"Addicted" because you vape every day?

[Trypsy Summers]

I'd certainly go with the cannabis, as in my hypothetical scenario, I could obtain enough 'physical' food and moisture out of the fresh plant to get by, and I'd get the 'spiritual/medicinal food' from the bud! That’s because Cannabis can be as nourishing as food and water.



"This is so far removed from reality that I cannot even comprehend it.......lolz."

Methinks the clue is in the in my hypothetical scenario, part,

Pure Peace

 

[uncanni]

this a one theory.
it disables the theory of the a-motivational syndrome.
what comes first.
the chicken or the egg ?
does weed end personal development or do be people with peronality devolopment proplems use cannabis ?
no one knows.
this does not claim to be true for everyone.
there seems to be a vulnerability trait in some people.
I really would like cannabis to be my cure.
maybe I have to accept that it is my poison.

stash is not the proplem here.
its the use.
some people feel like a "more whole person" when they use.
are they "defect" because they use or do they use because they treat their illness.
and whats the cure ?

I know I'm coming back to this after a while away, but after reviewing some of the previous pages, I can say this:

Now in 65, proud, empathic countercultural crone, all tatted up, witch, anarchist and flower child (and I'll never stop being a flower child):

I was diagnosed with an SMI (serious mental illness)--i.e., chronic depression and anxiety--many years ago. I remember since I was very, very young. First, I've had to do a lot of growing up. And it's been a decades-long process.

There is something so strange for me about being a human: indeed it has taken a lifetime to grow up, but I wouldn't change my wisdom and level of comfort with my place and incarnation in the cosmos at the present moment.

Because of Cannabis; because I chose her as my goddess and began cultivating her as a method of worshipping and helping others to heal.

If she calls you, respond to her. It's your ECS calling out for what it needs.

The way we are now is not the way we will always be; Cannabis allows us a beautiful, graceful access to the present moment. Be.

As for partners: find the partner who can worship you as you both worship cannabis together. Some people just aren't ready to seek the cure to the "real world" out there that Cannabis offers.

 

[EverythingsHazy]

+1 Zillion.

I agree with that as well.

I do have a problem with using the above as a metric for addiction as many docs and therapists do. I realize the worm is turning a bit in that regard and it isn't as much of a self fulfilling prophesy as back in the day.

What am I babbling about? Someone that is genuinely a better/healthier person for partaking; whether with a medical card or not: They are suddenly an addict simply because society doesn't approve. They are suddenly an addict simply because mom/wife, etc. doesn't approve.

I'm glad we agree on somethings. I think a lot more of us would be in agreement, if we were all talking about the same things, with the same definitions.

When I mention Cannabis negatively impacting one's relationship, I don't just mean that your partner doesn't approve of Cannabis use. That seems like more of difference in opinion than an addiction problem.

Work is a bit trickier. I do consider having to be high at work a problematic mindset. I also think requiring people to not come in smelling like weed is ok.

Beautifully put, @EverythingsHazy. When injesting anything, including cannabis, we need to consider cleanliness, purity, healthfulness, amount and effect on our bodies and in our lives. Just as people vary in temperament, they can vary in physical reaction and emotional and mental response. I came to cannabis later in life, in large part because I have a son who was/is addicted and I saw how that played out. It is part of a larger constellation of problems he has, and he is a person designed to abuse anything, be it substances, pets or people. Cannabis contributed to his problems to no small degree, and if my health hadn't been destroyed I would have not began using it at all. I'm glad I did, as it helps with my symptoms, but I would far prefer not to have symptoms at all. Unfortunately, we don't always know what we are injesting, or even that we are injesting it.
I don't think everyone who uses daily is addicted. I think dependence is different than addiction. I think regular usage is different than dependence. As responsible adults we have to consider how our actions effect ourselves and others, use our best judgement and make difficult choices. If Madri-Guy expressed the slightest bit of concern about my cannabis consumption, no matter how much I felt it helped, I would quit. He lives with me, and shouldn't have to deal with serious negatives about my usage. I don't want him dealing with any negatives at all, but I can see having a serious discussion about whether a prime sunny spot in the garden should be given to his tomatoes or my Devil's Lettuce .
I don't worry about coffee, as I don't drink but a cup a day, or less. I don't consume tobacco, and rarely drink. The only OTC med I use is Tylenol, but no more than 3 times a week. Any prescription medications are only taken after serious discussion with my physician, and alternatives discussed. I have 37 medication allergies, so this is taken very seriously. I become extremely nauseated from opiates and won't take them, including after surgery. I've given up meat, dairy, and any number of foods and never cared for salt. Excepting my cup of coffee, I prefer to drink water. This all works for me, and I am not suggesting the way I do things is right for anyone but me.
I am using cannabis on a daily basis, and am not addicted. I'm open to feedback from well meaning family and friends, or my physician, about any concerns they might have about my usage, and if problems develop I will quit. I just won't accept the label from strangers, or people unqualified to make a diagnosis.

