FreeOwl

Hello there.

My thread caught your eye, eh?

Welcome. Over on the Marijuana Addiction forum I've started a new thread.

It's a thread that serves as an accountability journal, a support group, a check-in, a reflection space, a sharing platform.

And.... frankly, I could use some company.

So, if you're sober but still smoking weed and you've thought about what it might be like to leave that addiction behind, too..... I invite you to come over there and join me.

I am in the early months of my 8th year sober..... for most of that I was also free of drugs. About a year and a half ago I made the casual but dumb decision to 'occasionally' smoke weed. That's turned into a months-long bender of daily use of cannabis.

Previously, I'd had a 5 month stint of sobriety... but during that time I'd kept smoking weed. That ultimately led me back to drinking.

I've lived enough clarity, lucidity, presence and loving wonder to know that - for me - sobriety is about being present and being capable and aware and engaged in life. It's about always being there for my family, for friends, ready for any emergency or need, in service to others.

Marijuana gets in the way of those things, takes away from my experience of life. And, eventually, it just takes over and becomes the same kind of 'auto-pilot' that drinking does. I've done a lot of excuse-making for pot in my life. It's not "as bad" and it's even "Medicine"!!!

But the real truth is, for me, it's not sobriety.

Anyway - please forgive the commercial over here on the Newcomer's Forum but I just figured I'd throw it out there because I figured maybe someone 'round this table might be up for it.

D122y

I think Pot still alters the mind. Every pot smoker I ever met didn't seem like they were stone sober.

Extra relaxed seems to be a common trait.

I have heard from at least 1 high time clean person that pot addiction is real and difficult to quit.

I totally agree that if you quit booze and still smoke pot that is better than still drinking while smoking pot.

I still drink coffee. I believe that could be argued as a drug.

So, no judgment here.

Thanks.

Dee74

I'm not sure that's as helpful as you wanted it to be, man.

The idea that pot is not as harmful as something else is like gold to my AV - and its really common to hear it, especially now with marijuana being legal in a lot of places.

I can never forget I destroyed my life on pot every bit as much as I destroyed my life on alcohol.

A knife wound can kill, so can a bullet.
Arguing which one is better, or least worst, is kind of beside the point?

D

D122y

You may be the guy I was thinking of that taught me that pot was not a valid option.

I didn't ask why, but took your advice sight unseen.

I take a bunch of natural substances like moringa, caffeine, green tea, creatine etc etc. I stay away from pot mainly because I work for folks that don't allow it and SR taught me that pot is like booze.

I don't have first hand experience with pot since I never really smoked it due to my job.

Thanks.

Dee74

thanks D122y

D

sortofhomecomin

Quote:

Originally Posted by D122y

I have heard from at least 1 high time clean person that pot addiction is real and difficult to quit.

Yes, for sure. Approximately 15% of the people I was in rehab with were in for cannabis as their primary addiction. I have to say that as a group, they seemed generally more 'chilled' than the alcies, but nevertheless obviously their problem was serious enough to land them in rehab.

FreeOwl

Day Three dawns with hope and gratitude and increasing clarity.

Anyone want to join me?

Aellyce

I know you have been making a lot of efforts to beat this pot thing and are trying various approaches - way to go!

Maybe my experience is interesting for you and some others. I have never really liked pot (THC, only tried a few times almost 20 years ago), but had used CBD for about a year recently. I only really found it helpful while I was still drinking and perhaps in the first couple weeks after stopping the booze, but maybe the apparent "positive effect" wasn't that positive after all, since it alleviated my hangovers and withdrawals a bit and gave me a sense of more motivation while still drinking or soon after stopping, so I continued with both for a while. Or maybe CBD helped me quit alcohol eventually because it improved my overall mental health a bit, we can view it both ways and it's hard to know for sure. I completely stopped the CBD a few weeks ago because I saw no reason to take it anymore and was worried about potential long-term effects, and didn't notice a difference whatsoever. There was a little anticipation anxiety in the first couple days, wondering if I was doing the right thing stopping my self-medication, but it completely went away without me even thinking about it in a week as I did not notice anything.

CBD gets a lot of attention, promoted for virtually everything these days, and people use it without thinking much... I do believe in its benefits for several conditions as there are clear data showing it in some contexts, but no one really knows about potential adverse consequences of long-term use yet. I know it's very different from marijuana and THC in its effects and potential for getting hooked, but part of cannabis and the hype around it. I've definitely changed my attitude about CBD since I quite alcohol - maybe even just that shows that using legal drugs can have tricky links in the mind, even if it's "only" psychological and mild. I'm sharing this because those who smoke weed primarily for its calming effects might well be mentally hooked on the effects of CBD in part, even if it's THC and other chemicals that cause the stronger dependency.

All the best FreeOwl!

KidsEverywhere

Back in my college days- 30 years ago (hard to even say). I was a daily pot smoker. I really didn’t drink as much as others- i
already had my buzz. I quit smoking weed when I graduated and was joining the corporate workforce where drug testing was prevalent. That seemed to up my drinking to the point I have been to alcohol rehab twice (last time 2 1/2 years ago and still sober)
Point being- if you are smoking weed - you are not really sober and to me, you haven’t addressed the need to “escape from reality”.
Again- just my thoughts- no judgement intended.

