Marijuana addiction: those struggling often face skepticism(washingtonpost.com)
washingtonpost.com
Marijuana addiction: those struggling often face skepticism
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2023/07/31/marijuana-addiction-legal-recreational-sales/
776 comments
https://archive.ph/WePGh
When I was in my early 20s I would probably say I had a dependence on cannabis. Key for me in transitioning away from that was lower THC % products. It's was as if I wanted to enjoy a single beer after work but the only thing available was everclear. Most vape pens are billed as 85%+ THC. Now, I still enjoy cannabis, but I have a single puff of a vape pen that is around 3% THC (the rest is usually CBD) before bed. Or I take an edible that is 1.5mg THC (very low, edibles are usually sold at 5-10mg doses). It's a much different relationship. I don't feel like my mind is racing out of control, I don't build up a massive tolerance. I sleep fine without it. It's startling to think that a single puff of a 90% pen is literally 30x as much THC.
However, these products are disappointingly few and far between. When I walk into a CA dispensary, I actually have to hunt around for them, if they're even available. When I ask, staff members wonder if I'm buying it for my grandmother! It would be great to see the industry refocus on products that are designed to be consumed in moderation.
However, these products are disappointingly few and far between. When I walk into a CA dispensary, I actually have to hunt around for them, if they're even available. When I ask, staff members wonder if I'm buying it for my grandmother! It would be great to see the industry refocus on products that are designed to be consumed in moderation.
I was consuming 5-6 grams a day for over a year until 3 months ago after weed got super easy to find in my state. It allowed me to escape from my responsibilities, first thing I thought in the morning and I seriously I thought I could not quit. I then watched a video of myself interacting with my 7 year old with my super bloody eyes and looked like a loser. That and my own mom's "I am scared that you would not be able to quit" were two things that triggered me to stop right there. Weed made me resentful towards people and life, made me criticize everything around me. I am not going to waste my 40s like that.
One related thing I'd like to point out that I think the article gets wrong is that the 2018 Farm Bill, which aimed to legalize just hemp, for all intents and purposes made weed legal nationwide due to some clever workarounds by producers. I live in a state that very, very much still calls all use of marijuana illegal except for some very specific and tightly controlled medical uses (i.e. it's not like "hey doc, can you just write me a 'script" like other states), yet I can still walk into a very nice, clean, well-maintained store in a plain strip mall and:
1. Buy D9 gummies and other edibles that contain up to 50mg D9 THC. Basically, since the law defines hemp as containing < .3% D9 THC, producers just extract all the D9 THC from hemp and inject it into edibles such that the total weight of the edible means there is still less than .3% D9 THC in the edible. These get me just as baked as "normal" weed gummies, they're just a bit bigger.
2. More surprising to me is the recent addition of "THCA Hemp Flower". To me these are just normal buds - I can grind them up and vape them and they get me just as high as "normal" weed. Basically these flowers contain low amounts of THC, but high amounts of THCA. But when you heat it, THCA turns into THC by decarboxylation. The thing that I don't understand is that I thought "normal" marijuana always needed to be heated anyway, e.g. why they say you can't just eat a weed bud but if you're making an edible you need to heat the oils first.
The gummies/edible workaround I can understand, but the THCA flower "workaround" seems like it's skirting really close to the edge of the law. Not that I'm complaining or anything, but it's weird to me how people don't know that weed is legal nationwide in the US.
1. Buy D9 gummies and other edibles that contain up to 50mg D9 THC. Basically, since the law defines hemp as containing < .3% D9 THC, producers just extract all the D9 THC from hemp and inject it into edibles such that the total weight of the edible means there is still less than .3% D9 THC in the edible. These get me just as baked as "normal" weed gummies, they're just a bit bigger.
2. More surprising to me is the recent addition of "THCA Hemp Flower". To me these are just normal buds - I can grind them up and vape them and they get me just as high as "normal" weed. Basically these flowers contain low amounts of THC, but high amounts of THCA. But when you heat it, THCA turns into THC by decarboxylation. The thing that I don't understand is that I thought "normal" marijuana always needed to be heated anyway, e.g. why they say you can't just eat a weed bud but if you're making an edible you need to heat the oils first.
The gummies/edible workaround I can understand, but the THCA flower "workaround" seems like it's skirting really close to the edge of the law. Not that I'm complaining or anything, but it's weird to me how people don't know that weed is legal nationwide in the US.
