Weed - Opinions

Hi @Snuchu

Thanks for your post and being brave enough to write here on the forums about this topic.

Here is a discussion that other members have had that you might find really helpful.

You mentioned that you feel like you do need drugs to cope with daily life, but have a think about other coping mechanisms you have and don't sell yourself short!

Outlanderali

Hi @Snuchu,

that's a good question... I hope others out there may have better ideas about this than me.

I gave up smoking weed about 13 years ago now. I was a daily smoker at one point, but I could easily go around 3 to five days without it. It depended on what was going on in my life at the time. I don't believe I ever developed much of a tolerance to weed, because I would get high very, very easily and hence I rarely smoked when I knew I had to go out in public.

Also, none of my friends smoked weed very much and so I didn't smoke it when I was around them. These things probably kept my cannabis use in check.

When I gave up weed, I also gave up drinking alcohol and also caffeine! I stopped 3 poisons at once! I was heavily addicted to coffee and I would average drinking around a bottle of wine a day, too. I did not even believe I had a problem. I only gave these things up because a naturopath suggested I do so. I thought I would give it a try and at that time I sincerely believed I was not addicted to them, anyway.

I suffered from nausea, headaches and lethargy for 4 days. After that, I felt a lot better quite quickly. During the withdrawal, I took over-the-counter pain killers for the headaches and slept a lot. I didn't eat much but I drank a lot of water. I honestly don't remember it being very bad at all.

As far as my emotions were concerned, well, I think at that time I was so completely disconnected from myself emotionally that it just wasn't an issue for me.

Of course, emotional problems were what caused me to come to rely on drugs and alcohol back then, however I had no idea of this at the time. It seems unbelievable to me now - but that is how is was. I never acknowledged any of my feelings back then and didn't become depressed until years later, when I was basically sober.

Anyway, I have never gone back to smoking weed and I don't miss it. I still drink alcohol but not every day and I really do try to limit my drinks.

Snuchu, I think you should ask your doctor what is the best way to get off weed. You might need to take a mild sedative or something else while you are going through withdrawal. I don't know.

If you suffer from depression and anxiety, the weed might just be masking it, rather than causing it. This is something you would have to explore. Do you see a counsellor?

I

I have used cannabis years ago but not now I also have a friend that used for over 30 yrs and was very much addicted to it.
I am intrigued by its potential for many treatments but also heed my friends warning that it can be very additive although it seems only in some people.

I noticed that some strains are very different to others, most illegal produced cannabis is produced for its weight and not for any therapeutic value.

You say you get nauseous, fatigued, anxious and depressed without it, that sounds like a red flag to me I used for four or five years and stopped without any of those effects. My friend got stressed and aggro and short tempered without it, even after going without it for months it did not calm the addiction but that was after 30 yrs heavy use.
But don't read me wrong I'm not against it infact I'm all for the research and use in understood situations It's just that i have seen both sides of the story so I am cautious.

Hi @Snuchu,

I have bipolar and spent a over a decade as a very heavy user of weed (at my worst, one bong or J every fifteen minutes throughout the day). I managed to give it up cold turkey for five months about five years ago, had one J after that and was hooked again on the heavy use until just recently. It certainly became a very second rate life for me, increasing paranoia significantly (on top of already high social anxiety) and also significantly reducing motivation (already low due to the depressive end of the bipolar cycle being predominant in me). My days on the weed really became like Groundhog Day, smoking from first thing in the morning to last thing at night, everything seen through a blurry haze, and a lot of shame (and increased depression from that) about my dependence on it too.

Over the past several months I have been again trying to give up. I've finally managed to tear myself free of it over the past month and plan to never touch it again. Although the physical addiction is not that hard to get over, I was completely compulsive and addicted in my psychological relation to it. In this way it reminds me of gambling addiction: not physically addictive but something that really has the potential to bring a life to rock bottom. I started as a very casual user and gradually became a heavier and heavier user.

These are some of the methods I have used to give up this time around:

. seeing a psychologist specifically to help with this issue;

. tallying my daily intake as near to exact as possible and gradually reducing intake;

. talking openly about it on this forum and in real life and getting support in giving up;

. taking a trip to a place where it was not at all available to me for three weeks to finally break the cycle;

. continuing afterwards to make contact with supports to help me stay strong (this is where I am now).

Best wishes to you in your journey with this herb that can be helpful to some and so harmful to others.

You guys hit bullseye with your descriptions...

I go day by day in a slight haze and it feels like the days go past seamlessly. I work, but I have no pride in that kind of work (janitor). I usually walk and chill on the computer all day, smoking weed even when I have to be in public. I just make sure my smell is very minimal.
All of my friends smoke weed as well, and we all recently went to the 420 festival in a big town nearby where I live. I could try to be a social weed user instead of smoking it everyday... but I really don't know.

I recently went off my meds for two weeks and usually I would destablize fast, but I think weed saved me and I was only slightly irritable and impatient. (I suffer from BP1.)

And all that being said, the country I'm in right now is considering legalization next year since our prime minister has declared it as one of our goals in his tenancy. So jail or charges isn't something I'm worrying about.

We'll see. 😛