I'm sorry to hear about your son’s struggles. Hopefully, he will get everything sorted out eventually!

Also, I agree that not all daily users are addicted, and that getting feedback from educated, well meaning family members/friends is useful, because slow changes in ourselves are sometimes difficult to notice. It can help to get an outside perspective. It's like the old story about putting a frog in hot water and watching it hop right out, or putting it in room temperature water and slowly raising the heat until it is boiled alive, unaware of the slow change.

Cognitive dissonance prevents me from admitting any addictions I might have. Didn't count many Yes answers to OP.

I think congnitive dissonance is a very strong force in people’s opinions about their own Cannabis use. It’s hard to admit that you’ve been doing something that isn’t very smart.

@EverythingsHazy Okay now that I've read your statement, allow me to very quickly reply to some of the points you've made...

In the first instance; I can't really go with your hypothetical prison cell scenario, cos as I said previously, that's outside of my reality! But for the sake of humoring you, out of the choices on offer, I'd certainly go with the cannabis, as in my hypothetical scenario, I could obtain enough 'physical' food and moisture out of the fresh plant to get by, and I'd get the 'spiritual/medicinal food' from the bud! That’s because Cannabis can be as nourishing as food and water.
Indeed I wouldn't mind if you wanted to label me an addict, cos that label ain't gonna hurt me one tiny bit! I just wanted to clear that up!

To be fair, I'm kinda at a loss as to the point you're making! Sorry it's that New Years Day 'glow' thing..

As for your next points; re Cannabis without flaws and that it can be abused etc, well my friend, that is hardly the fault of Cannabis and is more to do with the (ab)user, but to start censoring others cos one person can't hold their weed is - simply a non-starter! I have to say your analogy regarding the healthy meal, simply doesn't stack up - at all!
If Cannabis has the negative effects that you describe; then I would assert that the issue(s) is with the user, and they ought to go and sort themselves out, I am firmly camped within the - you can't blame cannabis for accentuating underlying issues, in some people - school of thought! But Hey that just me

Anyway I hope you can come out of your feelings, oh and before I forget, Happy New Year!

Pure Peace

I’ve never been in prison either, or even arrested, but I can imagine what it would be like. That’s what’s great about the human mind. We can imagine things without experiencing them.

I'm not in my feelings. If anything, I think people give to much power to feelings in debates, when the facts should be the main focus. What someone feels doesn't matter as much as what is objectively true.

this a one theory.
it disables the theory of the a-motivational syndrome.
what comes first.
the chicken or the egg ?

does weed end personal development or do be people with peronality devolopment proplems use cannabis ?

no one knows.

this does not claim to be true for everyone.
there seems to be a vulnerability trait in some people.

I really would like cannabis to be my cure.
maybe I have to accept that it is my poison.

stash is not the proplem here.

its the use.
some people feel like a "more whole person" when they use.

are they "defect" because they use or do they use because they treat their illness.

and whats the cure ?

I think this has to be decided on a case by case basis.

