Benefits of quitting marijuana
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Join Date: Apr 2017
Posts: 1
Benefits of quitting marijuana
I am quitting marijuana primarily for three reasons. I'm currently on my first night, which has been the worst every time I have quit.
1) I live in a state where it's very hard to come by and its easier to just quit completely than "take a break" until I can find some or take a road trip to Colorado to get some legally
2) I am starting to get wheezing and an especially bad cough, especially on nights of and the day after smoking marijuana
3) Short term marijuana usage has its benefits; increased self-awareness, increased creativity, increased appreciation for the arts and music, etc. However, after smoking chronically for a while these things start to diminish to the point it eventually has the opposite effect.
One thing about marijuana is it isn't like nicotine and alcohol. You may crave it but your body doesn't need it. I've found keeping myself occupied is the best strategy, but as soon as I am bored I really crave marijuana and wish I could have some and find myself cursing evangelical Christianity and the Republican Party for assuring that I cannot get it where I live.
I had struggled with severe depression for nearly five years and marijuana allowed me to get out of the negative though cycles that kept me there. For that, I am thankful. However, the way I see it is there comes a point where there is no longer a benefit to smoking and it becomes simply an excuse to waste away time. I believe that is where I am at. When I am high and am having those introspective thoughts, that's how I feel about it. However, between one and three days the cravings are pretty intense.
I don't doubt that I will be able to quit. For me, nicotine is the real beast. However, I feel I am going to really miss it for a while and hope that when quitting, I don't end up back in my crushing depression.
For those who have quit marijuana, how did it go and what were the benefits both short term and long term? When did your cravings start to diminish?
1) I live in a state where it's very hard to come by and its easier to just quit completely than "take a break" until I can find some or take a road trip to Colorado to get some legally
2) I am starting to get wheezing and an especially bad cough, especially on nights of and the day after smoking marijuana
3) Short term marijuana usage has its benefits; increased self-awareness, increased creativity, increased appreciation for the arts and music, etc. However, after smoking chronically for a while these things start to diminish to the point it eventually has the opposite effect.
One thing about marijuana is it isn't like nicotine and alcohol. You may crave it but your body doesn't need it. I've found keeping myself occupied is the best strategy, but as soon as I am bored I really crave marijuana and wish I could have some and find myself cursing evangelical Christianity and the Republican Party for assuring that I cannot get it where I live.
I had struggled with severe depression for nearly five years and marijuana allowed me to get out of the negative though cycles that kept me there. For that, I am thankful. However, the way I see it is there comes a point where there is no longer a benefit to smoking and it becomes simply an excuse to waste away time. I believe that is where I am at. When I am high and am having those introspective thoughts, that's how I feel about it. However, between one and three days the cravings are pretty intense.
I don't doubt that I will be able to quit. For me, nicotine is the real beast. However, I feel I am going to really miss it for a while and hope that when quitting, I don't end up back in my crushing depression.
For those who have quit marijuana, how did it go and what were the benefits both short term and long term? When did your cravings start to diminish?
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,432
Hi and welcome CPdude 
I smoked for 30 years, so my journey from quitting to not craving was quite a long one.
I think because pot is usually discussed as some kind of benign thing - harmless, natural, not as bad as x y or z - its easier to rationalise using it, and the fantasy of smoking again but this time controlling it was a drem that took a long tme to die.
I don't mean I was in constant agony or that my life was one of derivation..but the thoughts persisted for longer than they did with alcohol - my other main addictive substance.
In the short term, my breathing got a lot better and after a week or two I got a lot of energy back and I felt my mind was sharp again..
In the longer term, I've rediscovered my creativity (I lost that for around 5 years or so) and my joy in life is the best it's ever been.
I have hope for the future now, not just thinking as far as the first bong of the day.
I feel free and at peace, I'm very productive and I'm having the best time of my life.
I don't feel ashamed or angry at myself anymore.
Recovery is a pretty sweet deal
D
I smoked for 30 years, so my journey from quitting to not craving was quite a long one.
