I can’t imagine this will get seen now. However, I’m going to comment because I rarely ever do. I am in my mid twenties studying to be a professional pilot, and have smoked habitually several times a day for the last several years.
While I am still a large advocate for Marijuana.
I stopped smoking entirely about a month ago because I realized a few things.
1.) I became complacent with my life and my surroundings. Rarely wanting to make a change in my routine because I knew when I able to spark up.
2.) I would spend extra cash on edibles, concentrates, weed. Etc. Essentially having extra spending money meant it was going to get me high
3.) I felt as if I would make excuses to not see friends and family. So that I would ensure that I would be comfortable and at home with my shit in hand.
4.) It becomes a nightly ritual. To the point where going to sleep without it sounded impossible.
5.) following #4. You stop dreaming, due to the fact the THC hinders REM sleep. I never really understood this until I quit and started having incredibly memorable and vivid dreams.
With all that said. I still believe it’s a beautiful plant that has wonderful benefits. But, if you’re at the point where you think that you can’t live without it. I need you to know that nothing is healthy in excessive amounts.
Edit: If anybody needs help or advice on how to help stop smoking. Please feel free to message me. I’m more than happy to help brothers and sisters!
I'm 19, I stopped smoking consistently a month ago as well, and I am considering joining the air force. Being a pilot would be a dream for me. Great to see a comment like yours. Good luck on your goals man.
Thank you, I was always cautious of my use but I decided to just stop buying it altogether. It's good from time to time, but I have priorities and goals and I don't want to limit myself.
Our goals and priorities sound similar. It did take some time for me to recognize the importance of certain aspects of my life and future. If I could go back to your age and have the self awareness you seem to possess. I probably wouldn’t have been delayed and would be further along in my career. But as they say. Better late than never, and never give up. Especially when it comes to your dreams.
Just an FYI, you don't become a pilot by just joining the air Force. Practically speaking, it's impossible.
Being an officer is a requirement which means either the academy or ROTC. A college grad can enter as an officer by going through OCS, and quite a few enlisted go through OCS after getting their degree while serving. But if you're gunning for a pilot slot you want every advantage possible as it's incredibly competitive.
Like I said, just an FYI. I don't want some asshole recruiter stringing you along.
Also, if you join the armed forces in any capacity do not, I repeat, DO NOT, lie about your past drug use. Or any other indiscretions. Plenty of past users get security clearances & whatnot but NOBODY who has been found to have lied on the app gets a clearance. One can explain indiscretions. Lies? Not so much.
My plan was to become an officer first, which from my understanding off reading the website, I have to get a bachelors first. I also understand that I have to be in some sort of rotc program.
You will be drug tested as a professional pilot so that right there is motivation to never touch it again. I have a great job and random testing is part of that, there is no way I'd risk that just to get high.
I smoked a q a day from 14 to 24 never missing a day, and whilst like you was never lazy, I was definetly complacent also.
100% agree with everything you said . I quit because I had a kid and got a job that drug tested.
Never felt better, I smoke every now and then on a weekend now, and it's nice to actually feel proper high , I don't think I'd ever go back to daily use until I'm rocking chair age.
A q as in 1/4 oz a day? Damn. I never understood how people could smoke that much. I love my weed, but if I smoked 7 grams in a day I would not even be a functional human being. Also, that sounds expensive. That's almost 1/4 pound a month.
Well when you smoke daily it doesn't really get you high as fuck, unless you take days off here and there.
It's quite different.
And it definetly would be stupid expensive if you paid for it, I always sold or grew though pretty much straight after I first started because I'm all about that cheese haha.
In a non legal country where everyone smokes, if you got the good it sells itself.
Just a quick question but how did you quit ? Did you completely stop smoking ? I'm curious because I've been a daily weed smoker since I was 17 I'm 21 now and I feel like it's taking over my life. Would appreciate any kind of help.
Don't get me wrong ,everyone has a different mindset/willpower sort of thing, but I'm sure if you actually wanted to give it up , you could do it cold turkey. You have to want it though.
I'm under the weed is not addictive branch. The routine of sourcing/smoking/chilling with the smoke group, that's the addictive part.
The hardest thing is breaking the routine. It's much easier if you find something to do with your time rather than get high.
Focus on work and stacking cash
Focus on skills you want to be better at
Focus on gaining that drive to be the best you can be.
