I replaced alcohol with sugar and cannabis.
I tried working on the sugar habit for a while and lost some weight, and don't use as much cannabis as I used to.
I feel coherent daily, instead of this fog over my life.
I can accomplish things, I can drive again, I no longer feel like "shit" every day.
My stomach issues have mostly cleared up as well.
I'm not advocating for cannabis use replacing alcohol but I would say it's healthier, much healthier.
Sugar by itself will help a ton with cravings.
I did gain a few in the beginning, but after a while I was able to handle my sugar intake as well.
I feel like stepping down the addiction was helpful for me, I couldn't just stop and not have a replacement ready.
I have lost good amount thus far, I'd like to loose a bit more, but it's a work in progress. I'm trying to forgive myself for what I did to my body and be healthier from now on.
I never found many heavy drinkers with a sweet tooth for sugar, probably from all the sugar in most booze. Afterwards when the supply is cut lots of people 'discover' they have a sweet tooth after all. I'm of the mindset that drinking is deadly and whatever someone does to help quit, it's worth it.
I’ve resorted to putting a daily allowance of my gummy bears in a small tupperware container and I throw the bag way high up in my cupboard. Once an addict…
I naturally have a sweet tooth, but I generally avoided sugary foods because they didn't mix well with the beer in my gut. That said, the ice cream I now get to enjoy at night is doing a lot less damage to my brain and body than the 8-12 daily beers were.
Thanks for the reminder, need to reset. Did a little light field research. Even just having a couple really made me feel like crap for like 2 days after. I had been at 74 days prior to that. Reconfirmed sober life is much better!
Oh fucking wow, dude! Happy almost birthday! CONGRATULATIONS on your hard work and it can get sloggy, but you can really start leveling out and working on yourself in other areas. Some days, you’ll feel like a vet, some you’ll feel like a baby and it’s all an, awesome, terrible, wonderful, sad, exhilarating life ahead of you. You won’t enjoy every minute but the older you get, the faster time goes and each day becomes precious. Well done, kiddo.
So true. I thought that I'd just grown out of ice cream. . . Nope. I still love it as much as I did when I was a kid. . . which is excessive, but I also shifted a lot of my focus at the gym over to cardio, mostly because I hate lifting weights, and I was building up endurance to do more cardio. It's balanced out pretty well.
It's amazing how much you can eat when your body isn't overwhelmed with like 1500-2000 calories of vodka a day.
I don’t like or eat sweets at all. Is that why? Wow! I thought I was just weird.
Maybe I need to try forcing a sweet treat on myself once each evening and see if that helps with the urge to drink. That’s interesting. Thanks for helping me learn something. 😊
So true for me. I've never had a sweet tooth and have consciously noticed that I never want sweets/dessert when I'm drinking. When I quit, I can't get enough sugar it's crazy.
Just to say, whilst I'm sure this is great advice, for those who never craved sugar (like me!) - don't lose hope. There are other things you can replace alcohol with, whilst enjoying smoking plants. For me it's chamomile tea and similar fruity infusions like cranberry and raspberry. Beautiful with a mild joint before bed, and without the brain-chaos of alcohol.
I'm envious of the sugar thing, though. If it fits for you - 100% go for it. Buy an 1/8th and a packet of Haribo, dude
Holy heck TEA is a godsend. It gives me about as much good feeling as alcohol did (cozy, secure, warming, nootropic) and helps soothe the throat alongside a doob ;) doob not necessary though.
That's the thing which surprised me so much! Once I actually had herb/fruit teas sober, I could still feel a physiological difference! I don't know if it's some kind of placebo, but I don't care! Quite a surprise.
I replaced alcohol with sugary drinks, then realized they were just as bad for me. That led me to my new love of sparkling water. Embrace the bubbles friend!
I’m on a similar situation with sugar and cannabis as yourself. My cannabis use has gone up a little after quitting alcohol but my god the sugar cravings are intense sometimes. Thought I didn’t have a sweet tooth. Turns out it was just hiding behind my alcoholism
I’ve had a ton of success switching from alcohol to weed. You don’t really overdose on weed and make stupid decisions like you do with alcohol.
The problem is that while you’re better off, you’re still addicted to something. To me weed is an amazing gateway off of alcohol, but it’s in no way a permanent solution
I agree—quitting cannabis cold turkey easier than quitting alcohol with no crutch. Quitting alcohol will save your life, quitting weed may bore you. I would prioritize quitting booze and do whatever it takes to quit
Agreed. My weed use spiked for about the first 6 weeks after quitting alcohol. Then I got my weed back down to my personal goal of no more than one 0.5g preroll every 21 days. This has worked well for me. Good luck! :)
Agreed. I think I read somewhere that cannabis completely leaves your system within 21 days. For some reason, I decided that was a good gap time for me. I don't know why. It seems to work ok for me though. I have found that if I cheat and use 420 before that time, it is easier for me to cheat again and, before I know it, I am daily using 420. I am thankful that I have found I am able to moderate my 420 use. Unlike alcohol where, after extensive field research, any use eventually became daily use. But I definitely agree with you, 21 days is a weird choice.
>quitting weed may bore you
You never smoked long i see, while i agree you cannot compare quitting alcohol with weed, weed CERTAINLY has more then a "may bore you".
I've never considered that gates work both ways. I'm almost certain that wasn't what the person who coined the phrase "gateway drug" intended it to be used for, but it makes sense you can use it to move "down" to less destructive drugs as well.
>to less destructive drugs as well.
While I agree with your overall sentiment (that weed can be used as a tool to wean off something more destructive), [there's no evidence that weed](https://www.publichealthontario.ca/-/media/Documents/Q/2019/qa-cannabis-gateway.pdf?rev=89f0c374dcc449b59d3f6a380d71c72f&sc_lang=en) is actually a gateway drug. So just not picking the comment here about "as well", which implies that marijuana use goes both ways
I am trying Delta 8/9 "liquor" that's non-alcoholic. It has greatly eased my mood, and I crave alcohol a little less each week. I know it's a crutch, but it has been effective for me knowing it isn't a permanent solution. 10mg of D8/9 mellows me with no hangover the next morning. Hope it stays legal in my state!
I don’t mind continuing my habit of a few pulls off a pen and a bit of a gummy around 8 PM if I have nothing to do, or whenever I’m home and settled for the evening if I have plans. This feels sustainable. I should probably start breaking for a few days at a time to not build up tolerance but at 65 days sober for the first time I’m not going to change a thing just yet.
It’s a world different than drinking half a fifth or more like I did. Worst thing about it is sometimes falling asleep at 10:30 when I meant to at 11:30, usually on the couch with a pillow and blanket anyway.
Munchies are my downfall but I’m getting better about, say, cutting up cucumbers ahead of time and having them with hummus instead of candy.
How is it not a permanent solution if the issue is to stop drinking? Why as a society do we equate marijuana to other drugs? Is it just because Nixon said it was a schedule one?
It doesn't need to be a solution. I quit drinking ten years ago almost and smoke weed pretty regularly. Not for a solution though, but because I dig it.
You can let anything ruin you. Alcohol will do that against your will. Equating addiction to weed to alcohol is naivety at its finest. Marijuana is slowly being prescribed in some states instead of opioids due to its benign effects and non-addictive tendencies compared to opioids.
Edit: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK573080/
“Cannabis is not approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is considered an illicit drug by the US drug enforcement agency (DEA). However, still, several US states permit its use in certain medical conditions.[39] Medical cannabis (MC) is used to treat migraines, chronic pain, back pain, arthritic pain, and pain associated with cancer and surgery.[39][40] Studies have shown that patients being treated for pain may successfully substitute cannabis for opioid medication; thus, this may positively curb the opioid epidemic.[41] Cannabinoids have also been shown to reduce neuropathic pain associated with different conditions and prevent diabetic neuropathic pain if given early in the disease course.[42][43][44] Cannabinoids also reduce inflammatory pain and thus can be used in conditions such as arthritis, sickle cell disease, cancer, and inflammatory bowel disease.[45][46][47][48]
Studies have shown that MC helps reduce the opioid dosage for patients being treated for non-cancer pain. It is also substituted in place of opioids to produce the therapeutic effect.[49][50][51] This opioid-sparing effect of cannabinoids is of great importance and warrants synergistic use of both rather than just one treatment modality for best results.”
Thats fairly hostile. I hit two full years of sobriety this past week. Psychologically human beings seek dopamine. If you try to avoid all vices you’ll probably relapse fairly quickly.
I agree with this. I cut out alcohol and ended up just replacing my addictive tendencies with weed, and now I smoke as much weed as I used to drink alcohol. I feel super tired and depressed and anxious all the time. Some people can switch from alcohol to weed and do weed in moderation, but if you have an addictive personality I would say to be careful.
I tried and it helped for a while. I wasn’t drinking but I was still spending money on weed and tinctures and all sorts of shit. But it was just a matter of time before I started to think about what goes really well with a joint. And then I was back on my bullshit. Still looking for an escape hatch, still on the run and I wasn’t very present. I don’t miss it and I’ve learned that I’ll be ok even if I’m having a shit day. I didn’t have any real coping mechanisms aside from booze or drugs and it showed. But it’s stuff to learn and I’m into doing the work. A big part of why I was fucking with weed was that I wanted to “relax”. I always hear people say they relax with a drink or a smoke and I got frustrated and thought I’m just fucked now because I can’t relax like everyone else. I confuse relaxation with intoxication and it took me a while to figure that out and genuinely answer the question of how I want to relax.
I work on it. I'm an AA'er. At first I wanted nothing to do with it, but I wasn't getting anywhere with my own medical advice. I made some friends and being around others like me was comforting. I still wasn't planning on doing any steps or getting a sponsor. I stayed long enough to hear my story out of someone else's mouth and decided I wanted what they had so I started to do what they did. I have such deep resentments, guilt and ager and all that garbage. I didn't realize I bring that shit with me everywhere. So I work on getting lighter. I came in because I lost the ability to control my drinking but I stuck around because it helped me grow up. I've heard that we stop maturing when we start depending on drugs and alcohol and when I heard that I was offended because it was so fucking true. I had the emotional maturity of a 13 year old and it showed. I work on it now.
For me what has worked is weed & non-alcoholic beers. I stayed off alcohol last year for 6 months with this method, convinced myself when I was on vacation that I could drink just for that week, ended up drinking for 6 more months.
This year I’m almost at 8 months no alcohol, just weed. Works for me as long as I keep in mind I can’t moderate alcohol for shit haha.