Ever since it became legal I have friends who spend majority of their day high. Of course, when confronted, they say it's not addictive and they dont have a problem. As we know this is the first sign of a very serious addiction.
It's a comparison problem. It won't kill you like alcohol withdrawals will or make you agitated like nicotine will. So then it must be okay right? These same potheads will quote studies and news articles talking about the benefits or just how risk free it is.
Its very similar to the way a functional alcoholic will justify their drinking. They even use avoidance language. 20 years ago we called it weed, now we call it "cannabis". Oh, you're not addicted to weed you're just using cannabis every hour of every day. I think legalization didn't help, nor hurt, but the re-branding of weed as "cannabis" while biologically correct gave these type of people a get out of jail free card. If you don't believe me, say to yourself "I smoke weed 8 times a day" versus "I use cannabis 8 times a day". One of them makes you sound like a degenerate, one of them makes you sound like you take a medication. That difference is very important in justifying addiction in the mind of an addict.
It's a comparison problem. It won't kill you like alcohol withdrawals will or make you agitated like nicotine will. So then it must be okay right? These same potheads will quote studies and news articles talking about the benefits or just how risk free it is.
Its very similar to the way a functional alcoholic will justify their drinking. They even use avoidance language. 20 years ago we called it weed, now we call it "cannabis". Oh, you're not addicted to weed you're just using cannabis every hour of every day. I think legalization didn't help, nor hurt, but the re-branding of weed as "cannabis" while biologically correct gave these type of people a get out of jail free card. If you don't believe me, say to yourself "I smoke weed 8 times a day" versus "I use cannabis 8 times a day". One of them makes you sound like a degenerate, one of them makes you sound like you take a medication. That difference is very important in justifying addiction in the mind of an addict.
I would classify myself as addicted to weed.
From my perspective and my best rationalisation of it, when I'm bored or stressed I reach for a dopamine hit and weed is a great source of one. The next day I'll have a low and there's a 'battle' between the rational and want. The rational side almost never wins and I'll be in a daily usage cycle for months.
That being said I think it's an easier drug to break the cycle of with planning, since it only takes a few days of no use to dramatically improve my chances of resisting and honestly, if I didn't suffer from poor memory performance, I'd be okay as a daily smoker. But working is next to impossible at the level needed as a SDE.
From my perspective and my best rationalisation of it, when I'm bored or stressed I reach for a dopamine hit and weed is a great source of one. The next day I'll have a low and there's a 'battle' between the rational and want. The rational side almost never wins and I'll be in a daily usage cycle for months.
That being said I think it's an easier drug to break the cycle of with planning, since it only takes a few days of no use to dramatically improve my chances of resisting and honestly, if I didn't suffer from poor memory performance, I'd be okay as a daily smoker. But working is next to impossible at the level needed as a SDE.
I've been addicted to thc for much of my adult life. I know people who smoke much more than I ever did. I'd use every day, only after work, but I never didn't use it after work. I was using it as a crutch, I used it as a cure-all, I used it as a social lubricant. As mentioned in the article, I used it for anxiety, and the anxiety got worse.
I tried to quit a bunch of times, some more successfully than others. But quitting is really hard. I'd successfully exhaust my supply, but there's always bowl- and grinder-scrapings. After a night or two of smoking tar and dust, "fuck it", I'd find some more.
My #1 excuse was always sleep. Weed is the best sleep aid I've ever found. Quitting usually went fine until I wanted to go to bed. Several hours into a sleepless night, desperation sets in.
Eventually, I found a hack in LSD when I first had the determination to use it without mixing THC. I slept like a baby. No cravings the next day, or the next. I started dreaming again, after years of sleeping like a corpse and waking up exhausted.
I've since started and stopped a few times. Picked it back up to be social (and, hey, it's fun!), the habit-driving insomnia comes back with a vengeance. Stopping with LSD seems to work reliably for me. I only allow myself a hit of LSD per year, so that's how often I excuse a social session. But the last couple of times, I haven't needed the LSD. It seems that I finally kicked the compulsion. Although, I don't trust that enough to make it a more regular habit.
Edit reply to jrflowers:
No, I do not take acid to sleep. Taking it once allows me to quit thc cold turkey. I take it first thing in the morning, so I'm hungry for dinner and sleepy for bedtime. Last thing I need is a new habit.