Some people may have just gotten themselves hooked on the feeling of being high, and no longer enjoy life while sober. These would be problematic cases in which the users gave themselves the issue of needing to feel high to be happy/content.

Other people already have medical issues that are mitigated with Cannabis use. This is not the user's fault.

 

[analytika]

"Use" as a noun, possibility of actual discussion.

"Use" as a verb (especially without an object), somebody's preaching.

 

[Trypsy Summers]

I'm glad we agree on somethings. I think a lot more of us would be in agreement, if we were all talking about the same things, with the same definitions.

When I mention Cannabis negatively impacting one's relationship, I don't just mean that your partner doesn't approve of Cannabis use. That seems like more of difference in opinion than an addiction problem.

Work is a bit trickier. I do consider having to be high at work a problematic mindset. I also think requiring people to not come in smelling like weed is ok.

I'm sorry to hear about your son’s struggles. Hopefully, he will get everything sorted out eventually!

Also, I agree that not all daily users are addicted, and that getting feedback from educated, well meaning family members/friends is useful, because slow changes in ourselves are sometimes difficult to notice. It can help to get an outside perspective. It's like the old story about putting a frog in hot water and watching it hop right out, or putting it in room temperature water and slowly raising the heat until it is boiled alive, unaware of the slow change.


I think congnitive dissonance is a very strong force in people’s opinions about their own Cannabis use. It’s hard to admit that you’ve been doing something that isn’t very smart.


I’ve never been in prison either, or even arrested, but I can imagine what it would be like. That’s what’s great about the human mind. We can imagine things without experiencing them.

I'm not in my feelings. If anything, I think people give to much power to feelings in debates, when the facts should be the main focus. What someone feels doesn't matter as much as what is objectively true.


I think this has to be decided on a case by case basis.

Some people may have just gotten themselves hooked on the feeling of being high, and no longer enjoy life while sober. These would be problematic cases in which the users gave themselves the issue of needing to feel high to be happy/content.

Other people already have medical issues that are mitigated with Cannabis use. This is not the user's fault.

Yeah, you keep preaching son, can't no one say you ain't entitled to that !

 

[grampa_herb]

I've always thought that weed got me through tough times when young. When depressed or angry getting high immediately changed my focus to something more positive. This felt very healthy. On the other hand, maybe I did not learn to handle those emotions as well as I could have.

 

[Dirtrider]

I have not read the entire thread, so sorry if this has been covered, but I think there is a mental side to it due to the programming or teaching we had when young regarding cannabis or doing something wrong. I think nothing of having a beer every night with dinner (don't any more but did for many years) (or have a dessert every night) but yet if I were to use a bit of cannabis every night to relax I feel like I might be an addict or using too much. In my mind there is a different standard for me. I don't know if there should be though. I guess this is a self assessment of addiction based on society's norms and upbringing.

 

[Tranquility]

I have not read the entire thread, so sorry if this has been covered, but I think there is a mental side to it due to the programming or teaching we had when young regarding cannabis or doing something wrong. I think nothing of having a beer every night with dinner (don't any more but did for many years) (or have a dessert every night) but yet if I were to use a bit of cannabis every night to relax I feel like I might be an addict or using too much. In my mind there is a different standard for me. I don't know if there should be though. I guess this is a self assessment of addiction based on society's norms and upbringing.

I remember a local talk show host used to make a comparison in his attempts to demonize cannabis by asking "Would you rather see your pilot having a joint or a beer before the flight?"

I used to answer to myself, "a beer". (Which is the answer his hypothetical wanted as he thought it made his point.) But, not because alcohol is less bad than cannabis, but because there isn't really a comparison between a person smoking a joint and a person drinking a beer.

Most users of cannabis might very well consider themselves under the influence after smoking a joint on their own while most users of alcohol might very well consider themselves sober after drinking one beer.

It's not just a matter of society's norms and upbringing, but reality.