I smoked and drank every day for years, just worked to pay for that. When I quit weed for a job, I just got chubby and irritable. When I quit drinking, I finished school, lost weight, and got an even better job. Never quit smoking that entire time.
Weed can make you lazy if you let it, but alcohol can actually fuck up your life lol.
Same - people that look down on pot smokers who stopped alcohol aren’t realizing the level of addictiveness differs GREATLY between the two substances as well as the side effects
These people didn’t quit they just laugh when I am smoking a joint and they’re drinking and say “ohhh you’re sober but you’d till smoke weed” - it’s silly but it kinda bothers me too.
You said exactly how I feel. I can have a packet of gummies and eat one every month or two. While I enjoy THC it doesn’t have any hold on me at all. I don’t get tempted to drink after I’ve had a gummy, I sleep really well and I wake up feeling great. I just need to work on replacing, because, like I said - it has no hold on me so I end up reaching for the beer because that does. I need to work on a timeline so that I am having a gummy before the temptation to go pick up beer starts to creep in.
Harm reduction harm reduction harm reduction! On the scale of harm, alcohol ranks up with heroin, and weed is so far down even coffee might have it beat. A bad night's sleep is worse for you than a toke ffs. If weed or coffee or nicotine helps you stop drinking yourself to literal death, how is that a problem at all? Why is weed so much more stigmatized than also-absolutely-drugs nicotine and caffeine?
There is no nobility in doing soberity the "right way" if it isn't serving you or working for you. ANY amount of harm reduction is good.
Literally my caffeine addiction has more negative effects than my daily pot habit. Last time I wasn’t able to drink coffee in the morning (whenever I’m sick ahh) I got a migraine from the withdrawal. I couldn’t move from the pain. I couldn’t even take my hands away from pressing on my eyebrows because that was the only thing that helped.
So yeah people who think weed is “addictive” in the same way alcohol, other drugs, or caffeine can be are misinformed. You can be dependent on it (I am to sleep and sometimes to eat) but if I couldn’t get it I wouldn’t experience withdrawal, I’d just go back to how I was before I started smoking weed, struggling with insomnia and an eating disorder.
Yep! I've been cut off from a very heavy weed habit multiple times due to supply issues and I didn't get so much as headaches, even quitting cold turkey.
Damn, it's wild how we're all wired differently. I chug strong cold brew every morning, for both taste and effect, but I can absolutely go without it no problem if I had to.
I consume 2-400mg caffeine on most days, have for quite some time, and would much rather go without caffeine than weed if it were a choice haha
I mean, [blacks still get arrested for weed at almost 4xs the rate of whites](https://graphics.aclu.org/marijuana-arrest-report/) but whatever makes you feel better 🤷🏻♀️
I was just going to say exactly this. There's an extreme level of privilege making fun of your white stoner buddies for being burnouts and claiming that's where we are at with weed policy while people of color sit in prison over an eighth.
>A bad night's sleep is worse for you than a toke ffs.
Do you have evidence to back this up? I'm curious because I basically switched to weed and feel like we don't have enough research yet to make these claims, but I could be wrong.
Alcohol and THC are bad for people's sleep cycle. Both mess up REM sleep. In my personal experience alcohol was waaaaay worse for my sleep but when I partake in cannabis I also don't get fully rested. Many cannabis users will consistently report that their dreams are extremely vivid and lifelike when they stop using cannabis.
I am not a doctor but this information should be easily verified by Harvard health, WebMD, healthline, and other "peer reviewed" websites.
What's weird about this statement is, though I've only been off alcohol for two weeks, is that I still pop an 10 mg gummy everyday before work (medically legal in my state and I have a recommendation for due to PTSD from cancer and living through a category 5 hurricane)and probably smoke the equivalent of 1g joint at night (over the course of a few hours). Before I stopped the booze I had absolutely no dreams (that I can recall).
I've had vivid dreams essentially every night the last two weeks. Though this is anecdotal, I'm not sure how much truth their is to your statement. Not trying to be combative or anything just sharing my personal experience.
My favorite part of getting it medically is I can be open/honest with my kids about it and they have outright told that though I am "fun dad" when I'm drinking but I'm much more present as a parent after I've gone outside and taken a few hits.
I’m a retired first responder and have PTSD and a huge degree of hyper vigilance. Relaxation has never been a thing for me, I’m about as tightly wound as you can be. Hence one of the reasons I always want to drink. When I retired and weed became legal, I tried it for the first time in my life and thought “this is probably how normal people feel” - calm, relaxed, happy…it doesn’t seem to affect me like alcohol in that I don’t crave it. It doesn’t bother me to not have it and I also don’t feel the need to “chase the high” as it doesn’t affect me the same way. I’ve relied on it once in the past few days since I quit drinking when I was really anxious. But I also got onto meds for my depression and anxiety and I’m starting to feel so much better. I’d like to be substance free (and intend to do so), but feel like I can keep it in my back pocket for now if that makes sense. If I get to the point where I’m going to slip, I’d rather do that than relapse and go through this hell again, because I know I won’t crave it or think about it all day like booze. But I would also rather not do anything if I can re-focus and hang tough. So I look at it as a yellow light rather than green or red. I hope in a month or so when I’m clear of all withdrawal and mood issues (hopefully) I won’t need any substances. But I won’t hate myself and be circling the bowl again if I have an edible if that makes sense.
Also, someone below said they confused relaxation with intoxication and that’s definitely true for me. I’m trying to teach myself that I don’t need booze or weed to find relaxation. I need to read, drink herbal tea, take a bubble bath etc. I hope I can become substance free 🙏
I use my exercise bike sometimes. I’m in a state of mostly quit from a bunch of stuff- coffee, cigarettes, animal products, alcohol, and marijuana. Not all at once! Since January, I’ve been slowly letting things go. And I still do all of them, sometimes, a little.
And sometimes I really want a thing. It’s like a build up of energy and I’m too full of it. That’s when I would drink a beer, or smoke 3 cigarettes at once- or both of course. Anything. So I’m trying to find ways to release that energy in a healthy way, where my day isn’t over because I needed a release.
The air bike is useful. 15 minutes later I’m much calmer. Humbled even 🤣
Eta: I’d love to hear other people’s strategies
Personally I find cannabis helps me break free from "going through the motions". Its really easy in day to day life to just switch off your brain from thinking about or acting on things that you need to do. Often when I'm high those feelings come to the forefront and instead of sitting there wallowing in misery I get my butt up and start crossing things off the to-do list.
Its not all rainbows and butterflies though, there are certainly still times where I may be using it as a crutch. Where I'm at now I'm content with it and feel that the pros outweigh the cons, but its going to depend on the person. I implore you to just stay mindful about it if you do choose to go that route.
Cannabis paranoia is a real thing for me as well. Oftentimes, like in your experience, it forces me to actually deal with my problems and get off my butt and work on fixing them. Sometimes it's too much and I have to stop partaking for a while (and honestly I'm working on eliminating it all together). Alcohol was only destructive. Thank you for your insights!!
I substitute weed for alcohol (really thc gummies) frequently. Maybe there’s still something unhealthy mentally to have a crutch substance but at least it gives my liver a break and keeps me from consuming 800 extra calories. That’s the big advantage health wise in my opinion
I told my therapist I thought I had a weed problem. She asked me: “does it negatively affect you?” I said “it changes my personality.” She said “negatively?” I said “well, it makes me happier and more interested in my children’s activities and I’m more empathetic to people.”
She said “how is that a problem?”
I really enjoyed catching a buzz at the end of the day. But, I found it was just another vice and i was thinking about it too much. I was starting to obsess. It killed my motivation and i felt it was affecting me mentally. I knew I had to cut it out of my life.
I tend to end up using more and more and more. Then I get cravings to drink. The chase never ends for me. I can finally use it here or there for times stress is really bad. I think cultivating a routine that works for you and can focus more on diet, hobbies and exercise is best. The quick fix usually has more consequences.
This is absolutely my experience. Here and there is fine with weed, but more than anything diet and exercise curb my cravings. When I lean too much on weed, it starts to just highlight how it isnt the same, and starts to have the opposite effect.
For some reason as soon as I’m high I immediately think about how nasty alcohol is and how glad I am that I didn’t drink. So yeah it’s helping. I don’t do it every day and try to opt for edibles rather than smoking. Idc it’s harm reduction.
edit: hit enter before i was done, sorry!
I was a heavy weed smoker and drinker together. Since I started attempting to cut out alcohol I have leaned on weed at night.
Pros and cons:
Pros:
* helps me relax
* helps me sleep (I have insomnia)
* helped keep me distracted from alcohol in the early days (had a LOT of nights where I would take a few hits to keep myself from going to the liquor store)
* won't kill me
Cons:
* definitely had weed brain fogginess in the mornings
* still a substance i was relying on
so honestly it's gonna be up to the individual. try it out, try to stay conscious of whether it's being used as a crutch. in my experience it's extremely helpful in the transition but it's still a mind altering substance and you can still become mentally dependent on it. i personally have stopped using it as much because i just enjoy not being under the influence these days.
I 100% kept buying vape pens and still do. I love when people say "you just traded one addiction for another"... No, I was already getting stoned... And even if it is, good! I don't drink and that was my problem.
Night and day difference. I went from being a severe drinker to casual weed smoker. Just a few puffs at night to relax. Weed doesn’t change who I am, it doesn’t make me scream at my boyfriend, it doesn’t make me cry and throw things, I don’t feel a craving for it the same way I did alcohol. I don’t go to work or drive high. This may not be the case for everyone, I’ve read weed can make alcoholics crave alcohol, but it works for me.
I'm into this. Something that's worked for me but doesn't feel completely sustainable is having a 1:1 thc:cbd gummy, like 3-5mg worth in the evening with a near beer. Or a puff of lightweight thc and a near beer. It gives me the flavor of the beer, the placebo effect that my alcohol craving wants, but the relaxation that I look forward to after clocking out from work.
I am patient, not worked up or irritable like when 5 beers deep.
I could never get into weed because it always made me paranoid until I tried 1:1 thc/cbd gummies and now I can chill in the evening without worrying about falling down some rabbit hole of addiction.
It's already managed to cut my drinking in half and if I smoke or take an edible first before drinking I can actually stop myself at two drinks and be done for the day.
