Marijuana?!

I still smoke it and it keeps me alive through depression and anorexia. It has true medicinal value. It's God's own medicine.

F.D.

No it isn't. Its a chemical that screws up more people than it helps. Get real. Separate myth from reality.

As one who started smoking dope in the late 1960's I know exactly what I'm talking about.

I have seen the damage done. I'm glad it works for you, but you are, in the long term, the exception.

If there was a god, and (s)he had a medicine, it would be fresh air, sunshine, and laughter!

As has been pointed out before this forum's title is "Addiction" not "Self Medication". If you are abusing marijuana, then this is the place for you. If you want opinions about marijuana's medicinal value, or validation for using it, then there may be a better place for that discussion. The basic purpose here is trying to help each other with our own addictions/ abuse issues.

I used to be heavily addicted to pot. While I enjoyed it, I almost lost my job because of it. I have nothing against it though. I have more to fear from drunk drivers than high drivers.

I have been using pot to self medicate for decades, definitely not addicted to it because it is not freely available where I live and sometimes i go months without because I just cant get it. I dont crave it, I just feel a little more normal when I take it and really helps the depression. when I have it I dont binge or anything like that, I just smoke a little bit every few hours, not to get stoned because i actually hate that feeling of not being in control so I am very careful about the amount I consume. It gives me energy and motivation, the opposite of what others report.

I've been getting high for about 23 years with a 3 or 4 year break at one point. I am a pot head. I love the stuff. I spend money I don't really have on it. I use it all the time which means at work too. I am recently divorced. I stopped for the first 3 years of our marriage. After three years my H stopped his antidepressants and made our life together hell. I started smoking pot again to help deal with his mental abuse. Now he has been gone since Dec and I am still smoking. I have BPD and I have regressed big time. My T thinks that it's time to stop smoking pot. I agree but I just can't imagine never smoking again. I would like to take a break from it but nothing permanent. Anyway so now I'm going to NA but still using what I have left. Should be dry in a day or so.

Not sure if I answered your question directly but that is an honest peek into my life with weed.

I made new friends on a recent trip and they got me stoned. It had been 25 years since I'd smoked a joint and all the same successive traits came out -- loopy, spacy, brash, meditative. I felt young again and not in a good way.

They live in LA, CA with a prescription and promise plenty of pot. Ive got mixed feelings. Sure it's a sociable drug. Definitely not something I can use regularly. I'd get the urge to go back to using harder drugs.

But for them it's not a big deal. Varies for each person. Some folks find it's helpful.

There is a purpose for every substance and function in the universe.
If we do not know or respect that purpose, we will suffer.
The most widely abused and disrespected substance in the USA is food.

There is a reason why one becomes addicted to disrespectful behaviors.

How does marijuana change your perceptions on life? I've never done it, but I remember I lost a boyfriend because he would smoke, and I disapproved. I am regretting it now, but I am wondering...how does it change your perspective?

How did it negatively affect you? How long did it take for you to realize you were being affected by it negatively?

In brief, paranoia. If I were to smoke some weed now, I'd be acutely paranoid in minutes, and it is only through cannabis use that I experience such feelings. But this condition took several years to come about. At first the effects of cannabis were benign; giggles, enhanced enjoyment of music, the munchies, same as everyone else. Any feelings of paranoia were directed towards the real danger of arrest.

However, over time, over several years, the ratio of pleasure to paranoia totally changed.

But, in my experience, these feelings, this 'progress' is not unusual.

I am not an academic. I talk, mainly, from my personal experience. I am not proud to say that I started to abuse alcohol, to drink heavily. I see this behaviour in terms of self medication for depression. But, I had two friends who continued with a lifestyle of heavy cannabis use, and they both, separately, committed suicide, many years ago. And the dope, I'm convinced, and to put it mildly, didn't help. And basically, when I meet people from those days who are still puffing away, or if I have dealings with any long term potheads, it is to meet people whose minds seemed to have turned to jelly a long time ago.

I am aware of how what I am saying could be misconstrued. 'How I became an alcoholic and saved my life'. But the point I'm trying to make is, when I see cannabis being set up as some wonder drug, I feel obliged to point out that there is another side to the story.

Food is required to live, so I don't really get the concept of being addicted to it...I could see addictions to certain unhealthy foods but not just food in general. And not sure what disrespectful behaviors would be addictive...

