Can You Stop Smoking Weed
The short answer is yes.
The long answer is it depends on your dedication and willingness.
Even the heaviest marijuana users can give up weed given the structured support and help.
This guide MAY HELP.
We prepared a comprehensive guide so you can learn how to cut out cannabis.
The best part?
This guide will help you understand why you have developed marijuana addiction.
So you will learn how to cope with quitting weed and recover successfully.
If you are ready, lets start.
Determine Why You Want To Stop Smoking Weed
Figuring out why you want to quit or cut back on weed is actually the first step in the process because it can help provide focus and motivation. Bizzell recommends asking yourself some of these questions: âAre you smoking marijuana or consuming it in an edible form on a regular or daily basis? Has it become a crutch that you need to help you get through your day, or is the use of marijuana affecting your job, friendships or relationships with family?â These are all questions to consider when weighing whether a habit is harmful to you, he says.
Maybe your reasoning is less dramatic â perhaps you just want to cut back on expenses, you donât like the way your clothes smell when you smoke, or you got a job that does tests for cannabis. Whatever your âwhyâ is, make sure you have a firm grasp on it so you can remind yourself later, if and when it feels difficult or inconvenient. Write your reason down and explain it to someone else so that you can hear yourself saying it.
Figure Out Why You Want To Quit Marijuana
The idea of being free from marijuana addiction sounds great to many people. However, without a reason to break free, achieving every other step on how to quit marijuana becomes harder than it should be.
Before starting any program, treatment or medication, ensure you are clear on what actually is motivating you to go ahead with the process. In the long run, that reason will help spur you to add more days to the count instead of backsliding.
Although every patient has unique reasons to stop using marijuana, here are the common ones. Marijuana addiction is:
- Causing problems with your relationships
- Affecting your concentration, memory and mood
- Becoming your way of dealing with stress
- Becoming spontaneous, almost like you have no control over when you should use it
- Reducing your happiness and causing anhedonia
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Comparison With Other Substances
All substances that affect the mind carry their own set of risks and harms, some unique to the substance. The most well-established, long term harm of regular cannabis use is addiction. It is often difficult to compare risks and harms between substances. Nevertheless, based on what is currently known, the risk of cannabis addiction is lower than the risk of addiction to alcohol, tobacco or opioids. And, unlike substances such as alcohol or opioids where overdoses may be fatal, a cannabis overdose is not fatal.
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Ways On How To Quit Marijuana
Each marijuana users experience and dependence on the drug is unique. Therefore, while some of these ways on how to quit marijuana may work for some, it may not work for others. The best way to know if the method is effective for you is to try them out yourself.
Whats most important is that you are now on a very vital step in the process of recovery from marijuana addiction. Lets take a look at some of the ways on how to quit marijuana.
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Medical Cannabis Use Is Different From Recreational Use
Moreover, the JAMA study doesnt distinguish between medical and recreational cannabis, which are actually quite different in their physiological and cognitive effects as Harvard researcher Dr. Staci Grubers work tells us. Medical cannabis patients, under the guidance of a medical cannabis specialist, are buying legal, regulated cannabis from a licensed dispensary it might be lower in THC and higher in CBD , and the cannabis they end up using often results in them ingesting a lower dose of THC.
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Tips To Quit Smoking Weed
Making the decision to quit smoking weed is life-changing, especially if you commit to it and achieve sobriety. Here are some tips to help you on your journey to recovery:
1. Change your environment
One of the most important things to do when trying to stop smoking weed is to change your environment. Determine your triggers and avoid places, things, and people that tempt you to use weed.
If you have family members or friends who smoke, avoid their company. If your current environment exposes you to marijuana, move someplace else. These changes may seem overwhelming at first, but these are necessary.
2. Set goals
When you set goals, you put yourself in a mindset for success. Ask yourself what you want to achieve after you overcome your battle with marijuana addiction. This will motivate you to work hard toward your goal while living a full life without marijuana in the picture.
3. Get rid of your stash
If you have kept weed “for future use,” it’s time to get rid of them. You’re not going to use them anymore. Deciding to quit smoking weed means you have no use for marijuana stashed somewhere in your house. Throw them out and never look back.
4. Tapering
Some people opt to quit smoking weed cold turkey. However, this method predisposes them to severe withdrawal symptoms. The best way to stop smoking weed is to taper use gradually.
5. Be prepared
6. Keep yourself busy
7. Exercise daily
8. Plan sober activities
9. Have a support system
10. Get professional help
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You Use Marijuana To Deal With Problems
Think about the way youre using marijuana. Have you been using it to deal with your problems? When you have bad grades or problems with your boss or even relationship issues, do you feel your only option is to try and get high? If this is the case then youre getting deeper into your marijuana use and addiction.
