Benefits of quitting cannabis

I am nearly 37 years old. I started smoking cannabis, aged 18 - followed by tobacco, aged 19. I have tried several times to quit both. My most successful attempt lasted 3 months - this was nearly 10 years ago.

I smoked my last joint and cigarette on 29th and 31st of August '09 respectively. After more than 3 weeks of abstention I have booked an appointment with the Doctor to discuss my mental aggression, manic psychology and resulting depression. I have started drinking more alcohol than normal in a vain attempt to deal with the anxiety I am feeling. I have also researched buying sedatives and tranquillisers online, in case my Doctor doesn't take my situation seriously - which would be ill-advised considering my current aggressive mood!

I am determined (for now at least) to reach my previous milestone of 3 months, though I don't want to wreck my life doing it. I'd rather drink alcohol or take pills than inhale smoke. One way or another I have to beat my addiction to smoking.

I'm amazed (and depressed) to find so little support online for people in my position. I can't be the only person to have experiences such as these. Apart from quitting smoking, my life is in pretty good shape. There is NO OTHER reason for feeling as I do now. So, when I hear people dismiss cannabis addiction, my emotions become difficult to contain. Only stupid people disregard the effects on the brain of 19 years of consistent chemical alteration. While the addiction may be different to that experienced by heroin, crack or tobacco users, it is nevertheless just as serious to those experiencing it.

I like alcohol and have consumed it regularly since becoming an adult, but it has never controlled me and I have never become addicted to it. Nevertheless, it doesn't stop me from acknowledging that some people DO become addicted to alcohol. This realisation and acceptance of fact further increases my exasperation with those who are either unable, or refuse, to acknowledge cannabis addiction. Ignorance on this topic needs addressing NOW and I'm thrilled that the founders of this website agree!

Lee, I'm new here myself and looking for all the help I can get.   I am on day one of my hundredth or so attempt to quit - never made it past 3 weeks.  I see myself heading toward that dark tunnel of depression and anxiety that you express and wish I knew how to make it all go away.  I keep asking myself if I even remember what life was like before pot and it's hard to remember or imagine.  I agree that it is a serious problem that needs more attention - and I am heartened that there are even 10 people here who are going through the same struggle and owning up to it.    Please share what you can about how you are getting through this - it's 'pain made useful'.

hi lee,

good to see you on here.

i can sympathise with the anxious feelings you are getting, they are totally shit.

i am suffering with the same about 3 weeks into giving up the weed now.the feelings you get make you feel basically ill and the focus and concentration levels just seem to vanish.

i am sure though after a period of time they will pass and we will all get back to a good mental and physical state.

good luck with your progress

hi lee.  I'm new here too , good luck with your quit .It's day one for me

Thank you for the kind concern, I wish I could share some of the optimism that has been expressed. However, I am in a far worse state than I was when I typed the original post.

I visited the doctor (after waiting a week for an appointment) only to be told that, while she sympathised with my plight she could not offer me any medication to ease the anxiety and mental turmoil. Instead, all she could do was refer me to a clinical specialising in treating those suffering from addiction to cannabis ...and cocaine (?? you tell me!???)

Anyway, I raced over to the clinic in question feeling sure that I would be given urgent attention, only to be told that I would have to wait 8 days for an appointment!

Feeling utterly devastated, abandoned and helpless I went straight to the pub and proceeded to drink myself into a stupor. I also took some cocaine (a substance I gave up using regularly many years ago) and managed to get some diazepam tranquillisers from an acquaintance - the very same tablets that the doctor should have prescribed for me in the first place!!

While the pills have helped to calm me down considerably the depression that I alluded to in my earlier post has now taken a firm hold. This is not simply a result of quitting cannabis - though that obviously plays a role - it is also a result of several other factors best discussed with a psychologist. Suffice to say that I have suffered from depression before, though not for many years, and it is an illness that tends to lie dormant in those afflicted by it, until circumstances conspire to cause another episode of suffering.

