Quit MJ after 17 yrs a 1/2 oz a week user. HELP

[Chief Roundup]

Have any of you guys ever quit and struggled like I am? I know it is what I want to do but I am alienating everyone around me. Man this sucks. I can't seem to control myself. I am not yelling but I am so confused and emotional like a woman right now it is horrible.

[bricks]

I find addiction to be very interesting.

I think all drugs are addicting but its important to distguish between the different types of addictions.

Imo, addiction really comes down to either physical dependence and/or psychological dependence on the drug itself. Some drugs will make you more physically dependent than others because of the withdrawl symptoms that they have to offer.

Like for example, quitting heroine may cause people to experience convulsions, vomitting, cramps, etc...So, in order to avoid these symptoms, people will revert back to using the drug and thus becoming more physically addicted to it that way.

In the case of weed, I don't think it has withdrawl symptoms/effects to the extent of other drugs. The reason why it seems addicting probably has to due more with psychological dependence. People may engage in the drug in order to satisfy those intense mental and emotional craving for the drug.

[Johnny Vegas]

Originally Posted by Buck

I'm really addicted to marijuana right now. All I can think about is my next bowl and when it's coming. I work really hard and am successful at work but this is started to become a financial burden.

I just broke up with my girl who was also a smoker and in the last 3-4 months with her I've become and extremely heavy user. Hopefully I start to cut back now, but I doubt it will be easy.

It doesn't help that I can just order marijuana from my computer and someone will just bring it to me, and that the prices are half that of those on the street (I get 1/4 oz for $60 or $70 depending on the strain).

I just looked at my purchase history and I cannot believe what I'm doing to myself. This is $780 since September 20th.



The thing is...even as I'm typing this, I just want more weed. I don't want to stop. I just want to have money. And I know this is the wrong frame of mind.

I need help.

I honestly can't tell if this is a serious post. I thought you didn't smoke weed? I can honestly recall you saying in other weed threads you claimed to not smoke weed.

[teedubya]

Blunts are stupid and wasteful... I rarely smoke joints due to the waste. I get high 2-3 times a week... depending on which part of the country I'm in, I'll go many days at a time without, as I never travel with it. I get a lot of creative work done when high... helps me use different parts of my brain. I don't waste much time when I'm high, either. Also, I could go months without it and it not be a problem.

I do now, prefer the pen vapes with the hash oil in it... it's a much cleaner high and I am highly functional. Especially when you can state that you want the Sativa strain which is more cerebral. I rarely smoke Indica as it makes me tired and feel worthless.

If you are smoking too much, definitely get a one-hitter.

[King_Chief_Fan]

okay....I am not going to argue with you about whether smoking dope it is or isn't addictive. I only commented that several users posted comments that they were addicted and had difficulty quitting.

Detoxing claims it is like coffee....ok then.

addicition is in the eye of the addicted...I get it.

[NewChief]

Originally Posted by King_Chief_Fan

okay....I am not going to argue with you about whether smoking dope it is or isn't addictive. I only commented that several users posted comments that they were addicted and had difficulty quitting.

Detoxing claims it is like coffee....ok then.

addicition is in the eye of the addicted...I get it.

Coffee is actually a bad analogy. Caffeine withdrawal has very real physical side effects. Weed has no true physical withdrawal, though psychological/emotional symptoms may be possible.

[DaFace]

From a really good book on the subject:

Can marijuana use lead to dependence or addiction?

Yes, but even among frequent marijuana users only a minority suffers from a substance abuse disorder.

“Addiction” is no longer a term in medical use; the technical terms are “abuse” and “dependence,” where dependence is the more severe condition. Sometimes “addiction” is used to refer to dependence in its chronic, relapsing form.