Another way you can identify that youre addicted to marijuana is if you depend on it to feel relaxed. If you take weed before starting work or doing anything creative or other tasks, then its a clear sign that you have developed a heavy dependence on it and you are already addicted to the substance.
Use Delay And Distract If You Get Cravings
Each time you feel the urge to smoke, see if you can delay smoking by just five minutes.
Set a timer on your phone if that helps.
Distract yourself with something else watch a video, have a shower, make a cup of tea or tidy up. Or our online tool can help you find a new distraction.
Cravings are like waves that build up to a peak then fade away.
See if you can gradually build up to delaying each joint for 10 minutes, then 15 and so on.
See more advice on how to handle cravings.
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How To Get Help For Marijuana Addiction
If you want to quit smoking weed, it’s also important to remember that you don’t have to do it all on your own. Getting help from an addiction specialist can increase your chances of successfully quitting marijuana.
Start by talking to your doctor or mental health professional about your treatment options.
There are currently no FDA-approved medications for the treatment of marijuana use disorders, but research in this area is ongoing. Clinical trials have shown that buspirone, an anti-anxiety medication, can reduce cravings and drug use and decrease symptoms of irritability.
Your healthcare provider may prescribe medications to treat co-occurring mental health disorders.
Therapy is generally the recommended treatment for marijuana use disorder. Specific strategies that may be used include:
Self-help strategies are important, but sometimes you might need a helping hand. Reach out to your doctor or find a mental health professional who specializes in treating addictions.
Dont Try To Quit Weed On Your Own
The next step is to talk to someone since community can be a crucial determinent to how successful youâll be. Bizzell recommends starting with your doctor if thatâs a realistic option for you .
If you want someone to guide you through the process of tapering or quitting, you can reach out to a recovery coach or a support group. There are many cannabis 12-step recovery groups these days, the most prominent of which is â but my experience is that most 12-step fellowships will be open to helping you, no matter what your drug of choice is.
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Effects Of Marijuana On The Brain
When marijuana is smoked, the THC passes from the users lungs into his bloodstream. Blood, then, takes the chemical to his brain as well as the other organs in the body. With smoking marijuana, the effects can be felt after 30 minutes up to an hour. It is a slower way for the THC to be absorbed compared to when the extract is consumed by eating or drinking.
THC affects particular brain cell receptors. These receptors react to natural chemicals similar to THC. Such chemicals are important in the normal development and functioning of the brain.
Using marijuana can over-activate areas of the brain that have huge amounts of those receptors which, in turn, causes the person to feel high. Here are other effects that marijuana users experience after using the drug.
- Mood changes and impaired memory
- Altered senses and inability to focus
- Difficulty in motor skills and body movement
- Psychosis, delusions, and hallucinations
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Web Links To Treatment Manuals
A Community Reinforcement Plus Vouchers Approach: Treating Cocaine Addiction www.nida.nih.gov/TXManuals/CRA/CRA6.html.
Adolescent Treatment Manuals From the Cannabis Youth Treatment Study :
The Motivational Enhancement Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Adolescent Cannabis Users: 5 Sessions,Volume 1. NCADI number BKD384.
The Motivational Enhancement Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Supplement: 7 Sessions of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Adolescent Cannabis Users,Volume 2.
Family Support Network for Adolescent Cannabis Users,Volume 3.
The Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach for Adolescent Cannabis Users,Volume4.
Multidimensional Family Therapy for Adolescent Cannabis Users,Volume 5. ncadistore.samhsa.gov/catalog/Product Details.aspx?ProductID=15868.
Multisystemic Therapy for Adolescents www.mstservices.com.
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How Do I Stop Smoking Marijuana
SMART provides our members with tools and skills that they can use to help them recover from marijuana addiction as well as alcohol, or other drugs or negative behaviors. SMART Recovery, which can be used as a support group alternative to Marijuana Anonymous , uses a 4-Point Program®, with each element designed to help you overcome your problems with abusing marijuana:
Quitting Marijuana A 30 Day Self Help Guide
The information in this self help guide is twofold first, it provides some of the more recent information on marijuana provided through research. Second, if you are a marijuana user and wish to stop using, the manual provides a self-assessment and daily program to support that decision. Confidential assistance is also available through the McDonald Center for Student Well-Being, 204 Saint Liam Hall. You can call 631-7970 to consult with a professional.
Before going on, complete the self-assessment to help you explore your use.
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Consider Other Lifestyle Changes
Hereâs the thing, though. As someone whoâs spent years in recovery, I can tell you that the literal cutting back or removal of a substance is only part of the process. Youâre probably also going to have to make some other changes in your day-to-day.
