Cannabis MEGA-Thread: amotivation and the munchies

[chicpoena]

Hello Bluelighters! We in TDS are introducing substance-specific MEGA threads. This is the Cannabis MEGA Thread. This thread will focus the unique problems associated with cannabis dependence. Having a substance-specific thread allows us to create a wider discussion with a broader perspective to provide greater support to the cannabis-dependent community.

 

[SilverFeniks]

smoke it if ya got it!

The one addiction I don't want to give up!
I've allowed the Greens to steadily consume me more and more over the past year [by returning the favor]; abstaining merely presents bipolarity problems I'd rather not face, and leads me to drink more (ick!).

But I'm trying to grow up, and learning foreign languages and even the most benign drug abuse are generally not conducive

But nothing else puts my mind at such ease .. to me, it's the missing piece of life's puzzle; THC sets my mind free to where it seems it ought to be; a properly critical paradigm (unfortunately with amplified paranoia, but a small price to pay for the negative life-effects it washes away)

 

[chicpoena]

I recently took a break from weed for a week and I realized that yes, you can be addicted to weed! Even though weed addiction is nothing like opioid addiction there's still a dependency. I was being really, REALLY lazy and just lying around smoking weed. In order to stay motivated and have energy I've had to stop smoking on a daily basis.

 

[Jabberwocky]

cannabis is medicine.

categorically, every single person that claims they have a 'problem' with cannabis I have observed they do not have a problem with using the plant, but rather they have problems in some other area of their life (drug or non-drug related) and not a problem with marijuana.

There are no major problems with marijuana smoking other than legal problems.

 

[chicpoena]

cannabis is medicine.

Although cannabis is medicine, it is also a psychoactive chemical. Cannabinoids are drugs, you cannot deny that. Any psychoactive chemical can cause psychological problems by altering brain chemistry. You cannot deny that drug use affects behavior, both positively and negatively, because it changes the way the brain works. Therefore some people are going to suffer negative effects from cannabis because it changes the way their brain works; altering their perceptions and changing the way they think. I can even think of a specific bluelighter, burn out, who says that cannabis has profoundly negatively affected his life. While at first I thought that he was making it up, I now know that he's not. He truly believes that cannabis caused a lot of problems in his life and that he suffers from its side effects. Who are you or I to question another human being's experience?

categorically, every single person that claims they have a 'problem' with cannabis I have observed they do not have a problem with using the plant, but rather they have problems in some other area of their life (drug or non-drug related) and not a problem with marijuana.

That is a massive generalization when in fact every individual has a unique history which has influenced everyone's behavior in a different way. Psychology has a plethora of theories about how personalities and behaviors develop. You cannot generalize from your experience with a certain, abysmally small number of pot smokers you know to the entire population of cannabis users.

There are no major problems with marijuana smoking other than legal problems.

That is simply not true. Cannabis has a number of negative side effects. Heavy cannabis use also results in mild withdrawal syndrome; it may be mild compared to heroin withdrawal, but it can still be a physically and emotionally draining experience. When I quit smoking weed cold turkey, I could not sleep. It took me about 3 weeks after quitting to get a full night's sleep. My insomnia made me cranky and tired during the day, which affected my relationships and school work.


Here's a specific list I got from Erowid.org

* nausea, especially in combination with alcohol, some pharmaceuticals, or other psychoactives
* coughing, asthma, upper respiratory problems
* difficulty with short term memory during effects and during periods of frequent use
* racing heart, agitation, feeling tense
* mild to severe anxiety
* panic attacks in sensitive users or with very high doses
* headaches
* dizziness, confusion
* lightheadedness or fainting (in cases of lowered blood pressure)
* paranoid & anxious thoughts more frequent
* possible psychological dependence on cannabis
* clumsiness, loss of coordination at high doses
* can precipitate or exacerbate latent or existing mental disorders

http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis_effects.shtml

 

[panic in paradise]

i love LOVE cannabis, its my rhythm, it has helped me in the most gentle way make realization of mental horror, the realization that is going to pass, most recently.

i smoke all day every day.

i could go on and on, but its different for everyone.

