Vaping in "adult life"

[TheFatBastard]

Well, excuse for the "adult life" concept if it bothers someone.

I'd like to talk about vaping when you are in your late 30's, 40's, etc and you have a l lot of responsabilities like:

- Little kids to feed
- A corporate job with a lot of responsabilities
- You are not a "young fella" anymore

In my case, I've turned 40 recently, have couple kids under 10 and I have a job in a multinational company where I'm a regional manager.

Said that, I consider my life pretty regular, work like a horse the whole weeks and then enjoy weekends wirh friends and family.

I started vaping only weekends, which I still do and enjoy, but one monday, after a very stressfully day, I gave myself a treat and vaping like 0.15gr from 19 to 21h, listening to some records, just before watch some tv and go to bed. It made my day, was very relaxing and really enjoyed that. I did same thing next monday, was like a treat or relief from work.

Short story, now I vape almost every monday, even some tuesdays or wednesday if the day has been really bad, and I don't know why, but I feel a little bad about it, is like "man, you are vaping weed more days than you are not!". After a hard day at work, I use to workout or do some running and then, as a treat, I put a vinyl in my audio system, vap about 0.10gr and enjoy the relax.

Guess it is becoming an habit, and I've always heard about "stoners that vape everyday", but for me is just a moment of the day for me that I really enjoy. I can't see any harm on it, though I still feel like I'm maybe abusing about vaping or using weed.

I know, as long as it doesn't interfere with my job, family or motivations, it is OK....but I'd like to hear your thoughts. Sometimes, while I'm at work, I'm thinking about that hour at home that I'll have listening to music and vaping, really looking forward to that moment.....and maybe that is not so good since it is creating an habit or need.

Anyway, I'd like to hear your thought about the subject, for me weed is a total recreational thing, though I have to admit that is giving me some relief from the stress at work, but I don't want it to become "a need". Said that, I can stop vaping anytime I want to, even for weeks.....but every evening that I f Rce myself not to vaoe is like "damn, I'm missing a really good time!"

 

[macbill]

You are not alone in seeking a way to unwind from the stress of the day. Some people become "Gymbots", and exercise compulsively to de-stress. Many turn to alcohol to drown out the day's turmoil. Cannabis can become a problem if it interferes with your Life: you'd rather get high than play with the kids or talk with the wife. Even if it becomes habitual, for many, it never becomes a problem. For some, it does. You know yourself best: if you find reliance on cannabis to be problem, take a break.

 

[ginolicious]

I vape in the afternoon. In my 30s. Just going through divorce with two kids. So soon they won’t be in my house all the time. Kinda sad. But I usually only vaped when they were asleep and occasionally in the summer during the day as they were playing outside with friends.

 

[His_Highness]

I "earn it" by getting things done first and I don't let my recreational use get in the way of being a functional human being. As @macbill mentioned you gotta self-monitor and adjust accordingly.

I enjoy exercise and I enjoy it way more when I've had a few hits and become immersed in the music and physicality. I exercise 4 to 5 days per week so that means I vape a minimum of 4 to 5 days. I use cannabis to enhance my life where it can and steer clear of it when it would be a hindrance.

I can count the number of times I've been high at work on less than one hand and I've been at it for 40 years. Work is the equivalent of a 3D chess match mentally and getting high at work isn't conducive to getting anything done so I don't.

You do you.....

 

[TheFatBastard]

You are not alone in finding a way to unwind from the stress of the day. Some people become "Gymbots", and exercise compulsively to de-stress. Many turn to alcohol to drown out the day's turmoil. Cannabis can become a problem if it interferes with your Life: you'd rather get high than play with the kids or talk with the wife. Even if it becomes habitual, for many, it never becomes a problem. For some, it does. You know yourself best: if you find reliance on cannabis to be problem, take a break.

Totally agree. I was educated with the “drugs are bad” stigma, and guess sometimes I still feel guilty, like doing something bad. I’ve analyzed what pros and cons does vaping bring to me, and, as far as I can tell, is something I really enjoy and, so far so good, still no cons, if there was any, I guess I’d consider my weed behavior again.

Listening to a couple of LP’s in the evening is a pleasure for me, I really like music, and cannabis enhances the experience, makes me think, also relieves stress and makes me less anxious thinking about confronting all the work problems the next day. Even makes me feel happier and sleep better.Well, a con would be that the munchies have made me gain around 5 pounds

But sometimes I feel guilty like “damn, I wasted 2 hours of potential productive time”. But that happened to me already with other things like playing with videogames or watching tv.

But I really enjoy that hour or two hours listening to music and meditating. I use to turn off the lights, sit on my couch on total darkness and listen to a good LP.