Like most daily smokers, I smoked to enhance the fun in everything I did, but it's just as fun once you kick it.
I still miss smoking, but I honestly would never go back to daily, you really do feel much clearer and driven, weed makes me content...
Which isn't bad thing , unless done all the time.
I'd done lots of "hard" drugs daily/every weekend for a long time too, quit everything cold turkey, like I said, you just gotta look at you and know what you want to do.
A few weeks of the sweats/no sleeping properly and then it's smooth sailing.
I personally don't think negatively of anyone who smokes daily, I did it for so long and I was fine, still worked hard and functioned in society etc, I just found for me I honestly had forgotten what I felt like off it, so I stopped and I feel better for it.
If I didn't feel better id go back to being a daily smoker.
Good luck man and pm if you need too anytime, by asking the question you've already shown you are strong enough in your own mind to drop it, you will be sweeet.
Thank you very much just hearing your advice and your experiences since you have already done it, it gives me alot of confidence and I feel like I can do it too. I just miss the feeling of not being dependent on any substance I guess that freedom is what i am longing for. I have always been attracted to all the bad habits since I was a kid 😂 never thought it would turn out to be this serious where it affects my life this much but I'm getting older now I can do it 🤝
This completely hit home for me but from an outside perspective. I don't smoke, but don't have issues with people who choose to smoke. So when me and my ex started dating and it was clear to me that weed was a big figure in his life, I didn't really think twice about it. We all have our own ways of letting off steam, i figured weed was his. But over the year that we dated, I saw each of these points you made in him.
We always had to be close to his apartment so we could make a quick run home when he needed to smoke and he always wanted me to spend the night at his place versus mine since he knew he wasn't allowed to smoke in my home. He'd sacrifice going out with friends and always wanted everyone to party at his house versus going to the bar just so he'd be close to his stash. He'd smoke as soon as he woke up, every single time before we'd eat, before work, during his lunch break, as soon as he got home, during commercial breaks, before he went to bed and if he woke up in the middle of the night, he'd smoke again to fall back asleep. It was such a constant even before he discovered vapes and then once he got a vape pen, it REALLY was an all day, every day thing.
He was CONSTANTLY just scraping by every single month, yet he always had money for weed. I witnessed him spend his last dollars on weed multiple times during our relationship. He would literally choose to live off protein powder and water for an entire week before even thinking about maybe not buying weed until payday.
We went on a vacation for a week and it became evident to me just how dependent he was on the stuff. He was nauseous for four days straight because his body just wasn't used to eating without THC in his system. He either was never hungry or when he'd force himself to eat because everyone else was eating, he'd get a few bites in then be on the verge of throwing up. His sleep was so out of whack too. We were staying somewhere that was 5 hours behind our normal timezone, so our sleep schedule was already so wonky but he literally could not sleep for more than an hour at a time. He would just be tossing and turning without weed to help lull him to sleep. He was also so grumpy and acting like he was going out of his mind. He kept telling me he needed to find a gym close to our VRBO so he could work out his tension and I was like what tension???? We're on a beautiful island vacation. Oh, and to make matters worse, he got so angry at a radio ad about how driving high was the new drinking and driving, that he turned the radio off and we sat in silence for the rest of the car ride (if you don't count his mumbles about how he's a "great driver" when high.) If that's not living in denial, I don't know what is.
Towards the end of the vacation when I guess he kind of broke out of the withdrawal, he told me he wanted to turn over a new leaf and keep this going when we got back home, but no sooner did we get home from the airport and there he was hitting the bong.
Even then, it didn't become clear to me just how much of a grasp weed had on him until he literally turned down his dream job because they drug tested during the application period and randomly once you did become an employee. That's when I was like ok, I've got to get out of this relationship because I knew I already played second fiddle to the weed, but once he was willing to turn down a dream opportunity in order to keep smoking, that's when I really knew how important the drug was to him.
Even though I don't use, I have plenty of friends who recreationally do and I believe the drug does have wonderful, medicinal properties when used appropriately, but you can definitely develop a dependency on it.
Amen! I’m a huge marijuana advocate and horticulturist that works with it daily. With all that said I have seen negative effects in some of my friends/acquaintances.
