I've been smoking weed half my life, though in the past 5-6 years it definitely increased now that i work at home. I also used to sell it so I would always have a decent amount on me.
It started to feel more like a compulsion instead of just getting high. I would pack the bong and smoke it and be like, "why did i do that". Plus my tolerance is way too high, Ill rip an infused joint and not feel much, making me question myself more.
I don't drink much. Ill get a 6 pack every other month maybe and then when it's gone i don't get more for awhile. So i decided to test myself: I just wasn't going to buy weed when I ran out. I was going to try and treat it like a 6 pack. It's been 5 days no weed which is probably the longest break I've had in a decade.
Anyways if i can do it you can too, and i appreciate your support. Love you Hexes.
I'm here with you all, my story is just like a lot of peoples it seems! Started working from home which turned my moderate, borderline weed habit into a compulsion. I used to justify it as I would get these big productive hits of energy and inspiration...and on the main starting to smoke weed after not smoking for a long time helped me change my life for the dramatically better. But now I only get those productive, inspired boosts rarely if ever. My tolerance is at a place where I'm either so high I can't think straight (though still not feeling super high) or just kind of normal.
Anyway, I'm on a taper, I switched to tincture + pen for getting through the day and cutting back on smoking, and then hopefully cut back on the pen and tincture use. I don't want to have to go completely without forever, but I have substituted alcohol for weed in the past, which i feel might be counter-productive. I do feel kind of trapped, and I don't like it. But out of all of the behaviors that manifest in my struggles with compulsion and impulse control, a chronic weed habit has been one of the more manageable and nondestructive. Or at least it has been up until this point.
I'm with you all in this struggle. Solidarity comrades.
my other issue was coughing up black weed tar looking stuff in my phlegm, which apparently is normal for weed smokers because weed doesnt constrict your lungs like tobacco does so youre actually able to expel the tar to some degree.
If you're just taking a t-break and not quitting for good, I strongly recommend getting yourself a vaporizer--your lungs will thank you for it. (Personally, I use a Volcano; yes they're really expensive but they last for a really long time and they're just better than basically anything else out there. Note that the bag is the key piece here; it ensures that every hit tastes the same, unlike other vapes where the first few hits taste good and then the rest taste like crap, just like regular smoking.)
I have an Arizer XQ2 which is way cheaper than any model of volcano and it's fantastic. Any desktop vape with balloon bags is super easy on the lungs and that's definitely the way to go, there's not even a tickle unless you take a giant hit or really packed the hell out of the chamber.
I've never smoked and I'm glad I didn't start out that way. Handheld dry herb vapes are very affordable, and they are so much more efficient than any combustion method that you'll easily cut your consumption in half.
Volcano is cool, check out the B-Zero or other injection vapes like it on VGoodiez, they're super powerful and around $300 for a set up
Interesting, hadn't heard about that tech before. Seems like a great option for vaping on the go, without being stuck relying on pens. Thanks for the info!
Those ones are typically desktop setups but they hit as hard as a bong. Good portable options would be something like the sticky brick or terpcicle, which are torch-powered vapes that also kick ass
B-Zero
that's an interesting device. I had to youtube a video cause i couldnt tell from the pictures how it works. But as a bong user thats pretty fuckin awesome.
It's amazing, just got one for my partners mom. It's very bong reminscent because you just hold the head up to the bowl like you would a lighter. On the higher temps it will absolutely put you on your ass like a bong
yea, like i don't mind the plastic bag method but that B-Zero looks way better for more efficient smoking.
I'd love to get a volcano someday but this is definitely less hassle. I just use a dry ash catcher with a bowl that has a screen and I pretty much never have to deep clean my glass, just change the water
i use a screen but not an ash catcher but the tar still builds up eventually
It's amazing, I had similar issues with coughing prior to getting off combustion. This scratches the same itch since it works with glass and can give some very substantial hits unlike a lot of vapes. If you can afford it and plan to continue using cannabis there really isn't better purchase you could make imo
Vgoodiez is where I got mine, they are very helpful with any questions you may have
B-Zero
Which injector did you get if you don't mind me asking? I'm looking at the glass one and the metal one and not sure if the price difference is worth it.