 

[Dirtrider]

Certainly one must dose equivalently. One beer is about a bit more than a microdose, IMO. Slight affect, but hardly any. A whole J would be lights out for me I think. But that is a good example. Addition can be judged in many ways. Objectively (list of objective factors), Subjectively (personal opinion, many people know when they are addicted). I feel like I was pre-programmed as a youth and that affects my views.

 

[uncanni]

If I have a choice, I'll use Cannabis every day: my ECS absolutely loves it. However, I think INTENTIONALITY has everything to do with how I use Cannabis and how she affects me. My relationship to her has completely changed from when I was younger, and I use her in a different way now.

When I vape and/or use tincture daily, anxiety and depression are not a problem; I'm much more patient with my students, I have deeper insights into so many things, and I maintain an equalibrium that feels right to me.

I do a lot of writing and research while high; the one thing I have trouble doing when high is watching stupid shit on netflix. But I can watch a Coen bros. movie.

I don't go to work high: when I take tincture early in the morning, the high's over by the time I go to work, and I'm relaxed and unstressed for the next 6-8 hours.

 

[fernand]

It's going to boil down to some fundamental attitude issues.
Maybe people who are into episodic intoxication don't understand the chronic leveling use of the same substance. I see a lot of people struggling with the ethics of crutches. Crutches don't belong in any moral consideration.

 

[just_the_flu]

...it's only an addiction if you suck dick for it...

 

[arb]

Some peop!e like to suck a dick..........does that mean they are addicted to sucking dick........as in "hey man I'll suck your dick if you let me suck your dick"........lolz.
Nice thought to start the day with.......quite the dilemma a oral conundrum if you will........lolz.

 

[grampa_herb]

Think i'll mosey on over to that Ashley Madison site and start a thread about being faithful....

 

[analytika]

About the only thing vaping every day means is that you're likely dealing with some amount of tolerance. And that cessation or reduction will have some side effects related to your body's adapting/resetting it's endocannabinoid system accordingly.

 

[Krazy]

When I mention Cannabis negatively impacting one's relationship, I don't just mean that your partner doesn't approve of Cannabis use. That seems like more of difference in opinion than an addiction problem.

True enough. I kinda rushed the point I was trying to make. Any activity that turns you into a raging ass hole or destroys your relationships is not so good. But I have known people whose entire support structure have turned on them for using medicinally. Like Dirtriders comment except not directed internally.

a self assessment of addiction based on society's norms and upbringing.

 

[Ricardo]

http://fuckcombustion.com/threads/john-oliver-on-big-pharma-you-guys-are-gonna-love-this.17361/

 

[EverythingsHazy]

True enough. I kinda rushed the point I was trying to make. Any activity that turns you into a raging ass hole or destroys your relationships is not so good. But I have known people whose entire support structure have turned on them for using medicinally. Like Dirtriders comment except not directed internally.

I seems like we agree on a good deal about this topic.

 

[Astedra]

I can't stop it when I want to I guess I'm one of the 9%. I always have to have weed everyday.

 

[Ricardo]

I think weed is a really odd drug/medicine/gift from Mother Nature to all mankind with regard to tolerance / addiction etc.
I'm not going to get into the addiction debate but tolerance is very interesting. This is one drug where you actually do want to build a little tolerance, otherwise you could get totally blown away with the tiniest of loads. This happened to me all the time at first. It was kind of awesome but also very impractical. My friends laughed. It was hard to get stuff done. I much prefer this level of tolerance as I can better judge how much I need in the Vapcap in order to get either buzzed, mellow, high or wasted

 

[uncanni]

I can't stop it when I want to I guess I'm one of the 9%. I always have to have weed everyday.

I don't have to have it every day. I can feel stress, anxiety and depression, I can be less patient, kind and tolerant with others, I can not sleep as well, I can be hyper-self-critical, I can have a more vulnerable immune system, etc. I can be depressed all the time about the state of the world.