Abuse and dependence are defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association, currently in its fourth edition (and thus called DSM-IV). To simplify, the DSM-IV definition of drug abuse is continued use of a substance in the face of adverse consequences. Dependence is defined as current use meeting three or more of the conditions:

1. Tolerance (needing more to get same effect)
2. Withdrawal (cessation causes a characteristic set of symptoms)
3. Using more than intended
4. Wanting to or having tried unsuccessfully to cut down on use
5. Spending considerable time obtaining and using the substance
6. Interference with important work, social, or other activities
7. Continued use despite knowledge of adverse consequences

Survey responses suggest that more than 8 million current marijuana users meet criteria 4 and 5; far fewer mention the other issues. For example, only 1.5 million report that their marijuana use is causing problems with work/school/home and with family or friends.

Taking all the criteria into account, the self-report data suggest that 2.7 million Americans met clinical criteria for marijuana dependence in 2009, and another 1.7 million met the criteria for abuse, so 4.4 million met the criteria for abuse or dependence (that’s 1.7 percent of the population aged 12 and older). Estimates from Europe and Australia also find rates of marijuana abuse and dependence in the general population between 1 percent and 2 percent. This relatively small group accounts for a considerable share of total consumption.

But regular marijuana use does not necessarily indicate dependence. Only about 30 percent of those who are estimated to have used on more than half the days in the last year self-report symptoms that suggest a diagnosis of abuse or dependence. The corresponding figure for cocaine is 88 percent. Someone who uses cocaine every other day or more often is probably cocaine dependent; someone who uses marijuana every other day or more often is probably not cannabis dependent. In this regard marijuana resembles alcohol more than it does the “hard” drugs.

[teedubya]

When I quit my daily 2-3 Mountain Dew intake... I crashed for like 2 days and had the worst headache of my life. Now, i drink unsweetened ice tea for caffeine.

If I have one Mountain Dew, I'm sure I'd fall off the wagon... that was a hard addiction to curtail for me.

[RaiderH8r]

Post. Repost. Don't care. Always funny.

[DaFace]

More from the book:

How bad is marijuana dependency compared to dependency on other drugs?

Regardless of the particular substance or behavior, no one wants to experience dependence, or have a family member, friend, or colleague suffer through addiction. The uncertainty and disappointment associated with dependence—as well as the possibility of health and financial risks—impose important costs on users and their intimates.

Medical professionals essentially use the same checklist to determine whether someone has a drug problem no matter what the drug is, but not all abuse and dependency is created equal. Marijuana dependence does not, on average, create the same social and personal problems as alcohol or heroin dependence. For example, heavy marijuana users can experience withdrawal, but the physical discomfort generally pales in comparison to that experienced by those with serious addictions to heroin or alcohol. Withdrawal from alcohol can be more than painful; if not properly supervised, it can even be fatal.

Robin Room and his colleagues found that marijuana posed less addictive risk than tobacco, alcohol, cocaine, stimulants, or heroin, not only in terms of likelihood of dependence but also the degree of dependence, which they characterize as “weak.” Their judgment is widely shared among experts. This finding does not deny that there are people who struggle to control their consumption or that marijuana dependence imposes a burden upon some users and their families; it just suggests that the intensity of marijuana dependence is generally less severe than dependence on some other well-known substances.

[Buck]

Originally Posted by Johnny Vegas

I honestly can't tell if this is a serious post. I thought you didn't smoke weed? I can honestly recall you saying in other weed threads you claimed to not smoke weed.

I've taken a few log breaks. Or I might have been high and trolling like I looked down upon smokers.

[RaiderH8r]

Originally Posted by Buck

I've taken a few log breaks. Or I might have been high and trolling like I looked down upon smokers.

I try to take a log break every morning after my coffee. Usually it is very rewarding but I have to use the crapper down the hall from my office because I'm not a pig. I don't shit where I roost.

[Chief Roundup]

Originally Posted by Detoxing

This is spot on if you were a pothead. If you were the kinda guy who smoked every day for years, this is exactly how one would feel. I know exactly what you're talking about.

But in the case of Bricks who claims he only smokes a joint a week....he won't experience this at all.

Yeah he is such a light smoker that IF he notices anything it would be minimal.

[Mr. Flopnuts]

Originally Posted by Buck

I've been a pot smoker my whole adult life. I've taken a couple or maybe three six-month to year long breaks in my life but only because it got to the point that weed was making me paranoid, especially that I would have a heart attack or something (mind you I was a very unhealthy person). That doesn't happen anymore.