My vapebong broke a little while back and I've been looking to replace it, but the price has shot up. I bought mine when they were still being made by Dr. Colly, they were about half the price then. Many kudo's to Jaxel though, I love the new models they've created but it's hard to justify that price on something made out of ceramic again.
I have one as well, when I was speaking with the shop, they recommended glass for flavor of metal for durability.
I've dropped it a handful of times without issue, and just keep the thing in a jar of acetone like it's a barbershop tool because the holes tend to gunk up.
Best purchase of my weed habit to be sure. Much less impact on my respiratory system compared with smoking but the ability to use it with regular glass and control the temp still gives you the regular fat hit experience.
Vgoodiez was who I got it from, fine folks
Thanks! Looks like the glass one will perfect for my habits, great idea keeping it dunked permanently.
I got my Mighty from Vgoodiez, very fine folks indeed.
Sure thing, I think you could also evaporate off the acetone after a while and use the reclaim for tinctures as it would already be decarbed. I'm considering it seeing as the glass will be relatively sticky if the acetone isn't immediately cleaned off after removing it from the container.
As an aside, the heavier stand is 100% worth it. Also be careful of pulling the bowl out of the slide when removing the element from the injector. Everyone, including me, who was inexperienced with it did that at least once in their first use
i have the same brand as John_browns_beard. It is pretty good, i never got into the habit of using it though because the high wasnt that great, but thats because i was smoking bongs. Maybe after a long break vaping herb will be better,
My biggest stoner friend went to the dentist this week. They asked, "do you smoke?" and he said "no", then the dentist pulled a big chunk of resin off his back teeth. Thought it was a funny anecdote
holy shit your friend is fuckin gross. Resin is so fuckin awful that it going unnoticed says so much if it was just in his mouth.
Holy shit I can relate to this. I was an everyday stoner. Used to sell weed too, so I had surplus all the time. I'd quit smoking so I could pass a drug test for work but then it was back to habitual smoking.
Maybe 3 years ago I had a coworker "randomly drug tested". He tested positive for weed and was fired on the spot. Scared the shit outta me. I knew I had to quit after that.
I tried quitting cold turkey but I struggled. I had a cheat day every once and a while. Like, I'd scrape my grinder clean for one hit. Or take a dirty ass resin hit from the bong. Still ended up quitting but it took some effort.
I have noticed over the years that my drinking increased to compensate the lack of smoking. I've ended up making a rule that I can only drink on the weekends. Seems to help a bit.
I'd quit smoking so I could pass a drug test
shit i didnt even do that, id buy that fake urine and heat it up in a microwave for a few seconds and strap it to the inside of my leg. now im like oh fuck, that's addict behavior isnt it haha.\
im lucky to have a job that doesnt test at all, even when getting hired. Crazy how all my shit jobs tested, and then i get an actual career and they don't.
I did drink the first couple nights i didn't smoke, then i ran out of beer and now i havent had either and don't really feel a strong urge to.
Last bit of irony for me - I switched jobs maybe 6 months ago and the last week at my old job they announced "employees will no longer be tested for marijuana". I'm kinda pissed about that. New job is a government job so...
But I'm not of the opinion that all vices are bad. You should be able to enjoy yourself, you just have to be in control. Little proofs to yourself like this are perfect to show you are in control or need a longer break.
i agree, it's all about moderation. It should be something you do to have fun, which is why most alcohol i've had was probably at a concert or some other outing. I've done many drugs but they were usually at parties or festivals, not just sitting at home alone. Once the habit just makes you feel like youre going through the motions it's time to evaluate.
What kind of job do you do that you can get randomly tested for what you do on your spare time?
Last job was project manager in private sector. New job is design engineer in public sector. Both randomly drug test.
