I used to smoke cannbis all day and loved it..it was my one true love. That, however seems to have changed, I find that cannabis more and more gives me anxiey these days..but I havebeen smoking for so damn long now that I seem to keep on no matter what..I get shallow breath like I am gasping for air and even back pain sometimes after smoking it, causing anxiety..maybe I am allergic. I hate to say it but I think I am actally addicted to it.

I have not smoked in a day now becuase I cam down with the flu..and am seriously thinking about not going back..it just doesnt seem worth it anymore..It never used to give me anxiety, no matter how much I smoked, these dasy i cant handle more than 1 hit, and even than I still feel shaky and disphoric at least half the time after..has this happened to anyone else??..

I really want to quit for the next month or so at least, and never go back to smoking like a half ounce a week..not even daily. All my freinds basically smoke joints all day long, and act like I am being rediculous..they are all addicted I swear. Spice and aya, mushrooms, cacti and salvia never make me feel that psychological addiction..or the horrible racing heartbeats and panic attacks. I love the good cannabis trips when I have them, but the negatives are really taking a toll.

Well, I think I really need to do this..makes me sad but also happy, I dont want to be a slave anymore, especially to something giving me such negative vibes lately..I feel I keep lying to myself and going back for more, trying to find the old effects..but they just dont seem to be there anymore..

More time and $$ for my extractions I guess.

I've seen this happen to most of my friends. You go through phases with the herb. There comes a time when you must move on. You will know when and what to do.

ya, I def feel that my body has bee telling me that this is not a good thing anymore. I feel so much better today(besides the lingering flu effects), I dont feel shaky or anxiety ridden today, or any physical withdrawl or anything, just wayyyyy more centered..plus cannabis can really ruin a spice or aya trip if I smoke durring or before so it would be nice to have that out of the way as well..I can really focus on aya, which is what I want.

Hey!
exactly the same thing happend to me... 6 months ago...
when i stop smoking for 2 months.. all change for better...
is a wonderful process..
i feel great without weed now...

i love you!!

YEah it sucks when nihilism backfires like that.

I quit for different reasons but smoking pot can have a huge host of negative side effects that attach to different people. I for one started getting sleepy all the time. It would also cause a huge increase in mucous production in my lungs. Its really addicting and becomes a social glue and some people might find that if they stop smoking they stop having allot of those friends.

I quit cigarettes and weed at the same time and every night for awhile I dreamed about weed. Its allot more psychologically addicting then cigarettes for me.

Hey Fractal ,


I can deeply relate to what you are saying here - And I am happy for you have the strength to overcome the habit of smoking ganja too often .



Do you have a girlfriend ? Your anxiety most probably is not an expression of Lonelyness , is it ?

No, I dont have a gf at the moment..I have been single now for about a year..I have been through a few really meaningless relationshsips in the past few years, and so have been looking for a girl that really will understand me and my life, I dont want to settle ever again, I want something magical and cosmic..I think I do get lonely sometimes, but I have felt that way even when I was with someone. I feel though that my psychological addiction to cannabis really has limited me lately and put a huge strain on my social life.

I think I just need to focus on what is really good for me right now and forget everything else. Drinking ayahuasca has shown me that there are alot of things in my life tying me down through my own self delusions..cannabis def being one of them.

Thanks for all the encouraging responces guys

I havent gotten to the point of anxiety yet, but I feel it approaching. I still smoke everyday, after work to chill and relax. It really soothes all my nerves, and my tensions drop away, but i cant go on forever like this. I barely get high from it anymore, its more of just a stress relief. Ive been smoking for 10 years now! and thats a pretty long time. I was thinking of trying to use cannabis as a sacred sacrament like i do with other things. Maybe once a month or something, Then i think id really appreciate it more and get more from it, plus id save 100 bucks a week. So maybe just give it a break man, and ease your way back into it if you decide to. Ive heard of a lot of people straying from weed for anxiety issues, maybe as we mature it effects us differently?

Well, cannabis can be a really great thing - if use "correctly".

But I think smoking it almost every day is not how it's meant to be. Even though most users do it that way.

SWIM really thinks this can be a marvelous herb when he eats it about once a month (at most). Then he describes it as truly being entheogenic.

And there's even more for SWIM: Since he usually doesn't smoke it, he can use it in another way: If he is in the middle of an aya ritual and the DMT is not really coming thru, he takes only a single hit of the pipe (with cannabis) and then it all starts. It's almost like it's the missing trigger to activate the spice. However, this does not work for every-day smokers.