I am now going to take time off from work to seek more immediate help as I feel that my mental state is deteriorating rapidly. Once again I must stress that this is NOT SOLELY A RESULT OF CANNABIS WITHDRAWAL! If you have started to quit do not expect that you will suffer the same experience that I have. There are obviously other issues that I have to deal with in conjunction with cannabis withdrawal.

I will try to post occasional updates on my progress for those that are interested.

Take care of yourselves.

Lee, my heart breaks for you and I empathize with your frustration.   Being fed up with traditional medicine is really what got me self-medicating with cannabis in the first place.   Going to a doctor who won't help you is incredibly frustrating.   From your description, I sense that this dr. saw you only as an 'addict' and dismissed all your real symptoms. ?   I feel helpless to say anything really meaningful to you -  except that I care - and hope and pray you find the help you need.     Please keep posting.  I'm worried about you.

I too have other issues, unrelated to cannabis consumption, which I know are going to make my attempts to quit even more difficult.  For me cannabis helped me to ignore these problems so now not only do I have to quit the weed, I'll also have to face these problems that it has helped me forget.

Don't quit quitting, and please keep posting.

How are you James? I have been following these boards, but have slipped behind in my own quit . Hopefully I will find what it takes .

Lacey

The delay in updating this is not entirely my fault, I tried a few days ago, but the site server wasn't playing!

Anyway, to pick up from where I left off...

With the help of alcohol and a few unprescribed benzodiazepines I managed to make it through to exactly one month of smoke-free existence (both nicotine and cannabis). I obviously couldn't carry on replacing one drug with others so, in a last act of desperation, I visited the local emergency Psychiatric ward! After an interview with a Psychiatrist it was concluded that I wasn't becoming insane and that my symptoms were "normal" for someone in my position. It didn't offer me much comfort at the time... all I wanted was to feel calm again, and only chemicals could do that!

The Psychiatrist referred me to the same clinic as my Doctor; it seems the place is well-known and respected. So, I returned to the clinic and made an appointment (which is now tomorrow!) I also decided that, rather than risk becoming addicted to other substances, I would self-medicate by smoking again. There was absolutely NO WAY that I could last another day, let alone another week, in the state that I was in.

So, here I am, a smoker again, but apparently "normal" to all those unaware of my situation. I have smoked every day since I started again a week and a half ago, (though only a small joint in the evenings). I'm now putting all my hopes in the apparent expertise of the clinic, I know that I can't just stop smoking forever on my own. I will keep you updated on how it goes.

Hi Lee - I hope you are still visiting the site and are still trying to sort yourself out.  I really feel for you man, it seems you're trying to cope with a huge ammount all in one go.

My only advice to you would be to try to take things one step at a time.  Quitting the nicotine at the same time as the weed may not be the best route for you as nicotine is an extremely powerful drug and on my past (failed) attempts to quit the weed I've quit both and havn't been sure whether I'm being driven mad by nicotine or weed cravings.

Many years ago I used to take huge quantities of coke, pills, acid and speed - all of which were thier own unique struggle to get off of.  I replaced them with alcohol and continued smoking weed.  I had anger issues due to things that had happened to me and had a very negative attitude to everything in life.  It really didn't seem worth living.

I only beat these things one at a time.  It felt like a struggle for a long time, but (bit by bit) life got better.  Relationships improved.  I went to anger management.  I discovered meditation.  I started doing simple little things which really helps.

I never got off the weed until very recently and still smoke 20-per day fags.  Life isn't perfect, and I've really gone through the mill with the way that weed has made me feel...but I'm hopeful that I've beaten that one now.

Life's a long-game mate - all of the things you've gone through are what makes you unique and special.  It's your story.  Try to keep chilled about the future and know that you will beat all of this - draw strength from the fact that you are here on this site sharing with others and that must mean that you're heading in the right direction.  Keep strong!

So sad bro...Actually you have to cure this...because there vis many types of demerit of this....It's shocking news, even after these last seven, trying months," said Paul Stanford, THCF Executive Director. feminized seeds

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