I appreciate the post as i find myself compulsively smoking as well. I've never had a problem with drinking alcohol and in fact I don't think I've drank since 2 new years eves ago.
That being said it's typically also a compulsion when i pull into one of the 10 weed stores between my home and any jobsite I'm headed to. Plus the two government run weed stores within a 20 minute walk anywhere in my town.
Proud of you for cutting back
i should say I am still eating weed gummies, but those don't do the same thing to me. I do want to take it like a medicine still, hoping it helps keep cancer away. I only have two dispensaries but one opened that is on my way to most stores I go to and that didn't help at all.
Edibles are very strange for me. Either i can eat all of them ever and feel nothing or I feel like I'm made of jelly for 5 hours
Just not having it immediately available does a lot for me.
i live in a medical state where getting the card is basically a formality. Really helped getting weed since as I've aged I know fewer and fewer black market weed dealers.
One of the qualifying conditions is PTSD, so i told him i watched my dad take his last breath after a 2 year cancer battle and now I have PTSD i guess? lol it's weird.
I got a prescription in like 2005 and told the script farm doctor who had a picture of a weed leaf with a psychedelic background on his desk that I had back pain. He nodded and asked me if the back pain made it hard to sleep and then also marked me down for insomnia.
In 2016 I had a Skype interview with a doctor who didn't have his entire face on the screen. The whole interview was maybe 30 seconds and he asked if weed helped with my symptoms. Then the secretary out front filled out the actual paperwork. Buying weed from a dispensary was the shadiest legal thing I've done lol.
Reminds me of when I visited California before it was legalized for recreational use, there were doctors offices/dispensaries that had lists of all the symptoms/issues/whatever you want to call them that would qualify you for a medical cannabis card. It seemed like they had everything from glaucoma and back pain to insomnia and low appetite listed. And of course they had the prerequisite weed leaves plastered all over lol
I totally get it. The trick is to enjoy sobriety as well. Sometimes being sober sucks. That's when you drink and beer and light one up. However, it's also healthy to find comfort and familiarity in just being sober. Being fully present in your own skin and thoughts. If you can't, you need to figure out why that is. There is something in your life that is eating away at you that you are trying to escape. Work on that and mental addiction problems are a lot easier to deal with.
Similar experience with the vaping weed. It was too convenient, I could get high basically whenever I wasn't at work. Ended up wasting way too much time on it. Now I keep some bud in my closet but I only smoke it maybe once a weekend, but usually only once or twice a month with other people. It's not addictive the same way alcohol or harder drugs are, but it's certainly habit forming.
yea im super thankful i picked a drug with few withdrawal effects. it was all psychological.
I feel that..... I've smoked for so long it's just a habit. I don't get much any higher I just have my routine. Vacations are like the only places I get my tolerance down. It's not like I even quit! I just bring pens ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
i kinda don't trust pens, new tech and not enough research on them, but people have been smoking for forever. Plus vape pens always make me cough way more than weed, i dunno if it's just a me thing. It's like the air you inhale is dryer than bong smoke. Or even bowl smoke.
Plus vape pens always make me cough way more than weed, i dunno if it's just a me thing.
No, it's also a me thing, so it's definitely a we thing
i used to think i was dragging too long but even for half a second makes me hack. i threw away a half filled vape cart cause i was so over it.
Ur not wrong they def drag quite hot. I only take small puffs or I cough hard, it itches my throat. The biggest thing I've seen so far is people using crappy weed extracts and running it though a glorified Brita filter to lighten the color up and make it look good. Any diluting is spotted by how thin the distillate is. I've mostly seen the former. The latter exists for the super cheap shit.
no sweats, dreams arent any different than usual. I don't remember most of my dreams.
Right on, when I quit a heavy cannabis habit those are my symptoms. I B was just curious! My ability to recall my dreams also increases.
that's interesting. I'd say I was probably packing my bong like 6-8 times a day. Id rip one and then not do it for a few hours.
