I got addicted to pot in college. It was a brief but intense time for me. Then I tried mushrooms in my senior year, got into buddhism, and started smoking on and off again because the same sensations and experience would come back. It started becoming a little bit of a problem because I started withdrawing from everything. I became careless with my friends and family, confused and disorganized in my sober moments, and I realized that it wasn't sustainable. So I've resolved on looking for that same experience without all the side effects, using tools like meditation, psychotherapy, and creative experimentation (with my thinking, rather than with drugs).

The way I see it is this: the experiences you have on drugs -- the peace of mind, the insight, the awakening -- is very real. The problem is that using drugs is not sustainable because it will mess with other parts of your life. (See hippies.) If you're like me, you'll end up depressed or anxious or both. So the solution is to find another way back to those experiences with less collateral damage. Your reason for giving up pot should be a practical one, not one based on stigma or stereotypes about pot or insight or spirituality. In my experience, it's a very worthy journey that takes patience but is very possible.