 

[chicpoena]

i love LOVE cannabis, its my rhythm, it has helped me in the most gentle way make realization of mental horror, the realization that is going to pass, most recently.

i smoke all day every day.

i could go on and on, but its different for everyone.

Me too

Aside from making me lazy if I smoke during the day, weed has been overall a positive influence on my life. It relaxes me, helped me get over social anxiety, revs up my sex drive, helped me learn to eat (I used to be anorexic)

I did have the most powerful spiritual awakening of my life after smoking a bowl of chronic. It was a very abrupt psychic experience that really caught me off guard. For a long time it was negative because I had daily flashbacks. What I was really doing was awakening but to be forced into it so fast that it caused a lot of anxiety. After about a year (yes, a full year) the flashbacks started to subside and I began to integrate my experience. I am not a more whole human being who lives a spiritual life.

There is no denying, however, that I suffered for a long time because of an experience wholly induced by cannabis.

Here's my trip report about this experience:
http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/showthread.php?t=385950&highlight=chicpoena

 

[Ruski Nath]

cannabis is medicine.

categorically, every single person that claims they have a 'problem' with cannabis I have observed they do not have a problem with using the plant, but rather they have problems in some other area of their life (drug or non-drug related) and not a problem with marijuana.

There are no major problems with marijuana smoking other than legal problems.

Not true. My short-term memory is completely shot from smoking cannabis; I can't see how it has to with anything else in my life. I'm constantly jotting things down on a notepad that I carry with me everywhere, just so I don't forget it a minute later.

For me, the positive outweighs the negative, but I sure wish I could remember where I put my keys.

 

[Coolio]

I don't have any memory problems associated with cannabis, except for my IMMEDIATE short-term memory when I've smoked myself silly - then I'll often stop in mid-sentence and ask "Wait, what was I just saying?" in all seriousness.

I have motivation problems when I'm not stoned. I just sit around listening to music and talking on the internet all day.

 

[MidnightBaby]

GP/s_s - i CRAVE feeling stoned almost constantly, at the moment i can't get a decent sleep without it, and so many things just seem shit without it - so I don't do them. I feel kind of blackly depressed now I don't have any.
How is that not only not an addiction, but also nothing negative? And that's just straight off the top of my head.

When people say things like "marijuana's harmless" or "not addictive" I just snort. (sometimes out loud ) Like chic said, every single person's brain has the potential to react differently to it, nobody can put a blanket statement on a psychoactive drug. And as far as I'm concerned, no one can experience this for a day and tell me I'm not currently addicted and there's nothing bad about it.

Don't get me wrong - I fucking love this drug. I just don't agree that it's a harmless, non-addictive medicine.

 

[Coolio]

GP/s_s - i CRAVE feeling stoned almost constantly, at the moment i can't get a decent sleep without it, and so many things just seem shit without it - so I don't do them. I feel kind of blackly depressed now I don't have any.
How is that not only not an addiction, but also nothing negative? And that's just straight off the top of my head.

This is called depression, not marijuana addiction. Marijuana just happens to be an effective anti-depressant for you and many others.

 

[MidnightBaby]

so if it's just run-of-the-mill depression, why didn't I have any of these things before I smoked marijuana regularly?

I understand weed can exacerbate existing/potential problems, and that doesn't mean you're addicted, but that's still a pretty major negative without any addiction, no?

And from previous experience, the symptoms I'm getting - insomnia, constant cravings, and unusual (for me) kind of depressive feelings - these come on short term, after smoking regularly and then stopping. What is it, then, if not an effect of weed? And do cravings and a relative degree of nonfunctionability determine addiciton existence?

 

[lazydullard]

after smoking cannabis i tend to sleep for 18 hours afterwards. once I went for 30 hours. my motivation is weak, and the "amotivation" you get the morning afterward is the 'last straw' so to speak, in my case. it's tough and i'm looking for a way around it.

weed also unlocked (or was again 'the last straw') on some serious anxiety issues for me. although I managed to conquer that, but it as ruining my life and friendships before I realized the connection.

the high makes you dumb and I ended up stewing in my problems for months before I finally faced them. cannabis is one of the best "escapist" drugs. it's not necessarily the fault of cannabis itself, but the escape it offers means you're smoking weed instead of facing and improving or dealing with your life.

aside from the amotivation, though, i've worked through my shit and can enjoy cannbis again =) Anyone have some advice for the amotivation? I can't even drag myself out of bed to smoke another bowl.

cannabis is one of the safest and least addicting drugs, but weak people, like me, occasionally have to admit that it does cause them problems... It's reasonable to assume that some people's minds aren't strong enough even for cannabis use.

