What are your thoughts on Cannabis? No judgement please but I’ve always found it helped me in many ways. Sleep, eating, pain. It helps me from going insane!!! There are dispensaries all over my city and I enjoy going to them and the people who run them are all such lovely people. Also it is helping me fight the urge of drinking and relapsing again. I don’t know I just find it safer than drinking or doing drugs. What do you guys think?
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I’m wrestling with how to give an opinion, that doesn’t contain judgment, as judgement is the only thing a subjective opinion is based on.
Here’s my opinion: If your goal is only to stop drinking, then it really doesn’t matter what other mind-altering substance you use. Cannabis. Meth. Heroin. Coke. Prescription drugs used without a prescription. As long as you’ve stopped drinking, you’ve achieved your goal.
If your goal is to be clean and sober, than using cannabis does not support your objective.
If a doctor has prescribed cannabis to treat some condition, then it is medicine, as long as it is used according to the prescription.
I used to enjoy visiting my local taproom It is owned and run by lovely people. Small business people who really take pride in crafting fine micro-brews. Same thing with our local distillery. Same thing with the multitude of wineries that surround me. Their business is alcohol. No judgement against them for proudly producing their product. It’s not evil. It’s just bad for me. This is a judgement about me, not them, or their product. Heck, My savior’s first public miracle was to turn water into wine.
I can’t say that cannabis use is bad for you. I can only say that I’ve decided that it would be bad for me. I’d use it for the same unhealthy reasons I used alcohol. Then again, it’s also illegal where I live, so that internal argument is moot. Also, my goal is to be completely free from any mind-altering substance. Clean and Sober.
Of course, your circumstances, and your mileage may vary. In the end, it’s 100% your choice. That’s the Libertarian in me speaking.
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I honestly feel like its still allowing you to avoid the deeper soul issues that lead to alcohol and drug abuse in the first place. Trading one addiction for another. Although I in no way judge or condemn, I just know there is a better way of living. Sober is sober. Personally my smoking lead me to another worse drunken relapse and kept me there longer than I ever intended and kept me more bound. Having a clear mind like @Steve92 said, makes it easier to see the truth about you addiction and help you to take the necessary steps to true freedom. So yeah, it might be “helping” now, but just give it some time…usually doesn’t end very well.
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it’s up to you. if abstaining from alcohol (or substance use or porn or shoplifting or gambling or whatnot) is your goal and you say smoking weeds fine for you then you dont need a second opinion go get lifted. but if your goal is to recover from the reasons you have a drinking (or x/y/z) problem i think a clean/sober mind is needed for that. in the past i stopped drinking for months but i constantly used hard drugs and thought “shit im doing SO WELL!” it’s cause i have a fucked up way of thinking especially w any substance in my body and i really thought i was doing well. that delusion crumbled fast.
but that’s me and my experience and just my opinion. best to you whatever you decide 
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I think this is a complex question – or maybe the resolution is complex.
I think resolving the question requires, above all, an assessment of why you quit drinking in the first place.
People come into sobriety because some drug is interfering with their lives. Whether some course of action at that point makes sense has to do with how they were using, why they were using, and why they want to quit.
I’m trying to quit cannabis after 5 years of smoking it daily. It’s really tough. Ironically, during the times I have tried to quit, I have turned to drink to get me to sleep instead. So my advice? Don’t just replace one bad habit with another. Good luck!
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I’m a cannabis user of about 10 years, however my DOC is porn. I’m struggling with this question too. I do feel that marijuana is different from other drugs. I do think that it is medicinal and can offer profound healing for folks with chronic pain, ptsd, seizures, etc.
I’ve spoken with a therapist about it and she explained that I was self medicating for the anxiety and social deficiency that I was creating with my addiction. Porn addicts have obviously conditioned themselves to isolate and to have difficulty understanding the emotional needs of others.
I tend to agree with my therapist. However, I might never have seen the light if it weren’t for the benefits of cannabis. I might have stayed locked in my comfortable bubble of addiction or worse if I hadn’t abated my anxiety somehow. I also admit that it does help me deal with stress. Additionally, it can make an experience, like a hike or a kayak trip, into a spiritual journey. I believe that it can contribute to a communion of sorts. At times, it SEEMS to help me converse with a higher power.
On another note, there is an amount if my cannabis use that is the escapist behavior of the addict. I’m trying to “get away” from the tedium or the discomfort of the moment. So, I try to avoid using in situations where I used to say “fuck it” and get high. I’ve been reading The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle and it has me wondering if my consciousness is really in the present moment when I’m using cannabis. Also, I question if my time spent high is getting me closer to some realization of my purpose here.
Native cultures used mind altering substances to engage in spiritual quests but it was usually for short periods. Ayahuasca, peyote, etc. But once the message is received from their higher power they don’t imbibe more trying to answer all the questions of our existential crises here. They found their path, moved forward, and maybe sought further shamanic guidance if they lost their way. It’s also possible that I’m romanticizing a very archaic way of life. But with the state of the world I can see they had a few things right. They lived sustainable lives at least.
