Any ex-regular marijuana smokers? What where your experiences when you quit?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I think this is the right place for this thread.

So, let’s say I know someone who can’t drink, doesn’t(/quit) smoking cigarettes. The only vice he or she allows themselves is weed. They’re beginning to think they need all the ‘mental faculties’ available to him/her, (as there has been a struggled in that regard, before they even knew what the weed was), and would otherwise smoke even more if it weren’t a factor. To those of you who got high on a regular basis, was it difficult to quit? Did you notice any changes over the long period? Better memory?

This person didn’t have much of a life before they even started smoking, (which the person allowed herself/himself to start at a late age), and is afraid they will be even more ‘bored with life’ than he/she currently is. They do, however, agree and acknowledge it CAN enable inactivity.

What are your stories? Is it worse than quitting smoking cigarettes, (as this person has successfully done, with a little bit of struggle)? Perhaps the person is making it more difficult in their head than it needs to be? Do the people who have quit it “miss it”? Can you still indulge occasionally without it becoming a cycle of ‘over-indulgence’? Do you gain back anything you may have lost, (from a neurological POV), while you were smoking? What about Panic attacks, (something else this person has been known to suffer from)?

Any ambiguity has to do with privacy. Although this person admits they still have a hard time excepting that the ‘cons’ outweighs the ‘pros’.

2

I used to smoke almost every day for a couple of years. In the end I got tired of how I felt when stoned so I stopped. It was not hard at all, no withdrawal symptoms or cravings - at most I missed the social circumstances where I had enjoyed weed, but I don’t miss the drug at all.

While I smoked I lived a normal functioning life with a nice job and while I never felt it impacted my work, it did cause me to be and feel very inactive/slow when I smoked. I also ate way too much crap.

As for memory, I was certainly effected while high. I have seen way too many movies that I do not remember much from, but I never felt effected when I hadn’t smoked, so I don’t really feel it was a question of regaining memory - I (as I experienced it) functioned perfectly when I hadn’t smoked.

It does not even remotely compare to nicotine addiction, I have smoked weed a couple of times since I stopped (but found I didn’t really enjoy it), something I would never dare with cigarettes.

3

This person feels the same way with Cigs. If they tried having a cigarette now, the best case scenario would be that they thought it was disgusting, so why would they even try?

The funny thing about this person is that smoking is *rarely *a ‘social’ practice.

4

Never been a big pot smoker, myself, but I have two friends who are REALLY big smokers. One had other substance abuse issues and gave all that up, but won’t give up pot. To our endless amusement, she refers to herself as “sober” because she doesn’t do the other drugs anymore. She won’t give up pot long enough to take a urine test to get a better job.

My other friend realizes the impairment she’s having due to pot. She has said she’s quitting a couple times, but always goes back. She flat out said she can’t do it.

5

I smoked cigarettes for 15 years, quit for three, and then picked it back up again a couple years ago. Trying to quit is, I understand, more difficult than quitting heroin. It was the hardest thing I’d ever done five years ago, and IMHO, I still haven’t mastered it because I started smoking again.

Smoking weed is not even in the same universe. I still smoke that pretty regularly too, but I notice as I age, finding contacts for acquisition is getting more difficult. I often go weeks or months without having any because I am not swimming in a sea of dope-smoking 20-somethings anymore.

So far, the only discernable side effect I can think of is I’ve lost about ten pounds because I’m not mindlessly snacking on crap after 10 p.m. (In fact, I’m in the best shape of my life right now because I’ve been out for a while.)

It seems to affect short term memory, but if you lay it down in long term, it’s still there, whether you are smoking or not. So yeah, I forget what happened during that movie I watched when I was high, but I didn’t forget to take my dogs out for a walk at night or anything. No DTs, panic attacks, nothing like that. I don’t sleep as well, but I had insomnia before I ever smoked weed (even when I was a little kid) and in fact, have found weed to be a really great treatment for insomnia. It helps me sleep without a medicine hangover in the morning, like you get from some OTC sleep aids.

If I have it, I smoke it – tiny bits, maybe a couple of one-hits every evening before bed – until it’s gone. It’s not like I obtain some and sit down and smoke it all right that second, compulsively. It’s not crack. You can ration it out, save it, savor it. I know some middle-aged professionals who only smoke on weekends, or just every now and again. It’s not addictive in the way that coke, heroin, crack, meth are addictive, where you just want more and more and have to compulsively use every last bit you have the minute you get it.

If I don’t have it, I pop at Tylenol PM before bed and wake up a little foggier than when I have weed. Aside from that and the lack of late-night munchies, there’s little difference in my life if I have it or not. I see no reason why it should be difficult for most people to quit. I think that’s the difference between physical addiction (marijuana is not) and psychological addiction (you think you need it, but your body doesn’t; weed can be, but isn’t necessarily for everyone). But. It affects everyone differently and I think you will get a very broad range of replies in this thread. Should be interesting.