If you see the picture, I obviously just bought some, so maybe I'll try to ween myself off it with this batch and then take a break and see how that goes. I didn't seriously think NA was an option for a marijuana smoker, but maybe I will have to.

I don't get it. I have a very addictive personality and genetics yet when I want to quit smoking weed I just quit. Don't miss it, don't care, but I absolutely replace it with something else. Sobriety is not something I have ever enjoyed. Even as a child I struggled with it, even though I had no idea what getting ****ed up was like. The second I started smoking weed at age 16, I've never looked back. People can call it sad, wrong, or whatever they want. I function at a much better pace when I am inebriated on some substance. Sobriety is a state of mind. We absolutely do not fully understand the function, and processes of the human brain. Apparently there is a misfire somewhere, because I am at my very best under the influence of some mind altering substance. I used to be ashamed of it, but why on Earth would I give the power of my self worth to a bunch of judgmental, ignorant, assholes?

Originally Posted by Fat Elvis

I had to quit smoking marijuana because it made me all paranoid. I started to think that the government was tracking my online activity and monitoring my cell phone calls.

Yeah, me too. I quit for almost an entire year until about a month ago. I started back up and was just fine. Better than ever, even. The best thing I did was went out and spent a hundo on a nice glass bong. My weed lasts longer, and the high is much more enjoyable than smoking through the pipe I used too have.

Originally Posted by lcarus

Seems like people who blow through a ton of weed usually smoke blunts. Which to me seems like a waste. Get a nice bong. And if you have a nice bong and smoke good weed, yet still blow through that much weed in that short amount of time...that's insane lol.

Yeah, see my above statement. In my business it's funny watching people blow through money smoking chron that costs $100 a 1/4 or more because they make so much money it doesn't matter to them. I'll smoke theirs that way, but not mine. The bill I dropped on my bong has paid itself off already, and I don't even smoke nearly as much as I used too. Hell, I don't even smoke every day anymore, and I used too be a HUGE stoner.

Originally Posted by Race Card native

Yea, my wife used to smoke as well and then it just started making her have anxiety and panic attacks. So she doesn't smoke anymore.

Have her give it a shot again. If she's like me, she'll be just fine and happy she did.

[bricks]

Originally Posted by Chief Roundup

Yeah he is such a light smoker that IF he notices anything it would be minimal.

The thing I notice the most is, the day after I smoke I feel lazy. I feel as if it destroys ambition. I just wanna lay back on my couch, chill and do nothing.

I procrastinate more when I smoke weed. I find it slows me down as far as getting things done.

Then I get backed up and can't get things done according to my original plan or schedule. It gets kinda irritable like that I guess?

*I can dig smoking it on a Saturday night because then that means the following day it's laying on the couch watching football and monching on pizza, chips and pop all day lol. But the rest of the week, I don't prefer to do it because I want to be consistent with my schedule.

[Pablo]

Originally Posted by bricks

The thing I notice the most is, the day after I smoke I feel lazy. I feel as if it destroys ambition. I just wanna lay back on my couch, chill and do nothing.

I procrastinate more when I smoke weed. I find it slows me down as far as getting things done.

Then I get backed up and can't get things done according to my original plan or schedule. It gets kinda irritable like that I guess?

*I can dig smoking it on a Saturday night because then that means the following day it's laying on the couch watching football and monching on pizza, chips and pop all day lol. But the rest of the week, I don't prefer to do it because I want to be consistent with my schedule.

Yeah, it can absolutely be a motivation killer. But that's more for the every day smoker than the occasional user. I love it during the week nights every now and then because I struggle with falling and staying asleep. If I smoke a little bit, I'll get a deeper, better sleep. I may feel a little groggy still in the morning, but it's nothing like a booze hangover and it's worth it to me.

The weekends are ideal though; just hang out and drink with our friends and smoke a little bit. Then wake up on Sunday morning and make a big breakfast and watch football all day.

No motivation needed. Besides the cooking breakfast part.