rmc1021

Hello I am new here, I am trying to get a better perspective on the marijuana addiction, my son is 23 and has been smoking for a few years now, I am an addict/ alcoholic myself and have been free from alcohol for a few yrs, I dabbled in edibles for pain but never had issues with it, in the past I used it everyday, I would like to get some info if there are any marijuana anonymous meetings that are available , I pray my son gets sick and tired of his habit , he is damaging his lungs and mind and he thinks it's fine, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Dee74

Hi and welcome rmc

you probably know from your own history that its really hard to get someone else to stop.
You (the person addicted) needs to want to stop.

There are a lot of success stories here though.
I just grew tired and scared of my addictions - alcohol weed and tobacco - and I have been clean and sober for nearly 16 years now.

I hope your son will have that same window of clarity that I, and you, have had.


There's a lot of links in the Recovery toolbox link at the top of the forum, including Marijuana Anonymous.
https://www.marijuana-anonymous.org/

Have you thought about getting support for yourself though?

I know there is a group called mar-anon - a 12 programme for the friends and family of people addicted to pot, but other than knowing they exist I have no other info on them.

Might be a good place to start to find your own support?
https://mar-anon.com/

SMART Recovery also helps Family and Friends
https://www.smartrecovery.org/family/

D

Hevyn

I'm glad you joined us, rms - welcome.
I'm so sorry for your worries about your son. I hope you'll find that talking about it here will help. You're never alone.
I haven't used weed, but drank for decades. Sober 15 yrs. - it is possible.
Congratulations on your own sober time.

FlyingDutchMan

Welcome rmc! It’s a tough one, I smoked for years and years and didn’t find it a problem at all. Only when I tried to brake free was I truly confronted with my dependency on it. I hope the MA meetings can give you an insight on the workings of weed addiction. I’ll be more than happy to share my “knowledge” on the subject but my perspective may differ from you son’s. If you have any questions just shoot.

thequest

The pot legalization lobby has been to conflate 'safe' by deflecting and focusing their arguments on civil rights. Youth in particular see no limitation on it's use if it's 'legal' or socially acceptable which makes it even tougher to stop their use.

As with any drug/addiction with kids in particular if they started fairly early in life they don't know what a sober life is and don't have one to return to. Sobriety will be something new to many. That means something has to go in the pot/intoxicated state's place. An adult probably has a job, marriage, career, family to return once sober teens or young adults don't.

This is why emphasizing independence, not enabling and clear cut rules and boundaries with youth are so important. They need that to force them into a more sober life. The bad news is the more time as a pot addict the harder it will be to change their life. The good news 23 isn't that old and still a window to get them on a different path and way of life.

With addiction time will not cure all it will make things worse. Parents view their adult as a child with plenty of time left to change or grow up. But they won't unless forced. I've seen senior parents view their adult addict children as having a future like they were in their last year of high school hoping the next job or relationship would change things. It never did.