Edit reply to gvedem (an hour and a half later I'm still "posting too fast" to make a second comment):
I bought the acid from a friend. I am aware that "one tab" is not a standardized dose and that adjacent tabs on a sheet can have significant discrepancy. But "one tab" is what I took.
I tried to quit a bunch of times, some more successfully than others. But quitting is really hard. I'd successfully exhaust my supply, but there's always bowl- and grinder-scrapings. After a night or two of smoking tar and dust, "fuck it", I'd find some more.
My #1 excuse was always sleep. Weed is the best sleep aid I've ever found. Quitting usually went fine until I wanted to go to bed. Several hours into a sleepless night, desperation sets in.
Eventually, I found a hack in LSD when I first had the determination to use it without mixing THC. I slept like a baby. No cravings the next day, or the next. I started dreaming again, after years of sleeping like a corpse and waking up exhausted.
I've since started and stopped a few times. Picked it back up to be social (and, hey, it's fun!), the habit-driving insomnia comes back with a vengeance. Stopping with LSD seems to work reliably for me. I only allow myself a hit of LSD per year, so that's how often I excuse a social session. But the last couple of times, I haven't needed the LSD. It seems that I finally kicked the compulsion. Although, I don't trust that enough to make it a more regular habit.
Edit reply to jrflowers:
No, I do not take acid to sleep. Taking it once allows me to quit thc cold turkey. I take it first thing in the morning, so I'm hungry for dinner and sleepy for bedtime. Last thing I need is a new habit.
Edit reply to gvedem (an hour and a half later I'm still "posting too fast" to make a second comment):
I bought the acid from a friend. I am aware that "one tab" is not a standardized dose and that adjacent tabs on a sheet can have significant discrepancy. But "one tab" is what I took.
I take edibles / smoke a few times a week. Never during work hours. I think if I started consuming during work I would label myself an addict. I generally find I am a much better parent / husband when on a low dose of thc. My patience for my kids is infinite. I spend time with them just teaching them chess or showing them how to do pushups, or just talking. When not high, my mind wants to do a lot of other things that are generally unimportant and future focused. THC grounds me in the now. My wife prefers it as I am pretty much agreeable to whatever she wants [I mean this in a good way, not in a "I drug him so I get what I want way"]. I am generally an argumentative person, and sweat the small stuff. Not when I am high. I never drive or do anything risky while high. I'm also not taking so high a dose that I am making bad decisions [besides the next sentence].
If I could just avoid being hungry while high it would be perfect but eating a cake after spending an hour and a half at the gym is pretty dumb.
If I could just avoid being hungry while high it would be perfect but eating a cake after spending an hour and a half at the gym is pretty dumb.
I don't really like talking about it anymore, I am 6 years sober and still dealing with related issues every day, but yes I feel like I can't talk openly about it. Skepticism is exactly how I would describe it. It's not strictly stigma, like is the case for most people who talk about drug addiction. It's most often a reaction of surprise, disbelief, and then resentment, like I'm a sleeper agent for reefer madness propaganda that they've just uncovered. Normally when you admit to a previous drug addiction that's had lasting impacts on you, the "bad result" is "Wow, I can't believe you're a druggie". With cannabis it's more like "Wow, I don't believe that that happened actually, weed is safe girl, it cures cancer". It is what it is.
In my experiences, cannabis is about as addictive as coffee/caffeine.
By that, I mean it's unpleasant to quit after continuous usage due to various withdrawal side-effects but only for a relatively short period of time (3 or 4 days max).
By that, I mean it's unpleasant to quit after continuous usage due to various withdrawal side-effects but only for a relatively short period of time (3 or 4 days max).
The coolest part of this whole discussion is that we can finally compare weed and alcohol.
Before the current weed era, weed was always compared favorably, by smokers, to alcohol with the adage: Weed is illegal, yet I've never seen a bar fight after everyone gets high.
Now we can do a real comparison of the effects of weed smoking on the general public, the same way we've done with drinking.
Before the current weed era, weed was always compared favorably, by smokers, to alcohol with the adage: Weed is illegal, yet I've never seen a bar fight after everyone gets high.
Now we can do a real comparison of the effects of weed smoking on the general public, the same way we've done with drinking.
