[hopeless85]

My son is a big weed smoker and very proweed. He feels it does no harm. I feel that is part of his anxiety problem. He does well in college but all of his spare time is devoted to weed (thinking about it, smoking, etc) He has no other passions. He had no job and would borrow $ from his gf and never pay her back. Again, he does well in college. He will graduate in Dec. and plans on moving to a state where weed is legal so he can get a job in the weed plants. Just looking to see if anyone out there has stopped weed and if it helped their addiction? He was drinking alot of alcohol but is on zoloft now so has not drank.

[CANDC]

I am so glad your son is on zoloft and not alcohol because alcohol is a trigger of depression.

Here are some articles or posts that may offer insight

forums.psychcentral.com/psychiatric.../390817-generic-zo-loft.html

forums.psychcentral.com/.../288957-smoking-weed-insomnia.html

[wheredidthepartygo]

well if weed is his passion then i think his dream of working in the medical marijuana industry seems like a good fit
smoking weed saved my life. not even an exaggeration. i was at rock bottom and suicide seemed my only option and literally starting smoking weed daily was the only thing that floated me through
weed doesn't heal people though, it only works to help and if your son has anxiety and says the weed is helping then i would believe it is
he's doing well in college which is good and without the weed that might not been the case
my mood drops and my anxiety rises when i stop smoking because the weed doesn't cure it, it just helps me be able to function enough to deal with it... but i don't smoke it and feel better and pretend my life is dandy and good
i smoke it and then i work on the long term things i need to do/change in order to eventually be able to handle it all on my own without any weed
(because i can't do that right now and perhaps if you ask your son he might tell you he feels the same way)
i'm glad he's found something more stable to substitute the alcohol with, i personally don't find any benefit in alcohol when it comes to trying to help mental health things

[Sinking Feeling]

Weed is funny and there are different strands of it too. I can handle small amounts of some strands but most make me feel worse not better. I get super nervous, anxious, and very paranoid. I can also become delusional and hallucinate too. None are in a fun or happy way! But I know it does indeed help some people relieve their anxiety and they do not get paranoid or experience bad side effects.

Zoloft was like a bad acid trip for me lol, had to stop.

[hopeless85]

Thank you for your replies! So far so good with no alcohol. He started his job today which I was worried about. It's in a city, it is a 12 hour shift for 2 days for now. It is an hour drive BUT I don't care right now. He is not earning much BUT I again don't care. I am so happy he finally got a job and he seems good. He could not be to choosy because he can't pass a drug test due to the weed use. This job didn't care about the weed. They asked and he told. He came home after his 12 hour shift and looked like he was good. He talked some. He smiled which you don't often see.

I do worry because so many other posts on other forums said that zoloft didn't help them. So far, it has been almost 2 weeks and it seems like there is a small change. He is not complaining of anything.

Not sure what is up with the gf. I don't even ? it because I do not want to get him upset. 3 years ago this month his first love of his life broke up with him and that set the major ball rolling with depression. The anxiety was there but not as profound. After she broke up with him the drinking started. It progressively became worse. Thank God he has stopped so far. I know he can do this.
I do worry thought because if the gf is cutting the strings I am afraid he will go backwards. He practically has only seen her 13 hours in 4 weeks.

[Hellion]

Well I personally consume cannabis myself because it reduces my anxiety...perhaps he feels similarly. Not all regular users are addicts per say and if it doesn't hold him back from graduating college and its viable to move to a state its legal and get into the industry not sure I'd see it as such.

Though from what I hear just in general with addiction is someone sort of has to see some kind of downside to want to quit...but then it could still be very difficult. Also generally speaking a person probably wont not do something because others tell them not to if they see it as a positive. It is probably much safer than the alcohol would be, as far as toxicity though so if he isn't going to go entirely clean & sober at least cannabis can be a somewhat safer alternative to alcohol.

[Hellion]

Originally Posted by hopeless85

Thank you for your replies! So far so good with no alcohol. He started his job today which I was worried about. It's in a city, it is a 12 hour shift for 2 days for now. It is an hour drive BUT I don't care right now. He is not earning much BUT I again don't care. I am so happy he finally got a job and he seems good. He could not be to choosy because he can't pass a drug test due to the weed use. This job didn't care about the weed. They asked and he told. He came home after his 12 hour shift and looked like he was good. He talked some. He smiled which you don't often see.

I do worry because so many other posts on other forums said that zoloft didn't help them. So far, it has been almost 2 weeks and it seems like there is a small change. He is not complaining of anything.

Not sure what is up with the gf. I don't even ? it because I do not want to get him upset. 3 years ago this month his first love of his life broke up with him and that set the major ball rolling with depression. The anxiety was there but not as profound. After she broke up with him the drinking started. It progressively became worse. Thank God he has stopped so far. I know he can do this.
I do worry thought because if the gf is cutting the strings I am afraid he will go backwards. He practically has only seen her 13 hours in 4 weeks.

I have never taken zoloft but I think it is an SSRI like prozac, and I did not react well to prozac so that is why I have not tried zoloft beings its in the same class as prozac...but there are alternate anti-depressants that can sometimes help if those ones do not. I have been trying mirtazapine, though I am bad with remembering to take it....and thus far it doesn't have any noticeable nasty side effects really.

[Symbolic]

I smoked daily for 12 years. Looking back, I do think it affected my anxiety in good ways and bad. Depending on the strain, it can make you really paranoid, which makes going out about as much fun as having Mike Tyson nibble on your earlobe. "Can they tell? Crap... I think they can tell. Don't make eye contact. Play it cool..." I found it made me more withdrawn and antisocial, and I just didn't want to go out when I smoked.

If I was just hanging out at home, I found it took the edge off, and instead of my mind focusing on one negative, it would get distracted and quickly wander off on different topics. It also took all of the tension out of my body, and I was really relaxed. It also helped me get some of the deepest sleep I've ever had.

I think it can work well with anxiety if it's done in moderation, and if you're smart about it. There's a few simple rules everyone should follow for their own safety, and the safety of everyone else though: Don't smoke before or during working hours, and don't drive if you're high. Other than that, there's no real harm. If it does cause you to become paranoid and withdrawn, then it's probably not a great idea to smoke it before you have to deal with other people.

On the bright side, it's an extremely easy drug to quit. The only withdrawal you get is it affects your sleep for the first month (vivid dreams), but your body regulates itself pretty quickly. Quitting has helped my social anxiety immensely, just because I'm no longer paranoid when I leave the house.