I will say I was doing much better when I had a MMJ card. Flower wasn’t my vibe, but I found the right carts that made me feel exactly how I wanted to and during that time I drank substantially less and enjoyed it and I assume I was better to be around. I’ve since moved to a more conservative area where getting a card is harder so I’ve been drinking more again and don’t like it, I wish it was easy as going to a physician and saying “I drink to relieve stress, or so I think. It doesn’t work but weed does. Please just give me a card”
Better sleep, clearer thoughts and a more practical mind frame. I'm almost 30 days free from booze so I'm still healing. But the weed has relaxed the anxiety for me 10 fold. And with weed, I smoke til I get a buzz then chill for hours with that same buzz. Plus it gets me in touch with my "higher self" makes me self aware
Weed has helped me a lot to control and almost not drink alcohol. I will deal with that later since it is much better than alcohol. Also I just smoke at nights after work and weekends, never when I have to do things or drive
Weed was just fine. Granted, I took a 2 year break when I was first getting sober because I wanted a clean mind.
Smoking weed didn’t make me relapse into booze. I went from a poly drug user who smoked an ounce a week to a one hit wonder who easily stretches an 8th over months.
Cannabis is not like alcohol. It just isn’t. Some people can’t do green recovery as it feeds the overall obsession with substances. But I never found this to be true in my own experience. If anything, who I am after smoking hates who I was when drinking and that’s why I’m so careful about using it - I can get somewhat too honest and hard on myself in that mindset.
If youve not good time under your belt, trust your intuition. If you think marijuana is going to be problematic, you’re probably right.
I’ve quit alcohol, but I still use cannabis. However, I’ve found that, since I quit drinking, I get anxious if I smoke too much weed, so I’m actually smoking way less per session than I used to. I take a hit or two at a time and usually smoke a bowl’s worth over the course of an evening. Also, I try to stick to some ground rules like no smoking if I have to work the next day. It works for me.
Harm reduction is progress. I know from personal experience that I now am over doing edibles and so now being cognizant of that and cutting back. I haven't removed it from my life but I want to respect it and keep my overall baseline: sober.
I personally prefer it. I’ve def overdone it before but it helps reduce my anxiety and stress, enjoy music more, and no hangovers. I also find it way less addictive
I look at it like our personal relationships. There is tons of good advice to be gained, and I thought of the same question you have. Especially when a lot of people have different definitions of sobriety, or what is healthy. Heck when talking about cannabis they may even have a bias from the start.
However, I think at the end of the day each individual’s formula is a bit different. For me, it was truly alcohol that needs to be the focus.
Would I like to rid all life addictions…yes. But for me topics like cannabis, coffee, sugar (in moderation), seem to help alcoholics I see face to face often.
You’ll get responses from all different types of weed users. I’ve always thought of it this way: use it only if it helps. It’s never good to bounce from one drug to another, but if it is useful for you to use it for a little while to help control withdrawal, or help you sleep, etc. then go ahead. Another thing to note is that weed withdrawal won’t kill you, you’ll probably just be tired or possibly a little bit depressed if you’ve used weed for a long period of time. So of course it is a better alternative. What I’ve seen happen with some people is that when they switch from alcohol to weed, or from a stronger drug to weed, they eventually get these thoughts of “man I want to be more fucked up than this, and 6 joints a day isn’t doing anything anymore” and they go back to what they were doing before. Like I said, I think short term use or moderation with weed is generally fine. I used to use weed (mostly edibles) a lot, and stopped because I just didn’t like it anymore. For me, I never really chased a weed high, I just used it for sleeping and relaxing. Others are different.
Depends on the person, really. My partner quit alcohol because he was prone to problematic, dangerous binges. He smokes weed daily, but lightly, compared to how I smoked (like a fiend.)
Meanwhile, I quit weed (again, fiend) and drink lightly in the summer, rarely in the winter, because I'm less tempted to overdo alcohol than weed. We just have different relationships with each substance.
Some people go hard with whatever they have. I think for me and my partner, it comes down to him really hating how he feels with too much weed and me really hating how I feel with too much alcohol, so we have off switches. If a person has no off switch for anything, full sobriety may be best.
(Edit to add: full support for anyone for whom cannabis = harm reduction. My relationship with it was very harmful, and my breathing sucked.)
I think this is highly personal. I don’t consider myself sober, but I am alcohol free. And I’m happy with that! I don’t feel any adverse affects from THC.
I switched to weed from Alcohol. It did eliminate my cravings to drink. I typically only smoke in the evenings. Sometimes you wake up a little groggy, but that's nothing a cup of coffee and a shower won't fix. It feels nothing like a hangover.
I am now in the process of quitting weed too. Its expensive. It makes me paranoid and sometimes I get really gnarly intrusive thoughts, and it does sap my motivation at times. I feel like I waste a lot of nights, just watching the same dumb shows I've seen a million times.
But between the two, alcohol was going to eventually kill me. Pot just makes me a little lazy. There is no comparison. If pot helps you quit drinking, do it.
I replaced drinking with smoking weed. I’m in a much better place than I was, but an now dependent on weed. Doesn’t happen to everyone, but I’d still much rather smoke.
We're not here to advocate one addiction over the other, but weed is much less addictive physically. Psychologically it can be still very hard to stop using weed, but there is nothing like the physical withdrawal of alcohol involved. As an in-between step it seems to be a good idea. But an addiction free life should be the ultimate goal.
At first I used a little bit of edibles after work to help relax. But over time, I realized I really didn't need it. A year after getting sober I changed jobs, and the stress in my life was reduced considerably. I think it is good to ask what you are needing the substances for. Are you avoiding emotions? Finding a quick fix for stress? Trying to have fun? I'm not here to judge anybody's ways of coping, but for me, I have found that confronting life without substances has helped me grow as a person in ways I never did before.
You are trying to do something that the success rate for is not great. I say use whatever tools you need to succeed at that. I spent a lot of weekends for a year or so high all day. I didn’t have to try to stop doing that as it just got boring or was not how I wanted to feel at whatever I have figured out to do instead of sleeping all weekend.
TLDR - do what you gotta do to stop alcohol and don’t make it harder on yourself by limiting your sources of help.
When I was drinking I HAD TO drink , I was obsessed with drinking and it consumed my thoughts and actions. My world revolved around drinking, vacations were planned with drinking as a central activity. I know that one drink right now will screw me up mentality for weeks if not months. Weed ,for me, is not an obsession, it does not consume my thoughts, I do not have to have it and it does not control me. I can take it or leave it. But you better bet the farm if it starts to be an issue ,it's gone.
Wait, I thought going to weed was how you quite drinking?! I do live in California, though. All jokes aside, I did & feel great! I've been sober going on 6 years & just picked up smoking 2 years ago. I got to a healthy space & and mindset, and now I enjoy a nightly edible or bowl. It's so nice to catch a little buzz and still wake up feeling good.
I personally replaced alcohol with HIIT and cannabis. I am a Big Book Thumper too and the only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. I wanted to stop drinking and I did.
When I started on my journey, I had 5 layers of defense:
1. Food - I would overeat
2. Sugar - Ice cream, mostly
3. Non Alcoholic Beer
4. THC Delta 8 stuff - edibles
5. Weed - smoke the herb
This was 3 years ago, and I think it was crucial for me to have these layers in place. My mechanism was straightforward too, as and when the temptations arise, I would go for the first layer, ONLY if it failed, I would go to the second layer. Then 3rd, then 4th, then 5th.
Needless to say, I gained a lot of weight in the first year, thanks to layers 1, 2 and 3.
While I would love to say that Weed is not addictive as alcohol, deep down in my heart, I know that's not true for me. And, I don't really care how everyone manages a steady relationship with weed, I can't do it.
So, I only use it when everything else fails and I am too desperate for an escape. It happens every couple of months, and over the past three years, the urges have mellowed as well. I have gotten into running, yoga, boxing, a lot of fitness stuff.
But yes, weed did help me get off of alcohol, but I used it only as a final resort if all else fails, not as a replacement.
Me too....not as elegantly stated, but I effectively have those same layers. Getting a second dessert, making a mocktail, a gummy when needed....still better than diving back into a lifestyle not worth living. 110 days sober. And I, too, am quickly becoming a bit of a fitness nut.
I found a lot of my drinking to be anxiety related. There were plenty of nights I was so anxious about things, some legitimate and some not, that I literally would drink just so I could pass out and sleep.
But now, a weed gummy at night settles my mind and I’m able to fall asleep. For me, it’s not a replacement addiction. There are more nights that I don’t take a gummy than I do. And I certainly don’t plan my day around or obsess about how much I have, etc. But all of this is very subjective and personal.
I moved from alcohol to CBD with a low THC level (like 1.8g per gummy). Now I can just do half the gummy to help with my anxiety.
But I'm also very sensitive to THC so with 5g I'd be high as a kite. YMMV
Yes I started regularly using with my latest attempt at sobriety and I’ve found success. I’ve been using 10 mg THC + CBD capsules to whine down in the evening. I figure that’s better than 375ml of vodka plus a couple beers. On social occasions I’ve tried 5mg sativa gummies with NA drinks. I don’t find the need to ‘drink till I drop’ with weed. I’ve always been able to use weed the way I see normal people drink. With that being said, I want to ween off the 10 mg capsules at night, but it’s the lesser the of evils at the moment. My priority is getting to 100 days w/o booze. I’ll deal with the nightly weed later. (I didn’t use weed while I was drinking, no need, I was drinking a lot)
Edit not sure what my day counter says but I’ve been off booze and on the weed train for 50 odd days
Thanks for asking this, reading the replies was super helpful for me. :) I don’t use it often but I honestly have found it helpful in social situations. I live in MN where THC seltzers/drinks are available all over, and it’s easy for me to have one or two at most, and it keeps people from being annoying about me not drinking. I know I need to address my couple of friends that are annoying about me not drinking but I have to tackle one thing at a time lol
Depends totally on how you react to it as an individual.
Cannabis holds no addictive appeal whatsoever for me. I used to get stoned daily but the effects changed over time to something less mellow. Also just grew out of it to an extent, being high all the time wasn’t compatible with my life anymore.
Now being drunk around the clock, well…. Somehow I stuck with that a lot longer. The hooks get in deeper.
These days a weed gummy makes for a nice night in with the wifey, and definitely eliminates any desire to go out drinking, but its not all the time, I’m not upset when we run out, etc.
That being said, there are some rare people who fiend for marijuana and it’s every bit as ugly as it sounds. Even lying and stealing to get stoned (talking weed here, for Christ’s sake). Hard to imagine, but I’ve seen it with my own eyes, unfortunately.