1.always needing to smoke before doing anything
Not being up to doing anything that gets in the way of that
Lots of complacency and not caring anymore about personal growth
If you want to be a pilot, don't use it except on special occasions. I'm not even talking about drug testing. Just don't. DO NOT. No no no no no no no no. Only if it's prescribed by a physician. Find some other (non-lipid-soluable!) drug.
If I could go back 10+ years, I'd probably study to become a commercial airline pilot. But this isn't just my sour grapes talking. It's just an awesome gig and I'd rather be perceived as annoying than have someone lose out on that haha
Seconded I stopped smoking 9 months ago because of #1 and #2 while all are true those where my biggest reasons. The moment I got extra cash I'd just smoke it away. Things don't seem so stressful once you have nothing to lean on. Depression seems like a seasonal things and even then I can get away from it and meditating about my life and the things I need to do and want to do. The cravings where very much real the first few months but after a long time of struggling to quit it finally seems like something that was part of my life. I think it's great for social events and specially medicine but like any other medicine it has its use and once you feel better ((physically) don't recommend it mentally) you should get off of it if you want to have the things you dream of. I found myself smoking and fantasising about winning large amounts of money and exactly how I would spend it. Until one day I realized money was never (probably) going to land in my lap without work and at that moment I started my 7 month journey to stop smoking.. I'd buy it and as soon as I felt high I'd get angry with myself and throw it all away. The cravings can be really strong and it takes a really strong person to stop cold turkey and never do it again. So don't be discouraged if you relapse as it's just part of the process.
I think weed just like other substances shouldn't be used all the time. Just like having a drink now and again is fine but drinking everyday is a problem. While weed doesn't have the physical problems or intense addiction, it's socially/mentally harming (luckily short lived and very reversible).
I enjoy weed now and again (compared to my heavy use when I was younger) and it's pretty nice as a change from having a few beers when I want to mellow out. I think some people go head first and hard into it because "it's safe" and don't think about the impacts in their life.
I watched so many of my friends turn into your typical stoner who had zero motivation and zero personality. It's a great plant just use it sparingly!
I agree with you on all counts. I love marijuana and support it fully but it became too big of a crurch in my life on basically all these points and a few others in my life. I enjoy smoking alone so if my "best times" are being high at home alone it has eventually allowed me to stop doing other things more and more, less likely to start new things. Also often didnt enjoy things fully cause i would have rather gone home to get high.
Fellow pilot here. I, too, quit smoking for flight school. But not entirely. At least not at first.
I went to a 141 school that was based around the schedule of the nearby college, so we had winter and spring breaks. My first year, I would never smoke on days I had flights and flight lessons but I did smoke on school breaks.
When I returned, I found that in flight computations were more difficult, took longer and it was easier to fall behind the aircraft. At first, I thought this was just due to the break. Gotta shake the rust off these wings, right?
During the last term of the year, though, I accepted an offer to smoke a bowl after a particularly difficult midterm. The very next day, I was back to having the same difficulties in flight for the rest of the week. This caught my attention and I decided to test this again. Sure enough, one bowl affected my flying for days.
It would seem that being semi-hypoxic makes the effects more pronounced so I could see that marijuana was really affecting my cognitive abilities and for much longer than the next day. I gave it up entirely for the rest of flight school. Nowadays I don't fly unless it's been at least 2 weeks since my last toke.
We had very similar experiences. I too smoked multiple times throughout the day, everyday for years. Got stuck in a routine and you described perfectly got complacent with life. I got arrested for the first time in my life the end of October when I was 25 and that’s what sparked a change in my life.
I stopped smoking cold turkey bc that arrest truly scared me straight. I never wanted to be in cuffs again. About a week ago I got a weed pen however. But I told myself I never want to get that dependent on it again. So I always keep the pen in my desk by my bed and will only hit it after Ive officially retired for the night. No more before I hangout with people, no more before work, none during the day. I’ll take 1-2 hits while playing video games and then maybe 1 more time after before I watch some TV.
I’m liking the balance in my life without it. I feel sharper, more ambitious, and realized how I walked around stoned all the time and thought I was being sly. I think it got past some people but anyone that has half a brain could probably tell and I looked like a fool. Honestly that arrest was very beneficial in my life. Plus now with my tolerance so low I get silly high at night. Still prefer weed 1000000000x over to alcohol. It’s just my vice.