6

Hmm, Really? This person feels they’ve been more disciplined with diet, sneaking a few beers here and there, and smoking cigarettes, in part, to JUSTIFY doing this one thing. They want to have some sort of ‘escape’ or ‘indulgence’. However, that could be a testament to how much this person loves weed. They want to be ‘in control’.

Oh, and they don’t get “the munchies”.

7

This person agrees.

8

A lot will depend on the type of weed being smoked too. That skunk stuff is not worth the paper it’s rolled it to me - far too strong.

9

The biggest change at first is insomnia. Wicked insomnia. That’s the hardest part.

Also some depression because your brain isn’t getting its dose of happy chemicals and it takes time for it to build up enough of its own.

Other than that, I agree with George Carlin – after a while, it leaves you alone.

Once you give it up, and get over the initial downsides, the benefits are great.

You stop doing small stupid stuff all the time.

Your lung capacity improves tremendously.

You have more money!

You are more easygoing and comfortable around people.

You’re not worried that someone is going to call or drop by while you’re high who you really “don’t want to deal with right now”.

You’re not distracted during the day because you want to go home and get high.

You realize that the background paranoia over possibly getting caught was actually causing you stress without you knowing it.

You have more time to do things you want to do, and you actually get stuff done instead of realizing at the end of the day that you wasted one helluva lot of time.

Things that you used to need to get high to enjoy now are enjoyable all by themselves.

In short, life’s better without the dope.

10

Smoked pretty much daily (when I had it) for 25 years to the month.

Haven’t smoked in almost 6 years, dating from a couple of weeks after my separation from the psycho ex.

Honestly, as I was telling a co-worker recently: I love the taste of good weed. I smoked it more for that than anything else. The downside was that I often smoked well more than I needed to get high, because it tasted so damned good!

So basically I quit by not having access to it anymore, and by not being willing to try to make new connections with the same sort of scummy individuals I had once associated with only because they had access to it.
Benefits of not smoking anymore;

Lungs and throat are better.

I don’t mess up social occasions by being high, or by slipping out to get high. (a biggie)

Don’t have to worry about it anymore. No worries that someone who doesn’t smoke will come over and see/smell/find it, or drop by at the wrong time. No worries about family finding out. No worries of getting busted.

Not worrying about the expense.

Not worrying about finding/acquiring it when I don’t have it, or during the inevitable dry spells that happen every year.

Not allowing myself to be associated with scumbags only because they can get me weed. (also a biggie)

The downside;

I miss the taste.
I occasionally miss the high.

11

No and no.

I used to smoke very regularly when I was in high school and into my freshman year of college. I always felt like I just kind of grew out of it, and stopped (mostly). However I still buy an eighth maybe twice a year at most for that occasional indulgence, but it’s not a big deal to me anymore.

I never had panic attacks or any other unwanted side effects other than eating too damn much, which is probably one of the reasons I don’t indulge very often. I have enough trouble controlling my weight as it is.

12

As far as money is concerned, sure they’ll have more pocket cash, but if they are stoned, they DON’T drive. That means no midnight fast food joints, (they have to work with whatever they have in their place) and no driving around wasting gas, no being in an environment where ‘impulse buying’ is an issue. This person doesn’t necessarily think that’s a GOOD thing, (not getting out), but it truly seems to ‘pay for itself’ in that respect. The few times they were either too busy to get some, or simply couldn’t find some ‘stuff’ helped this person see how costly life without it can get.

A lot of the other things you mentioned are reasonable arguments. Though he/she doesn’t get too paranoid, (if at all). Well… This person DOSE get cynical, which I suppose could fall into the “paranoia” category. They are not sure if that’s an effect the drug has, but they could use a little less of that in their life. As far as being around other people, they’re not too worried about it. It’s not even on their mind most of the time.

Some good points though!

13

Economic circumstances have forced me to give it up recently. You miss it for a few days, but no big deal. Sometimes I could really use some, and I will certainly smoke again when times get better. I love the stuff. I find it really helps me concentrate on work and get a lot of things done. I do better and more work when high (Photoshop, 3d animation, web programming).

Withdrawal symptoms? Lack of appetite. That goes away after less than a week. Some irritability. I have never suffered fools gladly, and not being high just makes dealing with the average moron more annoying.

14

I’ve got a friend like that. Mystifies me. I guess it depends on what kind of work you do. My kind of work, there’s no way you could do it better stoned.

15

Well, for computer work it lets you kind of get into a groove. Whether it’s Photoshop or building a 3D model, or coding PHP, I just kind of get hypnotized by the whole thing and can work for hours.