I "earn it" by getting things done first and I don't let my recreational use get in the way of being a functional human being. As @macbill mentioned you gotta self-monitor and adjust accordingly.

I enjoy exercise and I enjoy it way more when I've had a few hits and become immersed in the music and physicality. I exercise 4 to 5 days per week so that means I vape a minimum of 4 to 5 days. I use cannabis to enhance my life where it can and steer clear of it when it would be a hindrance.

I can count the number of times I've been high at work on less than one hand and I've been at it for 40 years. Work is the equivalent of a 3D chess match mentally and getting high at work isn't conducive to getting anything done so I don't.

You do you.....

I’ve never been high at work. Damn, I guess I even have not been high while I’m out of home. I’m aware that cannabis is not the best thing when you have to do a task efficiently, that’s why I only vape when the day is “over”. I play guitar and, since sometimes I like playing being high, even write songs, etc, I’m aware that I can not play difficult solos if I’m high, let’s say like “Eruption” or stuff like that.

I’ve been really thinking about the hindrances of my cannabis behavior, and sincerely, can’t find any besides the “losing productive time”, but I’d like to know if you have found any in your own experiences.

Vaping in the evening is something I really like to do, but only if I’m able to, it is not a “priority” for sure.

 

[His_Highness]

Hindrances in my own experiences....not including the productive time thing......

The only thing I can think of, and I'm not sure it's a hindrance, would be "the prep time" and potential to affect others with it. For example...My family knows that going to a movie or dinner means I'm going to get there early enough to vape up because we all know food is amazing high and a movie will be more immersive. I don't like to get high and drive so I gotta get to the destination first.

Other than making some folks wait on me or making them uncomfortable while I vape as we're walking to the venue I can't think of anything else.

Of course there is always the financial cost of VAS and buying product but I don't know if that is something the OP would consider a hindrance.

 

[TheFatBastard]

Hindrances in my own experiences....not including the productive time thing......

The only thing I can think of, and I'm not sure it's a hindrance, would be "the prep time" and potential to affect others with it. For example...My family knows that going to a movie or dinner means I'm going to get there early enough to vape up because we all know food is amazing high and a movie will be more immersive. I don't like to get high and drive so I gotta get to the destination first.

Other than making some folks wait on me or making them uncomfortable while I vape as we're walking to the venue I can't think of anything else.

Of course there is always the financial cost of VAS and buying product but I don't know if that is something the OP would consider a hindrance.

I have access to as many weed as I want, since I personally grow it at home.

The “productive time” hindrance is also tricky to evaluate. I’m a very focused person who loves to do a lot of things, and time is somehow a scarce resource, and sometimes I stress myself thinking “I could use this time to do this or that”, but I’ve also learned through the years that sometimes you can’t be 100% efficient and need some relief or time to “waste” just for the joy of it.

 

[GoldenBud]

I think vaping is ok in any age as long as you set a timer to the specific time you need to feed your kid/clean your house/go shopping etc'.

 

[TheFatBastard]

 

[YaMon]

Rather than having a cocktail/beer or glass of wine I vape every evening once I’ve finished work and gone to the gym if feeling up to it. However I am also trying to deal with chronic back pain from a blown out disk, there is nothing left of it. Regardless of the back issues, I still do not partake during the work day or when I know I need to drive or work on some personal business. Once my plate is clear, it’s on!

My wife recently underwent two major surgeries for breast cancer and after each one she had surgical drains which had to be stripped, emptied and measured for at least a week. That had me only consuming sativa dominant strains in the evening until after the last drain maintenance and then it was a quick few hits of a heavy indica dominant strain before bed. That’s as close to responsibility as I will get when my ability is impaired, almost too stressful with, but same without. Seeing tubes hanging by sutures coming out of the wife’s side and having to pull on them and strip them was no fun.

As to the stigma, that is also something I was raised with and is ingrained in me. I say fuck that, but not sure if I would say the same if it were not for the chronic pain. I notice a difference after just two nights abstinence. Just hoping I do not have to take a work related t-break anytime soon. Fuck prohibition!

 

[Polarbearboy]

I spent most of my work life as CEO of environmental non-profits or senior state gov. official--high reward, modest pay, high stress. In 35 years as a working professional, I got stoned during working hours exactly once. But once I got home--spouse but no kids of our own--I'd get high. When I was younger, I could be very productive in the stoned evenings, either advancing my paperwork or writing books(I had two published). But as I got older my stoned evenings became less and less productive. But perhaps most importantly as I got older and less physically and mentally resilient, I began to feel that I wasn't as on my toes/effective the next day at work and began having little bouts of temper with my staff that I'd never experienced while younger. So not at all suggesting that you don't get stoned in the evening--don't feel guilty, but definitely watch yourself if you care about your job and future ambitions.