I was a heavy smoker through college living in a state where I could only buy through dealers. I was hanging out with one of my dealers once when they said, “if I drank as much as I smoked I’d be an alcoholic.” I realized I was an addict at that point but I didn’t think I had a problem. After all, I passed college with good grades and got a good job. I was generally happy and had few bad experiences on marijuana vastly outweighed by good ones.
Two things really bothered me though:
1. Any amount of smoking is bad for your lungs and I take my health seriously.
2. I don’t like the idea that a substance of any sort had power over me.
I made 2 changes after graduation to get things back under control:
1. I only do edibles except on special occasions like 04-20 or a holiday with friends. So few that I can count the number of times a year on one hand.
2. I only consume marijuana every other month.
I now consider myself a joyful consumer of the product because I prefer marijuana to alcohol on nights out with friends. I feel more in control and less tired the following day. Hitting the breaks every other month resets me. It proves to myself I’m still in control and keeps any cravings and tolerance down at a reasonable level.
I’m not sure if this will work for anyone else but thought I’d share.
Two things really bothered me though:
1. Any amount of smoking is bad for your lungs and I take my health seriously.
2. I don’t like the idea that a substance of any sort had power over me.
I made 2 changes after graduation to get things back under control:
1. I only do edibles except on special occasions like 04-20 or a holiday with friends. So few that I can count the number of times a year on one hand.
2. I only consume marijuana every other month.
I now consider myself a joyful consumer of the product because I prefer marijuana to alcohol on nights out with friends. I feel more in control and less tired the following day. Hitting the breaks every other month resets me. It proves to myself I’m still in control and keeps any cravings and tolerance down at a reasonable level.
I’m not sure if this will work for anyone else but thought I’d share.
Everything can be addictive. My stepsister is addicted to buying things and never opening the item. Her husband enables this because they live out in the country and he had a sort of "warehouse" built for her with huge metal racks that hold hudreds of items she has purchased over the years that have never been opened or had the shrink wrap disturbed. It is of course a type of hoardism. She buys things but if she opens the package and uses the item it ruins it is sort of how she explains it. We know it is a disorder of some sort, she is addicted to buying things and hoarding them. What should we do about it?
Well, if her husband is OK with it, then what is it for us to judge? I am conflicted on this. But, I think, there is some sort of line where something is addicting and addicting and harmful. If this is not disrupting their lives, and they are happy, who am I to judge?
I don't know. To me it is weird, but probably a lot of things I do seem weird to others. I journal daily. Is that an addiction? Probably, of some sort, I don't know. How to navigate. The less harmful it is, the less we should meddle I suppose.
Well, if her husband is OK with it, then what is it for us to judge? I am conflicted on this. But, I think, there is some sort of line where something is addicting and addicting and harmful. If this is not disrupting their lives, and they are happy, who am I to judge?
I don't know. To me it is weird, but probably a lot of things I do seem weird to others. I journal daily. Is that an addiction? Probably, of some sort, I don't know. How to navigate. The less harmful it is, the less we should meddle I suppose.
Here is a document (PDF ~266 pages) about INFORMATION FOR HEALTH CARE
PROFESSIONALS Cannabis (marihuana, marijuana) and the cannabinoids
Dried or fresh plant and oil administration by ingestion or other means Psychoactive agent
https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/hc-sc/documents/services/d...
I think what people need to be reminded of is that addiction will always exist. Whether it is collecting Pokémon, Video Games, Gambling, Drugs etc.
What cannabis brings is less damage, post use, than say, Oxycontin. This is one simple example.
Not a doctor, so don't ask me for details!
Dried or fresh plant and oil administration by ingestion or other means Psychoactive agent
https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/hc-sc/documents/services/d...
I think what people need to be reminded of is that addiction will always exist. Whether it is collecting Pokémon, Video Games, Gambling, Drugs etc.
What cannabis brings is less damage, post use, than say, Oxycontin. This is one simple example.
Not a doctor, so don't ask me for details!
I am not sure where to start with on this article. There are a lot of extraneous and tired points being trotted out that really clouds the underlying point.
Essentially the point I took is some people could use serious help, and they get laughed at by society and the drug treatment programs they find because their problem is cannabis (and not say meth).
