Medicinal smoking...

I know this thread is pretty old, but I just wanted to chime in and say thanks for sharing your experience. I used to smoke cigarettes and have been trying to quit for a while now. I've been curious about trying cannabis oils or edibles as an alternative but haven't had the chance to explore them yet. By the way, have you heard of [removed by mod] I've been using them as a way to curb my cravings, and so far, they seem to be helping. They come in different flavors and are really easy to use. Anyway, thanks again for sharing your story, and I hope you're doing well!

its the only thing that works for me and my and my lungs are ruined from smoking tac back in the day. 

Cannabis therapy is not bad, but if only this is a recommendation incoming from your doctor, in some cases, cannabis can cause panic attacks and impairment in the common situation. I started smoking cannabis to deal with my anxiety when I was 20 years old. For the next 10 years, I smoked around 1 pack of cigarettes per day. I was trying to quit smoking but never succeeded and consistently backed to smoking after 6 months. I already don't use any cannabis-related products, but I have a vape bought at liberty-flights with [removed by moderator]

Totally right, and that's why I'm happy that my child doesn't use it.

Your reply strikes at the core of my dissatisfaction with "weed" as it is nowadays. In the eighties when I started and up until 2011 I used to smoke hashish. I found that whilst I could lapse into similar behaviour to that which you describe, it was optional. The new minimum 15% THC and none heat "annealed" raw green stuff is a completely different and less pleasant (if you ask me) deal. 

Sadly, hashish has become quite rare these days. I only get to smoke it either when someone buys me a bit off the darkweb, or if someone gives my their surplus greenery and I make a bit myself.

Licencing: The ability to pay someone else for what you used to be able to do without payment.

A form of state extortion wearing a false mask of utility. There's a lot of those... 

The sort of people who are attracted to "govern" are very good at turning a "Right" into a paid for "Priviledge". I.E. an income stream for (((them))).

Interesting to note everyone's different experiences.  I've never felt able to smoke as, from the earliest days when i was trying to fit in with my peer group at school, it just made me turn green and vomit.  Then, when I tried smoking weed at university, I felt really, really ill - instant surge of extreme nausea and an immediate dash to the loo needed.

Imagine my surprise then, much later on in life, when I discovered that cannabis oils and edibles really help me.  The effects seem very different to me, although in my youth I admit I wasn't paying any attention to dosage or method of imbibing, I was just going with the crowd (and failing, badly).  

So, whilst I'd encourage anyone to give up smoking, I'm still very keen on edibles and to me they've proved more beneficial than any of the drugs I've tried in the past (incl. SSRIs, betablockers, OTC meds, alternative remedies and self medicating with alcohol).  I'm now using one of the many cannabis clinics around so my dosage is monitored and standardised.  Not sure what my GP and consultant will make of it though, when I eventually get to see them that is.       

Tbf about a week ago I started on a course of Concerta. It's given me a lot more energy and with that focus, which has probably helped a fair deal. 

I'm suspecting my problems lie more with the ADD I'm carrying, and my daughter is trialling ritalin at the moment, for hers with interesting results..

Next time I stop cannabis, I may trial Ritalin and see if that helps replace the functionality of the cannabis for me.

This sounds very similar to the situation/rut that I fell into. I was dependent on it, at least in terms of self regulating emotion. I've also been in the position of sitting waiting for that next smoke! So thank you for sharing! 

In terms of a return, obviously it's your own choice... what I would say is I had the same issues at the end of/after uni (over a decade ago!) As I did for the last 4 years... I had 2 or 3 years clear, and went back with the intention it would be a treat...

Obviously it then slowly crept up and up... I'm more confident this time than in any of my other attempts to quit in recent years. I've seen the financial and familial issues it has caused me, and will use that and regaining my license to (hopefully) stay on track.

Congratulations on your cessation! Keep going! :-)

I'm very pleased to say that I am now about 5 months free from cannabis. It was really difficult to quit and I tried a few times before and couldn't manage it. I don't know what was different about this time, I just had much more resolve because I realised how much it was affecting my life and how nothing would change if I didn't quit. There came a point after about a month sober when I realised that was it, and I wouldn't go back.

I got pretty bad withdrawals for about 3 weeks including really bad abdominal pains and stomach upsets, night sweats, and really bad insomnia (almost didn't sleep at all for a week). It took about 2 months for my dopamine system to return to baseline so that things felt good again, and then I finally had some motivation to do things. Previously I required weed in order to have an appetite or enjoy something such as watching a TV show, so without it I had a depressing couple of months where nothing felt good.

Cannabis is one of those things which was really beneficial to me, but over time became more of a curse. I was dependent on it and trapped by it. The big benefit for me was as a sufferer of insomnia for my entire life, weed was the only thing that allowed me to fall asleep easily. But then it was impossible to quit because I got even worse rebound insomnia.

Secondly it was a good escape... too good. It made me not care about anything. It made me content to be bored. I did nothing except get high. If anything ever upset me slightly or I got sensory overload or couldn't cope with things... I would just get high and everything would be good. It made me more laid back instead of getting bothered by every noise and smell around me, I could relax.

I would either get high every day (specifically on the strongest skunk), or I would try to moderate, in which case my life was just waiting for the next time I could get high. I preferred getting high to doing anything else.

I probably will have it again at some point, but it definitely won't be until I have sorted out my living situation. It has been a huge effort to organise selling my house and buying another one. I'm in way over my head, but I think there is no way I would have got as far as I have if I was still getting high. So I absolutely forbid myself to have any until I have moved.

I want it to be a treat that I have occasionally instead of something I need, but I don't know if that is possible. So it might be a bad idea to ever have it again.

It's when DWP get wind of CABS idea and suggest you become self employed...  

I've been trying to give up for a while, as I was honest with the DVLA 18mths ago... I've been desperate to get my license back though, but have really really struggled. I used to enjoy a smoke, and know what you mean about benefits and being less "troublesome" as it did tend to chill me out and it was that feeling that kept me smoking. I haven't even started on tobacco yet. As last time I managed to get past 2 weeks with weed... I thought, this is going well, I can do anything... tried to give up tobacco and ended up back on both. Also agree that it's totally different for different peeps I was at a stage where I was spending a LOT on it. This year had been a pretty stable £300-£400 a month... Last July... it was double that, and I was on a totally unaffordable path! Love CABs advice it's very... CAB!  

I try and quit dope for at least three weeks once a year. Last time I tried dumping teh tobacco I was using a lot of rolling tobacco and experienced unpleasant and scary withdawal. I've weaned myself down to a £5 packet of fags every three days so far, and am fixing to have another go soon.

I'll not quit the weed, just move to a pipe or edibles as I do whenever I get off the tobacco. I'm less "troublesome" when I smoke weed, but I'm not running a raging habit to be fair, a stable forty quid a week, although since my C.A.B. finance advisor suggested I grow my own(!) that seems to have the potential to fall to £zero if I ever get my act together..

It's not for everyone, but it does work for me WAY better than acohol as a recreational substance, and I derive certain concrete benefits from it as far as MY particular psychology goes. The point of stopping occasionally for me, is to test if that is still true...

But kudos to you for taking action to get the result you want. I confirm that after a few months off the tobacco, you will start to cough up a lot of interesting looking crap, and your fitness does definitely improve quite dramatically. I consider my relapses when they have occurred to be the most insane things I've ever done. And decoupling dope use from tobacco use, tends to make that habit more economical too, because the tobacco hit is shorter than the dope hit, one can end up topping off one's THC levels earlier than is perhaps optimal.. 

Congratulations! You have been smoke free for a few weeks, you're saving money, and you're regaining your life back!