 

[howie105]

For myself its about management, there is a time and a place to imbibe and times and places not to. If am on the ball everything works well and if I fail then I have to deal with the results. As to long term effects I been the same ass hat all my life. So fifty some odd years of use is irrelevant in my case.

 

[BabyFacedFinster]

I think cannabis is good for my body, especially since vaping. I try to get a little cannabis in my body each day, usually in the evenings. I think the chemical compounds are good for me, and I believe the effects on my mind are therapeudic. As with all of you, I remember to limit use to appropriate times.

There are many tasks that I like to do high and believe I am better at them (and enjoy them more) when I'm high. If I need to peel 50 potatoes, I'll get high and enjoy peeling those fucking potatoes.

 

[Planck]

Very interesting thread with excellent comments! I'm here to end that.

For the record I am a vapcap or two in the evening type, some exceptions apply and not every evening.

"Productive time" is what led me to comment. What does that even mean? By whose standards and to what end? In most species conservation of energy is the rule. One can not look after other if they can not look after themselves, even SAR training stresses this.

This kind of spirals into the question of what is success. Again by whose standards at successful to what end.

Perhaps your evening session is some of your most productive time.

Interested to hear your thoughts everyone.

 

[TheFatBastard]

Very interesting thread with excellent comments! I'm here to end that.

For the record I am a vapcap or two in the evening type, some exceptions apply and not every evening.

"Productive time" is what led me to comment. What does that even mean? By whose standards and to what end? In most species conservation of energy is the rule. One can not look after other if they can not look after themselves, even SAR training stresses this.

This kind of spirals into the question of what is success. Again by whose standards at successful to what end.

Perhaps your evening session is some of your most productive time.

Interested to hear your thoughts everyone.

You hit the nail.

I tried to explain that, sometimes, I think I’m losing my time, or that maybe I could use that spare time in a better way.

That’s why l I said I’m a focused guy, obsessive sometimes. I usually achieve most things I aim for, guess I’ve been “successful” in life, at least what successful means to me, and I like to try and do A LOT of things. Sports, Martial Arts, ridding sport bikes, write, play guitar.... sometimes I’m too obsessed about doing something “productive”

But now, in the 40’s mid life crisis (guess we all have our own one) I’ve noticed that maybe doing things like vaping is also productive. Productive for my happiness and well being.

But then I think “Damn, one or two hours a day vaping....I could write a new album, or maybe start a new book, or use that time to do something else with the kids, or......”

And then I feel guilty.

I guess cannabis, in the way I use it, enhances my life.But I’m very obsessed as I said, I use to overthink things too much, and that, mixed with the thoughts that “maybe Cannabis is not that good and I’m just satisfying an addiction” or “I’m wasting my time” sometimes makes me think about my cannabis use, maybe restrict it to weekends again, etc.

That’s why I love your inputs/experience, because that is more info that I can use to process my own conclusions.

 

[rnartian]

Semi offtopic, maybe, but I cannot wait to be in my 40s, successful,and able to vape while feeling like I've earned it.

Being a young adult vaper makes me feel like a statistic lol like a kid just fucking around. This is gonna sound weird, but I really admire you guys for showing that hey, I'm successful and have families, but I also unwind and enjoy my life. In a sense, you've already "earned" it by getting to where you are, imo.

And, really, are you actually going to do any of the things you're feeling guilty about? We could always do better, but I promise that there is a cost to neglecting the simple pleasures. 1 or 2 of the 24 hours of the day to bring down your stress and make life more enjoyable is a good payoff in the long run (and that's not counting cannabis' numerous health benefits!)

 

[fangorn]

Bonjour!

If we share our experiences ... I have been smoking for 17 years, vaporized for a year and have not smoked for a month.
I am 33 years old soon, a partner and a one year old son. I am a social worker.

I tried to stop using cannabis for 6 months .... 6 months of a very difficult couple. My partner, who had asked me to stop because "I was no longer there" asked me to start again because I was too tense ... what I did and it is much better, even if it I sometimes "be absent".
I always said to myself that I will stop using cannabis when I have children ... but it is compatible - well, I think. I think I am a good loving father. And without cannabis I will be much more tense! I lost someone extremely close to cancer ... at least I stopped burning ... "to enjoy my family longer". My victory is there. But stopping cannabis has too great an impact on my mental health ... after more than 15 years of using it as a crutch, it seems obvious to me.

Guilt related to drug use is a normal mechanism that affects us all more or less strongly.
I had to mention the use of cannabis with a lot of young people lost in the course of my work. I think the important thing is to find a balance in your life. if consumption becomes a brake on professional or social activity ... it is to be questioned further. if we are balanced then ... "leave us in peace".

