I had tons of treatment when i was younger, so using that knowledge along with having more life experience and finding a few really good meetings in toronto i started to gain control of my life again. I also started doing yoga this year and that really helped me in so many different areas of life, mainly sobriety and poker.

I think in these cases, which are fairly common since alcoholism is the slowest forming addiction of any drug due to how socially acceptable it is, an intervention can always give a good wake up call, but sadly with all addictions, the person who is using is the one who has to make the decision to get clean for themselves. The only way he/she is going to straighten there life out for good is if they truly want to make a change for the better and not to please anyone else.

When I was young , All the adults would say that and I would say no its not. But after seeing drugs destroy a couple of friends who started out with marijuana I finally realized that YES it is a ***** gate way drug.


OP, really congrats on sobering up man. It takes alot of courage to admit your history in a public forum. I hope this thread will serve as a motivator to keep you off the drugs and you can continue living a sober life and not fall off the wagon.
Good luck

Do you listen to Loveline?

yah the two go hand in hand for sure. However poker has been my "job" for 5 years now and i don't really consider myself a gambler. I don't bet sports or play in the pit i just play poker. People have always asked me how i can play so many hands a year and never get burnt out, and the answer lies in this question. When you have an addictive personality you have an all or nothing attitude to basically everything in life. Im either eating super healthy or super bad, or working out 3 times a week or not working out for months at a time. I've accepted that certain things in my life are just always going to be like that and i just have to deal with them the best i can and no one is perfect.

Poker has truly saved my life. It sounds pretty corny to say that but i actually
don't know if i would be alive right now if i hadn't developed a passion for it during the worst depression of my life.

As far as withdrawal from playing, i normally can't go a week without putting in at least one session but I've gotten much better about that this year. I took an entire week off before the WSOP and have basically taken everyday off since returning home and feel great about taking a small break. I just stopped caring about how much money i can make or have this year before all this crazy WSOP run good. Funny how life works like that, as soon as you stop caring so much about something you want so bad its just given to you.

We are all blessed to do this for a living(those who are full time) and you can't really complain to much even when things aren't working out at the tables. It could definitely be much worse for all of us.

afaik weed was determined physically addictive in 2007/2008ish. I dont want to stir up an argument on that but at least for me i always thought it was. Weed is a gateway because the more you use something so simple like weed, the more likely you are to hang out with people who also do other drugs and will be offering them to you. You also build up a tolerance to weed like any other drug, and people that get tired of just smoking to feel normal and want to actually feel a high will progress into harder substances.

Money I've spent on drugs lifetime is a tough estimate, i guess ill say something like 100k? that may be a little high but i think its def over 75k not including going to clubs and what not, just on drugs alone.

When I'm sober my lifetime graph is nanonoko and when I'm using i have a scout graph

i didn't actually know how open you were about this, but im pretty glad you decided to post it. it's ****ing cool when good things happen to people who have worked hard in their field, especially on the heels of such a huge change in your life.

i'm also glad to hear you mention that about weed-- i know im not supposed to have an opinion since i don't smoke, and i know different people have different experiences, but i have another friend who basically thinks weed made him go crazy and temporarily ruined his life. it's sad that everyone has it in their head that it isn't addictive (certainly not arguing that it is chemically addictive), especially when so many ppl who say that use daily (ironic, maybe). [i am not trying to come off preachy and i am fine with weed, it's just refreshing to hear someone say that it can have negative effects on people as a gateway drug]

do work in october.

Congratulations.


GL moving forward.

I don't agree that cocaine has any upside, but that is just my opinion. I think amphetamines are extremely popular among poker players, but most don't realize how much damage is being done. It is a very slow march downhill, and it can be one of the hardest things to quit.

Feel free to delete or mod my post if this is out of context of this thread but i've never understood the whole "weed is a gateway drug" thing.

I've smoked my fair share of pot for awhile, smoked cigarettes when i was young then tried weed at around 14yo. Never got addicted but would smoke occasionnally at parties if people offered it. When i went to uni, i got friend with this guy who always had weed on him and we smoked quite a bit.

This guy bought his weed from a couple friends of his who were always high on crack or cocaine or LSD or basicly anything. I spent many time with all of these people (because it was considered rude to buy from them and then just take off and not let his friends smoke some on it at least a bit).

I was offered several times to take anything stronger (LSD, cocaine, crack etc) than weed, and those people would shoot up their nose right next to me at least 2-3 times a week and i've still never taken any of this. And I dont consider myself more resistant or anything than anyone else. I think accusing weed of leading you to stronger stuff is just a way to shift responsability and not blame yourself ("you" is not OP, it's anyone saying that).

I remember this dude who came to speak in my school when i was 12 or sg and he was a alcoholic. And he said like "when i was your age, i would go behind the school and drink a bit of wine from a bottle i stole from my parents, with my friends. And that got me started" and basicly "accusing" wine of being a "gateway drink" to stronger alcohols and eventually to addiction. I don't think many people would say that of wine, yet tons of people say that about weed. I think both are equally stupid ways of thinking. If you're willing to not take anything, you wont, and that's it.

Anyways, /rant

Very glad you got your act together OP and GL for the futur. Thanks for making this thread, it could be very intresting. Subscribed.

the weed being a gateway drug discussion is always going to be similar to politics with people on both sides of the fence. I know for myself it was certainly a gateway, but just because it was for me doesn't mean that it will or was for anyone else. Same thing for your experience being able to say no to harder stuff being around it so often.

people will always react differently to drugs and there views on them, weather addiction is a choice or a disease ect.

I wanted this thread to make people more aware of what is going on in our community and obv outside of our lifestyle as well. Thanks for everyone thats been posting, its turning out even better than i expected.

Feel free to PM me if you don't feel comfortable discussing issues on the thread.

gregy

Yea that's true i guess. Some random questions now, keep in mind that i've never done any of that stuff so those might be very retarded.

How much did you spend (daily/weekly/monthly, how you want) on your addiction ?

Does your family know ?

What do you do in rehab ? Like in the movies, talk in circles and paint on mugs ?

How often do you feel the need at the moment (while being clean) to take some drugs ?

Do you still smoke weed ?

Just wanted to say that you're an absolute boss, Gregy. I'm so happy/proud of you man, couldn't have happened to a cooler and more deserving guy.

I feel like similar stories could be told by many people. Most children use tobacco or alcohol before other substances, yet it's rare that the most popular vices are recognized as gateways.