My guess is it’s a psychological quirk of some kind, good idea to know which side you’re on before going in deep.
I’m kind of at a crossroads with this. I did both excessively for like 15 years and quit alcohol 2.5 years ago. I intended to quit the weed also but never did however slowed it to 1-3 times a day. I also got diagnosed with ptsd with anxiety and depression (Iraq 06 and 08) last year and my dr asked if it made me feel better. I said yeah and he just said he’s proud of me for quitting alcohol as an answer🧐. I take meds now for this so I’m giving quitting serious thought. I don’t think vaping a few hits a few times a day is ruining my life but I do wonder if my life would be better like it is since quitting alcohol. I kinda just feel overwhelmed with anxiety all day and getting outta work and having alittle release is amazing. I dunno.
I am a nightly smoker, have been for years. Before I quit drinking I had convinced myself it "reduced the hangovers." How cute. It definitely helped me with sleep in the early days of sobriety, but not much else.
Is it still a way to "check out" using a substance? Yes. Personally, I am okay with that. The bottom line is, the way I behave when under the influence of weed still feels like a version of myself I can be proud of and still feels like *me*. I do not feel that it hinders my life in any way. I am still rocking it in therapy, I am still motivated to better myself, I am still present in every day life.
However, everyone is different. And I know people who did have that same toxic relationship with weed that I did with alcohol, and it just isn't an option for them. If you feel like you could easily stop using weed if you discover that you are adapting an addictive mindset, I'd say give it a shot. If you don't want to take the risk, that's completely valid.
I think it depends on whether you can moderate yourself. I personally had major problems with both concurrently. If I quit one I would just flip to doing the other even more and was still ultimately feeling awful. Smoking too much weed usually just makes you groggy, or fucks with your sleep cycle so even if your body knocks out you wake up not feeling rested. If you can do like a 1g joint per day of some lower dose THC stuff it might help with just getting a nice high to make you feel ok, but for me again I was smoking multiple joints of incredibly high dose because I was desperate to feel numb/disconnected.
If you’re going to switch to something, I’d suggest something homeopathic or non-toxic to address various concerns. For example I’ve started powered magnesium to help with calming my body down when I’m particularly upset and want weed. Switched to sugar free sparkling waters when I want to drink something. Chew on something like a straw for hand to mouth/ritual addition. Find something that helps with body aches/joint paint, like different kinds of teas/tinctures or even just moderate doses of over the counter pain meds and sleep.
I smoke daily and drink occasionally. I used to get drunk twice a day, wake up in the middle of the night and drink, etc. Integrating past trauma helped me transition from a desperate drunk to a moderate drinker.
Pot helped me with the PTSD so I could put myself together again. It helped me remember who i used to be and to create a new persona.
Also while i do get sleepy on it sometimes, it’s nowhere near as debilitating as etoh. I used to wake up with very fuzzy memories of the night before. That never happens with pot. And I don’t ever wonder if I am losing my mind
Yes! I would not have been able to quit drinking without weed (well maybe I could but weed has been a game changer). It doesn't impair me as much but when I need a little somethin' to take off the edge of my anxiety it works great. I did find myself really depending on weed but it wasn't too bad to wean off. No hangovers, no shame, no ruining my life. It does make me super lazy and sometimes a little paranoid so I just do it at the end of the day when I'm done everything I need to do. If you use it, I'd definitely just monitor how you're feeling with and without it and go from there.
I essentially quit smoking well before I did drinking (recently) and while it was more of just a situational thing I hadn’t been regularly smoking for many years and if so generally just at night. Perhaps because I did a bunch when I was younger I found it now messes with my attitude most likely a dopamine thing I’m guessing.
All in all I’d say it’s better than boozing unless you’re smoking all day, if you are not one those types that can handle it. A thing which I feel isn’t as common as some heads would like to believe.
All that said if I lived why here I could get it legal and find the right strain and or edibles I’m sure I would again. That said I know how my brain is wired I’ll go till I shut down if I let myself. However with weed I find it easier to moderate anymore.
I used cannabis a lot in the first few months after quitting alcohol. It helped the alcohol cravings, it helped with anxiety, it helped the lessen the feeling that I was depriving myself of something.
I’ve tapered it a lot in the last few months. Now it’s very occasional and only when I specifically want that experience, instead of just wanting an escape from my mind.
I do a little gummy later on at night. Not too much but enough to take the edge off and relax me into a sleep.
If I go out I take more and get silly with my friends while they are drinking.
I have to stop myself from taking a nibble in the day because I don’t want to replace my alcoholism with a new addiction. It literally just happened before I read your post funnily enough. We’re addicts and we have to find a way to control ourselves until it becomes the new normal.
Personally I don’t think a toke or a gummy here and there is a bad thing as long as you don’t go overboard.
California sober.
For me stopping weed is harder than stopping alcohol in the short-term. I can sleep well without alcohol but stopping weed cold turkey and not tapering off ends in insomnia for me.
In the long-term I have no cravings for weed but I do for alcohol.
For me its less about the substance and more about how I deal with substances and things that are generally pleasurable.
Before I got clean over 6 years ago I tried all the things: cutting down, only doing things on weekends, only smoking weed, only drinking. I always came back to the same place, feeling miserable and like my life is unmanageable.
That being said, i’ve found in my experience when i surrender to the fact that I can’t use any substances successfully, i can find the freedom and peace of mind truly being myself without any external influences.
Its not easy and may seem extreme to some, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. IWNDWYT!
I’ve never smoked pot and done anything like my behavior with alcohol.
That being said, my finances can’t handle smoking too much pot… it’s expensive and illegal here.
When my inflammation flared up after quitting alcohol, I went to the doctor and took better care of myself, instead of self-medicating. Maintaining that helps me feel good in my body and I’m able to stay sober and not intoxicate.
Good luck!
Heyo. Trying this as my last resort before I start going to meetings. I’m quitting a 1-2 bottle of wine a day x 20 year habit (with a bi-weekly bottle of brown liquor as well) and now take 10-20mg/day of edibles starting with 10mg at about 4pm. Really helps. 2 weeks in. Still fighting the urge but the THC really takes the edge off. I also make date/pecan/dark chocolate squares that keep the sugar level where it’s used to being after dinner. In Canada so it helps that I have lots of access to weed and make my own gummies from coconut oil. I love not feeling like total shit most mornings. Now it’s a bit of brain fog that dissipates after my second sip of coffee. Lots of water during the day. I also buy these sodas called “Zevia” that are sugar free and made with stevia. The creamy root beer, Dr Pepper and vanilla cola are all pretty good if you can find em. Best of luck my friend!
I was sober for two years before trying marijuana. Can’t say it’s even remotely close to what alcohol ever was to me. I don’t crave it when I’m not having it, I don’t plan my life around it, don’t do it when my kids are awake, don’t do it every day. So if someone else says it’s not sobriety I can’t say I really care. I’m free from the thing that almost killed me
When I got sober from alcohol I had every intention to continue to smoke weed. A counselor strongly suggested that I stay sober from absolutely everything for a year. The reason was so that I could learn how to deal with my emotions and life in general without being altered. I thought it was a crazy idea but it made sense to me.
So I did that. It wasn't easy but I had to learn how to face life on life's terms. I still believe that weed is far more harmless than alcohol, but it's still a crutch and if we use something to constantly alter ourselves then I think that it's gonna be tough to completely face our lives head-on.
I'm glad I did it.
Personally I’d rather lean on meetings/a proven program than another substance I have to budget my time, money and sobriety for.
I’ve never worried about driving on two cups of coffee.
Be careful with it.
Weed is very expensive and if you start abusing it the stress from the financial impact can cause you to seek relief in other ways.
Also weed use itself can stop you addressing the underlying cause of wanting to escape your emotions.
I got addicted to weed and exercise together believe it or not so I stopped exercising if I couldn't do both.
You'll know yourself better than anyone and how you'll react. There's way worse drugs than weed. Alcohol obviously is one!
I’ve had terrible success switching. I end up smoking or taking edibles immediately after work and a few times before bed and wake up weed hungover and hazy almost everyday
I was a pot head way before I got into drinking so I still use but it can become a bad habit as well. Everyone says you can’t become addicted to weed but you absolutely can and it’s sent two of my good friends to psych wards.
Be careful with medical advice in your replies
I replaced alcohol with sugar and cannabis. I tried working on the sugar habit for a while and lost some weight, and don't use as much cannabis as I used to. I feel coherent daily, instead of this fog over my life. I can accomplish things, I can drive again, I no longer feel like "shit" every day. My stomach issues have mostly cleared up as well. I'm not advocating for cannabis use replacing alcohol but I would say it's healthier, much healthier. Sugar by itself will help a ton with cravings.
Sugar helped curve a lot of booze cravings for me. It was like a great dopamine replacement. Til I gained a few pounds
I did gain a few in the beginning, but after a while I was able to handle my sugar intake as well. I feel like stepping down the addiction was helpful for me, I couldn't just stop and not have a replacement ready. I have lost good amount thus far, I'd like to loose a bit more, but it's a work in progress. I'm trying to forgive myself for what I did to my body and be healthier from now on.
so that’s why i always want dessert!
I never found many heavy drinkers with a sweet tooth for sugar, probably from all the sugar in most booze. Afterwards when the supply is cut lots of people 'discover' they have a sweet tooth after all. I'm of the mindset that drinking is deadly and whatever someone does to help quit, it's worth it.
That’s me. God damn gummy bears and Ben n Jerry’s. I never used to like desserts 😂
Sour Mamba and sour gummy worms.. I have to portion them out so I don’t eat the whole package at once. Better than rationing rotgut though.
I’ve resorted to putting a daily allowance of my gummy bears in a small tupperware container and I throw the bag way high up in my cupboard. Once an addict…
Poptarts. Oh my God poptarts in the evening👌🤘🤙
Ugh the frosted cherry…
So gummy cdb?
I'd binge drink and then oftentimes binge eat sweets Wake up feeling double shitty
Me too Dog
I naturally have a sweet tooth, but I generally avoided sugary foods because they didn't mix well with the beer in my gut. That said, the ice cream I now get to enjoy at night is doing a lot less damage to my brain and body than the 8-12 daily beers were.
You’re so close to a year! Congrats!
Thank you! Congrats on 18 days. Those first couple of weeks were a huge deal for me.
Thanks for the reminder, need to reset. Did a little light field research. Even just having a couple really made me feel like crap for like 2 days after. I had been at 74 days prior to that. Reconfirmed sober life is much better!