Refined sugar is highly addictive. It is also toxic to our bodies. Obesity is an epidemic in the U.S. and the vast majority of overweight people grossly abuse their bodies by eating the wrong foods and being sedentary. Consuming harmful substances (gmo's, processed food with little nutritional value, recreational drugs, tobacco, alcohol etc.) is disrespectful to the body. People become addicted to television, overworking, oversleeping, lying, stealing, irresponsible sex, abusive relationships, self-pity, self-injurious behaviors etc...etc...etc...

Age 64. Smoked pot in late 60's, 70's, 80's, but not as much as in the 60's. I'm on bi-polar medications, and my psychiatrist said alcohol, pot, or any other drug would interfere with my BP medications. I gave it all up, including cigarettes 2.5 yrs back. My medications are working great, and would not want to mess it up.

When it comes to cigarettes, search Google - Stop smoking benefits timetable (whyquit). There the timetable shows when certain chemicals leave the body, and what parts of the body starts to heal from smoking. The first day, week, months, and years. Nicotine clears the body very soon you would see there. That's why I say avoid any nicotine patches, gum, or similar products. I stopped cold turkey, and feel so much better. Then for the very shocker, Youtube - Lung Damage

Heh, I live in Holland, so you can get genetically modified super-weed anywhere.
I was on it for years until I decided I'd had enough.
I wasn't smoking because it got me stoned anymore, but just because it was a habit.
Took me months to get off it, but when I did I felt healthier, more energetic and I didn't have this haze shrouding my thought-process all the time.
My advice is; if you light up, light a big one on rare occasions.
It will really hit you instead of making you all fuzzy all the time so you waste loads of time sitting around puffing away to no effect and getting disinterested in learning new things...

Need my weed man.
I don't care if it's addictive. Quitting when I need to has never been a problem for me.


Sorry to disappoint you but this is not correct.
Some people get lazy, some people don't. I don't. Some people can't smoke it every day because it affects them very negatively. Some people can smoke it every day and it only makes them better. I can.

I don't get lazy either I just don't deal with my issues with my relationships or myself. Often, I would smoke and then go exercise or play outside with my dogs.

I think it is your business & not mine with what you do. I feel that way with most everything I think. Just as long as it doesn't affect my life or anyone else's you should be able to do what you want.

Report from last week. 25% of new admissions for psychosis relayed to skunk. I'm not making this up, just saying be aware!

I enjoy smoking or vaping good marijuana but I live in a very conservative state, Maryland. They're still working on the draft language for Medical Marijuana.

I got busted with 14 ounces last year and you'd think I killed 20 babies or something the way the police treated me. There is such inequity between the various states laws that saying you want to use weed in one state is a whole different proposition than using in California or Colorado where there's little scrutiny.

The amount of police harassment DOES make a difference in the ability to enjoy the high.

But pot itself has to be chosen carefully when you get high. Every strain yields a different buzz.

My experience is that pot is picked up as a crutch, and then likes to stick around to keep helping out. Using it daily as I do seems to relax and then weaken important mental muscle as has been pointed out here. They say it's non-addictive but it's sure as hell habit forming. I want to stop but I'm having a helluva time. I smoke every evening I'm at home. I generally start smoking on the weekends in the early afternoon. I can tell you for a fact it does nothing to help me keep my manic impulses in check. In fact, we all know pot can cause a considerable lack of judgement. Pile that on top of the fuzzy thinking that accompanies mania and the next thing you know I'm indulging in behavior that disgusts me even as I'm doing it. BP is hard enough without weed. I really need to quit.

Just got 30 days clean yesterday. It has been really hard dealing with my emotions and I'm not sleeping well. Still not sure if I can give it up forever. One day at a time though.

You need to get help for the depression/ issues that cause you to self medicate with Marijuana. Otherwise you may fall back or even move onto a new addiction.

You are correct. That is what I am doing. Thanks for your response. ☺

Rooting for you! I self-medicated (btw, that's exactly what we're doing) for years. When I got clean and sober, I struggled like many with the feelings that were overwhelming and caused me to self-medicate. It took me a long time to realize that I don't really have to "deal" with my feelings, but rather to acknowledge and accept them. Easier said than done.

That's what my therapist is teaching me... Among other things. It's kind of a relief actually when you think about it.