In short, I don’t have an answer for you. I haven’t fully admitted that it’s a problem in my life…yet. I reserve the right to make that determination. For now, I’m experimenting with mindful cannabis use. If I find that it weakens my consciousness and contributes to relapsing I won’t have a choice but to give it up.
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I would say try not to replace drinking with smoking. But that being said, I enjoy cannabis. I like to smoke after work and on the weekends but I did notice that I would prioritize smoking over anything else and that’s when it became a problem for me. I’m in a clean and sober program now so no smoking or drinking, but I will probably continue to smoke here and there. I think it’s a personal choice for sure, and it will be different for everyone.
I think if it helps you avoid booze initially why not. I used junk food and red bull to avoid cravings and they helped a lot. You just have to make sure you don’t create new addictions.
Beautifully put, that was.
I am currently coming up on two years sober from alcohol on the 30th of this month, but unfortunately I consumed cannabis, for pain by choice, at the beginning of the year. I was in a minor motorcycle accident but I couldn’t walk for about 10 days without extreme pain. After consuming for about two weeks, the pain was bearable without cannabis so I stopped and immediately called my sponsor to inform him of what was going on.
I went searching for this topic because I’m struggling with how I move forward in the program. I attended a birthday meeting Friday and when “two years” was announced, I meagerly raised my hand and said “I’m putting an asterisk next to this chip” because I don’t know if I can claim to be sober for the two years.
I’ve praying about it. I’ve been honest with everyone when asked. A guy in the fellowship even asked me if I had told my sponsor about my consumption and I was honest with him in saying my sponsor was the first to know.
Here’s the kicker for my dilemma… I didn’t go out and hurt anyone by lying. I didn’t use it for fun purposes. I made a conscious decision to start and then stop because I knew it could lead to me falling away from my HP which I’ve grown so close to over the last two years.
It’s been on my mind for the last 48 hours. I guess the best thing I can do is be patient and wait for the sign from my HP on how to move forward.
Again, great write up on the subject. It was exactly what I needed to read.
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I can understand your angst. And it sounds like you have a good plan. And it seems you’ve covered all your bases. I hope putting it out here helps. Not that you asked. But I think you’re good.
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No no, I 100% appreciate your input. Thank you!
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Ive often wondered this myself, and I’ve done a lot of research on it. I have been a nightly marijuana smoker since I quit drinking 80 days ago. (I did have one relapse, but 28 days back alcohol free now).
In the first few weeks I quit drinking, I would take a few puffs off my vape earlier in the evening, to take my mind off of wanting to drink. Nothing to zone me out completely. It made me sleepy, and it helped.
Now that I’ve stopped drinking for so long, I find I don’t even need it all that much. I may take a right before sleep puff, and sometimes I take cbd during the day if I find myself really anxious.
I have never been an all day smoker, and I don’t smoke to the point of being completely out of it. I honestly don’t think I could have quit drinking without it at the start. I use it completely as a medicine/sleep aid. If it’s not a problem for you, then it’s not a problem. That’s my take on it. Alcohol was a problem for me. My hangovers were making me a bad parent, depressed, I was smoking cigarettes. Now I am alcohol free, cigarette free, and my before bed use of weed doesn’t hinder me in any way the next day like my hangovers used too. I don’t spend my days or nights stoned.
I was wondering what everyone’s opinion was on this topic, glad this was brought back up. 
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Thanks for sharing! Funny when I was younger, I loved be high all day but now my high is being sober and it’s so much better!
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Cannabis can be used for good, or abused. You were in an accident and utilized it like any other pain medication. When you saw you know longer needed it you put it a side.
I truly believe you continue to maintain your sobriety…you made sound decisions, and used it for the intended purpose to stop pain, and it helped.
Just wanted to share…and hey, congrats on those two years! Hold that chip proudly! Well earned! 
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Another opinion not asked for: You were honest. You are continuing to be honest. You’re well sober today.
I would only be worried if those weren’t the case.
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Thank you! I appreciate the support =)
I believe that cannabis calms people or gives them crippling anxiety. I’m in the latter category. If it works for you, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t enjoy it.
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I appreciate to support, truly. I think the saving grace for me in my program is rigorous honesty. If I stop being honest, I stop working toward that goal of freedom. Your input matters to me. 
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I’d add try your best not to abuse it. Like alcohol, at least for me, it worked on me until it didn’t. When I started getting High it was all laughs even though it would make me super antisocial. After 5 years, I felt like my heart was gonna beat out of my chest when I’d smoke. So be careful. I know you’re plenty used to it, and it’s mainstream these days, but it did wonders how badly if messed me up. I’ve driven drunk and high plenty, I was the guy driving on the wrong side of the road driving high.