I think because pot is usually discussed as some kind of benign thing - harmless, natural, not as bad as x y or z - its easier to rationalise using it, and the fantasy of smoking again but this time controlling it was a drem that took a long tme to die.
I don't mean I was in constant agony or that my life was one of derivation..but the thoughts persisted for longer than they did with alcohol - my other main addictive substance.
In the short term, my breathing got a lot better and after a week or two I got a lot of energy back and I felt my mind was sharp again..
In the longer term, I've rediscovered my creativity (I lost that for around 5 years or so) and my joy in life is the best it's ever been.
I have hope for the future now, not just thinking as far as the first bong of the day.
I feel free and at peace, I'm very productive and I'm having the best time of my life.
I don't feel ashamed or angry at myself anymore.
Recovery is a pretty sweet deal
D
Guest
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 92
Quitting marijuana can be very difficult.
Smoking marijuana is like a brainwashing in the sense that it's so psychologically addicting
and there are a vast array of rationalizations in this society in support of marijuana.
Hope you can get free of it and be all that you can be.
God bless
Smoking marijuana is like a brainwashing in the sense that it's so psychologically addicting
and there are a vast array of rationalizations in this society in support of marijuana.
Hope you can get free of it and be all that you can be.
God bless
Member
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 754
Welcome CPdude!
As you may have read on this board I am on a quitting journey myself. The whole experience has been (and still is) a complex thing. Mind you, I had smoked for over 20 years daily with a few quitting attempts that lasted a couple of months, six max. Although I did not smoke all day my whole life revolved around it. I wasn't sure about a lot of things in life but I was VERY sure I would smoke every night.
In general I would describe quitting as up-and-down but definately beneficial for myself and for the people around me. When I quit I was really determined to so the fist few weeks I felt weird but I was never tempted to smoke. No REAL cravings. Btw, I quit pot and cigarettes at the same time.
I've felt good, great and then bad again. I've experienced a lot of stress-feelings. A lot of worries too, about all the stuff I gladly put aside when I was smoking on a daily basis. But I am slowly returning to my normal self. At least I hope I am!
As you may have read on this board I am on a quitting journey myself. The whole experience has been (and still is) a complex thing. Mind you, I had smoked for over 20 years daily with a few quitting attempts that lasted a couple of months, six max. Although I did not smoke all day my whole life revolved around it. I wasn't sure about a lot of things in life but I was VERY sure I would smoke every night.
In general I would describe quitting as up-and-down but definately beneficial for myself and for the people around me. When I quit I was really determined to so the fist few weeks I felt weird but I was never tempted to smoke. No REAL cravings. Btw, I quit pot and cigarettes at the same time.
I've felt good, great and then bad again. I've experienced a lot of stress-feelings. A lot of worries too, about all the stuff I gladly put aside when I was smoking on a daily basis. But I am slowly returning to my normal self. At least I hope I am!
Member
Join Date: Mar 2018
Posts: 4
Hi cpdude85! This post really resonated with me, especially what you wrote for 3. That’s one reason for my decision to quit too. After I became a nightly (and sometimes “nights” started at 3 or 4...) smoker, weed just became a way to turn my brain off and that wasn’t doing me any favors. I used to love to get high and listen to music but I can’t even remember the last time I did that. Weed kind of became “what I did” with other activities being secondary.
I absolutely relate. I genuinely think weed got me through some tough times re: depression and anxiety, GI issues (before I figured out what I can can’t eat), pain, and insomnia without needing to resort to anything more serious and that it’s okay to acknowledge that. Unfortunately I am one of the people who does get physical withdrawal effects from weed so a large part of me wants to curse it too rn. But I was glad to read your post, definitely feel less alone in this
Originally Posted by cpdude85 
I had struggled with severe depression for nearly five years and marijuana allowed me to get out of the negative though cycles that kept me there. For that, I am thankful. However, the way I see it is there comes a point where there is no longer a benefit to smoking and it becomes simply an excuse to waste away time. I believe that is where I am at.
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