âTry to avoid smoking in situations where it’s easy to get carried away, like at parties or when you’re hanging out with friends who also smoke,â Draughn says. âTry to find other things to do when you get the urge to smoke over your limit, like going for a walk or exercising.â Basically, you want to replace the time that you would have spent smoking weed with a different activity.
Allen Carrs Easyway How We Can Help
More and more cannabis / marijuana users are contacting us to help them get free from their drug.
We provide One to One sessions to deal with this at our specialist clinics in London, England or online via Zoom as well as via our online video programme that can be accessed anywhere at any time.
The One to One sessions have been so successful we are able to provide the same money back guarantee that we have offered with our stop smoking programme for the past 35 years.
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Look At Quitting One Day At A Time
If you start thinking about beating your marijuana addiction in terms of quitting forever, you might feel overwhelmed. Think about your recovery one day at a time. Each day, commit to staying clean for just that day. It makes quitting feel less daunting and will allow you to take control of each day and situation as it comes.
What Are The Signs Of Marijuana Use Disorder
The American Psychiatric Association has combined marijuana dependency and marijuana addiction into one category: cannabis use disorder.
According to the APA’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – Fifth Edition , marijuana use disorder is determined by the user’s behavior patterns. These include:
- Taking cannabis in larger amounts over a longer period than originally intended
- Wanting and trying to cut down or control marijuana use but not being able to do so
- Craving marijuana
- Sleep-related problems such as insomnia
- Stomach problems
- Sweating or cold sweats
These withdrawal symptoms can sometimes range from mild to severe. They also differ from person to person. While these symptoms may not be life-threatening, they can be uncomfortable.
For long-time users, quitting weed isnt easy. The longer the person has used marijuana, the higher the chance of developing withdrawal symptoms.
Is it Safe to Quit Marijuana Cold Turkey?
Quitting cold turkey means that a regular user, who uses a substance every day, decides to stop suddenly. There is no transition period in between.
This method of quitting produces negative effects, with severe withdrawal symptoms that make quitting cannabis very difficult or close to impossible.
Similarly, anxiety and depression have been linked to an increase in suicide risk. This can result in fatal consequences.
Quitting weed cold turkey may work for some people it could pose a serious health problem for others.
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Preferring Activities That Will Get You High
When you start to evaluate your relationships with other people and your activities with them based on your chances of getting high, then you are choosing your bad habit over real and lasting relationships with your loved ones.
Also, ask yourself if youve been able to take on your daily responsibilities. Look around your house and see if youve cleaned it lately or if the dishes have been washed. If the place is dirty and disorganized, then you havent been paying attention to these details because your mind is too focused on getting high.
Which Approach Works Best For Quitting Marijuana
Frankly, there is no best way to give up weed.
An approach that works for someone might not work for you but there is at least one for everyone.
Since everyone develops different habitual smoking patterns, considering different methods and maybe a trial and error approach may be beneficial.
In this guide, we will cover quitting cold turkey and quitting gradually in different sections with pros and cons.
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How To Help Someone Overcome Marijuana Addiction
This article was co-authored by Trudi Griffin, LPC, MS. Trudi Griffin is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Wisconsin specializing in Addictions and Mental Health. She provides therapy to people who struggle with addictions, mental health, and trauma in community health settings and private practice. She received her MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Marquette University in 2011.There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. In this case, 85% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 674,955 times.
How To Quit Marijuana Addiction And Aid Recovery
When you aim to quit marijuana addiction you will certainly not have an easy ride and you will experience some trouble, without doubt. You might experience irritability, uneasiness, hallucinations as well as extreme desires. Nonetheless the result is slight but however will definitely last for 3 to 4 days. The dependency stage can be an extreme personal risk as you could start to shed your state of outright tranquility that you may have in the past preferred to reside in. This can lead to the previous experiences which many started using marijuana to forget or deal with to have to be confronted.
The marijuana plant, as a whole terms a medication that has actually made numerous people addicted. One name lots of duties, Cannabis is likewise called Marijuana. Marijuana makes around 9% of its individuals addicted to it according to a research conducted in the UK. Some scientists assert that 50% of its customers have a control over it.
Around 70 million Americans have actually eaten this medicine as well as a populace of 2 million usage it as a day-to-day medicine. Some contrast marijuana routines with dependence on high levels of caffeine.
The largest continuous discussion is can cannabis be utilized as medication or otherwise? In particular facilities it is utilized as medicine, particularly as an anesthetic. It is thought Marijuana involved presence around 2nd century B.C according to a Chinese publication of medication.
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