Marijuana - Aid or Impediment to recovery?

[WhiteRyan]

May seem dumb, may differ with personalities, maybe you already have noticed it... when you begin having urges to use drugs, before you use, get nice and high off Cannabis and you lose the urges. Works for about anything as far as I know. (informational purposes only)

[discobloodbath]

but what about if cannabis is what your craving, then what?... i think the best thing to do is, if u have a tendency to abuse things.. alchol, money, whatever.. than try not to do things that are notorious for their abuse.. also i think reading up on something.. learning all the good and bad in great detail might help prevent an addiction since you'd know what it can do to u.. knowing could possiblly be what keeps you from crossing a line u dont want to cross

[WhiteRyan]

Its all about who the person is, will power, understanding, constant relization. and if cannabis is your poisen then I guess it wouldnt work.....may differ from person to person

[rxcrackhead]

it's totally a personality thing, people define their wants as needs and
there is a big difference.

[Antidote]

Pot is definitely my anti-drug. Who needs a pill when you can have a bowl?

[Curtains]

pot is still a drug though, i no people that spend almost all the money they earn on weed

[moda00]

I'd love to hear some more input on this topic, even though the OP is quite old. Rather than just yes/no answers, I'd love to hear some in depth feedback. I have heard many perspectives on this issue. Now, I think it is clear that, yes, marijuana is a drug, in that it is a substance which has an effect on the brain. I think most of us would agree that it is also fairly benign compared with many other drugs, given the research and the facts. That said, where does marijuana use fit in with the concept of other addictions, and the recovery from such addiction problems?

Are there people here who find that marijuana has actively helped them to overcome cravings or addictions to more harmful and addictive substances? Do people consider marijuana to be a harmless activity that is neither here nor there, not a solution to addiction, but not a problem or cause either? Are there people who believe that marijuana is detrimental to recovery, and that in order to effectively recover from addiction they had to give up marijuana as well? Of course some people to find that they become addicted in a sense to marijuana in itself, but I am wondering more specifically about recreational or therapeutic use of marijuana in the context of overcoming other drug addictions or cravings. Any and all thoughts welcome- please refer to your own experiences and opinions when applicable, and remember there is no "one right answer" as any substance or activity can very well be detrimental to some and helpful to others.

[cyndi]

Swim's son is having a difficult time abstaining from marijuana. It is not good when on probation as it could send him back to jail. He already tested positive for it recently so one more time would do it. Swim's son also has a difficult time finding work and keeping the job due to marijuana use. He just can't seem to abstain from it for some reason so it must have some addictive qualities she assumes.

Swim's experience with it definitely is a nono when it comes to recovery. It goes back to people, places, and things and seems to trigger cravings in her case since the smell was usually present when buying and using speed which is her doc since weed was usually there as well. This may vary from person to person but again is her experience with it.

[chillinwill]

for swim, smoking weed would probably send him back into heroin....it would not happen immediately but slowly over time....SWIM would start smoking and then rationalize that since he can handle blazing that he can start to drink and then slowly start going back to the people, places, and things....SWIM has decided that if he wants to remain clean off of opiates that he has to abstain from every drug out there

[newgrower]

SWIM hasn't used heroin or cocaine in over 12 years but smokes marijuana everyday for years. SWIM feels it has helped dealing with cravings for harder things. SWIM didn't use anything while still on probation because of the drug tests so SWIM had a couple of years clean time before starting smoking again.

For SWIM, the 'hard' drugs needed to be stopped because of the negative effect on their life (or rather the 'hard' drugs being SWIM's life). But SWIM has never had serious negative consequences from marijuana - not the best thing for you but better than alcohol. So if it works depends on your ability to handle marijuana and its effect on your life.

[ai]

swim have never smoked weed in his life funny enough. but he isscared to because it would impair his judgement and then all the defense's he have against the pipe go bye bye.

SWIM got by the first 23 Years of his life drug free, well besides the normal 21 year old drinking but other than that, drug free. SWIM should not have to depend on 1 illegal drug to substain to another

[izzy31]

SWIM smokes alot of pot to cut back on his meth addiction.