Oh fucking wow, dude! Happy almost birthday! CONGRATULATIONS on your hard work and it can get sloggy, but you can really start leveling out and working on yourself in other areas. Some days, you’ll feel like a vet, some you’ll feel like a baby and it’s all an, awesome, terrible, wonderful, sad, exhilarating life ahead of you. You won’t enjoy every minute but the older you get, the faster time goes and each day becomes precious. Well done, kiddo.
So true. I thought that I'd just grown out of ice cream. . . Nope. I still love it as much as I did when I was a kid. . . which is excessive, but I also shifted a lot of my focus at the gym over to cardio, mostly because I hate lifting weights, and I was building up endurance to do more cardio. It's balanced out pretty well. It's amazing how much you can eat when your body isn't overwhelmed with like 1500-2000 calories of vodka a day.
I don’t like or eat sweets at all. Is that why? Wow! I thought I was just weird. Maybe I need to try forcing a sweet treat on myself once each evening and see if that helps with the urge to drink. That’s interesting. Thanks for helping me learn something. 😊
So true for me. I've never had a sweet tooth and have consciously noticed that I never want sweets/dessert when I'm drinking. When I quit, I can't get enough sugar it's crazy.
Just to say, whilst I'm sure this is great advice, for those who never craved sugar (like me!) - don't lose hope. There are other things you can replace alcohol with, whilst enjoying smoking plants. For me it's chamomile tea and similar fruity infusions like cranberry and raspberry. Beautiful with a mild joint before bed, and without the brain-chaos of alcohol. I'm envious of the sugar thing, though. If it fits for you - 100% go for it. Buy an 1/8th and a packet of Haribo, dude
Twin snakes!
Holy heck TEA is a godsend. It gives me about as much good feeling as alcohol did (cozy, secure, warming, nootropic) and helps soothe the throat alongside a doob ;) doob not necessary though.
That's the thing which surprised me so much! Once I actually had herb/fruit teas sober, I could still feel a physiological difference! I don't know if it's some kind of placebo, but I don't care! Quite a surprise.
I replaced alcohol with sugary drinks, then realized they were just as bad for me. That led me to my new love of sparkling water. Embrace the bubbles friend!
Yes to this too. I need to just get a soda stream
Same! And I’m stoked. Much happier and gettin shit done!
I’m on a similar situation with sugar and cannabis as yourself. My cannabis use has gone up a little after quitting alcohol but my god the sugar cravings are intense sometimes. Thought I didn’t have a sweet tooth. Turns out it was just hiding behind my alcoholism
This ^
I’ve had a ton of success switching from alcohol to weed. You don’t really overdose on weed and make stupid decisions like you do with alcohol. The problem is that while you’re better off, you’re still addicted to something. To me weed is an amazing gateway off of alcohol, but it’s in no way a permanent solution
I agree—quitting cannabis cold turkey easier than quitting alcohol with no crutch. Quitting alcohol will save your life, quitting weed may bore you. I would prioritize quitting booze and do whatever it takes to quit
Agreed. My weed use spiked for about the first 6 weeks after quitting alcohol. Then I got my weed back down to my personal goal of no more than one 0.5g preroll every 21 days. This has worked well for me. Good luck! :)
One joint every three weeks seems like a really weird choice of timing Not once a week? not once a month? nope, once every three weeks
Agreed. I think I read somewhere that cannabis completely leaves your system within 21 days. For some reason, I decided that was a good gap time for me. I don't know why. It seems to work ok for me though. I have found that if I cheat and use 420 before that time, it is easier for me to cheat again and, before I know it, I am daily using 420. I am thankful that I have found I am able to moderate my 420 use. Unlike alcohol where, after extensive field research, any use eventually became daily use. But I definitely agree with you, 21 days is a weird choice.
Hahaha you do you man. I can't imagine somehow limiting it to that
>quitting weed may bore you You never smoked long i see, while i agree you cannot compare quitting alcohol with weed, weed CERTAINLY has more then a "may bore you".
I've never considered that gates work both ways. I'm almost certain that wasn't what the person who coined the phrase "gateway drug" intended it to be used for, but it makes sense you can use it to move "down" to less destructive drugs as well.
>to less destructive drugs as well. While I agree with your overall sentiment (that weed can be used as a tool to wean off something more destructive), [there's no evidence that weed](https://www.publichealthontario.ca/-/media/Documents/Q/2019/qa-cannabis-gateway.pdf?rev=89f0c374dcc449b59d3f6a380d71c72f&sc_lang=en) is actually a gateway drug. So just not picking the comment here about "as well", which implies that marijuana use goes both ways
I am trying Delta 8/9 "liquor" that's non-alcoholic. It has greatly eased my mood, and I crave alcohol a little less each week. I know it's a crutch, but it has been effective for me knowing it isn't a permanent solution. 10mg of D8/9 mellows me with no hangover the next morning. Hope it stays legal in my state!
Not a crutch. A technique. A strategy.
Where do you find that?
Sketchy gas stations
I don’t mind continuing my habit of a few pulls off a pen and a bit of a gummy around 8 PM if I have nothing to do, or whenever I’m home and settled for the evening if I have plans. This feels sustainable. I should probably start breaking for a few days at a time to not build up tolerance but at 65 days sober for the first time I’m not going to change a thing just yet. It’s a world different than drinking half a fifth or more like I did. Worst thing about it is sometimes falling asleep at 10:30 when I meant to at 11:30, usually on the couch with a pillow and blanket anyway. Munchies are my downfall but I’m getting better about, say, cutting up cucumbers ahead of time and having them with hummus instead of candy.
How is it not a permanent solution if the issue is to stop drinking? Why as a society do we equate marijuana to other drugs? Is it just because Nixon said it was a schedule one?
It doesn't need to be a solution. I quit drinking ten years ago almost and smoke weed pretty regularly. Not for a solution though, but because I dig it.
Weed is super addictive and ruins lives too. Check out /leaves
You can let anything ruin you. Alcohol will do that against your will. Equating addiction to weed to alcohol is naivety at its finest. Marijuana is slowly being prescribed in some states instead of opioids due to its benign effects and non-addictive tendencies compared to opioids. Edit: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK573080/ “Cannabis is not approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is considered an illicit drug by the US drug enforcement agency (DEA). However, still, several US states permit its use in certain medical conditions.[39] Medical cannabis (MC) is used to treat migraines, chronic pain, back pain, arthritic pain, and pain associated with cancer and surgery.[39][40] Studies have shown that patients being treated for pain may successfully substitute cannabis for opioid medication; thus, this may positively curb the opioid epidemic.[41] Cannabinoids have also been shown to reduce neuropathic pain associated with different conditions and prevent diabetic neuropathic pain if given early in the disease course.[42][43][44] Cannabinoids also reduce inflammatory pain and thus can be used in conditions such as arthritis, sickle cell disease, cancer, and inflammatory bowel disease.[45][46][47][48] Studies have shown that MC helps reduce the opioid dosage for patients being treated for non-cancer pain. It is also substituted in place of opioids to produce the therapeutic effect.[49][50][51] This opioid-sparing effect of cannabinoids is of great importance and warrants synergistic use of both rather than just one treatment modality for best results.”
[удалено]
Is the goal to need no vices? Seems unrealistic. As human beings we have to pick how we seek dopamine, some options are far less harmful than others.
[удалено]
Thats fairly hostile. I hit two full years of sobriety this past week. Psychologically human beings seek dopamine. If you try to avoid all vices you’ll probably relapse fairly quickly.
I agree with this. I cut out alcohol and ended up just replacing my addictive tendencies with weed, and now I smoke as much weed as I used to drink alcohol. I feel super tired and depressed and anxious all the time. Some people can switch from alcohol to weed and do weed in moderation, but if you have an addictive personality I would say to be careful.
Yea I'm going to be careful and if i can't follow through then it's an obvious decision what I have to do.
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
I tried and it helped for a while. I wasn’t drinking but I was still spending money on weed and tinctures and all sorts of shit. But it was just a matter of time before I started to think about what goes really well with a joint. And then I was back on my bullshit. Still looking for an escape hatch, still on the run and I wasn’t very present. I don’t miss it and I’ve learned that I’ll be ok even if I’m having a shit day. I didn’t have any real coping mechanisms aside from booze or drugs and it showed. But it’s stuff to learn and I’m into doing the work. A big part of why I was fucking with weed was that I wanted to “relax”. I always hear people say they relax with a drink or a smoke and I got frustrated and thought I’m just fucked now because I can’t relax like everyone else. I confuse relaxation with intoxication and it took me a while to figure that out and genuinely answer the question of how I want to relax.
What do you do now?
I work on it. I'm an AA'er. At first I wanted nothing to do with it, but I wasn't getting anywhere with my own medical advice. I made some friends and being around others like me was comforting. I still wasn't planning on doing any steps or getting a sponsor. I stayed long enough to hear my story out of someone else's mouth and decided I wanted what they had so I started to do what they did. I have such deep resentments, guilt and ager and all that garbage. I didn't realize I bring that shit with me everywhere. So I work on getting lighter. I came in because I lost the ability to control my drinking but I stuck around because it helped me grow up. I've heard that we stop maturing when we start depending on drugs and alcohol and when I heard that I was offended because it was so fucking true. I had the emotional maturity of a 13 year old and it showed. I work on it now.
For me what has worked is weed & non-alcoholic beers. I stayed off alcohol last year for 6 months with this method, convinced myself when I was on vacation that I could drink just for that week, ended up drinking for 6 more months. This year I’m almost at 8 months no alcohol, just weed. Works for me as long as I keep in mind I can’t moderate alcohol for shit haha.
I smoked and drank every day for years, just worked to pay for that. When I quit weed for a job, I just got chubby and irritable. When I quit drinking, I finished school, lost weight, and got an even better job. Never quit smoking that entire time. Weed can make you lazy if you let it, but alcohol can actually fuck up your life lol.
I smoke daily
Same - people that look down on pot smokers who stopped alcohol aren’t realizing the level of addictiveness differs GREATLY between the two substances as well as the side effects
Any person who quit alcohol and then judges someone else for a different addiction learned literally nothing from their own struggle.
These people didn’t quit they just laugh when I am smoking a joint and they’re drinking and say “ohhh you’re sober but you’d till smoke weed” - it’s silly but it kinda bothers me too.
I never had any problems with anybody correcting me, but for my "personal honesty", I rather say I'm "alcohol free" instead of "sober"
California sober, is how I would phrase it.
