julez

Hey. So does anybody think that if your main issue is drinking, that you can take up smoking pot and you will be ok? This is the deal. I have been a binge drinker for over a year. I have recently quit, relapsed, and quit stronger. My thing is, I think I would be way more careful smoking pot than drinking. I think that because 1. its illegal
2. Its socially less acceptable
3. I think I'd be more ashamed of it.

I am soooooo scared my teen kids would smell it and put 2 and 2 together.But i would not get hung over and waste a day. And i really think that since I wouldnt do it on holidays, birthdays etc, it wouldnt become as mentally addicting as it would otherwise. Am I in denial? I might be. Because you see, all my friends do something that makes sobriety more interesting. Oh wow. I guess sobriety isnt that interesting after all. I am searching for something. Until I find it, I think I will just stay sober.. Thanks again. and again, and again.....

mama36

Julez,

In my opinion you would just be trading one addiction for another. That is just my opinion though. If I were you I would just stick to the quit and nothing more.

DrivingVacation

For me personally, I can't moderately use any substance I put in my body. Once I put one in, I want another. Then another. I would be very careful playing that game.

oak

lol- The same question runs through my mind too.

I don't think very many people in recovery are going to say, 'Yeah, smoke some pot. it won't matter.'

I agree with what you wrote at the end. The fact that we are searching for something is important. Maybe look at how sobriety can be more interesting than smoking. Or what you are looking for in substances.

I'm impressed that you asked the question out loud. (It's really been in my head for a while.)

julez

sigh.. Damn.. This is really hard. My first month wasn't easy by any means, but now I'm all full of what nows???

julez

I'm in chat. Check me out

DrivingVacation

Never again is a long time and hard to rationalize. Having those thoughts and fears is normal to be honest. The problem lies in thinking about how I can NEVER do something again... While you know it to be true, it's still daunting. One day at a time really is more than just a catchy phrase. It's a lifesaver.

julez

Damn it Dv where the "f" are you in chat?? Cuz I'm struggling?????

DrivingVacation

Antiderivative

Its sounds like you are trying to fill a void in your life with pot. For someone who has a history of substance abuse, I wouldn't recommend finding another mind/emotional altering substance to fill that void. Look for a non-mind /emotional altering substance instead. Life is filled with beauty, wonder, and mystery. Go explore it.

I never bought into the idea that pot is a "gateway" drug. At least not as much as alcohol. However, for recovering addicts and alcoholics it could be. It could lead to complacency. If you can handled pot, that may trigger you into thinking that you can handle a drink or two or whatever your drug of choice is.

Pot can be addictive with some people, especially psychologically. And heavy use can cause physical dependence.

I wouldn't recommend it, even if you weren't trying to fill a void in your life. I think that is treading in dangerous waters. Perhaps some could tread, but others will drown.

Plus, look at your motivations behind using pot. Your intentions to use pot seem very unhealthy. Find something else to fill that void. I know it sucks, I have voids in my life that need to be filled too.

grateful2b

Julez.
All of my life, I have not been addicted to anything...
9 years ago I opened that door in my brain I didn't even know existed...I struggled with addiction for the first time...
I have been sober for 6 years and I have found in my experience, to my surprise, that anything that alters my brain, numbs or wants to take me away for a little, puts me at risk.. for my brain has been romanced by addiction and has been forever changed....and so I have to tread carefully...

poncho

been there done that, all it does is lower my inhibitions and sends me right back to booze.
No No No check out more posts and stay sober, your gonna be OK ONE SECOND AT A TIME.

Dee74

Hey Julez

For me it's not about whatever drink I drank or drugs I used, so much as what I was using them for - to escape reality, to assuage my fear, to not feel bored, or sad, or angry - or whatever...

It was all the same behaviour.

Personally, I know I destroyed myself and my life as completely on pot on as I did on alcohol.

It takes time to change a life - and, as I found and I think you're finding, stopping drinking is just the first rung on the ladder.

For me what was next was facing up to some of those underlying reasons why I wanted to be wasted for 20 years.

You're not alone here tho - keep climbing
D

julez

Thanks so much guys. I know that all you say is true. its just that something in my heart tells me all the bs that I also know is true sucks, Whatever, I;m high. And I'm sorry. And jeez, I'm soooooo over it.

lildawg

I thought I would trade alcohol for pot when I first quit. I often smoked pot when I drank to intensify my high. Then, when I quit drinking, I found I just didn't enjoy weed all that much. I was very paranoid (even when I wasn't actively high). And, then, there was the illegality of it.

You have to be way more secretive with weed than with alcohol. You don't want to be pulled over with it in your car or on your person. You don't want the wrong person to know you do it. If you have to travel, it's not as travel-friendly as alcohol. You can't just stop at the corner store and buy a six pack of it, if you know what I mean. Then, once you've got it, you have to either have rolling papers, a bong, or a pipe -- unless you want to smoke it out of a coke can. It was just a pain in the rear lane.

The truth was, when it got down to it, drinking was a love affair for me. It was, perhaps, the only time in my life I've actually felt carefree and, well, right. Weed just made me feel isolated (even though the hysterical laughing fits were great). I took it on because I was hurting from losing my true love. When I realized weed was nothing but a rebound lover, I dropped it like a hotcake.

For me, trading alcohol for weed was just selling my soul to an even more difficult master than alcohol. And, to add insult to injury, I didn't even like the way weed made me feel. <turns nose up>

Bottom line: Not worth it for me. Your mileage may vary.

DrivingVacation

Julez- Everything is going to be alright. You're a great person and everybody is pulling for you.

Ghostly

Most of what I would have written has already been done so. You would be switching one addiction for another. To answer your question I do think you're in denial. IMHO. Good luck julez.

Pinkcuda

As an alcoholic I wasn't drinking to escape or hide from anything. I was drinking because I was an alcoholic and I couldn't "Not Drink".
Drugs never interested me. The need to get off never did either.
I could probably count on one hand the times I intentionally set out to get drunk during my last ten years of drinking. It just happened.
If I was to grab something else because I couldn't drink anymore I would probably question whether I was even an alcoholic to begin with. If I was to question whether I was an alcoholic or not, I would probably still be drinking as opposed to accepting complete defeat.
Did I just need the escape regardless of how I achieved it? Short answer. No!
As an alcoholic, drugs simply don't fill the bill.

shelly009

I tried that... pot is very different from booze. I didnt care for it much. Hubby smokes it and I have from time to time but I dont like it. Sometimes though it would be nice to escape life for a while but I think most people probably dont feel that way. For me its important to try to work on the reasons I am trying to escape in the first place.

bcboy

Julez trust me on this one.

Don't do it. I did this exact thing to try to stop drinking a long time ago and only increased my monthly drug / booze bill and in the end was smoking every day. Then once my tolerance was sky high I started drinking again to intesify my high.

If you think you had a problem with drinking add that problem X 1000 and I wont even go into how bad an idea this is around kids that are at the age of "well my dad does it so I will to"

I am sober from both now but if someone had in 1 hand a drink and the other a joint. I would cave for the weed...

Weed is addictive and not a replacement for drinking.

This can only end bad, your mind is playing tricks on you... Don't listen