cannabisnews.com: Former Marijuana User Tells Why She Quit
Former Marijuana User Tells Why She Quit
Posted by CN Staff on June 25, 2002 at 10:58:35 PT
Editorial
Source: Fond du Lac Reporter
Sue, 48, a former longtime Fond du Lac resident and recovering alcoholic, discusses her addictions. She’s newly married with three stepchildren and self-employed with her own printing business.Q: As a former user and recovered alcoholic, what’s your take on the whole marijuana debate?A: I don’t have a lot to comment about it, other than the fact that since I’ve have been clean from it for the past almost five years, it’s become apparent to me, in hindsight, that my usage was nothing but a substitute for alcohol, after coming through a recovery program with that.
Therefore, I enjoyed it and it probably “filled a gap” for me after (finishing the addiction institute) and getting on the road to soberness from alcohol.I always did enjoy the high from marijuana, much more than any high from alcohol – but that has to be put in perspective because I never considered alcohol as something to get a “buzz” from – I drank (at least the last eight years of my alcoholism) to kill emotional pain and to help me get through incredible anxiety I faced daily living with (her former husband’s) alcoholism, unemployment, a marriage drenched in drinking, fights and violence and the anxiety of living day-to-day wondering how we were going to pay bills. But, that never stopped me from knowing I was going to need $5 to $10 to buy a bottle every day – it’s a sick disease.Q: What did you get from pot?A: I got a high that relaxed me in a comfortable way. It mellowed me, enhanced sensations like listening to music, opened up my emotions by writing when I was alone, and generally made me feel good.Don’t get me wrong, though. Personally, it did have its sensation of paranoia that came with it – especially being around people (strangers) because I knew my eyes appeared glassy and I always assumed people would know I was high. Therefore, it was always a “closet” drug. In other words, you do it in the privacy of your home when you know you’ll be alone or only with other people who are enjoying its usage with you.Q: Why did you quit? A: The very last time I smoked it was the night I had an incredible reaction to it (and wound up at a friend’s house) when my heart was racing and I felt like I was having a heart attack. That scared the (expletive deleted) out of me — enough to quit. Haven’t touched it since. Bad batch, I figure – but it was enough to make me take a good hard look at what could happen with anything stronger than that, and therefore it was time to hang up the stuff. Having quit alcohol before that, it wasn’t hard to do – besides the fact that getting the stuff was never easy. Complete Title: Former Marijuana User, Recovering Alcoholic Tells Why She Finally QuitSource: Fond du Lac Reporter (WI)Published: June 25, 2002Copyright: 2002 Fond Du Lac ReporterWebsite: http://www.wisinfo.com/thereporter/index.shtmlContact: http://www.wisinfo.com/thereporter/contactus/index/Related Articles & Web Site:Is My Medicine Legal Yet? http://immly.org/2 Smokers Discuss Their Use of Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13215.shtmlAlcohol vs. Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13212.shtmlHealth Officials Say Marijuana is Harmful To Bodyhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13210.shtmlShould Marijuana Be Legalized? http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13209.shtml
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Comment #21 posted by SpaceCat on June 26, 2002 at 08:11:51 PT
pppp
Praise from Caesar!
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Comment #20 posted by qqqq on June 26, 2002 at 03:54:54 PT
......I.....S.....
..I loved the antedote about the clowds.......I dont see spelling glitches as negative,,,in fact,,I find them somewhat charming.......I think maybe I had some of that XXX back in '79',,,or was it 82?
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Comment #19 posted by Industrial Strength on June 26, 2002 at 02:20:12 PT
anecdote
I know it's anal to post a correction, but spelling mistakes look poorly.
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Comment #18 posted by Industrial Strength on June 26, 2002 at 02:18:21 PT
couch lock
Most of the stuff you get around here is almost always indica or a predominantly indica cross...Better commerical production value I guess, but every now and then you run across some stuff that can actually be edgy. A few weeks ago, me and two friends smoked just one nice sized joint of this stuff called "XXX" and we were looking up at the clowds, seeing what they looked like and all of a sudden I was hit with what felt like vertigo from merely looking up. I had to look at the ground or I felt like I was going to pass out. Anyway, thats my amusing antedote for the evening.
