Quitting Weed

Bottle_of_Smoke

Anyone stopped smoking weed?

I used to smoke/get stoned everyday for past few years, felt pretty much addicted, was wanting to stop for ages but seemed not worthwhile, since I moved to go to college I haven't been been around smokers and haven't smoked in a few weeks. Since end of august have only smoked one weekend when back in Dublin. No withdrawal symtoms so I guess it was pretty much a psychological addiction.

Haven't really noticed much difference in terms of concentration/laziness but one thing that's really changed is dreaming. Since it's been out of my system have been having extremely lucid, crazy stuff in dreams.

Is that normal? Would have expected weed would cause weirdness but the opposite has happened.

Post your experiences quitting/trying to quit.

I don't want this to turn into a debate on whether weed should be legalised. There's far too many of those threads already.

froosh69

most studies agree that weed or hash itself is not addictive-it doesnt affect the dopamine-reward pathways in your brain.
however, nicotine does. If you felt addicted to smoking spliffs, it was nore likely you became addicted to the nicotine in the tobacco you used.
you say you had no withdrawal symptoms. well, not everyone suffers withdrawal believe it or not! you obviously didnt smoke 20 joints a day like a cigarette smoker would smoke 20 fags. maybe 2 or 3 joints a day?

The dreams could be withdrawal symptoms, sure, but since daylight savings time, ive been having weird dreams too and the sudden change in weather wouldnt help either.

im off the fags almost 7 weeks now. i started smoking joints before cigarettes years ago, and realized i didnt really like the hash buzz, it was the nicotine i was craving!

fair play and good luck staying off them!

solace

I'd never thought about it before, but I think you're 'right' about the dreams. I've never tried giving up as such, but I've gone without it for extended periods. The only negative thing I've noticed is that I'm a bit more cranky, and even that's only for the first couple of days without it.

Boskowski

Bottle_of_Smoke wrote: »

Haven't really noticed much difference in terms of concentration/laziness but one thing that's really changed is dreaming. Since it's been out of my system have been having extremely lucid, crazy stuff in dreams.

Can confirm that. Not sure what it is but I went through 'a phase' myself in my early twenties and when I finally grew out of it this is exactly what happened to me too. Maybe sober your just more aware of what you were dreaming last night. Maybe when going to bed stoned you're simply too numbed to remember anything in the morning.

Now just having the occasional spliff like a couple of times a year or so and of course I don't feel any change as such before or after one of those occasions.

kmick

I think the reason is that you sleep more deeply when you are a smoker. When you give up my theory is that your body has to spend less time repairing itself which happens at the deep sleep stage and therefore spends more time in the light sleep stage in which you tend to dream more. Its just my theory though.

booboobear

have you replaced your addiction to weed with an addiction to cheese? You are not supposed to eat cheese before bed.

Odysseus

I work in an addiction treatment centre and I have always said that some of my most interesting work is with cannabis only clients in that it can be such an insidious addiction. Some people people just stop and thats the end of it for others it can be a more difficult journey. However I wouldn't worry too much about the dreaming if the weed is responsible it should dissipate within a few weeks if not sooner. Best of luck with it.

Bottle_of_Smoke

Cheers guys, to be honest Odysseus I like it so it's nothing to worry about, I was smoking so long that perhaps I'm just returning to normal dreaming and it seems really lucid. Makes sense what you said about the addicts you treat - I think if I was still in Dublin with a regular supply I would have found it difficult to stop. Actually I wouldn't have stopped because I've wanted to stop for ages and haven't.

Are there any other types of addictions with a similar insideousness? and do they tend to be psychological addictions?

DAVE_K

I used to be pretty bad on it and be on the bong all day. I've given it up now and like yourself only found it tough for the first few days until I got out of the habit of it. Like yourself I had crazy dreams at first but they subsided after that to enjoyable ones. It's a real b1tch to kick if you've people around you who are on it....as it's so subtle in so many ways - you can still keep functioning more or less and keep your life (pretty) much on track, so finding the motivation to give it up can be hard.

It's great to be free of it and now instead of sitting around all day thinking about what I want to do with my life - i'm actually doing it.

Fair play for getting rid of the shackles. Interestingly a lot of mates who would have smoked joints and cigarettes gave up tobacco and spend their time criticising people who smoke - whilst at the same time can't get through a day without hitting the pipe or the bong, i.e. in my eyes they've just replaced one with the other.

kitser

oh those crazy dreams. you wake up with a bang wondering if it really happened. i was told that it was because you were finally having a deep proper sleep. it is said that you don't really sleep on weed, more passed out than asleep. it makes sense if you think about it. i always woke up feeling knackered when smoking the herb. short term memory still gone ( the last fifteen years to be honest.). great to be able to see the whites of the eyes instead of bloodshot slits in the back of my head.

i think most of the addiction is the stupor you live in. its nice to feel numb to the world. it passes quick enough. being bored is the biggest stumbling block to quitting.

Chewabacca

froosh69 wrote: »

most studies agree that weed or hash itself is not addictive-it doesnt affect the dopamine-reward pathways in your brain.
however, nicotine does. If you felt addicted to smoking spliffs, it was nore likely you became addicted to the nicotine in the tobacco you used.
you say you had no withdrawal symptoms. well, not everyone suffers withdrawal believe it or not! you obviously didnt smoke 20 joints a day like a cigarette smoker would smoke 20 fags. maybe 2 or 3 joints a day?

The dreams could be withdrawal symptoms, sure, but since daylight savings time, ive been having weird dreams too and the sudden change in weather wouldnt help either.

im off the fags almost 7 weeks now. i started smoking joints before cigarettes years ago, and realized i didnt really like the hash buzz, it was the nicotine i was craving!

fair play and good luck staying off them!

I agree with what you said about the addiction to tobacco in joints, I went off fags almost a year ago. I never somked that many fags in the first place but decided it would be good for my asthma's lungs. For the first month or two of quitting I found that I had to smoke weed everytime I went out so I wouldnt get night ruining nicotine cravings. I couldnt even enjoy a night on the town without it as the cravings would ruin my night.

Anyway in my advice you should stay off. I know a few people who were like you and used to smoke every day but have since quit. They always recommend quitting and say that your work ethic etc is so much better when your off it.

I quit weed, and I'm glad I did, but I never smoked that much in the first place, usually on weekends.

I also understand what you are saying about the dreams. I've had a recurring dream for around 6 months now but it's been far more frequent since I quit, sometimes 2 times a week. I don't know if it has anything to do with quitting but tbh its starting to scare the crap out of me and I don't know what to do about it.

Good luck with quitting.