I don't think this is a surprise or that profound. Drug treatment in the US has been generally 'jail' (and still is for most drugs, and for cannabis as well in many regions). Actual drug treatment in the US is something of a joke for any substance, whether you are taken seriously or not. Drug treatment programs are expensive, often not covered by health insurance (if you have health insurance), often not effective - and that is the tip of the iceberg.
US medicine severely struggles for holistic treatments. Drug addiction treatment needs holistic treatment.
For example, detox centers will help a person come down and get over the most intense part of withdrawal. This is super important for alcohol as that withdrawal can kill you. But, this is symptomatic of how US medicine works - treats the chemical and biology, but not the person.
Read further on the updated rat-park experiment for why 'treating the person' is so important: https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/what-does-rat-park-tea...
A couple of other notable points I'd like to raise:
> “You smell it in the air when you’re sitting at a stoplight,” Courtney said.
This made me laugh. Try to quit smoking tobacco... Try to give up alcohol. Both are _everywhere_
On a serious point, giving up any substance can be a real challenge, no matter what it is.
> and the potency of the drug has been increased —
This is such a boogeyman. Total amount of drug ingested is quantity times potency. Old school people made up the low potency with quantity. What is more though, there always was high potency strains available (just not as prevalent today). Thai sticks, hash oils, they have been around for a long time. So, the high potency stuff has been around, that is not new, and most people compensate for the high potency by ingesting less.
Essentially the point I took is some people could use serious help, and they get laughed at by society and the drug treatment programs they find because their problem is cannabis (and not say meth).
I don't think this is a surprise or that profound. Drug treatment in the US has been generally 'jail' (and still is for most drugs, and for cannabis as well in many regions). Actual drug treatment in the US is something of a joke for any substance, whether you are taken seriously or not. Drug treatment programs are expensive, often not covered by health insurance (if you have health insurance), often not effective - and that is the tip of the iceberg.
US medicine severely struggles for holistic treatments. Drug addiction treatment needs holistic treatment.
For example, detox centers will help a person come down and get over the most intense part of withdrawal. This is super important for alcohol as that withdrawal can kill you. But, this is symptomatic of how US medicine works - treats the chemical and biology, but not the person.
Read further on the updated rat-park experiment for why 'treating the person' is so important: https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/what-does-rat-park-tea...
A couple of other notable points I'd like to raise:
> “You smell it in the air when you’re sitting at a stoplight,” Courtney said.
This made me laugh. Try to quit smoking tobacco... Try to give up alcohol. Both are _everywhere_
On a serious point, giving up any substance can be a real challenge, no matter what it is.
> and the potency of the drug has been increased —
This is such a boogeyman. Total amount of drug ingested is quantity times potency. Old school people made up the low potency with quantity. What is more though, there always was high potency strains available (just not as prevalent today). Thai sticks, hash oils, they have been around for a long time. So, the high potency stuff has been around, that is not new, and most people compensate for the high potency by ingesting less.
I have few friends who are seriously addicted. Their lives revolve entirely around cannabis. That being said, I don't think it's a particularly addictive substance. People get addicted to all sorts of things. For instance gambling, it's hard to believe someone can be addicted to that, yet people are...
As much as I think that Marijuana should be decriminalized completely. I also still think that it causes a ton of problems among those who smoke it. I've had friends change completely after starting to smoke habitually. I don't think it would be a problem if our society weren't so messed up right now. But, like alcohol, I think poverty and isolation just makes it so much worse.
As other comments have noted, just like with other addictions, it is extremely helpful/insightful to be able to see someone "further along" and say "I don't like what I see."
I interacted with and heard stories about family alcoholics when I was growing up and that is part of why I'm confident I won't develop a bad relationship with it myself. It's hard to forget what it does not just to the users, but to everyone around them.
Similarily, although I didn't see it growing up, as an adult I have seen some pretty hardcore stoners (high all the time), and I do not like the lifestyle that most seem to fall into. It's really easy to notice the cognitive decline when it happens to someone you know. Even if you want to be charitable, people at the very least behave quite differntly when they go from generally sober all the time to generaly stoned all the time. YMMV but I prefer generally sober people versus generally stoned people.
