Cannabis to Get Off Alcohol

[@peace]

Hey,

I have had a childhood friend reach out to me. He is an alcoholic, in his mid 30's. He has past trauma issues and drinks to cover it up. For the first time ever he is admitting he has a drinking problem and wants some weed to help get off of it. He is still drinking heavily so it is difficult to keep him on track. I am looking up detox centers here in Canada and other resources of how I can help. I am not a therapist though so this is all new to me. Does anyone here have experience with themselves or others that have used cannabis to get off of alcohol? I don't drink at all so I can't relate fully but I do really want to help. Any advice would be appreciated. I don't want to mess this up. He seems to be at a crisis point.

 

[Rgd]

its legal he can buy his own weed in canada

of course it can help because it instills some sort of pleasure principle

but the main thing is

he has to want to do it and see it through..

AA.....[ a belief in a higher power than our weak indulgent selves]..ie God, has helped many many[many]

I guess one can do it by themselves but the only ones I see doing are where God takes over

the proud Godless ones no..I know in this day and age its hard to under stand

all the best

don't want to mess this up. He seems to be at a crisis point.

you are doing fine reaching. out..only he can mess it up..

do not feel any guilt

you are not in charge,,he is not in charge

the alcohol is

 

[@peace]

Does anybody else have any experience as to when they used cannabis to get off alcohol? After detox? During? Were edibles better than smoking or vaping?

 

[alvin88]

I can chime in personally. I am 35, been drinking heavily since I was 22 or 23. For me that was around 4-10 beers 6 nights a week. Sometimes more, rarely less. Luckily I always stuck to beer and never hard liquor. Alcohol has caused me problems, I do have 2 DUIs. But that never made me want to quit.

As cliche as it sounds, it takes the person wanting it, to be able to do it. For me, I decided I just have no place for it in my life any more. I live for backcountry skiing and you need to be in good shape. As I got older I found it harder and harder to stay in shape and keep off pounds. Alcohol had to go. Also, I realized I just dint even like the buzz anymore. It's dull, uninteresting, and has the tendency to make you act a fool. I had an epiphany that as a lifelong stoner, Alcohol was even getting in the way of the buzz I enjoy!!

That was 57 days ago and I've only had a few cravings. Yes I've been smoking twice as much as before and replacing beers with dabs. It only took a few days for me to get over the cravings. Obviously, I was not THAT bad of an alcoholic as I quit cold turkey and had no shakes or DTs.

I thought I would be bored because I use to always reach for a beer, when I got home from work, just chilling out back, with dinner, at the mountain, after a bad day, after a great day. You name it I had an excuse to drink. Well surprise surprise I have discovered when I'm not drunk all the time I actually get a lot more done and I'm never bored.

Even though I never stopped smoking I tell people I feel like a born again stoner after quitting alcohol. I get EXCITED to smoke or check out a new bag of weed. So much of my attention is focused on my personal grow and hash making and I love it.

I dont know if that's exactly what you were looking for because I haven't used weed any differently than I was before. Just smoking more of it lol.

 

[@peace]

@alvin88. Thanks that was very helpful. He doesn't use weed really at all, but has in the past. He says he is at 12 a day, but he is full of it and the number is higher. He is drunk morning to night, no real job. I am going to see him in a couple of days and will bring him a blend of pure sativa to indica hybrids, and hash to see what helps him. Thanks again, I really want to tell him some other peoples personal stories so that he knows he is not alone.

Congrats on getting sober, that takes a lot of will power!

 

[alvin88]

Thanks! I was surprised myself that I was able to will my way through it with no outside help. I am a very independent person though.

Sounds like he may be a bit deeper than I was. It's a totally different buzz but maybe he can learn to love it. It is so much less damaging than alcohol. Good luck!!

 

[GF-Z]

@alvin88. Thanks that was very helpful. He doesn't use weed really at all, but has in the past. He says he is at 12 a day, but he is full of it and the number is higher. He is drunk morning to night, no real job. I am going to see him in a couple of days and will bring him a blend of pure sativa to indica hybrids, and hash to see what helps him. Thanks again, I really want to tell him some other peoples personal stories so that he knows he is not alone.

Congrats on getting sober, that takes a lot of will power!

Alcohol is terrible substance for prolonged consumption.
If he is on 12th day of drinking non stop, it can end up with Alcohol withdrawal syndrome
I would consult doctors about his condition... Seen people having seizures with white foam coming from mouth ending up with strokes and heart attacks and this is not a joke.. My country is famous for abusing alcohol and that is terrible cultural tragedy imo.
Stopping alcohol gradualy and mixing in cannabis with healthy food is the only option to save this man..
I means switching to light drinks like wine/beer/cider and smoking some very small amounts of marijuana can potentially help him to turn off alcohol binge and switch to recovery. If he will be full drunk and will smoke fat joint he can pass out easily... Body is exhausted, intoxicated, electrolites are gone aswell... Terrible state of mind your friend must be experiencing...
Thats why anything above 14% of alcohol for me is considered a poison or solvent for sanitizing surfaces, but not for human consumption.
Thankfully, right after consuming any form of THC my body does everything possible to avoid anything with alcohol in it.. If it will be wine, maybe I will get sip or two, just because of sweetness, but if it will be some beer - it will be left unfinished and forgotten...