BornSurvivor

Smoking weed is extremely dangerous for anyone who has had a drug or alcohol problem.

Problem I see with it is eventually weed smokers tend to either

- Do it more than they intend, sometimes every day. Basically an addiction replacing another addiction.
- It leads right back to alcohol or other drug use. The whole 'this is fun but what would be even better is....." is almost inevitable as alcohol and other drugs give a much more dopamine release than marijuana

Just be careful and try and quit if you can. You see any of these things happening then you know what you have to do.

Now is weed addiction better than being addicted to alcohol and other drugs? In my opinion yes for most people (keep in mind I am not an addiction counselor or anything like that) but if you can quit alcohol you certainly should be able to quit weed if you put your mind to it.

JustJohn

I'm lucky I do not like weed without booze. Weed was my buzz enhancer toward bedtime after a binge. Tried it sober and absolutely hated the way it made me feel. The longer I stay sober, the more I enjoy being clear headed. I have no desire to get clouded up again on any substance. Nothing beats the feeling of a healthy meal after a weight lifting session and a clear head after a good nights sleep. That's a natural high that lasts for days, and it can be renewed infinitely. Good luck and best wishes on kicking weed to the curb - your life will have far more clarity and joy without it!

FreeOwl

Thanks Alleyce....

You know it's interesting because actually that's part of what MAY have opened the door to picking weed back up for me. CBD became widely available well before the onslaught of legalized Rec weed here. I had tried CBD for some back pain and found it to do pretty much nothing. Until, that is, I loaded up on it with much larger doses. Now that you bring it up, and looking back.... I think it may have been that decision which eventually led me into the "well, maybe I can just moderate with weed" logic. Huh. Never really even made that connection.

One thing stands out to me in your post though; "SELF-medication". And that's really what I feel I've learned here. MEDICATION is medication.... and should be done under the proper supervision of a medical professional. So even CBD or 'medical' cannabis falls into that category. But as with all medication.... there are some that aren't right for us and some we are allergic to. Case in point; I was prescribed percocet back in the nineties following oral surgery. It made me react in really powerful, odd, paranoid, hallucinatory ways. I've told doctors about that ever since and avoided it. SO - while maybe Marijuana is 'medicine' for some.... the truth is that for me it's just 'self-medication'.

Anyway, Thanks for sharing!!

FreeOwl

I agree. At least I agree that it's undermined my sobriety. I personally choose to consider myself still "sober" with respect to alcohol. Not because I don't see your logic but because it feels like to say to myself that I was no longer sober would undermine my sobriety from alcohol to the point I might just be in danger of saying screw it and drinking again. Not a risk I care to take.

And, as of today - Day 3 of no-more-weed - I am happy to say when I say SOBER, I mean SOBER... AND clean of drugs.

Thanks for sharing!! I appreciate your perspective.

FreeOwl

I agree... to all of the above. But for me, being addicted to weed might be 'better' than being addicted to alcohol... but it's still being addicted to something that takes away from the experience of my life. For that reason, I am done. I will be addicted to coffee still. At least for now. For the most part that doesn't take away but seems to go along with my experience of life. I'm happy to be addicted to exercise, to healthy eating, to love for my family, even to housework..... though those things are a little harder to channel my addict into, lol.

Itstime4321

I used to smoke weed casually, it never did much for me except make my heart race, but I had a friend who once tore my flat apart in search of the joint he lost. Looked like an addict to me.

FreeOwl

brief update;

DAY FOURTEEN!!!

Two weeks. This is really a good feeling.

It hasn't been a bed of roses because I've had wild swings in sleep cycles, intensity of my focus on work is skewing my balance as you point out, the life around me remains fraught with challenge.

But, since the moment I hurled those last gummies out onto that frozen lake and asked for Spirit's help..... I haven't been truly tempted at all. Occasional fleeting "maybe sometimes just here and there" thoughts have arisen, but thanks to Bimini the response is now simply "No."

The momentum my life is gaining on many fronts is clear.

The obviousness of the stark difference in my emotions is palpable.

My ability to be present and to accept and cope with life on life's terms is evident.

My focus on my family, my wife's needs, the things I can do to be a better husband, father and human are coming back into sharp relief.

Thank you all.

​​​​​​​

Scd619x

I live in the UK, my GP asked me why i couldn't just smoke cannabis instead of drinking alcohol as, he said, it will soon be legal over here anyway. I think he meant decades 'soon' personally. I know a lot of older pot heads who are happy but i don't know any older drunks who are happy. Of course everything is great unless it becomes a problem and unfortunately cannabis has never been a lure for me I'll check in over your side though.

Dee74

If my doctor said that to me, I'd find a new one, quite honestly. I need a dr who understands addiction.

D

FreeOwl

Scd... I have a doctor who treats me for depression and is also my GP. I shared with him that I'd made the mistake of picking up cannabis again and his first response was "well.... how is that working for you?". I told him, honestly, that it frequently gets to a point where I'm smoking or using multiple times a day and it can impair my life, my motivation and my desire to be clear and present. Knowing that I am an alcoholic and have been in recovery for 7+ years, his next statement was "well, then we won't explore that as a realistic part of your treatment".

This is how a doctor who understands addiction responds.

Frankly, I agree with D 1000%