Cannabis and the Road to Recovery

[AOD2012]

Hello everyone. I am a 25 year old student, and I recently just reached my first year of being clean from opiates, and all other hard drugs. I only recently started smoking again within the past three months. I started drinking at the age of 11, and by 14 I was smoking weed and doing hard drugs on a regular basis. At 16, I tried coke for the first time, and that, along with pot became my drug of choice for the next five years. During this time, I always worked, maintained good grades at school, and played sports. This kept the level of my drug use secret from a lot of people around me.
Long story short, I tried a vicodin for the first time when I was 21, and after that moment I never did anything else for the next 2 1/2 years. Within 6 months I was eating anywhere from 20-30 1000mg vicodin, or the same number of 10 mg percocet. I stopped for a few months here and there, but every time I relapsed, I started off right where I was last time, and the tolerance just went up. The last 4-5 months or so I started sniffing oxys and in that time I probably blew close to $25k on that garbage. One day I was unable to get any pills, and resorted to buy heroin. Fortunately, a voice in the back of my head stopped me from using it, and I check myself in rehab the next day.
That was a little over a year ago, and for the first time in my life I am extremely happy with myself. I used drugs to self-medicate, and now that I have real clean time under my belt, I see more worth in myself than I ever have before. I only have one more year of school, and will be closer on my road to being an architect. Anyways, I just want to know if I am skating on thin ice with smoking pot again. I know that I am not truly clean while I am smoking, but I had gotten put on all these antidepressants and shit, and pot does the same thing without messing with the little guy. i was just wondering if anyone else out there is in, or has been in this situation, and if you had any advice, or could just share your experience. thanks a lot.

aod

 

[Iron_Lion]

my g/f has been clean from opiates for 8 years and smokes weed every day, I also know quite a few ex alcoholics and even crack heads that now smoke weed everyday and have been free from their vices for years. everybody is different, only you know what you will do. If you use smoking weed as an excuse to use other drugs the only thing to blame is yourself.

 

[SacredTHCRitual]

your opiate road seemed really similar to mine except heroin was more easily available in the circle at the time.

no more opiates but I smoke about 2 grams to 3.5grams of kind weed daily..2 to 4 grams of high grade keeps me from even thinking about opiates. its not cheap but its a small price to keep me out of that lifestyle...

I don't know what kind of habit ya got up to but I figure if you can do 20 vicodins and it still not 'really' even hitting you..then I can feel your situation...When I look at a bottle of vicodin now and know that 20 of them will barely get me high I don't even bother going down that road. That hassle of all of it is just such a turn off so I went cold turkey...every one is different

PM me if you want more info I don't feel like going on about it here

 

[Stoner4Life]

I was addicted to cocaine and booze but pot helped me get clean & keep clean. same w/the anti-depressants had to get off of them for the side effects.


skating on thin ice? you better be the one in control of the drug or it controls you.

if you're smart you'll let your body & mind dictate what's best for you & right now it's weed, it will never be those other things again and some day it may be nothing that you need, not even weed.


keep up the good work.......

 

[designer]

God I hope that young people are reading this. I was recently in jail for my bad addiction to alcohol and DUI (Old charges, I am no longer dealing with the booze problem anymore). I seen so many heroin addicts that were dope sick. Kids that were in their early 20s that were very sick and needed help getting up off the floor. It made me sick with worry with what is going on in the world today. People treat heroin the way they did coke in the 80s and it is a very powerfully addicting drug with other health consequences. It is nothing to play around with. And I seen all the excuses, like I was taking oxys for my back and couldn't find any blah blah. I seen some fucked up bodies where people were missing muscle tissue from shooting up. You can get addicted so fast.

 

[Haps]

Weed works for me, I still think about drinking, but as long as I have weed the demon alcohol can not control me ever again.

 

[AOD2012]

thanks everyone.

iron-nice to see your girl going strong. yea i quit smoking for the first 8 months just to get my head completely clear. i always knew that i would come back to it, just need to get right first.

sacred-yea if i didnt stop, the dope would have been the next thing for me. my pill connect had just dried up, and i was getting real desperate.

stoner-thanks for the words of encouragement. I used to think the drugs made everything better, but now that i have real clean time on my hands, i realize life is so much more enjoyable when you are coherent and can remember what is going on.

designer-its really bad. i cant tell you how many kids i know from high school who were really good kids in high school. college they got hurt playing sports, got a script for some opiates, and next thing you know they are stealing shit from their little sisters piggy bank.

haps-i feel you, i want to feel that way without needing the buddha though ya know? i really love weed, and for the first time i realize my life would suck for a little if i never smoked again, but at the end of the day its not the worst thing that could happen.


once again thank you to all of you , and peace and good vibes your way.


aod

 

[SacredTHCRitual]

AOD2012,

opiates are a completely different animal. they demand respect and will punish you hard if you can't discipline yourself. its not friendly like weed at all. Depending on geographic location and personal connections, one might have access to only heroin or oxycodone or both/neither. The OP lived in an area where he was able to find both.