I think part of the strong correlation between stoners and legalization movements is because they're (rightfully!) self-interested in improving their own lifestyle, so they'll be the loudest and most experienced advocates. As much as I loathe the "marijuana can do no harm" attitude of some stoners, the still reactionary "omg drugs bad!" people are terrible. Making it illegal makes it so much worse for everyone involved, and you're not going to stop people from being involved with marijuana. More or less the same reasons we need to legalize sex work. It's here, it's always been here, and we need to learn how to cope with this reality in a healthy and safe manner. "Abstinence only" doesn't stop babies from being made any better than it stops people from using drugs. Education is the key (as it so often is).
I interacted with and heard stories about family alcoholics when I was growing up and that is part of why I'm confident I won't develop a bad relationship with it myself. It's hard to forget what it does not just to the users, but to everyone around them.
Similarily, although I didn't see it growing up, as an adult I have seen some pretty hardcore stoners (high all the time), and I do not like the lifestyle that most seem to fall into. It's really easy to notice the cognitive decline when it happens to someone you know. Even if you want to be charitable, people at the very least behave quite differntly when they go from generally sober all the time to generaly stoned all the time. YMMV but I prefer generally sober people versus generally stoned people.
I think part of the strong correlation between stoners and legalization movements is because they're (rightfully!) self-interested in improving their own lifestyle, so they'll be the loudest and most experienced advocates. As much as I loathe the "marijuana can do no harm" attitude of some stoners, the still reactionary "omg drugs bad!" people are terrible. Making it illegal makes it so much worse for everyone involved, and you're not going to stop people from being involved with marijuana. More or less the same reasons we need to legalize sex work. It's here, it's always been here, and we need to learn how to cope with this reality in a healthy and safe manner. "Abstinence only" doesn't stop babies from being made any better than it stops people from using drugs. Education is the key (as it so often is).
I used to be a big fan of pot and a proponent of legalization but now I am not sure.
The impact of things is at the margins - people whose lives were going to work out well, will probably still be OK even with pot. People who were gonna have big problems probably will have them anyway. But I think there are some people who will be pushed from the "barely OK" to "not OK" category.
The legalization (vs decriminalization) has had a clear impact on the use. You used to smell pot when walking in NYC sometime, now you smell it consistently everywhere. You are constantly in the presence of high people which did not used to be the case.
In my own life there were historically some benefits to discovery of pot, but I also recognize that areas where I wasn't vigilant about it, had negative effects. For example times in my life when I had gotten fat correlate to when I smoked actively. I was vigilant for pot messing me up in obvious ways - eg I didn't let it make me miss work or stop dating etc - but the weight subtly crept on me.
The impact of things is at the margins - people whose lives were going to work out well, will probably still be OK even with pot. People who were gonna have big problems probably will have them anyway. But I think there are some people who will be pushed from the "barely OK" to "not OK" category.
The legalization (vs decriminalization) has had a clear impact on the use. You used to smell pot when walking in NYC sometime, now you smell it consistently everywhere. You are constantly in the presence of high people which did not used to be the case.
In my own life there were historically some benefits to discovery of pot, but I also recognize that areas where I wasn't vigilant about it, had negative effects. For example times in my life when I had gotten fat correlate to when I smoked actively. I was vigilant for pot messing me up in obvious ways - eg I didn't let it make me miss work or stop dating etc - but the weight subtly crept on me.
Forget Marijuana addiction, we have a cupcake addiction problem.
Society will drown under obese patients long before we need to worry about pot heads.
Society will drown under obese patients long before we need to worry about pot heads.
I've been using cannabis daily since I was 13 to treat my own OCD and other autism-like symptoms. I've taken months with no THC over my life and always come back to it. Helps me focus, socialize, and be happy. It, for me, has been a life saver.
I smoked a lot of weed daily (~1gram/day) for almost 10 years. Finally got sick of this life and decided to quit, once I run out of it. First day I was pissed and then I was cured. I always thought that I'm addicted and it will be almost impossible to stop, but turned out I wasn't really addicted.
Any escape from reality or avoidance of it is addictive. And weed is way to normalized for self-medicating, if you said "im anxious im going to smoke" people are way more okay with hearing that than if you said you where getting a beer.
I found marijuana to be incredibly addictive in my 20s, despite the fact that I only liked 1/3rd of its effects.