I don't want to encourage anybody to smoke weed, but this herb is wonderful when you realize its true meaning and not simply "consume" it like many people do.

yes, I would really like to work with cannabis on an infrequent basis, maybe once every few weeks or so, but not for a while. When there is no tolerancy is becomes a true psychedelic for me..def can't use it socially when I get the full effects, nor would I want to..

i've been smoking several joints a day for the last 7 years or so, and would like to significantly cut back aswell. but when i do, i all but lose my appetite. i have a very high metabolism, and am pretty thin already... i guess my body is used to the appetite increasing effects of the cannabis, and after a while it would probably re-adjust. but it makes it really hard for me to stop.
but.. i'm almost out, and i refuse to pay for the stuff. so i guess i'll just have to tough it out for a while.
i can also relate to the somewhat negative effects you feel creeping in, Fractal Enchantment.

Every time I've quit and then started up again \while my tolerance is about 0 when I smoke I get the swallows like my throat keeps needing to swallow every 20 seconds. Anyone else have a symptom like that?

YES! This is in part why I feel I may have developed an allergy to it..it bothers my throat and it seems to sort of close up, my lungs get heavy and I gasp for air and my back gets sore.

Quittig really kills my appetite as well...and I have a high metabolism as well..no matter how much I eat it seems I don't gain weight..I have alwasy been really thin..I guess this could be a good thing though, it will be easier to eat light for aya trips.

Fractal- this happened to SWIM too, and his best friend too later on.

He started smoking weed when he was 13, solids. He would smoke a few times a week. When he went to uni, he started smoking skunk, sometimes weekly but then every other day, and eventually every day. He became more and more paranoid and anxious when stoned, until eventually he could only stone alone. He had to listen to happier and happier chilled music just to not freak out. Eventually, it got to the point when he felt nautious and short of breath, and one night he started crying his eyes out, stoned out of his mind.

This was the point when he realised he had to give up. And that he was psychologically addicted. He faced social exclusion when he gave up, because his friends were still stoning away rarely leaving the house. It was hard. If only he'd known about cactus back then! Even years later, if he had a joint, still the social paranoia and self-loathing insecurity would creep in again. He hasn't had a joint now in 5 years, and doesn't think he ever will again, but this doesn't sadden him.

His best friend, who he lost contact with in the fallout of his abstention, had the same problem years later and gave up too, and they are now friends again.

It's not easy giving up, but time is a healer and eventually you don't crave being stoned any more. I expect SWIM would've got over it a lot quicker if he had mescalito and deemster to help heal him. But if it happens for everyone like it happened to SWIM and his buddy, then you may have to accept that your relationship with Maryjane is gone for good.

However, I also have friends who are still smoking and are fine. It'll work out. For SWIM, Maryjane is like an old girlfriend- it was a great romance at the time but he wouldn't want to go out with her again, he's a different person now

It does turn on you after a while, its a slow subtle thing and a lot of people have trouble fighting the lethargic effects, SWIM gave up smoking about a year ago, but still vapos daily, he's still psychologically addicted to the stuff and its no longer very pleasurable, as is the case with most overused substances.... but it's a bastard to quit it, every time he tries he just has a profound sense of loss, and a profound sense of boredom which is hard to overcome... when SWIM was a kid he hated being bored, MJ makes u less bored, but after a while u stop caring about things too much... it's not good if you've got work to do or if you want to do something that requires a lot of effort.

That being said, quiting smoking has had considerable physical health benefits... now just got to figure out how to ween off the green.

Actaully I have felt the exact same way..like I had nowhere to go, no way out, and I want to crawl into a hole and cry. As soon as the cannabis wears off I will feel ok again. I am sooo glad that I finally got it together and stopped lying to myslef..I dont want to go through life feeling like that anymore.

I agree about mescaline, it's so warm and healing..perfect for low doses as an empathic social enhancer..low doses of cappi tea make me feel like a million bucks as well.

I'm glad too Give up, it is time... she has taught you all she can, you are no longer her student!

I stopped for about 1.5 years on the intention to quit forever but tried it again about a month ago from an alluring woman. When I got home (and throughout it's duration) and was still effected, all I kept thinking was to never do it again - how stupid it is.

2 weeks ago tried it again, thinking last time was just a fluke. Same thing happened - it's clear to never let ANY one or ANY situation fool you again. I'm done. Going so long before trying it again really gave me a crystal clear perspective.

The time I abstain is the best - It becomes so evident that MJ really puts a very strong grip on you even though it's shrouded, but she's simply just a trickster.

It may hurt when you first start turning it down, but soon those people will dissapate from your life and you'll be much happier surrounding yourself and (re)learning how to be with more positive people. This is all in my experience of course, YMMV. I put no one down for their choices. =)

Im happy without it but If I somehow smelled it right this moment I would probably climb up a tree for it. Be careful not to subject yourself to the temptation till your sure you are brave.

I just gave away my last 8th of real good kush to my brother...