It's interesting to see a few people already respond about their long-term use. If anyone wants to write more about their decisions to quit, or take a break, start again, etc. .., I think I'm a fairly heavy smoker and sometimes consider taking a break. But honestly, I get so goddamn bored. ...

Seriously though, it's something I think about. It's a fairly new hobby for me (or whatever you call it, but I balk at "lifestyle," though maybe it is, just sounds so weird) ... I smoke every day and for the last six months or so it's been a wake-and-bake thing. But lately I'm starting to feel the need to make changes and don't like it so much. Which is to say I'm not really worried about myself, it seems like a phase that may be set to end, but I'm curious about others' experiences and thoughts.

Also, OP, I too think its weird you're a heavy smoker for seven years and don't have a connect. Use CraigsList. Reverse busts are not worth any police department's time.

People are different.

I've been a daily user for 13 years and just got back to smoking the last 3 weeks after not touching it for basically 6 months. I also quit 8 months once and 3 months. Other than that I smoke quite a lot, pretty much everyday unless Im on vacation in a place that requires flying there. The craving never really stopped for me in the time I quit smoking weed. It also took over a month for my sleeping pattern to improve at all and in my 6th month I was still pretty messed up sleep wise.

All you need to find is a (to you) valid reason for not smoking anymore. For me it was the money and health issue's but that can all be different for everyone. If you dont think quiting is important enough you probably won't. Then again, people are different. If you're a committed addict, think about this **** before your only hook up leaves for two weeks.

Yeah I agree, people are different.

Smoking like 5-7g of (very strong, i'm Swiss) weed a week had pretty bad effects on me whereas I have friends that used to smoke up to 20g a week and could "function" normally in the everyday life.

I can imagine quitting also is a different experience to different people.

I agree with you 100%, you really need a good reason to stop. It makes all the difference. Just wanting to quit because "it's probably not good for me" wont easily cut it. I think I only found enough strengh in me to stop because I could feel how bad it was for my health.

not that quitting would be a bad thing, but you need to identify the root of your addiction. if you have unprocessed trauma from your childhood you are just going to pick up another addiction.

something profound: “At the bottom of every person's dependency, there is always pain, Discovering the pain and healing it is an essential step in ending dependency.”

I'm a daily smoker and it's weird because I've quit multiple times or taken a break ,whatever you want to call it and only one time have I gone through really bad withdrawal from doing so. I was visiting my sister in Florida for a week a handful of years ago and my body basically shut itself down. I had no appetite and could only down a few bites of food whenever I tried to force myself to eat. Sleeping was difficult, had the sweats, bad dreams, didn't have an ounce of energy. I remember one day we were hanging with one of her friends and I had made it apparent I wasn't feeling well at all and for whatever reason her friend saw that as an invite to turn the music full blast during a car ride. Only time I've thought about actually punching a girl in her face. I did buy a bottle of liquor middle trip just to help get me through and for whatever reason when the weekend hit I completely snapped out of it and was fine. Didn't stop me from walking around the apartment complex and randomly asking people I ran into if they were good? They never were. I'm certainly working on cutting my smoking down to 2-3 days a week though, because like some already said if you smoke so much you get to a point where you're doing it just to reach normal status and those mini breaks without a doubt increase your high.

My buddy is currently going through a pill addiction though and I've lived through that already with a family member. That is some scary **** on a much higher mountain than weed addiction!

Good luck with the two weeks though, maybe you'll come out of it with the mindset of cutting back a bit, but I would say be careful replacing one substance with another substance. That doesn't really do anyone any good, but you weren't exactly stating you were trying to quit so YOLO I guess.

When i quit for 6 weeks a few years ago, i had the exact thought. Why didnt i quit years ago? Smoking weed is a waste of time etc. not even that good, but im back to square one now

I have lost count of the different dealers i have used over the years, and i have burnt my bridges with most of them. At the moment i have 3 people who can hook me up. One of these guys is pretty awkward about meeting me, and the other only sells on and off. I had an argument with a 4th a week ago which i now refuse to buy off.

I was well aware of my friend going away for 2 weeks, but actually just thought **** it. Wasnt thinking long term

Thanks man. Kinda already knew this. I smoke to escape. I'm bipolar and the weed helps. Well, it seems to, short term


Some guy i played poker with tonight gave me a number of his friend who has nice bud. Felt so relived i wasnt going to go through another night like last night... Called him on the tournament break, he said its too late now. Massive disappointment.


When i think about quitting, i think, what am i going to do instead? I dont wanna watch a movie, or play ps4 or listen to music if im not high.

i feel bad for you bro.

One thing I loved doing while high was watching a couple good shows late in the night. Sit/lay down comfortably, smoke one and enjoy a good show.

Not gonna lie, it wasn't the same for a a few months after I quit, couldn't quite enjoy my favorite shows anymore. Now the good news is, it eventually went back to normal and i'm now again looking forward to see the few shows I really like every week.

Gaming and online poker are also things I used to do while high, and it took me quite some time to enjoy doing it sober, but I eventually did.

It's only a matter of time before everything gets back to normal. You can quit, what you feel you're gonna lose you'll actually get back after some time.

profound thought: this thread would not exist had you found someone to sell you weed like a proper stoner.