16

I was a regular smoker for years but I just grew out of it. It wasn’t conscious but I went from every day to a few times a week to occasionally to just at rock concerts. I don’t feel any different and don’t crave it. I can be in a room full of people smoking and still not want it…unless there is really good live music playing and even then it’s no big deal if I don’t have any.

17

So, you’re really looking for some ex-dopers? :smiley:

It never affected me, really. If I couldn’t find anyone to buy some from or didn’t have the money, I just wouldn’t get it. I’m the same way with cigarettes though, so take that as it were.

18

The two major concerns are mental, and emotional effects the drug may have.

Also, getting caught would suck, (depending on whom were catch this person; like the pizza guy, or the landlord).

They’ve always been “lazy” to some degree, (but want to change that). When they DO clean up, do laundry, dishes, whatev… they’re usually stoned and would rather be doing those things while stoned. That’s not to say that it HELPS! They don’t really have much experience with a life without being “lazy”, So they may not notice it’s effect as much. They recall high school. They are NOT lazy at their place of employment, however they have to work super-hard to make up for their lack of ‘speed’. They now recall college, (one of the few times they didn’t have time to smoke because they were WAY too engrossed in their art projects and had a VERY hard time studying to even eat or sleep), and they freaked-out, then dropped-out; (gave higher education three separate chances on a whole [at least one, MAYBE two of the attempts weren’t while they were smoking at all], even though they worked hard to do well, boy did they **HATE **school). How old does one have to be to ‘grow out’ of pot? Could it happen in one’s late 20’s, early 30’s??

19

I used to be a regular pothead. When I was in my teens-through-mid 20s, I smoked daily. In addition to my regular 3-4 joints or bowls a day, any of life’s minor triumphs and semi-special occasions called for weed. Going to hear a band? Let’s burn one! Got the phone number of that pretty girl who works at IHOP? Bring out the bong! At work, my boss complimented me on doing a great job? Time to twist one up!

I never actually *quit *smoking pot, in the “…sudden cessation of” sense of the word. I started realizing that I didn’t want to be stoned all of the time, only on certain occasions. I also began to realize that I felt uncomfortable around people I didn’t know very well when I was high. By the time I was in my 30s, I only smoked once in a while. When I was watching a favorite movie best enhanced by a buzz, when I was hammering out new ideas in the studio (I’m an artist), when I was just in that rare “…a little smoke would really complete this picture” frame of mind.

Thoses times started getting rarer and rarer. When I drifted away from actively buying weed, I could make a quarter ounce last 4-5 months. When my son was born almost six years ago, I stopped smoking entirely; prior to that I hadn’t smoked any weed at all in easily 8-10 months, and even then it was just a toke with buddy of mine. Any pot connections I had drifted away and were never replaced by any new ones.

Now I’m an old fart in my mid-40s and no one approachs me to sell any smoke (although I’m still cool…right?). I’d love to indulge in the occasional spliff while I sit in the back yard and watch the sun set over the lake, but until they legalize it, I’m stuck with sipping a wee drop of malt whiskey instead. Ah, well…

20

I smoked it for about 10 or 12 years and quit within the last six months.

I always thought I smoked a lot, but comparing habits, I’m not so sure. Maybe a lot for one person isn’t for another. I smoked three times a week, and only a pinch. I’d get high, come down, and wouldn’t smoke any more until the next night. A $20 pack would last me two months. I know people who smoke that much a DAY.

I always knew I didn’t want to smoke forever. Although there isn’t a tremendous amount of evidence that it’s bad, I just felt like it wasn’t a good idea to smoke it for the rest of my life.

I quit at a time when I kinda wish I hadn’t. I had SEVERE anxiety…it went on for a few months, and when I’m like that, I don’t smoke pot or drink alcohol. I figured it was a good time to quit, but I wish I hadn’t promised myself that I’d be quitting forever because I don’t think it’s a good idea to let anxiety make my decisions for me.

So a month later, I smoked it again. I told myself, “No guilt about ‘relapsing.’ I’m just going to try it again and see if I still think I should quit.” And sure enough, the next morning I didn’t feel guilty. I was glad I smoked it that one last time, because I realized that I don’t want to smoke it any more.

My workouts at the gym are better. My sex drive is back. I feel more clear headed. Psychosomatic? Dunno and don’t care. I’m just glad I don’t smoke it any more.

Do I miss it? Hell yeah. I loved being stoned. But I also used to get VERY anxious while stoned. It opened up my mind to fears I have that really aren’t worth thinking about. I’d get so scared, I’d have to get out of bed and walk around until I came down. As much as I liked watching movies while stoned, the anxiety part sucked.

It was hard to quit. I really missed it. But after a few months it was fine. I’m still tempted to smoke it, especially after having a few beers, but I even noticed last night when a friend sparked a bowl, even though I was buzzed from beers, I still realized that I don’t want to smoke it any more.