I'm dreaming way way more since I quit smoking every day. After like 2 days off it it's like a switch. I don't really like it tbh, my dreams are rarely enjoyable.
I've been using weed for pain management while neglecting the stretching and exercises that would probably help more. It's affecting my breathing now. Always inflamed and congested. I really need to cut back.
i dont really have pain, but i do want to get more to edibles just for the benefits i hope THC can still give me. I hope the anti-cancer stuff is true to whatever degree. Im at high risk for colon cancer.
Eating a shitload of fiber and avoiding nitrates, red meats, cheese etc. will do more for you tbh
Edibles can't hurt tho
Why cheese? Nitrates are added to processed meat, but never heard of them being added to cheese.
Cheese and dairy in general can cause inflammation even if you're not lactose intolerant. As you get older, your chances of becoming lactose intolerant increase as well.
the thc anti-cancer stuff hasn't been proved to any great deal of reliability smoking weed for fun is fine but you're not being healthy
Start walking, too. Get the blood pumping a little. Don't push yourself hard. Just walk until you feel it is enough.
I like the phrase "constraint is easier than restraint". For me, it's ice cream, not weed, but, yeah. If we have ice cream, I'm gonna eat it. If we don't, I can easily go a month or so without really buying some.
Now that it's legal I can get weed for a third of what I used to pay. 75 bucks for an ounce of decent grass has caused me to smoke nothing but fat doinks.
prices in my state arent quite that good yet, but i can get an ounce for around $120-150(or more if im feeling real premium). I definitely remember paying $400 for an ounce 15 years ago. That price dropped eventually but black market was still like $250-$300 an ounce until medical prices helped bring that down more.
That's pretty much where Upstate New York is at for zips but I'm the buy the cheapest available kinda guy. I'm super happy that I no longer have to go to a weird ex-coworkers house and can just text a delivery service.
having to hunt down a dealer when your main guy isnt around was the fuckin worst. Also, i do not miss selling weed at all. I just did it for the free weed mostly. It was good for hanging out with people cause i did deliver for a while, which was a rarity around here.
I once bought an ounce of snoop dog weed from a Portland dispensary for 25 bucks. I've since become a bit more discerning, but like, you still can't really go wrong. It's not expensive ditch weed or dry ass bricks at least.
I had roommates who had a similar problem and in their case it only got really bad once they started replacing their stash whenever it ran out. With them it got to the point that they had no appetite sober and couldn't sleep without getting high first (I wasn't super pleased with that because the nightly routine of cover up the smoke detector, smoke and then pass out had it's safety issues)
I think these guys also had issues with that because they ate like shit when they were high
weed has been mostly an appetite suppressant for me, which I think is sorta known about it. Everyone knows about munchies but I've smoked when I felt hungry and then i didn't feel hungry. It really is a wonder for nausea.
Are you getting the crazy dreams? Every time I take a break from weed I get intense dreams. It doesn't seem to affect the quality of my sleep, but my partner gets sick of me trying to explain my detailed dreams within dreams.
Edit: oops, you already answered this
i do think that has happened in the past, but i think stress and anxiety causes dreams more than weed or the lack of weed so maybe it was just a coincidence. Anytime i stopped smoking in the past was probably for a day or two at most. Or Maybe a family vacation if we went to a non-legal state.
If you think you have a problem.
https://marijuana-anonymous.org/find-a-meeting/
https://www.aa.org/alcoholics-anonymous
https://na.org/ [Narcotics Anonymous]
It's easier to do this with other people helping. Also, all these groups have atheist/agnostic meetings available.
https://marijuana-anonymous.org/find-a-meeting/
this website looks the most intriguing to me. ill keep that one in bookmarks. weirdly enough the past week has been less of a struggle than i expected.first day or two was a little tough, but breaking the habit of waking and baking has been helpful.
Some people find it easier to stop than others. I just wanted people to know that there are resources available if they need them. Best wishes
