About Weed addiction. An addicts experience…

A marijuana addict in recovery explains;

Respiratory System: My respiratory system takes the largest toll when I smoke pot. I do not breathe as well as I would if I did not smoke at all. From attempts at quitting in the past, it takes about 2 weeks to a month to notice a change in my lung capacity. I currently have a wheeze if I breathe out quickly. My lungs have also been burnt from inhaling smoke that is way to hot, it usually hurts for about a day, then goes away. I also find myself holding my breath and creating tension in my body for no reason, like I am trying to hold in an imaginary hit of weed. I need to take slower, deeper, breaths.

“My mucus production is through the roof. I don’t have the weed smokers cough right now, it seems to come and go. I DO awake everyone morning with a stuffed nose. If I get a cold, it takes me a long time to beat it. I had nasal congestion from late July to early October last year.”

Skin: My skin doesn’t look good. I think this may be a blood circulation and oxygen thing from smoking pot. You know how you can look at a 60 year old and tell if they are smokers or not….I think that to a lesser extent smoking weed does the same thing. I quit smoking for about 3 months a couple years ago and noticed that my skin, particularly my face was way smoother and healthier looking. I also noticed when I quit that the bags under my eyes, and surrounding pores looked way smaller and better.

My thumb and forefinger are also discolored from holding onto joints and blunts. It is pretty common to burn the skin slightly when I am going for the last hit on a roach.

Eyes: My eyes get bloodshot and itchy when I smoke weed. When I smoke heavily, my eyes get kind of dazed, 1/2 open, and I don’t focus well. However, I will admit that smoking pot does improve night vision.

Teeth: One of my teeth is getting stained from tar and resin in the joints I smoke. I was smoking between 1-5 joints a day. So it does add up and it is visible to me.

Eating Habits: You are what you eat, and when I get stoned, I eat shitty fast food – and lots of it. McDonalds etc. When I am too stoned to drive and too lazy to walk there is always pizza or Chinese food that can be delivered. Not only is this terrible for me, it also costs a lot of money. I don’t go to the grocery store that often because I don’t want to go stoned, so I would just smoke more pot instead and eat junk food. 7-11 is 24 hours, but the hot dogs are only good until about 2:30 am. I have put on about 32kg in the last 2 years.

Lack of Exercise: I don’t do physical activity nearly enough. I used to be in excellent shape and need to get back to where I was before. Swapping the smoking habit and high for the exercise habit and high is a priority for me. My cardiovascular system has been beat up from all of the pot smoking. Once I have quit smoking weed, I should see that rebound pretty well – especially if I push myself with bike rides and hikes.”

He goes on detailing The Negative Effects of Marijuana on his Relationships:

“Friendships: Most of the people I associate are stoners, or smoke pot sometimes. Because so much of my life is lived whilst stoned, it is easiest to associate with people that enable me to get high. I also turn down or spoil friendships because I don’t call people back or check my messages on a regular basis. Being stoned is a comfort bubble, as long as you exist within that bubble, the rest of the world can wait. Marijuana is the common theme of most of my friendships, very few get deeper than that.”

“Commitments: Because weed effects my short term memory so much, I am often late or forget about commitments that I should honor. I also do not like to commit to any regular or scheduled activity, because it may interfere with my ability to smoke pot and get high.”

“Girlfriends: I went through a period of hiding the fact that I smoked weed from my girlfriends. It always backfired. Every relationship I have had or attempted has been negatively affected by my smoking. For example, multiple times I have left a date early to go smoke pot alone, or have my mind on getting high rather than paying attention to the person I am with. I can also be very quiet and introverted while high on marijuana, so it makes it difficult to maintain conversations, sometimes even eye contact. Basically, I resent that a girlfriend interferes with my unrestricted access to smoking marijuana, and the mental and emotional state of being high.”

“Family: I am lucky to have a family that does not demonize marijuana. They are unaware of the extent of my addiction and I feel ashamed of it. I always thought that there were great expectations for me (from both family and myself) that haven’t been met because of my chronic marijuana addiction.”

“Conversation: I consider myself to be a well-spoken articulate person – when sober. Sometimes my memory gets so bad I forget what I was saying, the word I wanted to say, or I mispronounce a word. If I am itching for weed, my mind is elsewhere and I may space out and not pay attention to the other half of the conversation. I am not as sharp, while high, as I am when sober.”

“Social Anxiety and Paranoia: When I am in public and stoned, I think I hear people talking about me and laughing at me sometimes. Even though I know this not to be the case, I get quite anxious and embarrassed. I struggle to make eye contact with people when I am baked, and am more likely to introvert myself and my thoughts, body language, and actions. I would never go and chat up a group of girls while stoned – I could do it sober far more easily. I also get anxious about driving, about smelling like pot around coworkers and the general public. I also worry about coworkers, friends, and family knowing about how bad I crave pot, and how much of a stoner I am. No 6 year old says “I want to grow up to be pothead”.