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Comment #17 posted by BGreen on June 26, 2002 at 02:05:36 PT
I agree about the sativa
I smoked some Hawaiian Haze from The Greenhouse coffeeshop in Amsterdam that would have had the same effect on a "non-professional" smoker. It was the best cannabis I smoked there. A very uplifting, soaring, almost psychoactive high. Most people only get to experience Indica couch-lock.The black market method of purchasing cannabis guarantees a variable quality. She smoked too much of a good thing.
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Comment #16 posted by pppp on June 26, 2002 at 01:46:52 PT
Wise words from the extraterrestrial feline
"Just commenting on the fact that we are so polarized on this issue we tend focus on perceived negativity to our cause
at the expense of a complete analysis. In the series of articles from Fon Du Lac, for example, I and many others jumped
all over the initial article without having the full story. It's a natural tendency, but can lead your understanding away from
reality if you let it take control. Raw, unvarnished perception of the truth is fundamental in order strategize effectively
for change, no matter how much we'd prefer to cling to our precious illusions."
well spoken SpaceCat.
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Comment #15 posted by Industrial Strength on June 26, 2002 at 01:27:33 PT
sugar joints
don't really seem to have that heart racing effect, if anything it's a heavier, narcotic high. I think it was most likely just a Sativa strain.
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Comment #14 posted by Robbie on June 26, 2002 at 01:20:26 PT
This is a pro-marijuana article
Or, at least, the woman really is....the fact that since I’ve have been clean from it for the past almost five years, it’s become apparent to me, in hindsight, that my usage was nothing but a substitute for alcohol, after coming through a recovery program with that.OK...so 5 years of marijuana that kept you away from alcohol. And now you're not smoking either. Great! Personally, it did have its sensation of paranoia that came with it – especially being around people (strangers) because I knew my eyes appeared glassy and I always assumed people would know I was high.And you only got that senation because it was illegal. When the fear of arrest goes away, a lot of that paranoia is going to go away. The very last time I smoked it was the night I had an incredible reaction to it (and wound up at a friend’s house) when my heart was racing and I felt like I was having a heart attack.Most likely some cocaine sprinkled into a joint. it was enough to make me take a good hard look at what could happen with anything stronger than thatGood for you! That's great. Now, just make sure people who use it don't get arrested, and everything is peachy keen!
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Comment #13 posted by firedog on June 25, 2002 at 17:00:59 PT
Note the title of the article...
Former Marijuana User, Recovering Alcoholic Tells Why She Finally QuitNote that she is a former "user" of marijuana, not "addict", "abuser" or "junkie", as the antis would probably have it. Things are definitely changing...
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Comment #12 posted by freedom fighter on June 25, 2002 at 16:39:03 PT
Missing info..
So she decided to quit smoking weed. Which is all right by me but I wondered how it was for her. Did she had hard time quitting? The article did'nt say anything. Me think she did not even had any problem stoppin smoking cannabis. She's damn lucky to have cannabis to help her quit drinking!As for her "bad experience", she is probably overweight. From the guise of this article, no one actually forced her to get "help". There is a bigggg difference. Oh how nice is it for some folks to think it is allright to break someone's door threatening entire family with deadly weapons, threatening someone with no charge if the son or the daughter would become a snitch, forcing someone that he/she needs help. IT DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY!!Guys/Gals, toke one up for this prisoner of war. 10 more months to go. My nazi doctor says he will try to get me out of the system sooner after all I was his best "client". ff
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Comment #11 posted by SpaceCat on June 25, 2002 at 14:40:34 PT
Not directed at anyone in particular
Just commenting on the fact that we are so polarized on this issue we tend focus on perceived negativity to our cause at the expense of a complete analysis. In the series of articles from Fon Du Lac, for example, I and many others jumped all over the initial article without having the full story. It's a natural tendency, but can lead your understanding away from reality if you let it take control. Raw, unvarnished perception of the truth is fundamental in order strategize effectively for change, no matter how much we'd prefer to cling to our precious illusions.