HOWEVER, I choose to get high and use my medicine every day so that I maintain a much calmer response to everything out there.
When I do some tincture early in the morning, the high wears way down by the time I have to go to work, but I'm slightly sedated for hours afterward.
I love the way I feel--and if you've ever suffered from anxiety, the state it puts me in is like entering a meadow up in some mountainous region in springtime, with a brook, flowers and butterflies-- after stepping out of an insane concrete jungle.

 

[EverythingsHazy]

I don't have to have it every day. I can feel stress, anxiety and depression, I can be less patient, kind and tolerant with others, I can not sleep as well, I can be hyper-self-critical, I can have a more vulnerable immune system, etc. I can be depressed all the time about the state of the world.

HOWEVER, I choose to get high and use my medicine every day so that I maintain a much calmer response to everything out there.
When I do some tincture early in the morning, the high wears way down by the time I have to go to work, but I'm slightly sedated for hours afterward.
I love the way I feel--and if you've ever suffered from anxiety, the state it puts me in is like entering a meadow up in some mountainous region in springtime, with a brook, flowers and butterflies-- after stepping out of an insane concrete jungle.

Not to speak for/at you, specifically, but that's tricky territory... Imagine if someone said, "I don't have to drink/do coke/take Xanax every day. I can feel stress, anxiety and depression, I can be less patient, kind and tolerant with others, I can not sleep as well, I can be hyper-self-critical, I can have a more vulnerable immune system, etc. I can be depressed all the time about the state of the world." People wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the possibility of the person being addicted.

"Having to do something" doesn't necessarily mean that the consequence of not doing that thing is death. It can be mood issues (anger, depression, anxiety, apathy, etc.), physical issues (inability to sleep, inability to eat, etc.).

You'd have to take a deep look at why you feel all of those negative things when you don't use Cannabis, to see if your Cannabis use is a healthy coping strategy.

If you have a disorder/chemical imbalance that causes those feelings, and Cannabis fixes that, then it's fine.

If you feel that way because you don't have your life in order and haven't learned how to use non-drug coping mechanisms to deal with stress, and Cannabis masks the stress, that might be considered unhealthy usage, since it would be keeping you from addressing important issues in your life.

If you feel that way because constant Cannabis use has caused normal life to feel boring, that's also probably unhealthy.

 

[Ramahs]

If you want to use the word addicted to describe me as a habitual cannabis user, then go ahead. I could care less.

 

[uncanni]

Not to speak for/at you, specifically, but that's tricky territory... Imagine if someone said, "I don't have to drink/do coke/take Xanax every day. I can feel stress, anxiety and depression, I can be less patient, kind and tolerant with others, I can not sleep as well, I can be hyper-self-critical, I can have a more vulnerable immune system, etc. I can be depressed all the time about the state of the world." People wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the possibility of the person being addicted.
"Having to do something" doesn't necessarily mean that the consequence of not doing that thing is death. It can be mood issues (anger, depression, anxiety, apathy, etc.), physical issues (inability to sleep, inability to eat, etc.).
You'd have to take a deep look at why you feel all of those negative things when you don't use Cannabis, to see if your Cannabis use is a healthy coping strategy.
If you have a disorder/chemical imbalance that causes those feelings, and Cannabis fixes that, then it's fine.
If you feel that way because you don't have your life in order and haven't learned how to use non-drug coping mechanisms to deal with stress, and Cannabis masks the stress, that might be considered unhealthy usage, since it would be keeping you from addressing important issues in your life.
If you feel that way because constant Cannabis use has caused normal life to feel boring, that's also probably unhealthy.

I'm amazed at how many assumptions you made and also by the spin you gave to what I wrote. You know nothing about me, yet found it quite easy to pontificate so negatively as to why I use Cannabis. Seriously: you sound silly to me with all your negativity. You could have asked.

 

[Stu]

I'm amazed at how many assumptions you made and also by the spin you gave to what I wrote. You know nothing about me, yet found it quite easy to pontificate so negatively as to why I use Cannabis. Seriously: you sound silly to me with all your negativity. You could have asked.

You are making an assumption that he's speaking about you personally, when it was clearly stated in the first line that he's speaking in generalities and not about you. Please read it again.