Many believe you can’t be sober if you consume marijuana and be sober. I never smoked/consumed marijuana in my life but I’ve been to rehab for alcohol. Not only has medical marijuana helped my mental health but it helped me withdraw and keeps me from even desiring alcohol. There are still days like in any person’s life that you have cravings. How do you fight the facts with this life experience and the strongest research now coming behind it? Just want to know what you all think about it. For me, I feel it’s not a struggle because I never used it before? I use it just to medicate, not to feel anything else. Obviously, I use it because of health issues. I’m in a state where it is not for recreational use only for medicinal. I do use the strains that are high and rich in CBD.
If you are taking as prescribed by the doctor and not over doing then it’s just like every other medicine
It’s easier for me to spell doctor lol. But I’m pretty sure doctor is the same as physician
I mean really only you can decide whether it’s a problem. My husband takes it for anxiety, but he should also really be talking to someone about his issues. For me it messes with my sleep like alcohol does and gives me a hangover like feeling in the morning. Actually our government just legalized it, and now they are just working out the specifics of who will dispense it and how it will get taxed. My mom was prescribed it as well for chronic pain due to an auto immune disease. If the substance is not causing any amount of dysfunction in your life, and it’s helping you, then I think you’re ok!
In my opinion, if it doesn’t cause problems in your life then smoke it or eat it or whatever you need to do. I just don’t see the problems in marijuana use like I do in alcohol.
Thanks you all for your support! I was always on the other side of the fence especially raising teenagers and seeing how irresponsible they were and stupid they acted. One of my daughters took the time to really learn about it. Even wrote her college final on it and got an A! I kept her info in the back of my mind. I knew something was going to break. The depression, anxiety, PTSD, was out of control, exasperated by binges with alcohol. My physical health declined rapidly the past 6 years. Fibromyalgia, hypothyroidism, carpel tunnel, hypothyroidism, osteoarthritis, celiac disease, IBD. I could go on. And I’m not even 50 yet.
Well, I tore my rotator cuff and tendon. I had surgery and they cut pain meds after a week!! I thought I was going to die and I knew I was never going to do this again. The pain was becoming unbearable even 3 months after surgery. I wanted to die. Then our state became legal. I talked to my kids. I felt I was being a hypocrite. They encouraged me 100%.
I have been 90% pain free (without pain, migraine, nausea meds), cut anxiety meds in half, and cut one antidepressant out of my regimen. This is a gift, a blessing to me!
And I don’t crave alcohol!!!
I’m going to echo those who opined that as long as it is prescribed under the care of a licensed medical professional, and not a matter of self-medicating, it just like any other medication. As long as it is taken only as prescribed, and not abused, it is a legitimate treatment.
Really? Why?
The jury is probably still out
Haha, ok…lol… I see most of you all have relationships here already 
So cool!!
If it wasn’t for Jesus, my family AND medical marijuana I’d be dead right now… 
Because I believe in God I believe in being % honest… (I’ve refrained in saying that last part not trying to be deceitful but because it’s a sobriety forum, I need help and didn’t want to trigger anybody that is trying to stop smoking or get kicked out but since you asked there it is and that’s the truth… 657 day’s of life free from all prescribed medication and Methamphetamine…
I no longer hear voices that tell me to kill myself like I did after nearly dying from a combination of drugs that I was being ordered to take by my physician at that time and like I did just before and while using meth…
About a year ago my husband asked me when in life I’d ever been truly happy… I said 1995… So after many years of refraining from the plant I started smoking it again, husbands idea… Well I no longer hear voices except for the one I’m supposed to hear and I no longer want to die…
I could even possibly be picking from the wrong tree 
on this as well because I’m not % sure about anything but Jesus…
All l I know is it’s a very effective treatment for whatever is really wrong with me and a great trade off from that handful of ineffective pills… 
So I don’t make weed look bad in a medical perspective and having people to see this and think don’t smoke it or you will end up like her please just know that I had imaginary friends long before I ever smoked pot… I just don’t see them anymore… 
I’m of the same mindset. I use marijuana to help my appetite and calm my gut. Alcohol does the opposite. I am also aware that I will allow myself to use it as long as I don’t try to go for “the next best high”. I am acutely aware of my usage and I refuse to do both…so drinking went. I was forgetting things, feeling sick every morning, not eating, dehydrated, unmotivated, mopey…I would be on a battery of anxiety meds and misdiagnosed with depression (happened twice) so I am grateful for various plants that have worked well for me. (And I’m not a lazy burnout. 
)
I honestly not think I could’ve gone almost a month without marijuana. I am soooo relieved to hear peoples’ responses. I am open about it everywhere but here b/c it’s about sobriety and didn’t want to be counterfeit. It’s nice that it can, in many circumstances not all, be the OPPOSITE of a gateway drug, where it eases our weaning or cessation of drinking. I can study longer, stay engaged in my research papers longer, and ironically, I retain more information when I have the patience to write key points down. With alcohol? Forget it.