I think this is usually the problem, you don't have enough going on in your life that without weed you get bored, and weed makes you happy to sit there and do nothing or just watch tv or whatever. It's obviously a vicious cycle because the more you smoke and do nothing the more boring your life becomes without weed.

I'm assuming you're like most daily stoners. Some people get high and actually do really productive stuff which blows my mind.

As a writer and artist I have a fairly wide standard for "productive." I also really like being outdoors lately, and stoned hiking is amazing. But I do know what you mean and absolutely fall into the trap of simply watching TV or sleeping sometimes. Or 2+2. Or the comments at the end of any news article. Those are the worst.

That said, I do find a lot of ideas gel for me when I'm high. And I can get lost in some weird legal and regulatory documents when I'm researching, which (a) is good because it means the work is interesting; but (b) sucks because when I get "fascinated" it also means "slow" which kills a freelancer's hourly.

Right now the issue is less feeling I'm dependent on something, but more like weed + time management are not natural bedfellows for me. And as I've recently gone all freelance in my work it means time management is huge, but I naturally suck at it. I'm deadline-driven like many journalists. So a big part of my thinking I'm gonna cut back is in not liking how weed makes me assess and respond to the work I have to do. Which, now that I'm freelance, is all my own responsibility.

Plus, spending 16 hours a day stoned ... that's probably not good. That just seems logical.

And as you maybe can tell by this ramble-y post, I'm stoned now. I was gonna work while my girlfriend did some stuff, but instead I wrote this post. Which maybe doesn't matter - it's not like the work won't get done. It will, only at 5 a.m.

fyp

dude, the thing is. its such a mental thing. like, weed dont make ur life any better. i just smoked a bowl an hour ago. i also ran pretty hard a few hours before that, walked my dog and stuff. I O E N O. u have to find joy in things without being high, its the exact same. o that movie was pretty cool, why cuz ur high? that movie should be cool regardless. u r mentally addicted. u said u went 6 weeks before, because u are to good for it. how did u feel those 6 weeks? u got it in u evidently. its tough bro, i have been a long time user as well but...u need to find other ambitions. this aint profound.....

its sad but its kind of true: A stoners next high is his real only ambition. u r in this boat. u have to change it. u had the mind set before and u can have it again. u dont have to be high 24/7, its not a big deal. work on cutting down and start finding pleasure in things not high, that u find pleasurable while high. its really all the same, thats why jane is a recreational drug. dont let it consume u, its not heroin

How many times can I use u or ur in one paragraph?

You need to start taking tolerance breaks. This is the correct answer. You need to buy weed knowing that you will not buy more once it runs out.

I say two weeks on, two weeks off. Take a month off and it will be completely out of your system and the next time you smoke it will be mind blowing, like the first time you realized how much you loved weed. If you can't go two weeks without weed then you're a weak ass bitch and weed is the least of your problems.

The best thing to help in the meantime? EXERCISE. SWEAT. DRINK LOTS OF WATER. Like a ****ing madman. It helps insomnia. Exercise is the best way to "flush out" the THC in your system and will quicken the tolerance reduction process.

I found this thread surprisingly depressing. The biggest stoner I know is my best friend since 2nd grade and he seems to function normally. He owns his own business and works his ass off. I didn't know stoners were so "addicted". And this depressed.

Don't abuse your relationship with cannabis. It's nature's little gift to help us get through life.

Yea, use this as a tolerance break and come back with a bang.

I regularly take breaks from smoking, even took one for over a year. The feeling of addiction is not common with weed smokers I know.

He's fine. Certainly ahead of heavy drinkers. May (or may not) knock a few years(?) off his life because of the inhaled carcinogens...I think. Or not. Maybe the cancer fighting magical properties of trees make him live longer. Right?

heh, Im talking to him currently on Facebook.

I was curious and asked him how much he actually smoked.

get a job as a dishwasher

"weed makes you happy to sit there and do nothing "

Pretty much this. I smoked daily from 1989 to 2012. Kept a job and paid my bills all along, but my life has not turned out like I (or my parents) hoped, I think mostly because of the weed. Simply put, it makes you not care about anything, except staying high. The decades flew by in a blur. Since '12, I've done what other posters here have suggested; buy a bag, smoke it, and don't cop again for a couple weeks, maybe even a month. IMO it's better for your lungs, your brain, and your life, not to mention keeping your tolerance level down. After a month off I can literally take one or two b-hits and I'm good for the night.

Staying high 24/7 can be a happy life. Just don't expect to accomplish much except getting high. Many people are certainly exceptions - some people can still work their best when stoned; I once knew a guy who toked before lifting weights, which I can't imagine - but I think I'm safe in generalizing that a lot of people who get high every day are basically putting much of their life - social, professional, personal - permanently On Hold.

It isn't because of the weed, the weed may enable but I think the non productive stoners would be pretty non productive in their sober lives on the whole. Lots of individuals have issues commiting in their professional life or neglecting their social life with or without the greenery.

Agree.

Trying to generalize anyone is rarely going to work. When I smoke I am super high energy and motivated. I do some of my best thinking when I am high and reflecting on things. Everyone will react differently to it, but for me I can hyper-focus on things when I am high.

I get tired and fall asleep when I smoke, almost the same as exercising.