I live on the west coast and can remember right around the same time all the wars in the middles east started, heroin was making a come back. The suburban kids were already stoned on the oxy and the vicodin now this stuff was stronger and cheaper. they could snort it or smoke it so it lessens its needle stigma doesn't feel as dangerous ha ha right. 10 years later its still big and still here. even worse the makers of oxycontin have changed their formula for the pills to lower abuse well what happens is that the pill poppers cant use OCs anymore like they used to, the dealers stop buying them and now all the opiate heads have no where to go. Heroin will seem like the obvious relief to those who have already dove off into the deep end with pills but it will only last so long. 99% of people don't have the discipline to play with fire..perhaps no one does.. rarely do you see the mother superior figure of the old junkie that kept on top of it. They exist but not many.

 

[ddrew]

Like many others here, Cannabis helped me to let go of some severe addictions.

The only thing I caution you against is thinking that since everything is going great with smoking weed, maybe you can slip a little bit of other stuff in, not the case, your life will fall right back apart fast if you do.

Just smoking weed is fine, aids in relapse prevention IMO.

 

[mdk ktm]

Just went through 14 days of suboxone withdrawals, only to relapse the last 3 days on oxycodone. If you have been clean for a year, I think you can smoke weed. Its hard to kick the feeling of wanting to be numb and happy though. I know weed isnt oxy or heroin, but to me drugs are drugs. You have to be strong. For the average person weed isnt a gateway but For an addict anything can trigger you. It all depends on how far along you are, and if it is really worth it. Good luck man

 

[HUGE]

Weed has kept me opiate free for 2 years now.

 

[AOD2012]

well everybody, i know no one probably even cares, but i just got back from the doctor today, my knee is all busted and i fucked a tendon up in my finger. well anyway long story short i could have gotten a script for some pretty nice narcotics, and i had the strength to say no and tell her my deal so that doesnt come up again. whew, i feel great. thanks for all the support


aod

 

[Yes4Prop215]

crazy man opiates are no joke..vicodin seems harmless too. im not addicted by any means but i do enjoy taking a hydrocodone every once and a while to help me sleep. but ive NEVER taken more than 1 pill a day, ive never taken Oxy, ive never snorted vicodin, and ive never even contemplated doing heroin.

but there was a period a few weeks ago where i was sick and in pain and ended up doing vicodin every day for 3-4 days. on the fifth day without vicodin i definately felt a little weird and sick...had to smoke alot of weed to get normal again. wondering if maybe i was flirting with her too much....

 

[SacredTHCRitual]

Active Ingredient In Cannabis Eliminates Morphine Dependence In Rats


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090706090440.htm


lol

an 1/8th(weed) a day keeps the monkey at bay

 

[el dub]

Maybe I'm not "normal," but I feel sick after doing vicodin for more than a few days. I had to take it for pain after a car accident back in the day and I just felt better after I stopped, although my back still hurt.

lw

 

[AOD2012]

no it definitely makes you sick. i had partied my whole life, done coke and a whole bunch of other stuff. the opiates were the only thing i had to do in order to keep myself feeling normal. at the end i was not even getting high, it was just to stop the withdrawal. crazy stuff that shit is, the crazier part is that doctors push that shit all day everyday and they are supposed to be pillars of the community. haha yea right

aod

 

[mosstrooper]

As a general rule, in The Uk, addicts i know who have gone to rehab, are not only tested for heroin, coke etc, they are also tested for pot, and sanctioned for such.

Its a real shame, sadly i know quite a few addicts who despite being lovely intelligent people are really struggling with this thing. And what a thing it is.

Its really encouraging to hear all the positive accounts in here, ive always believed in ganja and its power to heal the mind.

What tends to happen with freidns of mine is they go mad for a few months, kick whatever habit or group (generally) of habits and get totally evangelical about it and stop the weed too. Not that they would generally smoke weed when on the heavy stuff anyway.
Next they pass all the piss tests, get there stupid certificate of i didnt do drugs for 3 months, and go out go mental get hammered and its back on the same old merry go round again.

Im convinced they should not only be encouraged to smoke weed, but it should be close to mandatory, ie like a prescription.

Weed and heroin in particular do not mix well in my experience, nor do weed and heavy alcohol use.

My experience of heroin is that whenever i have smoked both im always very sick. Id like to add, that i havent smoked heroin for well over 25 years at least. I never got a habit, at the time when i was partial to it i never had enough money to be a real addict, and im not motivated enough to make loads of money to buy drugs with.

However

I did all the drugs i could get when i was young, it seemed very exciting and exotic at the time. A few years later and i had a shit load of dead friends, and a whole load more who would and still do linger in the half life that is multiple drug and alcohol addiction.

Smoke weed, pure, unadulterated.

Sorry if im rambling.

 

[mdk ktm]

Way to stay strong man. Its cool to have people on here that have successfully kicked opiates. It is so damn hard to convince yourself that you don't want or need the shit anymore. Once you get down on some good heroin or an oxycontin you will be like " fuck that vicodin, I like gettin faded!"

I bet once you got rid of all that apap/tylenol your stomach and liver were happy.

 

[SacredTHCRitual]

opiates play with the dopamine in your head. dopamine is the chemical responsible for many things including controlling mood and pleasure/pain. opiates are like the key to that door you aren't supposed to open without discipline knowledge and respect.


a nice drug stash is tempting but it should remind you there is a price to pay for dwelling in heaven. contrast is the theme of existence.
you must endure pain to experience no pain. the higher you get the harder it becomes. ect

 

[mdk ktm]

Does anybody else have success stories of getting off of opiates?
What changes did you make in life to replace opiates?
How long did it take to feel normal again?