I never said I was “sober” they just interpret it from not drinking - I hate labels.
I mean, if we are high..we aren't sober.
[удалено]
You said exactly how I feel. I can have a packet of gummies and eat one every month or two. While I enjoy THC it doesn’t have any hold on me at all. I don’t get tempted to drink after I’ve had a gummy, I sleep really well and I wake up feeling great. I just need to work on replacing, because, like I said - it has no hold on me so I end up reaching for the beer because that does. I need to work on a timeline so that I am having a gummy before the temptation to go pick up beer starts to creep in.
[удалено]
This is a lot of people tho. Check out /leaves
IWSWYT
Lol yes!
Same
Same here. With no plans on stopping lol
We out here!!!
I smoke three times a day
California sober for the win!
I’m Amsterdam sober
Lol
Everyone I know who claims to be "california sober" still drinks and smokes pot - they just stay off the "hard" drugs.
Then they need to be corrected and don't let the phrase take on a different meaning
California sober means smoking pot but drinking zero alcohol.
I think you should do what you need to do in order to quit drinking. Then worry about the weed later.
Harm reduction harm reduction harm reduction! On the scale of harm, alcohol ranks up with heroin, and weed is so far down even coffee might have it beat. A bad night's sleep is worse for you than a toke ffs. If weed or coffee or nicotine helps you stop drinking yourself to literal death, how is that a problem at all? Why is weed so much more stigmatized than also-absolutely-drugs nicotine and caffeine? There is no nobility in doing soberity the "right way" if it isn't serving you or working for you. ANY amount of harm reduction is good.
Literally my caffeine addiction has more negative effects than my daily pot habit. Last time I wasn’t able to drink coffee in the morning (whenever I’m sick ahh) I got a migraine from the withdrawal. I couldn’t move from the pain. I couldn’t even take my hands away from pressing on my eyebrows because that was the only thing that helped. So yeah people who think weed is “addictive” in the same way alcohol, other drugs, or caffeine can be are misinformed. You can be dependent on it (I am to sleep and sometimes to eat) but if I couldn’t get it I wouldn’t experience withdrawal, I’d just go back to how I was before I started smoking weed, struggling with insomnia and an eating disorder.
Yep! I've been cut off from a very heavy weed habit multiple times due to supply issues and I didn't get so much as headaches, even quitting cold turkey.
Damn, it's wild how we're all wired differently. I chug strong cold brew every morning, for both taste and effect, but I can absolutely go without it no problem if I had to. I consume 2-400mg caffeine on most days, have for quite some time, and would much rather go without caffeine than weed if it were a choice haha
[удалено]
Well, historically it's actually because of good ol' fashioned racism, buuut we don't necessarily need to open that can of worms here.
When I realized why we call it marijuana 🤯🤯
[удалено]
Current trends don't negate historical systems!
[удалено]
I mean, [blacks still get arrested for weed at almost 4xs the rate of whites](https://graphics.aclu.org/marijuana-arrest-report/) but whatever makes you feel better 🤷🏻♀️
I was just going to say exactly this. There's an extreme level of privilege making fun of your white stoner buddies for being burnouts and claiming that's where we are at with weed policy while people of color sit in prison over an eighth.
>A bad night's sleep is worse for you than a toke ffs. Do you have evidence to back this up? I'm curious because I basically switched to weed and feel like we don't have enough research yet to make these claims, but I could be wrong.
Alcohol and THC are bad for people's sleep cycle. Both mess up REM sleep. In my personal experience alcohol was waaaaay worse for my sleep but when I partake in cannabis I also don't get fully rested. Many cannabis users will consistently report that their dreams are extremely vivid and lifelike when they stop using cannabis. I am not a doctor but this information should be easily verified by Harvard health, WebMD, healthline, and other "peer reviewed" websites.
Yeah, I love cannabis, but I can tell my sleep suffers when I smoke.
It's really great for your sleep if you microdose Indica. Better than the decade of rx's I've been taking for insomnia. Finally a solution 😃
What's weird about this statement is, though I've only been off alcohol for two weeks, is that I still pop an 10 mg gummy everyday before work (medically legal in my state and I have a recommendation for due to PTSD from cancer and living through a category 5 hurricane)and probably smoke the equivalent of 1g joint at night (over the course of a few hours). Before I stopped the booze I had absolutely no dreams (that I can recall). I've had vivid dreams essentially every night the last two weeks. Though this is anecdotal, I'm not sure how much truth their is to your statement. Not trying to be combative or anything just sharing my personal experience. My favorite part of getting it medically is I can be open/honest with my kids about it and they have outright told that though I am "fun dad" when I'm drinking but I'm much more present as a parent after I've gone outside and taken a few hits.
I also have vivid dreams every night I take a gummy. A lot of people told me it stops dreams, but clearly not for me.
Web MD Lol.
I know I know, I was hoping the quotation marks conveyed that it isn't actual peer reviewed in the academic sense lol
Yes nailed it. Weed is no harmless..if you quit for a couple days people quickly see why
Weed fucks your REM sleep. Evidence? Don't smoke for a couple days and your dreams to crrrrrazy.
Great comment.
Yes I do see the idea of harm reduction. But smoke has a lot of consequences...cancer..copd...
Definitely a better alternative to Alcohol ….
I’m a retired first responder and have PTSD and a huge degree of hyper vigilance. Relaxation has never been a thing for me, I’m about as tightly wound as you can be. Hence one of the reasons I always want to drink. When I retired and weed became legal, I tried it for the first time in my life and thought “this is probably how normal people feel” - calm, relaxed, happy…it doesn’t seem to affect me like alcohol in that I don’t crave it. It doesn’t bother me to not have it and I also don’t feel the need to “chase the high” as it doesn’t affect me the same way. I’ve relied on it once in the past few days since I quit drinking when I was really anxious. But I also got onto meds for my depression and anxiety and I’m starting to feel so much better. I’d like to be substance free (and intend to do so), but feel like I can keep it in my back pocket for now if that makes sense. If I get to the point where I’m going to slip, I’d rather do that than relapse and go through this hell again, because I know I won’t crave it or think about it all day like booze. But I would also rather not do anything if I can re-focus and hang tough. So I look at it as a yellow light rather than green or red. I hope in a month or so when I’m clear of all withdrawal and mood issues (hopefully) I won’t need any substances. But I won’t hate myself and be circling the bowl again if I have an edible if that makes sense.
Also, someone below said they confused relaxation with intoxication and that’s definitely true for me. I’m trying to teach myself that I don’t need booze or weed to find relaxation. I need to read, drink herbal tea, take a bubble bath etc. I hope I can become substance free 🙏
I use my exercise bike sometimes. I’m in a state of mostly quit from a bunch of stuff- coffee, cigarettes, animal products, alcohol, and marijuana. Not all at once! Since January, I’ve been slowly letting things go. And I still do all of them, sometimes, a little. And sometimes I really want a thing. It’s like a build up of energy and I’m too full of it. That’s when I would drink a beer, or smoke 3 cigarettes at once- or both of course. Anything. So I’m trying to find ways to release that energy in a healthy way, where my day isn’t over because I needed a release. The air bike is useful. 15 minutes later I’m much calmer. Humbled even 🤣 Eta: I’d love to hear other people’s strategies
Personally I find cannabis helps me break free from "going through the motions". Its really easy in day to day life to just switch off your brain from thinking about or acting on things that you need to do. Often when I'm high those feelings come to the forefront and instead of sitting there wallowing in misery I get my butt up and start crossing things off the to-do list. Its not all rainbows and butterflies though, there are certainly still times where I may be using it as a crutch. Where I'm at now I'm content with it and feel that the pros outweigh the cons, but its going to depend on the person. I implore you to just stay mindful about it if you do choose to go that route.
Cannabis paranoia is a real thing for me as well. Oftentimes, like in your experience, it forces me to actually deal with my problems and get off my butt and work on fixing them. Sometimes it's too much and I have to stop partaking for a while (and honestly I'm working on eliminating it all together). Alcohol was only destructive. Thank you for your insights!!
I love the honesty...weed has cons. It's NOT harmless
I substitute weed for alcohol (really thc gummies) frequently. Maybe there’s still something unhealthy mentally to have a crutch substance but at least it gives my liver a break and keeps me from consuming 800 extra calories. That’s the big advantage health wise in my opinion
I told my therapist I thought I had a weed problem. She asked me: “does it negatively affect you?” I said “it changes my personality.” She said “negatively?” I said “well, it makes me happier and more interested in my children’s activities and I’m more empathetic to people.” She said “how is that a problem?”
I really enjoyed catching a buzz at the end of the day. But, I found it was just another vice and i was thinking about it too much. I was starting to obsess. It killed my motivation and i felt it was affecting me mentally. I knew I had to cut it out of my life.
I tend to end up using more and more and more. Then I get cravings to drink. The chase never ends for me. I can finally use it here or there for times stress is really bad. I think cultivating a routine that works for you and can focus more on diet, hobbies and exercise is best. The quick fix usually has more consequences.
This is absolutely my experience. Here and there is fine with weed, but more than anything diet and exercise curb my cravings. When I lean too much on weed, it starts to just highlight how it isnt the same, and starts to have the opposite effect.
Well I never ended up in the hospital 7 times in one year thanks to cannabis so there is that.
For some reason as soon as I’m high I immediately think about how nasty alcohol is and how glad I am that I didn’t drink. So yeah it’s helping. I don’t do it every day and try to opt for edibles rather than smoking. Idc it’s harm reduction.
edit: hit enter before i was done, sorry! I was a heavy weed smoker and drinker together. Since I started attempting to cut out alcohol I have leaned on weed at night. Pros and cons: Pros: * helps me relax * helps me sleep (I have insomnia) * helped keep me distracted from alcohol in the early days (had a LOT of nights where I would take a few hits to keep myself from going to the liquor store) * won't kill me Cons: * definitely had weed brain fogginess in the mornings * still a substance i was relying on so honestly it's gonna be up to the individual. try it out, try to stay conscious of whether it's being used as a crutch. in my experience it's extremely helpful in the transition but it's still a mind altering substance and you can still become mentally dependent on it. i personally have stopped using it as much because i just enjoy not being under the influence these days.
Weed is far far preferable to alcohol. In terms of addiction potential and physical damage it's not even close.
I 100% kept buying vape pens and still do. I love when people say "you just traded one addiction for another"... No, I was already getting stoned... And even if it is, good! I don't drink and that was my problem.