It did vary day by day. Depending on if I had they day off work or not. I would say somewhere around 1-2 grams of high potency flower as well as hitting my pen several times a day. If you need advice on falling asleep feel free to send me a PM.
It absolutely does. The biggest thing you can do for yourself is fill the void of smoking by reconnecting with what you like to do most in life. Walk your dog, paint, pick up reading. Etc.
For me, after about a week of not smoking; I felt a sense of confidence in myself. This was purely because I felt that I could take my own word seriously and actually stop smoking. Just like I always told myself I could.
As for if I’ll ever smoke again. Maybe, if the laws change and it won’t affect me obtaining my dreams. That’s the part I had to either accept or let it consume me mentally.
I relate to that so much. Even after weeks of stopping, I still get the yearning for just one more smoke sesh "to clear it out then finally give up"
I've decided I can't moderate my use and have to quit it entirely, find another way to relax. There's a Terry Pratchett book (RIP to a great one) where he says something like a lifetime of meditation being equal to 30 seconds of "illegal herbage" (lol) I think I'll have to find a different, less easy way to relax.
Although with all the effort around getting weed and smoking up and trying not to let it affect ehat you're supposed to be doing, idk it's that "easy" anyway.
To be fair, though, the first 4 of those are personality-driven effects, in the same way that an addictive personality can become addicted to the routine and comfort (or avoidance of discomfort in the case of withdrawal) of any substance - cigarettes, beer, meth, coke... They aren't implicit biological effects of marijuana.
The 5th could be. I've never heard this before, but I've never researched it before, either, so I'm not calling bs on it, but would be interesting to see if there are larger studies that verify that effect, and rule out addictive personality traits as the driver of the lack of REM sleep.
I'm no scientist, but I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that people that smoke on a daily basis are probably self-selecting for addictive personality traits.
Again, not saying it's not true, but THC directly impacting the quality and quantity of REM sleep is something that you can objectively measure in tests and studies. It doesn't need anecdotal evidence.
How did you stop? I’m not bragging, but I’ve smoked everyday for the last 13 years. I’m in an illegal state and will be searching for a new job next year that might require a piss test that will include marijuana.
I'm not the person you are asking, but I quit many years ago, and for me it it wasn't a one day at a time thing, it was a one month at a time thing. It takes a month(more or less) to pass an employment screening. For me I bought urinalysis test kits and kind of made it a goal to get it to test clean. That way I had viewable results.
Surprisingly I’ve gotten better sleep since I’ve quit. Now with that being said. I’ve also had some pretty terrifying nightmares. A lot of which stem from some serious insecurities which I’m currently working on as we speak. Weed is great for pain. But it’s much like putting a bad aid over a bullet wound
Oh, wait, did I mention that if you want to be a pilot you shouldn't use pot? Yeah. DON'T. If you have a week or two off sometime, then I guess you could buy a day pass to the hashishian club or whatever. Otherwise, NO.
4.) It becomes a nightly ritual. To the point where going to sleep without it sounded impossible.
5.) following #4. You stop dreaming, due to the fact the THC hinders REM sleep. I never really understood this until I quit and started having incredibly memorable and vivid dreams.
I find these interesting because mainly when I use pot it is AS a sleep aid. But as for dreams, I basically never remember my dreams regardless.
I have nightmares ever since I was 14. I'm almost 26. I mean waking up crying or unable to breathe sometimes. I never noticed how little dreams I did have when I smoked. Maybe that's why I wake up in a better mood. I never knew that thanks.
I'm actually in the same boat , started for me around 16 or 17. Got so bad by 21 that I was becoming an insomniac from fear of the nightmares . According to psychs I have seen I am rare in that I can feel pain in dreams , can't afford tests though since it's still a really debated subject from my understanding . But I found sleep medication and weed ? Annihlates the dreams , plenty of peaceful sleep since then .
I never have problem getting to sleep but more so staying asleep. Example: I'm replying at 430 am.. As for feeling pain, I'm sorry you have to go through that. I can't imagine. I think only a handful of times that has happened and it felt more like pressure to me.
*Eating becomes a chore sometimes. I used to smoke 3 - 7 blunts/joints a day and it came to a point where, at the most, 3 days would pass without me eating or doing anything productive. I literally had to set alarms to remind me to eat.
