If you find yourself becoming a slave of marijuana, maybe it’s high time that you call it quits. According to the official data from the Canadian Centre on Substance and Addiction, around 94% of the people who use cannabis do so via the smoking method.
When we talk about smoking, it’s not really the marijuana that does the damage; whether it’s tobacco or smoke from wood, inhaling foreign particles is basically the main culprit.
Nevertheless, here are a few steps you can follow to teach your mind that you can do fine, in fact, better, even without the puff:
1) Choose a date, wisely!
Choosing a ‘quitting date’ may at first seem to be the easiest task. However, it isn’t as easy as it might sound. Selecting the right date is in itself an enormous ordeal. Many people who often think while smoking a joint that the one in their hand would be the last are basically lying to themselves. In fact, their subconscious mind is so used to this lie that you may find them smoking again the next day.
It is better to choose a realistic date. Both the Canadian Centre for Addiction and the American Cancer Society recommend giving oneself at least a month’s time. A determined mind, during those 30 days, should give most ‘victims’ enough time to accept the idea of a smoke-free lifestyle, thus helping curb the habit.
2) Cut down on your intake
In this 30-day timeframe, you need to cut down on your intake slowly and steadily. It would be a cinch if you could enjoy all the joints for 29 days and then simply step away on the 30th. But that’s not how things work. Isn’t it?
Keep reducing the intake as time progresses. If you usually smoke 2g a day, cut the quantity to 1.5 gm for the next week (each day). Keep removing 0.5g in the following weeks until the D-Day arrives. Always remember, slow and steady wins the race.
3) Dispose of all the things that may deviate you from your goal
Keeping ‘unnecessary’ items on display, say a pipe, in the living room may act as a hindrance to your ultimate objective, as they may seem tempting. Remove all these items, including grinders, papers, trays, etc. Make sure they do not come across your eyes ever again. Yes, ever again!
4) Replacing the negative habit with a positive one
Most of the people who look to quit smoking cannabis have a hard time letting it go, so much so that they start resorting to other forms, like smoking a cigarette (tobacco). When we started out, our objective was not to replace the existing habit with a similar, perhaps more lethal one.
This point is basically about rewiring your brain. You have to convince your subconscious mind that you can live a happy life without marijuana. Whenever you are hit with the urge to smoke again, do something positive- have a glass of water, gulp some coffee, go for a walk in the park, fill up a gym membership.
If you are in the habit of going out on weekend getaways with friends and colleagues, who smoke weed, you may have to refrain yourself until you are convinced that you won’t puff even if offered by your best friend.
Don’t be afraid of withdrawal symptoms
The withdrawal symptoms will appear; there’s no doubt in that. How often and what quantity you used to smoke will decide the frequency and the intensity of symptoms. The common ones include nausea, anxiety, sleeplessness, loss of appetite, etc. Don’t worry, the majority of these withdrawal symptoms will subside in a week, although your sleeping pattern may remain disturbed for a little longer.
To conclude, here’s a stat from the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA): One in 10 people who use cannabis will become an addict or develop a Cannabis Use Disorder.