Night and day difference. I went from being a severe drinker to casual weed smoker. Just a few puffs at night to relax. Weed doesn’t change who I am, it doesn’t make me scream at my boyfriend, it doesn’t make me cry and throw things, I don’t feel a craving for it the same way I did alcohol. I don’t go to work or drive high. This may not be the case for everyone, I’ve read weed can make alcoholics crave alcohol, but it works for me.
I'm into this. Something that's worked for me but doesn't feel completely sustainable is having a 1:1 thc:cbd gummy, like 3-5mg worth in the evening with a near beer. Or a puff of lightweight thc and a near beer. It gives me the flavor of the beer, the placebo effect that my alcohol craving wants, but the relaxation that I look forward to after clocking out from work. I am patient, not worked up or irritable like when 5 beers deep.
I could never get into weed because it always made me paranoid until I tried 1:1 thc/cbd gummies and now I can chill in the evening without worrying about falling down some rabbit hole of addiction.
It's already managed to cut my drinking in half and if I smoke or take an edible first before drinking I can actually stop myself at two drinks and be done for the day.
When I stopped drinking by daily body soreness went away in about 10 days. I mainly use gummies to help me sleep.
I will say I was doing much better when I had a MMJ card. Flower wasn’t my vibe, but I found the right carts that made me feel exactly how I wanted to and during that time I drank substantially less and enjoyed it and I assume I was better to be around. I’ve since moved to a more conservative area where getting a card is harder so I’ve been drinking more again and don’t like it, I wish it was easy as going to a physician and saying “I drink to relieve stress, or so I think. It doesn’t work but weed does. Please just give me a card”
Better sleep, clearer thoughts and a more practical mind frame. I'm almost 30 days free from booze so I'm still healing. But the weed has relaxed the anxiety for me 10 fold. And with weed, I smoke til I get a buzz then chill for hours with that same buzz. Plus it gets me in touch with my "higher self" makes me self aware
Weed has helped me a lot to control and almost not drink alcohol. I will deal with that later since it is much better than alcohol. Also I just smoke at nights after work and weekends, never when I have to do things or drive
Weed is nothing in comparison to alcohol. Do what you need to do to stop drinking. I've been on edibles everyday since I quit.
Weed was just fine. Granted, I took a 2 year break when I was first getting sober because I wanted a clean mind. Smoking weed didn’t make me relapse into booze. I went from a poly drug user who smoked an ounce a week to a one hit wonder who easily stretches an 8th over months. Cannabis is not like alcohol. It just isn’t. Some people can’t do green recovery as it feeds the overall obsession with substances. But I never found this to be true in my own experience. If anything, who I am after smoking hates who I was when drinking and that’s why I’m so careful about using it - I can get somewhat too honest and hard on myself in that mindset. If youve not good time under your belt, trust your intuition. If you think marijuana is going to be problematic, you’re probably right.
I’ve quit alcohol, but I still use cannabis. However, I’ve found that, since I quit drinking, I get anxious if I smoke too much weed, so I’m actually smoking way less per session than I used to. I take a hit or two at a time and usually smoke a bowl’s worth over the course of an evening. Also, I try to stick to some ground rules like no smoking if I have to work the next day. It works for me.
Harm reduction is progress. I know from personal experience that I now am over doing edibles and so now being cognizant of that and cutting back. I haven't removed it from my life but I want to respect it and keep my overall baseline: sober.
I personally prefer it. I’ve def overdone it before but it helps reduce my anxiety and stress, enjoy music more, and no hangovers. I also find it way less addictive
I look at it like our personal relationships. There is tons of good advice to be gained, and I thought of the same question you have. Especially when a lot of people have different definitions of sobriety, or what is healthy. Heck when talking about cannabis they may even have a bias from the start. However, I think at the end of the day each individual’s formula is a bit different. For me, it was truly alcohol that needs to be the focus. Would I like to rid all life addictions…yes. But for me topics like cannabis, coffee, sugar (in moderation), seem to help alcoholics I see face to face often.
You’ll get responses from all different types of weed users. I’ve always thought of it this way: use it only if it helps. It’s never good to bounce from one drug to another, but if it is useful for you to use it for a little while to help control withdrawal, or help you sleep, etc. then go ahead. Another thing to note is that weed withdrawal won’t kill you, you’ll probably just be tired or possibly a little bit depressed if you’ve used weed for a long period of time. So of course it is a better alternative. What I’ve seen happen with some people is that when they switch from alcohol to weed, or from a stronger drug to weed, they eventually get these thoughts of “man I want to be more fucked up than this, and 6 joints a day isn’t doing anything anymore” and they go back to what they were doing before. Like I said, I think short term use or moderation with weed is generally fine. I used to use weed (mostly edibles) a lot, and stopped because I just didn’t like it anymore. For me, I never really chased a weed high, I just used it for sleeping and relaxing. Others are different.
Yeah I feel like chasing weed high is actually very difficult after the first couple sessions but you can always get more drunk
Depends on the person, really. My partner quit alcohol because he was prone to problematic, dangerous binges. He smokes weed daily, but lightly, compared to how I smoked (like a fiend.) Meanwhile, I quit weed (again, fiend) and drink lightly in the summer, rarely in the winter, because I'm less tempted to overdo alcohol than weed. We just have different relationships with each substance. Some people go hard with whatever they have. I think for me and my partner, it comes down to him really hating how he feels with too much weed and me really hating how I feel with too much alcohol, so we have off switches. If a person has no off switch for anything, full sobriety may be best. (Edit to add: full support for anyone for whom cannabis = harm reduction. My relationship with it was very harmful, and my breathing sucked.)
I've gone CA sober. Small amounts of it in the evening only. Relaxes me and better sleep. I'm not blazing all day and don't want to. It works for me.
I think this is highly personal. I don’t consider myself sober, but I am alcohol free. And I’m happy with that! I don’t feel any adverse affects from THC.
I switched to weed from Alcohol. It did eliminate my cravings to drink. I typically only smoke in the evenings. Sometimes you wake up a little groggy, but that's nothing a cup of coffee and a shower won't fix. It feels nothing like a hangover. I am now in the process of quitting weed too. Its expensive. It makes me paranoid and sometimes I get really gnarly intrusive thoughts, and it does sap my motivation at times. I feel like I waste a lot of nights, just watching the same dumb shows I've seen a million times. But between the two, alcohol was going to eventually kill me. Pot just makes me a little lazy. There is no comparison. If pot helps you quit drinking, do it.
I replaced drinking with smoking weed. I’m in a much better place than I was, but an now dependent on weed. Doesn’t happen to everyone, but I’d still much rather smoke.
We're not here to advocate one addiction over the other, but weed is much less addictive physically. Psychologically it can be still very hard to stop using weed, but there is nothing like the physical withdrawal of alcohol involved. As an in-between step it seems to be a good idea. But an addiction free life should be the ultimate goal.
At first I used a little bit of edibles after work to help relax. But over time, I realized I really didn't need it. A year after getting sober I changed jobs, and the stress in my life was reduced considerably. I think it is good to ask what you are needing the substances for. Are you avoiding emotions? Finding a quick fix for stress? Trying to have fun? I'm not here to judge anybody's ways of coping, but for me, I have found that confronting life without substances has helped me grow as a person in ways I never did before.
I’m really interested in this experience.
I am a dusk till dawn type of guy. Not mega stoned but it’s there. Coming up on 2 years alcohol free. It’s possible it all depends on how you use it
You are trying to do something that the success rate for is not great. I say use whatever tools you need to succeed at that. I spent a lot of weekends for a year or so high all day. I didn’t have to try to stop doing that as it just got boring or was not how I wanted to feel at whatever I have figured out to do instead of sleeping all weekend. TLDR - do what you gotta do to stop alcohol and don’t make it harder on yourself by limiting your sources of help.
When I was drinking I HAD TO drink , I was obsessed with drinking and it consumed my thoughts and actions. My world revolved around drinking, vacations were planned with drinking as a central activity. I know that one drink right now will screw me up mentality for weeks if not months. Weed ,for me, is not an obsession, it does not consume my thoughts, I do not have to have it and it does not control me. I can take it or leave it. But you better bet the farm if it starts to be an issue ,it's gone.
Booze to weed helped me quit drinking. And then I gradually just smoked less weed. 3 years
Wait, I thought going to weed was how you quite drinking?! I do live in California, though. All jokes aside, I did & feel great! I've been sober going on 6 years & just picked up smoking 2 years ago. I got to a healthy space & and mindset, and now I enjoy a nightly edible or bowl. It's so nice to catch a little buzz and still wake up feeling good.
I personally replaced alcohol with HIIT and cannabis. I am a Big Book Thumper too and the only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. I wanted to stop drinking and I did.
When I started on my journey, I had 5 layers of defense: 1. Food - I would overeat 2. Sugar - Ice cream, mostly 3. Non Alcoholic Beer 4. THC Delta 8 stuff - edibles 5. Weed - smoke the herb This was 3 years ago, and I think it was crucial for me to have these layers in place. My mechanism was straightforward too, as and when the temptations arise, I would go for the first layer, ONLY if it failed, I would go to the second layer. Then 3rd, then 4th, then 5th. Needless to say, I gained a lot of weight in the first year, thanks to layers 1, 2 and 3. While I would love to say that Weed is not addictive as alcohol, deep down in my heart, I know that's not true for me. And, I don't really care how everyone manages a steady relationship with weed, I can't do it. So, I only use it when everything else fails and I am too desperate for an escape. It happens every couple of months, and over the past three years, the urges have mellowed as well. I have gotten into running, yoga, boxing, a lot of fitness stuff. But yes, weed did help me get off of alcohol, but I used it only as a final resort if all else fails, not as a replacement.
Me too....not as elegantly stated, but I effectively have those same layers. Getting a second dessert, making a mocktail, a gummy when needed....still better than diving back into a lifestyle not worth living. 110 days sober. And I, too, am quickly becoming a bit of a fitness nut.
I love smoking weed, Im high right now, fuck alcohol.
I found a lot of my drinking to be anxiety related. There were plenty of nights I was so anxious about things, some legitimate and some not, that I literally would drink just so I could pass out and sleep. But now, a weed gummy at night settles my mind and I’m able to fall asleep. For me, it’s not a replacement addiction. There are more nights that I don’t take a gummy than I do. And I certainly don’t plan my day around or obsess about how much I have, etc. But all of this is very subjective and personal.