I have been drinking since the age of 12 or 13. Marijuana started a few years later. I couldn’t handle both but I did it anyway. For years drinking and smoking has been the hardest thing for me to let go of. Even with all the facts laying in front of me from legal issues, financial trouble, physical altercations and homelessness I still continued to drink. Drinking and cigarettes are my combo. Can’t have one without the other. I’m 39 years old now, having some form of alcohol everyday. I may take a break on Sundays but no commitment.
I had surgery a little over a year ago due to an on the job injury. Right out of the hospital in agonizing pain I was looking for a drink. No BS, I had my wife bring nips to my bedside before and after surgery. Pain killers weren’t satisfying enough so I drank and drank. Come to find out, I was diagnosed with COPD. I was depressed. I couldn’t work. I couldn’t walk. Then one day browsing Facebook I saw a friend post something about CBD and how it’s doing wonders for him.
I ordered a bottle of 500mg CBD Oil Tincture to take orally and 80mg CBD Topical Pain Cream. I have to tell you, when I started with the oil, I wasn’t ready to stop drinking. When I drank the same day I took the CBD I got sick to my stomach. It was like my body was rejecting the alchohol. So I stopped taking the CBD. I know it’s a contradiction to put something good in your body and then put poison on top of it.
Finally I came to terms with my addiction once again. I started to smell bad. Even after a long shower, half a day later I’m stinky. My feet smell horrible. My nails and facial hair grows wild. So I decided to get a 14 day advanced cleansing from GNC. I have 5 days of cleaning left and I am now 10 days sober. No program, no AA, no sponsor. Just the will and a bottle of 750mg CBD OIL. Now I’m not depressed. I am active again. I’m working again. Building relationships. Creating new ideas. It’s amazing how fun life can still be without alcohol.
I think that with any treatment that there is you should be able to answer a few important questions… Is it safe? Is it effective? How does your plan effect those around you (because you are not the only person on earth with problem’s) How do you treat other’s? Are you responsible and productive? If the answer is yes to all of the above then there’s your plan…
My goal is to be free from self harm and clean from things that I know will kill me, to live right and do right… I don’t smoke pot to get high… If I wanted to get wasted I’d go see my Dr or go to any street corner in a town nearby and make that happen… That’s just sad facts…
I noticed it had been a year since this was last commented on before I had commented which led me to my next important thought/question because follow up is also important… Is this still a safe and effective treatment for you? I would LOVE to hear back from the original poster on that…
Please be mindful that there are some individuals here who are seeking and/or struggling with abstinence from marijuana as their (or one of many) drugs of choice, or who have experience of marijuana leading them back to their DOC.
I wanted to say thank you so much @Jane.c for your input… I completely understand what you are saying… I’m going to try to find this person that you respect on here as well because I think I can learn from them… After being clean from all medications and all drugs for almost a year I was still extremely depressed and so self consumed in self pity that I can honestly say that this time a year ago I would not have bent over to pick up a piece of trash laying on a parking lot it wasn’t me or mine that dropped it… One year later with this treatment I feel like I’m getting back to the person that I was born to be and the person that I know I am… I think it’s important to have faith in your treatment plan regardless of what that plan is you have to be sure it’s the plan for you… I think I might just have to have faith that God did say to me to go to my husband that he was my friend… A friend is someone who helps you… I had no idea that he would have even suggested this as a treatment plan… thank you for everything…
I am and that’s why I won’t comment again… My apologies… I’m trying hard to understand that I’m not the only person out there struggling… That is not fair to those in that situation… Therefore I am truly sorry… Was just looking for answers… 
I use medically prescribed marijuana for sleep, in fact, my year follow up MM doctors appt is today. I have suffered from insomnia from PTSD for 30 years and had been hopeful sobriety would improve my insomnia. My sleep did get a bit better, but I still was anxious and unable to fall asleep or stay asleep for any length of time. It was quite debilitating after all these years. I was addicted to sleeping pills (Ambien) for years and that was a real mess as well.
I have tried almost everything and anything over these many years to work thru my insomnia, but was never able to fully move past it.
I was also prescribed MM for anxiety, but have not found it helpful, even with very high CBD mixed in. I am utilizing breathwork, meditation, yoga and physical activity to keep anxiety at bay…mostly that helps.
I was almost 2 years sober when I got my MM card. I was at my wits end with the sleep issue and was thankful for the option here in Florida. At that point I hadn’t smoked weed in 40+ years. I never liked the marijuana high, so I am not worried about abusing it at all. I also did not want to smoke anything after being 10 years cigarette/nicotine free after 30+ years of cigarettes…wanted to keep my lungs clear. I use MM sleep gels and a tincture, not smoking. It works very well for me, not perfect, but my sleep is much more restful and I am very grateful for that.
For me, MM has improved the quality of my life by improving my sleep, which is essential to overall health and happiness.
Each of us has our journey and our own body chemistry and medical/emotional issues to work with. And we each need to be honest with ourselves about our sobriety and recovery.
We do need to be cognizant of people who weed is their DOC and/or who are struggling with it. Much like discussing various medications that can be abused, just as marijuana can be abused. Same as discussing food/diet when we have members with eating disorders. As we know, we don’t all have the same issues with various substances. Many people can take medications as prescribed without dire consequences, others will abuse them.
So definitely something to keep in mind when posting about MM use.