 

[mike-or-ozzy]

Does anybody else have any experience as to when they used cannabis to get off alcohol? After detox? During? Were edibles better than smoking or vaping?

I talked to a good friend, about your thread here @Peace, @Rico Swazi, who kicked the booze with edibles and oil, 20 years+, he will chime in when ever he gets back in here which should be soon. Hope all goes well for your friend.

 

[@peace]

Alcohol is terrible substance for prolonged consumption.
If he is on 12th day of drinking non stop, it can end up with Alcohol withdrawal syndrome
I would consult doctors about his condition... Seen people having seizures with white foam coming from mouth ending up with strokes and heart attacks and this is not a joke.. My country is famous for abusing alcohol and that is terrible cultural tragedy imo.
Stopping alcohol gradualy and mixing in cannabis with healthy food is the only option to save this man..
I means switching to light drinks like wine/beer/cider and smoking some very small amounts of marijuana can potentially help him to turn off alcohol binge and switch to recovery. If he will be full drunk and will smoke fat joint he can pass out easily... Body is exhausted, intoxicated, electrolites are gone aswell... Terrible state of mind your friend must be experiencing...
Thats why anything above 14% of alcohol for me is considered a poison or solvent for sanitizing surfaces, but not for human consumption.
Thankfully, right after consuming any form of THC my body does everything possible to avoid anything with alcohol in it.. If it will be wine, maybe I will get sip or two, just because of sweetness, but if it will be some beer - it will be left unfinished and forgotten...

Thank you for the reply. I found some information from a university in Canada that touches on the same things that you have. It is linked below. They recommend, like you have, to reduce 1 to 2 drinks a day each week while substituting cannabis. So if he is at 12 beers a day he would drop to 10 - 11 beers a day first week, 8-10 in week 2, etc.

I found a detox centre that would take him in, fearing that if he tries this at home that he will have medical issues. The more I look into what alcohol dependency does to a person the more that it makes me sad that humans hold this substance in such high regards socially vs. stigmatizing cannabis consumption.

https://www.uvic.ca/research/centres/cisur/assets/docs/maps-cop/cmaps-alcohol-cannabis-service-providers-web.pdf

Thank you for your help.

 

[@peace]

I talked to a good friend, about your thread here @Peace, @Rico Swazi, who kicked the booze with edibles and oil, 20 years+, he will chime in when ever he gets back in here which should be soon. Hope all goes well for your friend.

Thank you so much for taking the time to do that. I really appreciate it.

 

[GF-Z]

Thank you for the reply. I found some information from a university in Canada that touches on the same things that you have. It is linked below. They recommend, like you have, to reduce 1 to 2 drinks a day each week while substituting cannabis. So if he is at 12 beers a day he would drop to 10 - 11 beers a day first week, 8-10 in week 2, etc.

I found a detox centre that would take him in, fearing that if he tries this at home that he will have medical issues. The more I look into what alcohol dependency does to a person the more that it makes me sad that humans hold this substance in such high regards socially vs. stigmatizing cannabis consumption.

https://www.uvic.ca/research/centres/cisur/assets/docs/maps-cop/cmaps-alcohol-cannabis-service-providers-web.pdf

Thank you for your help.

Stigmatizing cannabis usually comes from people who are dependent on alcohol. Alcohol is notorious for impairing decicion making based on emotional state.
Best example is my sister - she is alcoholic for more than 15 years. We tried everything. I mean EVERYTHING. She even tried to kill me once just for throwing 3$ worth of alcohol away........ Also tried same couple of weeks ago in front of 2 officers recording everything, while I came to collect her kid's clothes for cold season (she lost mother rights and kid stays with her husband atm.) She ended up in mental clinic again... and again... and again...
All her life she is blaming everyone for everything, just not herself. That is worst part of being alcoholic. They can't jugde their actions, they can only jugde everyone around them with hatred towards everyone who is not like them. Thats how alcohol works. And I really wish your friend is not that deep into it and still be able to have healthy life afterwards...
Detox center would definately make everything more efficient, just because they are profesionals and know how to clean human mind in first place. Second place they can monitor his health. And third they can control his alcohol consumption. That is most important...
Wish your friend will recover succesfully... It looks a joke, take a shot or two, until it takes control over your mind and starts to destroy your body slowly and painfully.
Usually weak diet tends to force human into addictive behaviour... That is place where he should start his recovery - kitchen.