As I got older I found the undesirable 2/3rd of effects to be overwhelming. This was especially obvious as I improved my health. I eat better and even workout more at 44 than I ever did at 22. Despite a plethora of legal marijuana options now, I have very little desire to use it (or any drugs, I really don't want to interfere too much with my hormones or at all with my dopamine reward system.) If I hadn't taken the path in life that I did, I might instead be desiring or dependent on drugs much stronger than marijuana at age 44.
I feel a sense of gratitude for the training that led me away from drugs and a sense of empathy for those who were not encouraged down the same path. I grew up on the Internet from 1991 (including the various archives of alt.drugs) with an intense curiosity for drugs, and also a sense of danger from the stronger ones (in particular opiates and stimulants.) This also left me with the idea that marijuana was both harmless and low-cost, addiction wise.
It took me quite a long time to understand the negative effects that it had on me. Chief was excessive eating. I could not work off the amount of food that I could eat while high. The negative effects on my body hormones from carrying this extra weight seemed to be reinforcing to the addiction. It's a crazy ride.
As I got older I found the undesirable 2/3rd of effects to be overwhelming. This was especially obvious as I improved my health. I eat better and even workout more at 44 than I ever did at 22. Despite a plethora of legal marijuana options now, I have very little desire to use it (or any drugs, I really don't want to interfere too much with my hormones or at all with my dopamine reward system.) If I hadn't taken the path in life that I did, I might instead be desiring or dependent on drugs much stronger than marijuana at age 44.
I feel a sense of gratitude for the training that led me away from drugs and a sense of empathy for those who were not encouraged down the same path. I grew up on the Internet from 1991 (including the various archives of alt.drugs) with an intense curiosity for drugs, and also a sense of danger from the stronger ones (in particular opiates and stimulants.) This also left me with the idea that marijuana was both harmless and low-cost, addiction wise.
It took me quite a long time to understand the negative effects that it had on me. Chief was excessive eating. I could not work off the amount of food that I could eat while high. The negative effects on my body hormones from carrying this extra weight seemed to be reinforcing to the addiction. It's a crazy ride.
Does anyone have ideas or direction on undoing mental harm caused by smoking weed for a long time?
I started at 28 (so not very young) and smoked for maybe five years. I’ve stopped for a year now and while generally feel better, still feel slightly slow regarding memory and word recall. Lacking wit and often umming while looking for the right word or someone’s name.
I’ve seen research suggesting that word recall is one of the main long-lasting effects of cannabis that persists after cessation.
I started at 28 (so not very young) and smoked for maybe five years. I’ve stopped for a year now and while generally feel better, still feel slightly slow regarding memory and word recall. Lacking wit and often umming while looking for the right word or someone’s name.
I’ve seen research suggesting that word recall is one of the main long-lasting effects of cannabis that persists after cessation.
My wife got a body scrub at a spa in Oregon recently. The more exfoliating of the two scrub options (I think salt versus volcanic ash) was based on CBD oil. The spa insisted that it was relaxing and folks got it all the time with no trouble. My wife was sick for the better part of three days, puking and nauseous. Apparently CBD poisoning is a thing, and the amount added to these things (especially in consideration of absorption vectors) is pretty much unregulated.
Interesting article that I didn't expect to find on HN. thanks for sharing!
I would like to add that in my own experience (and that of others, it wasn't mentioned in the article), synthetic cannabinoids, like the ones "cannabis" sold by the guys in the park down the road is laced with, is considerably more addictive than medicinal quality marijuana. Also, instead of a slow buildup, it usually hits a few seconds after taking a hit already and doesn't last as long, plus the effects were really paranoia inducing for me, to the point where I had auditory hallucinations and was afraid I gave myself schizophrenia for the rest of my life. But it was so addicting that stopping even for a full day felt like an insurmountable feat. I was already quite depressed before, so the feeling wasn't that much different, but at times I just couldn't wait to get home, light up a joint and blast myself with podcasts (usually reports from other countries and other cultures, something as far away from home as possible), sports broadcasts or the 10th The Office re-watch. Basically retreating into a cocoon where I wouldn't have to deal with the outside world. one time i woke up still wearing my shinguards from football ("soccer") practice the day before.
I finally stopped when I had to go on a trip and be sober for 2 weeks. As long as I wasn't at home, I didn't even think about smoking much (which is crazy when days before quitting seemed so out of the question) and when I came back I didn't have much trouble staying away, fortunately. Now I just take a few hits every couple weeks and actually get to enjoy being high for a change.