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Comment #10 posted by Industrial Strength on June 25, 2002 at 14:19:49 PT
space cat
Was that comment directed at me or someone else? I certainly don't care that she quit, the only reason I brought up the bad experience was because greenfox called the article propaganda and the only really negative thing about marijuana I could find in the article was her bad experience.
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Comment #9 posted by SpaceCat on June 25, 2002 at 14:08:44 PT
None of our business
I think it's beside the point why this woman quit. It's her story, and her right. She spoke personally and did not condenm others based on her own experience. She actually says many positive things about pot, and if no substance at all is the right way for her, so be it.
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Comment #8 posted by Industrial Strength on June 25, 2002 at 13:59:55 PT
propaganda
This didn't seem to put much of a negative spin on herb to me. The only thing was the bad experience she had with it, and like whatever said, that wasn't really a "bad" experience, it was just a strong sativa strain. To me at least, this painted a picture of a woman who was down and out that cannabis helped. What is your interpretation?
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Comment #7 posted by greenfox on June 25, 2002 at 13:52:30 PT
Propoganda from the right
Fun fun fun.....bs to the highest degree...
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Comment #6 posted by SpaceCat on June 25, 2002 at 13:48:52 PT
Set and Setting
Or how you approach it mentally and under what conditions you use it have a tremendous effect on the experience. My Brother lost in in Amsterdam, partially because of the strength of the weed, but mostly because he just couldn't cope with the fact that you could buy and smoke openly. Even after buying it at the bar and taking a house paper, while clouds of fine smoke wafted around us, he was paranoid about rolling at the table!Of course "losing it" on pot means he felt uncomfortable and we had to leave the Van Gogh museum for a less crowded place, not going blind or killing people on the highway, and he got over it eventually :)
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Comment #5 posted by Industrial Strength on June 25, 2002 at 13:44:59 PT
weaning
I found that smoking herb really helped me to quit smoking because smoking a joint would take away all the mental cravings for a cigarette...The physical ones were another story. I was unaware about the heroin addicts, but I have heard that there is moderate success in helping crack addicts quit. Im not sure if that has anything to do with cannabis in particular of if any drug would do the trick, but pot is certainly the most harmless.
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Comment #4 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on June 25, 2002 at 13:29:17 PT
Fon DuLac, eh?
>>Personally, it did have its sensation of paranoia that came with it – especially being around people (strangers) because I knew my eyes appeared glassy and I always assumed people would know I was high. Therefore, it was always a “closet” drug. But what's so wrong with other people "knowing" you're stoned? It's all in your mind, really - most of the other people are oblivious, concentrating on their own problems. And it's mainly due to the stigma of the herb - you never stop to think, "But what if they know how caffeinated I am?" Also, think about your reaction any time you've actually known - due to odor or something - that someone was high. Wasn't it more giggle giggle, and not let's call the DEA? Ahh, but there's the problem - the DEA, and their minions, stand ready to do more damage to you and your loved ones than even an alcoholic marriage could do. But, unlike alcohol, this isn't an inherent quality of cannabis - it's something OUR GOVERNMENT added to it for OUR SAFETY. But before I get off on a LONG rant... One other comment, about the last paragraph where she describes getting a "bad batch". If our government was still trying to force us to stop drinking, it's entirely likely she'd be blind or dead by now, from drinking a bad bottle of alcohol. I agree with Darwin - it sounds like this lady used cannabis to wean herself off alcohol. Jack Herer describes using it to stop his cigarette habit. Heroin addicts say it cures their cravings as well.
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Comment #3 posted by whatever on June 25, 2002 at 11:56:36 PT
i mean....
sativa
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Comment #2 posted by whatever on June 25, 2002 at 11:55:26 PT
hmm
sounds like she quit marijuana cause she got some potent saviva variety.
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Comment #1 posted by darwin on June 25, 2002 at 11:23:29 PT
It saved her
Without the stepdown to cannabis from alcohol, there's a good chance she would have relapsed and would still be alcoholic today.
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