 

[drug_wench]

my only advice for the amotivation wud b to take a break from smoking - or maybe only smoke on days wen u havnt got anything major u need to get done
im another of those who considers my former cannabis use to b an addiction
i smoked pot for 13 yrs and i didnt feel like it was affecting me negatively until i tried to stop
then came the withdrawals (and yes some were physical) - the mood swings, the anxiety, the restlessness, insomnia, nausea, sweating, irritability
i went back to it after giving up several times - i intended it to b the only drug i used (other than alcohol) wen i finally gave up hard drugs.....then it started having a negative effect on me
it suddenly made me paranoid and anxious - and it had never done that before (or maybe i just didnt notice cos i was a tweaker at the same time)
so it was relatively easy to stop in the end
i was certainly addicted to it tho

 

[GETYAGUN!!11]

I only get amotivational when i'm coming down...

 

[8ft-Sativa]

I haven't smoked in like 3 weeks, i'm quicker off the mark, funnier and get more shit done.

It's only because I moved to my home town where I have no hookups otherwise I would have cracked by now.

Hail the Herbage though, around xmas i'll crank out a mad phat sack and get crazy high!

 

[junctionalfunkie]

I smoked marijuana from the moment I woke up til the moment I went to sleep every single day for 17 years, and most every one of those days I told myself that it wasn't really a drug drug, but a harmless recreational herb.

Then, pretty recently, I went 2 months without weed, and it was amazing. A tsunami of emotions and memories I didn't even realize I had forgotten came flooding back into my mind. I was overwhelmed with a clarity of cognition. I was able to think clearly and cogently for the first time in many many years, and it felt fantastic.

I still love cannabis, but moderation is certainly key, as in everything. I try to smoke only once every week or two, and it makes those experiences sooo much more enjoyable. You will really appreciate being high much more when it is an occasional indulgence and not a perpetual state of zombiehood. True, as far as drugs go, cannabis is fairly benign and relatively nontoxic. Then again, it is quite a powerful drug nonetheless, and anyone who thinks they can constantly manipulate their brain chemistry to no ill effect is, quite simply, deluding themselves.

 

[Ganjasaurusrex]

Im not gonna try and get into the argument of whether or not cannabis can cause any sort of physical dependence or withdrawals, but I personally am addicted to it. Today is my 3rd day of not smoking, and its been a pretty shitty run so far. The addiction is all mental, I used the drug to escape from my problems, weed always caused me to just be happy when I smoke, remind me how much more there was to life than my own silly problems. But as miniscule as my problems were while I was high and able to think through things on a higher level, they were still there when I came back down.

I couldnt keep it up for long though, after about a month and a half, two months, it started to catch up to me. I smoked alone one time and all the negativity I had been supressing started to catch back up to me. I ended up bawling my eyes out. I know now that I really need to work through my problems on my own, without the help of any drugs, and dont intend to smoke until I do, but this is also my 3rd time trying to stop. Its really hard for me to stop, I get horribly depressed each time. I felt so bad yesterday I ended up taking a little bit of percocet to help myself not feel like just putting a bullet in my skull.

Its even harder because the few friends I have are all smokers, the temptation is always there, that or I just have to go through it all alone. I've had problems with depression for a really long time now, and I believe it is hereditary in my family on my fathers side, along with alcoholism and addiction, so it may have something to do with it.

I never had a problem with giving up weed at all until recently though, so hopefully once I fully work through my own shit I'll be fine to smoke again.

 

[Ganjasaurusrex]

Aint this some god damn shit! Not 20 minutes after I made that post, I read this post by onyxensentium.

Your life is shit because you think too fucking much. Quit analyzing everything so much and just find stuff to do. If all you think about is how crappy your life has become then you're essentially training yourself to think that way.

Snap out of it, find some hobbies, make some new friends. Go do something fun. There ARE fun things to do other than drugs, you know. Quit being such a drama queen and start living, 'cause you're temporarily dead.