I would like to add that in my own experience (and that of others, it wasn't mentioned in the article), synthetic cannabinoids, like the ones "cannabis" sold by the guys in the park down the road is laced with, is considerably more addictive than medicinal quality marijuana. Also, instead of a slow buildup, it usually hits a few seconds after taking a hit already and doesn't last as long, plus the effects were really paranoia inducing for me, to the point where I had auditory hallucinations and was afraid I gave myself schizophrenia for the rest of my life. But it was so addicting that stopping even for a full day felt like an insurmountable feat. I was already quite depressed before, so the feeling wasn't that much different, but at times I just couldn't wait to get home, light up a joint and blast myself with podcasts (usually reports from other countries and other cultures, something as far away from home as possible), sports broadcasts or the 10th The Office re-watch. Basically retreating into a cocoon where I wouldn't have to deal with the outside world. one time i woke up still wearing my shinguards from football ("soccer") practice the day before.
I finally stopped when I had to go on a trip and be sober for 2 weeks. As long as I wasn't at home, I didn't even think about smoking much (which is crazy when days before quitting seemed so out of the question) and when I came back I didn't have much trouble staying away, fortunately. Now I just take a few hits every couple weeks and actually get to enjoy being high for a change.
"Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) is a condition that leads to repeated and severe bouts of vomiting. It is rare and only occurs in daily long-term users of marijuana. "
That is what Cedars-Sinai Research are saying.
And it is not rare as they say it is. Some ten people in my old Baltimore neighborhood came down with it.
And it has affecting someone I know ... daily for 3 years continuous.
Coupled with the how strong the marijuana addiction has been, it is egregious to see how these human beings would check themselves into ER almost weekly; a constructive feedback mechanism is sorely missing within their pre-frontal cortex part of their brain.
While hard to quit, a super long hot shower is often the soothing mechanism to recover from extreme abdominal muscular strains after having worshipped the pearly-white porcelain gods; yet, this relief remains but a platitude.
It was such a sad feeling to watch them cycle this addiction, over and over ... and over.
Rare? ha.
https://www.cedars-sinai.org/health-library/diseases-and-con...
That is what Cedars-Sinai Research are saying.
And it is not rare as they say it is. Some ten people in my old Baltimore neighborhood came down with it.
And it has affecting someone I know ... daily for 3 years continuous.
Coupled with the how strong the marijuana addiction has been, it is egregious to see how these human beings would check themselves into ER almost weekly; a constructive feedback mechanism is sorely missing within their pre-frontal cortex part of their brain.
While hard to quit, a super long hot shower is often the soothing mechanism to recover from extreme abdominal muscular strains after having worshipped the pearly-white porcelain gods; yet, this relief remains but a platitude.
It was such a sad feeling to watch them cycle this addiction, over and over ... and over.
Rare? ha.
https://www.cedars-sinai.org/health-library/diseases-and-con...
If you know any ER docs/nurses/techs, ask them about cannabinoid hyperemesis and the denial that patients are in around their level of addiction.
Psilocybin is able to instantly turn off an addiction, and it is not addictive itself.
https://time.com/6167638/psilocybin-addiction-therapeutic-br...
Psilocybin Could be a Therapeutic Breakthrough For Addiction
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9947277/
All four clinical trials indicated a beneficial effect of psilocybin-assisted therapy on SUD symptoms
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27441452/
All 15 participants ... At 12-month follow-up, 10 participants (67%) were confirmed as smoking abstinent. At long-term follow-up, nine participants (60%) were confirmed as smoking abstinent.
At 12-month follow-up 13 participants (86.7%) rated their psilocybin experiences among the five most personally meaningful and spiritually significant experiences of their lives.
https://time.com/6167638/psilocybin-addiction-therapeutic-br...
Psilocybin Could be a Therapeutic Breakthrough For Addiction
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9947277/
All four clinical trials indicated a beneficial effect of psilocybin-assisted therapy on SUD symptoms
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27441452/
All 15 participants ... At 12-month follow-up, 10 participants (67%) were confirmed as smoking abstinent. At long-term follow-up, nine participants (60%) were confirmed as smoking abstinent.
At 12-month follow-up 13 participants (86.7%) rated their psilocybin experiences among the five most personally meaningful and spiritually significant experiences of their lives.