Sometimes / often when I consume, I enclose myself. But I'm not necessarily better when I abstain. if I manage to work, if I manage to be in contact with my partner and if my son does not suffer from my relationship to cannabis, then I will continue without feeling guilty. if my son suffers from it when he grows up, then I will ask myself questions again!

Also,m friends can tell me to use it later in the evening to be more active ... but without cannabis, I probably won't even go to parties ...

So i Iwill end with a question ... "what is best for you?" the answer is completely individual and the evaluation elements are also specific to each one I think ...

Good vape !!!

 

[howie105]

Just scorched my fingers on a hot adapter........drugs suck...........when you get burned.

 

[TakoyakiFreeride]

I was a big smoker in my 20s and early 30s, then quit for 17 years as I got away from the lifestyle I had been leading and got tired of dealing with the runaround of getting black market weed. Last year the state next to mine opened up rec sales, and my own is decriminalized, so I picked up my first vape and got back into the flower game.

I'm 49, an executive at a fast-growing startup, have two rambunctious, intelligent kids under the age of 10 and am doing a masters in my spare time.

I vape or smoke pretty much nightly, usually one bowl, or oven load, after the kids and wife have turned in for the night. It's a nice way to relax and turn off all the noise from the day. With the efficiency of the vapes I use (Airvape X, Arizer Solo 2 and Dynavap M), weed lasts forever so I use much less than when I smoked in my 20s.

No guilt here at all, it's a great way to close out the day and get to sleep without using big pharma drugs.

 

[uncanni]

I'm a 66 yr old adult, college professor. I sometimes medicate early in the morning, like 4 hours before I need to be at work. Mostly, in the afternoon/early evening when my day's responsibilities are done and I can just chill at home without worrying about anything.

 

[Farid]

I recently cut back due to work and travel. If I'm being honest I really miss having a tolerance. Now I get so anxiously high from minuscule quantities of bud, and vaping has become stress inducing rather than stress relieving. I miss the days when consuming more just made me tired. I know if I worked at it I could build a tolerance and get past it, but I fear getting too stoned now. It's like weed has turned on me.

I hear lots of people experience this as they get older, but I really think for me it comes when I reduce the frequency/quantity of my usage. I've never cut back because of guilt, since weed has never been a big distraction. But now that I've cut way back for other reasons it's starting to be.

 

[TommyDee]

Success is to write your own tomorrow. And they say 70 is a passing grade. These older gray cells of mine appreciate peace and quiet as it is a rare commodity growing scarcer by the moment. Thinking with a clear vision is not over rated. Cannabis is simply an altered state of the same reality. Probing within through vivid thought is verily touching things with digits.

 

[TheThriftDrifter]

I use cannabis to enhance my life where it can and steer clear of it when it would be a hindrance.

Golden advice.

Here's my take.....

@TheFatBastard You sound like you are a high achiever with the busy life that accompanies that.

I know this is easier said than done but... Let go of your cannabis guilt, breathe it out, don't let it take hold.

Regularly reflect on your relationship with cannabis and trust that you will know when you need to make adjustments.

Enjoy it while it's enjoyable, stop when it's not.

Two under 10, a partner and a busy career, plus hitting your 40s! Make the most of the things that bring you joy. Because your worth it and so are they.

 

[TheFatBastard]

Golden advice.

Here's my take.....

@TheFatBastard You sound like you are a high achiever with the busy life that accompanies that.

I know this is easier said than done but... Let go of your cannabis guilt, breathe it out, don't let it take hold.

Regularly reflect on your relationship with cannabis and trust that you will know when you need to make adjustments.

Enjoy it while it's enjoyable, stop when it's not.

Two under 10, a partner and a busy career, plus hitting your 40s! Make the most of the things that bring you joy. Because your worth it and so are they.

Thanks budy, really like your post and your take

I won't call myself a "high achiever", but I'm happy where I've reached so far.

After 20 years working, 15 years as a bank branch manager in 4 different banks, big branches, managing a lot of people, etc, etc, I've finally managed to quit managing (very, very stressing job. Almost 50% of bank branch managers I know use legal opiates to deal with stress and anxiety). Cannabis helped me back then when stress was almost unbearable. Now I have more spare time, and I'm plainning to really enjoy it.

 

[c76man]

@TheFatBastard Interesting thread you started here. I enjoyed reading your and others thoughts. I too am a father in my 40s. My wife is actually anti-cannabis and hasn't gotten over that all drugs are bad mantra we had beat into us in our youth. Her anti-cannabis stance definitely increases the issues. I am a medical user, but I also enjoy the recreational benefits as well. I generally only vape each night after the family is in bed. You're not alone in worrying about productivity and downtime, but I've concluded it's worth it to take time to enjoy life.