I know this seems like I'm making light of your situation, but why not? It's just as easy to make light of a situation as it is to make a situation worse than it is. Do you have cancer? Do you cough up dark red blood from a horrible lung disease? Do other people need to wipe your ass 'cause you're too sick to get up to go to the toilet?

I doubt it. Your life isn't THAT bad. You're simply stuck on thinking that it is. Try meditating to find the joys of just BEING. Most people have problems because, like I said before, they think TOO MUCH. Instead of saying to themselves, "I am so bored," or "I am feeling like shit," why not just stick with "I am." Feel the joy in that, and live your life. Life is fucking short so don't waste your time bitching about it like so many other people who don't deserve to breathe. So many scholars have realized that life is precious, and there's a reason for that. The fact that you can say: "I am." Is amazing.

Ignore your stupid little ego which is stuck in a rut of self loathing and contempt and find fun things to do with your life. Ignore your useless day dreams of your past selves which are NO LONGER RELEVENT. Live for now, stay focused on where you are right now. Not where you think you should be, or what you think you should be doing. Just stay here right fucking now and realize the beauty of living and breathing.

Stay here now, and the rest will solve itself.

And the voice in your head that's probably saying "But it's not that easy, I really do dislike a lot of the stuff I deal with blah blah" is the same voice you need to swiftly smirk at and tell to shut the fuck up. Quit BEING that voice, rise above it like the god/goddess you were truly meant to be, and move on from it.

You paint your own reality, so it's dumb to think that by using ugly colours you're going to create a masterpiece. Your thoughts become reality, stay here now and you're fucking untouchable.

I think this is what drugs do, in a lot of ways. They force you to stay in the present moment, they completely erase any concept of "time" or what you "should" be doing. Instead you just stay in the moment and focus on what's going on RIGHT NOW and with that comes a very deep feeling of joy. There's a reason mushrooms and LSD feel so spiritual and magical, but the doors that the drugs open were already there to begin with.

All of it is within you if you simply stay awake, stay enlightened, stay here.

Don't think, be.

I knew this, smoking showed it to me every single time I smoked, its why I was doing it in the first place. Thinking negatively gets you no where, and life is ALL about perspective. Why dread your past? I had a bad experience, so what, am I going to let it ruin more of my life? If I didnt go through what I did then I wouldnt be who I am today! Gah, I'm so happy! It is just so so so easy for me to get caught up in my negative thoughts after I smoke. Maybe I've just been over doing it?

God, I'm so happy that I feel happy! I just want to hug something! I you bluelight!

edit : It also happened that the last track on pavement CD terror twilight came on as I was reading that guys post, probably had something to do with it. That song has NEVER failed to put me in a great mood. Heres the video for the song, god its fucking great, listen to it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxehrvhNMY8

 

[double ewe]

Posted this a few months ago. Predictably enough, I'm back to smoking daily . . .

As though it were a woman, I have fallen out of love with weed. Like everyone else, it used to make me so happy. We had such fun together . . with friends, by ourselves, bored, excited, content . . everything. But then, just like a relationship, it went from something I went out and met up with people to experience (let's go drinking! let's go to the park!) to something that I just wanted to lazily sit at home and enjoy without all the hassle. I became selfish in my relationship. I didn't want to learn new things or experience new people/places with pot - I just wanted to use her to keep me from thinking and to make me automatically "happy."

And, like regular sex with someone you don't love anymore, it still held me for a while. I knew I was starting to have a bad time, but it still kept me somehow content. Helped me sleep. Helped me (paradoxically) ignore all the problems it was causing for me. And it's just as hard of a habit to break. You have the friends who still spend time with her, the pipes and places that remind you of good times you had together, and the lifestyle that builds itself around the relationship.

But, just like a break-up, when you finally get clear of it and finally get her smell out of your clothes and finally find new things to make you happy, you see how fresh and bright and promising life can be without her burden holding you back.

Not everyone who meets her goes through this. Some flirt occasionally, while others can spend time with her and stay just friends. But for those of who really fell in love with marijuana, it often has to be this way.

I love what she taught me. I cherish the experiences we had together. But maybe it's time we start seeing other people.