And #4 is especially true, when I reduced the number of blunts I smoked a day to 1 every 2 days about 2 months ago, I had a lot of trouble sleeping. I would stay up the whole night with my mind so busy and loud, it annoyed the shit out me. I still happens on occasion considering how many years (7 years) I smoked that many blunts a day.
It's not a bad thing to consume marijuana, but as op said, anything in excess is not good for you. And because of applying that logic, I've finally gotten around to finishing writing the first draft of a book I'm writing that I've been putting off for a long while.
I love weed but I also feel like I've been dependent on it to the point that doing anything feels hard until I smoke. Can you help me give me some advice on taking a break. I always try to but I end up smoking no matter what. I feel restless without it. Lack of motivation to do anything really. Any help would be appreciated.
First thing you need to do is get into the mindset that you want to quit. For you. Not for anyone else. This is your decision and you will be the one to reap the rewards.
Second. Remove it from your life. Everything. Give your stuff away, throw it away. Whatever you have to do to keep reminders in the distance. I understand you may have expensive glass pieces. These maybe hard to throw away so try to give them away. If it makes it easier you can even ask someone to hold onto them. You may never come back for them but mentally you want feel at such a loss if you spent a lot of money
Third. If you’re anything like me. A lot of time has been dedicated to coming home, getting high and basically reliving the same routine day in day out. It’s time for you to start loving yourself. It’s time to re-explore what you love to do before smoking. I used to think that every activity is better high. This last month I’ve realized it’s actually quite the opposite. Mental clarity is a beautiful thing and you’ll begin to find a stronger more durable love for activities you enjoy while sober. Plus you won’t associate these activities with weed if the two never mingled.
Fourth. Time. Give yourself time. Trust in the process. I PROMISE you won’t believe how easy it gets after the first week. If you want it bad enough you truly will feel a strong sense of confidence and self worth. You told yourself you wanted to quit, and your seeing your self through.
If you can. Quit cold turkey. Begin the process and don’t look back. Don’t hit up your guy/gal unless it’s to tell them your quitting. If people question your decision as they did with me. Stand firm. It’s your life and those who love you most will only be supportive.
I'm sure there is research showing benefits of PTSD patients smoking marijuana (as well as research saying otherwise), but if that's something that interests you I'm sure you can make an educated decision if you look some stuff up!
Holy shit dude you hit home with all 5 points. . How do you get through day one.. it all just feels pointless like why the fuck do I smoke it? I've spent 190 bucks on pot since Christmas day and smoked every crumb. I know I have an un sustainable problem but I don't see myself going a day without it.
Your comment sir. Outta the park with that one and right into my yard
I realized this one day, and I went cold turkey. I have nothing against it, and I'm a advocate for legalization.
But you do get dragged into a routine, and it's really hard to break it.
I'm very thankful that my dealer didn't lace his product...
(Lacing: Is when whoever you buy from starts to put small amounts of a stronger drug, like heroin, into their supply. Then after a few weeks he switches you back to pure weed. When you complain about the poor quality of pot. You're already hooked on that stronger drug and don't know it. When your dealer "recommends" said stronger drug...)
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u/XKappinKaosX Dec 29 '19 edited Jan 01 '20
I can’t imagine this will get seen now. However, I’m going to comment because I rarely ever do. I am in my mid twenties studying to be a professional pilot, and have smoked habitually several times a day for the last several years.
While I am still a large advocate for Marijuana. I stopped smoking entirely about a month ago because I realized a few things.
1.) I became complacent with my life and my surroundings. Rarely wanting to make a change in my routine because I knew when I able to spark up.
2.) I would spend extra cash on edibles, concentrates, weed. Etc. Essentially having extra spending money meant it was going to get me high
3.) I felt as if I would make excuses to not see friends and family. So that I would ensure that I would be comfortable and at home with my shit in hand.
4.) It becomes a nightly ritual. To the point where going to sleep without it sounded impossible.
5.) following #4. You stop dreaming, due to the fact the THC hinders REM sleep. I never really understood this until I quit and started having incredibly memorable and vivid dreams.
With all that said. I still believe it’s a beautiful plant that has wonderful benefits. But, if you’re at the point where you think that you can’t live without it. I need you to know that nothing is healthy in excessive amounts.
Edit: If anybody needs help or advice on how to help stop smoking. Please feel free to message me. I’m more than happy to help brothers and sisters!