still impact negatively on your life in other ways and definitely can impact on people's mental health in a bad way. For me, I smoked and it didn't cause the same degree of problems as the alcohol (the physical withdrawal, the emotional suffering, the physical pain) but I got to the point where I was spending all my money on it, my friendship group was based around it and it definitely de motivated me and made me content to sit around and fantasise about the possibility of life through my weed tinted glasses instead of actually doing anything productive. If you try it and it doesn't cause you any problems then I'm not gonna stop you in the same way I wouldn't stop or judge anyone who drank a few beers now and then and didn't have a problem with it, but bear in mind things can go wrong with pot and of course there are obvious legal issues to be aware of....

bigsombrero

First of all, not many alcoholics can just "throw out beer" without going through some serious emotional issues. Picking up marijuana during this time is, unfortunately, something that I have experience with....and I can't say it went very well. I noticed very similar dependency issues and I also think my progress was slowed. To say that I "replaced" alcohol with pot is a bit of a stretch, but I certainly came to view it as an escape and a crutch. I'd highly recommend anyone getting sober should stay away from all substances. People getting clean from alcohol usually have a big mess to clean up - and throwing pot into the mix doesn't help, in my experience.

miamifella

You can say that for anything. Alcohol if used right has no negative effects.

One of the problems here is that once you are addicted to one substance, it is much easier to become addicted to another. The threshold has been lowered.

So if someone is addicted to alcohol, they are a lot more likely to become addicted to pot. Its playing with fire. Its switching addictions.

safe2breathe

Rethinking the question - I think that if the intention of starting one substance or activity is only to fill the void left by quitting another substance or activity - one should be extremely careful of what that substance or activity is and very aware that is what is occurring.

Joe Nerv

Really????

I'm pretty certain that weed is what triggered my first panic attacks, which eventually rendered me a completely useless human being with a rope around my neck but not enough guts to finish the deed. Thankfully I landed in a hospital and recovery instead. And yes, I'm qualified to state my experience. I smoked daily for about 2 years.

I could give a long detailed list of others who's lives I'm certain we're permanently altered by smoking weed. Not to mention many relationships that were destroyed by it. I know it's now socially acceptable, because copping and and not dealing with life has become socially acceptable... But I don't want to get into that.

People react differently to marijuana. Your experience with it was much different than mine, and others I've known.

In response to the OP, if alcohol was a problem I believe marijuana will also be a problem. If you yourself dont drink or smoke, why would you want to be involved with someone who does? I think that's an even more important question than will it be a problem.

foolsgold66

Intoxicated is intoxicated.

MrTumble

I had to stop using weed, it was causing me horrendous paranoia and delusions, I started to worry I was becoming schizophrenic, I really hated smoking weed by the time I quit.

I quit and all such feelings evaporated. Im a very upbeat and positive person in general, so it just goes to show how negative the effects of weed can be - for some people.

There's quite a lot on the internet from other people who also have a very adverse reaction.

thisisme

Can a non-functional Alcoholic throw out the beer and just start smoking pot wo it becoming the next issue?

Yes.

Smoking it is a horrible un healthy way to get high, google Vaporizers.

MJ has it's own issues(schizophrenia for example).
As with anything it of course depends on you.
God made pot, man made alcohol.
I'll leave it at that.

caboblanco

actually animals have been getting drunk far longer than humans on fermented fruit . That is not man made alcohol. Alcohol use can be dated to the dawn of civilization. Marijuana cannot. The fact that you have to let one

substance ferment for a while to create the drug and one you can just pick from a weed..dry out and smoke or eat makes no difference to me. Contrary to popular belief one substance is not "holier" than the other. You can eat certain berries or mushrooms straight out of nature and die.

readerbaby71

Marijuana can be used responsibly, just like alcohol can. It all depends on the person. I have friends who are former drunks who smoke weed occasionally with no problem. I have another friend who's been sober for almost 20 years who cannot smoke it because it makes him crave alcohol. As long as it's not being used to stuff feelings and is only occasional (hanging out with friends, watching a movie once in a while), I don't see the harm in it, but again, everyone is different.

I think you also have to look at the harm reduction approach. I have another friend who was a heroin and crack addict 20 years ago. He kicked it and has never touched the stuff again. He lives in CA where pot is legal for medicinal use. He is a pothead now, but lives an extremely productive and happy life. I'd much rather see him smoking pot than shooting up dope and speed. He might be dead by now if he'd continued down that road. I also know people whose anxiety is helped by marijuana.

Just speaking from my own experience. I am neither condemning or condoning it. I do think demonizing any substance doesn't really help people understand addiction.

Shadydeal

Thank you all for taking the time to respond! I have always felt like if you have tendency to abuse anything then you need to be careful to think twice! It's still a form of escaping reality and I would think you still are not in straight mind or thought! I do feel sure that everyone is different! Best wishes to each of you!

Carlotta

I have known people who quit drinking and use the "marijuana maintenance" thing. As an alcoholic myself this is absolutely not an option but as someone who has loved ones who are alcoholics, I would much prefer have them smoke weed.
Pot is legal in my State and I have a lot of friends and acquaintances who smoke. People under the influence of cannabis do not exhibit the aggression and delusional thinking of a drunk and they do not stink either.
I have had some real good and pleasant conversations with people who were stoned and not once has a stoner flipped out on me or have I been afraid of them but I just cannot stand being around people who are drinking alcoholically.

RobbyRobot

Reading others talking about how weed and alcohol are okay if used correctly, and then reading up on their backstory and learning their present lives are not examples of "okay" by any stretch is just more proof that what pro-users want and want they actually have are altogether different. Talk is easy. Walking that talk, not so much.

I did lots of weed back in my day. Pounds and pounds of it. Water pipe no less. Is that the wrong way to use it, lol?

So always saying alcohol is not the problem... its you - has this actually helped you any over the years? Or have you just started saying your the problem? And same with weed?

Well, I was not the problem, my addictions were the problem, is my experience. And since my addiction was fed by alcohol and drugs, those drugs obviously were a problem for me too.

Yeah, alcohol and drugs don't mess people up, right? Messed up people just choose to use alcohol and drugs for something to do...

I hope you finally get things worked out for yourself. Your back story reads like you're struggling to get it together. I hope you finally do and can have a successful life. I suggest you may want to open your mind up to the possibility that its not always the user himself is the total problem when using alcohol and drugs. Its more complicated then that, you know?

readerbaby71

ahahahahha

caboblanco

some pot heads smell like skunky marijuana, greasy old food and body odor

some drunks smell like booze and and body odor..maybe poop..take your pick

i never thought as a pot head any less irritating then a drunk especially when they get into their philosophical or poetic mode. Pot can make a moron think he his Socrates sometimes