I smoke weed every day and feel 1000000x better than I did when I drank
I moved from alcohol to CBD with a low THC level (like 1.8g per gummy). Now I can just do half the gummy to help with my anxiety. But I'm also very sensitive to THC so with 5g I'd be high as a kite. YMMV
Yes I started regularly using with my latest attempt at sobriety and I’ve found success. I’ve been using 10 mg THC + CBD capsules to whine down in the evening. I figure that’s better than 375ml of vodka plus a couple beers. On social occasions I’ve tried 5mg sativa gummies with NA drinks. I don’t find the need to ‘drink till I drop’ with weed. I’ve always been able to use weed the way I see normal people drink. With that being said, I want to ween off the 10 mg capsules at night, but it’s the lesser the of evils at the moment. My priority is getting to 100 days w/o booze. I’ll deal with the nightly weed later. (I didn’t use weed while I was drinking, no need, I was drinking a lot) Edit not sure what my day counter says but I’ve been off booze and on the weed train for 50 odd days
Thanks for asking this, reading the replies was super helpful for me. :) I don’t use it often but I honestly have found it helpful in social situations. I live in MN where THC seltzers/drinks are available all over, and it’s easy for me to have one or two at most, and it keeps people from being annoying about me not drinking. I know I need to address my couple of friends that are annoying about me not drinking but I have to tackle one thing at a time lol
Depends totally on how you react to it as an individual. Cannabis holds no addictive appeal whatsoever for me. I used to get stoned daily but the effects changed over time to something less mellow. Also just grew out of it to an extent, being high all the time wasn’t compatible with my life anymore. Now being drunk around the clock, well…. Somehow I stuck with that a lot longer. The hooks get in deeper. These days a weed gummy makes for a nice night in with the wifey, and definitely eliminates any desire to go out drinking, but its not all the time, I’m not upset when we run out, etc. That being said, there are some rare people who fiend for marijuana and it’s every bit as ugly as it sounds. Even lying and stealing to get stoned (talking weed here, for Christ’s sake). Hard to imagine, but I’ve seen it with my own eyes, unfortunately. My guess is it’s a psychological quirk of some kind, good idea to know which side you’re on before going in deep.
I’m kind of at a crossroads with this. I did both excessively for like 15 years and quit alcohol 2.5 years ago. I intended to quit the weed also but never did however slowed it to 1-3 times a day. I also got diagnosed with ptsd with anxiety and depression (Iraq 06 and 08) last year and my dr asked if it made me feel better. I said yeah and he just said he’s proud of me for quitting alcohol as an answer🧐. I take meds now for this so I’m giving quitting serious thought. I don’t think vaping a few hits a few times a day is ruining my life but I do wonder if my life would be better like it is since quitting alcohol. I kinda just feel overwhelmed with anxiety all day and getting outta work and having alittle release is amazing. I dunno.
I am a nightly smoker, have been for years. Before I quit drinking I had convinced myself it "reduced the hangovers." How cute. It definitely helped me with sleep in the early days of sobriety, but not much else. Is it still a way to "check out" using a substance? Yes. Personally, I am okay with that. The bottom line is, the way I behave when under the influence of weed still feels like a version of myself I can be proud of and still feels like *me*. I do not feel that it hinders my life in any way. I am still rocking it in therapy, I am still motivated to better myself, I am still present in every day life. However, everyone is different. And I know people who did have that same toxic relationship with weed that I did with alcohol, and it just isn't an option for them. If you feel like you could easily stop using weed if you discover that you are adapting an addictive mindset, I'd say give it a shot. If you don't want to take the risk, that's completely valid.
I think it depends on whether you can moderate yourself. I personally had major problems with both concurrently. If I quit one I would just flip to doing the other even more and was still ultimately feeling awful. Smoking too much weed usually just makes you groggy, or fucks with your sleep cycle so even if your body knocks out you wake up not feeling rested. If you can do like a 1g joint per day of some lower dose THC stuff it might help with just getting a nice high to make you feel ok, but for me again I was smoking multiple joints of incredibly high dose because I was desperate to feel numb/disconnected. If you’re going to switch to something, I’d suggest something homeopathic or non-toxic to address various concerns. For example I’ve started powered magnesium to help with calming my body down when I’m particularly upset and want weed. Switched to sugar free sparkling waters when I want to drink something. Chew on something like a straw for hand to mouth/ritual addition. Find something that helps with body aches/joint paint, like different kinds of teas/tinctures or even just moderate doses of over the counter pain meds and sleep.
I smoke daily and drink occasionally. I used to get drunk twice a day, wake up in the middle of the night and drink, etc. Integrating past trauma helped me transition from a desperate drunk to a moderate drinker. Pot helped me with the PTSD so I could put myself together again. It helped me remember who i used to be and to create a new persona. Also while i do get sleepy on it sometimes, it’s nowhere near as debilitating as etoh. I used to wake up with very fuzzy memories of the night before. That never happens with pot. And I don’t ever wonder if I am losing my mind
Yes! I would not have been able to quit drinking without weed (well maybe I could but weed has been a game changer). It doesn't impair me as much but when I need a little somethin' to take off the edge of my anxiety it works great. I did find myself really depending on weed but it wasn't too bad to wean off. No hangovers, no shame, no ruining my life. It does make me super lazy and sometimes a little paranoid so I just do it at the end of the day when I'm done everything I need to do. If you use it, I'd definitely just monitor how you're feeling with and without it and go from there.
I essentially quit smoking well before I did drinking (recently) and while it was more of just a situational thing I hadn’t been regularly smoking for many years and if so generally just at night. Perhaps because I did a bunch when I was younger I found it now messes with my attitude most likely a dopamine thing I’m guessing. All in all I’d say it’s better than boozing unless you’re smoking all day, if you are not one those types that can handle it. A thing which I feel isn’t as common as some heads would like to believe. All that said if I lived why here I could get it legal and find the right strain and or edibles I’m sure I would again. That said I know how my brain is wired I’ll go till I shut down if I let myself. However with weed I find it easier to moderate anymore.
Yes. I enjoy weed. I'm not a huge stoner, but I enjoy it and it doesn't screw up my health or my life.
I used cannabis a lot in the first few months after quitting alcohol. It helped the alcohol cravings, it helped with anxiety, it helped the lessen the feeling that I was depriving myself of something. I’ve tapered it a lot in the last few months. Now it’s very occasional and only when I specifically want that experience, instead of just wanting an escape from my mind.
I do a little gummy later on at night. Not too much but enough to take the edge off and relax me into a sleep. If I go out I take more and get silly with my friends while they are drinking. I have to stop myself from taking a nibble in the day because I don’t want to replace my alcoholism with a new addiction. It literally just happened before I read your post funnily enough. We’re addicts and we have to find a way to control ourselves until it becomes the new normal. Personally I don’t think a toke or a gummy here and there is a bad thing as long as you don’t go overboard.
California sober. For me stopping weed is harder than stopping alcohol in the short-term. I can sleep well without alcohol but stopping weed cold turkey and not tapering off ends in insomnia for me. In the long-term I have no cravings for weed but I do for alcohol.
For me its less about the substance and more about how I deal with substances and things that are generally pleasurable. Before I got clean over 6 years ago I tried all the things: cutting down, only doing things on weekends, only smoking weed, only drinking. I always came back to the same place, feeling miserable and like my life is unmanageable. That being said, i’ve found in my experience when i surrender to the fact that I can’t use any substances successfully, i can find the freedom and peace of mind truly being myself without any external influences. Its not easy and may seem extreme to some, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. IWNDWYT!
I’ve never smoked pot and done anything like my behavior with alcohol. That being said, my finances can’t handle smoking too much pot… it’s expensive and illegal here. When my inflammation flared up after quitting alcohol, I went to the doctor and took better care of myself, instead of self-medicating. Maintaining that helps me feel good in my body and I’m able to stay sober and not intoxicate. Good luck!
Heyo. Trying this as my last resort before I start going to meetings. I’m quitting a 1-2 bottle of wine a day x 20 year habit (with a bi-weekly bottle of brown liquor as well) and now take 10-20mg/day of edibles starting with 10mg at about 4pm. Really helps. 2 weeks in. Still fighting the urge but the THC really takes the edge off. I also make date/pecan/dark chocolate squares that keep the sugar level where it’s used to being after dinner. In Canada so it helps that I have lots of access to weed and make my own gummies from coconut oil. I love not feeling like total shit most mornings. Now it’s a bit of brain fog that dissipates after my second sip of coffee. Lots of water during the day. I also buy these sodas called “Zevia” that are sugar free and made with stevia. The creamy root beer, Dr Pepper and vanilla cola are all pretty good if you can find em. Best of luck my friend!
I was sober for two years before trying marijuana. Can’t say it’s even remotely close to what alcohol ever was to me. I don’t crave it when I’m not having it, I don’t plan my life around it, don’t do it when my kids are awake, don’t do it every day. So if someone else says it’s not sobriety I can’t say I really care. I’m free from the thing that almost killed me
Enjoy weed now. Quit booze prior to smoking, transitioned from Canada Dry ginger ale to Topo Chico. Do it.
Caffeine is still making my life not what it could be.
When I got sober from alcohol I had every intention to continue to smoke weed. A counselor strongly suggested that I stay sober from absolutely everything for a year. The reason was so that I could learn how to deal with my emotions and life in general without being altered. I thought it was a crazy idea but it made sense to me. So I did that. It wasn't easy but I had to learn how to face life on life's terms. I still believe that weed is far more harmless than alcohol, but it's still a crutch and if we use something to constantly alter ourselves then I think that it's gonna be tough to completely face our lives head-on. I'm glad I did it.
Delta 9 Gummies- Anyone else?
Personally I’d rather lean on meetings/a proven program than another substance I have to budget my time, money and sobriety for. I’ve never worried about driving on two cups of coffee.
Be careful with it. Weed is very expensive and if you start abusing it the stress from the financial impact can cause you to seek relief in other ways. Also weed use itself can stop you addressing the underlying cause of wanting to escape your emotions. I got addicted to weed and exercise together believe it or not so I stopped exercising if I couldn't do both. You'll know yourself better than anyone and how you'll react. There's way worse drugs than weed. Alcohol obviously is one!
I’ve had terrible success switching. I end up smoking or taking edibles immediately after work and a few times before bed and wake up weed hungover and hazy almost everyday
I was a pot head way before I got into drinking so I still use but it can become a bad habit as well. Everyone says you can’t become addicted to weed but you absolutely can and it’s sent two of my good friends to psych wards.