[HappySweeney]

While I started up again during the pandemic, I managed to stop by restricting to off-work hours, and only 3 times, at 5, 7, and 9pm. This stopped being annoying after only 2 days, and after that was able to easily wean down after 6 weeks. The only real side effects from withdrawal were poor sleep, intense dreams, and increased libido.

[throwaway_weed]

I have done exactly as you suggest but it's tough. It's the early part of the day that's so challenging. I have perhaps built up my morning coffee + cannabis routine into too much of an idealized mental state. I really do love the initial sense of being up early, checking messages, getting ahead of my day's work, all while perking away on my hippie speedball flow. Doing without it feels, at least for a while, like disdaining technicolor Oz in favor of staying in black-and-white Kansas. I can fight through this for a while to re-establish a less frequent & early schedule but without anything reinforcing this routine I find it irresistible to slip back into the early morning 'treat'. The only thing that makes me want to not do that is the fact that once I break the seal, the rest of the day will feel increasingly bland. So in some sense it feels easier or at least more realistic to plan for no weed instead of constantly checking in with myself about whether I've reached the magic hour yet.

Thank you!

[lokalfarm]

Hey there,

I am in a similar situation as you. I've partaken on a regular basis for decades but during the last two years, my consumption had gone up by a considerable amount. I also quit drinking during this period (also on a regular basis for decades...) so that was part of my mental justification for the habit. There's also a global pandemic and it can easily feel like the world is on fire - so we need our vices, right?!

Right now I am going on 6 weeks without THC. I feel mentally sharper, more motivated, and less depressed overall. Honestly I feel like the last few years of my life have been wasted in a hazy fog, and that can be overwhelming, especially since I'm not a spring chicken anymore. But it has been much easier after the first two weeks.

I was surprised by some of the intensity of my withdrawals. I was eating probably 1g+ of distillate in edibles a day, so my tolerance & usage was definitely above "average." I barely slept for the first week or so but my sleeping patterns are now back to normal.

Exercise, meditation, yoga, and reading books I really enjoy has all been helpful. ZzzQuil or Benadryl can help when you really need to get some sleep. Vaporizing/smoking CBD/hemp flower is also a relatively healthy replacement and could serve as a new pairing with your AM coffee.

Best of luck!

[throwaway_weed]

OK – well first of all congratulations on your recent success, but a word of warning. I have fully quit from cannabis before, though in my case this would be the first time it has not been prompted by some external circumstance. I have also gotten over the initial hump and felt a distinct improvement in clarity, memory etc. In my experience this can almost a high in itself – when you're swimming up to your ears in THC every day, as we have, the upsides of going without are very apparent once you get past the distress of the first week or so. I once saw a comedian very amusingly compare it to acquiring ESP: "hey, I know exactly where my car keys are!" However, after you get over the novelty of ordinary sobriety, you may find (as I have, repeatedly) that as that novel sense fades, you may get hit with a unexpected and possibly profound sense of craving, almost a deep nostalgia for weed. This I have no real insight on, it's a life challenge I suppose and one I have never seriously taken on yet though perhaps I'm starting to now. But I'll advise you to stay alert and look out for that second wave of longing.

Thank you and good luck!