If you’ve decided to quit marijuana use due to serious reflections about it’s impact on your health, family and future, then congratulate yourself. Resolve and determination are important factors for assuring success. Be aware that you may be tempted to relapse, so it’s good to at those times to remember some of the reaons why it’s useful to stop the smoking habit.
Work and education are just two reasons to quit. Health is also a major concern. Smoking just one marijuana cigarette has four times the amount of tar deposited on the lungs compared to a filtered cigarette Smoke from marijuana has over fifty percent more cancer-causing agents than tobacco smoke. Regular marijuana use can also lead to higher rates of depression and thoughts of suicide.
Quitting is the easy decision. Following through is much more difficult. The first thing is to find support. Without a support system, failure can occur. Support from a spouse, parent, child, friend, or anyone who can go through the whole process without judging you will help. There can be more than one person as a support and it is good to have a group you can attend regularly such as narcotics anonymous or a group through your spiritual tradition. Having a sponsor or a specific person who can be on call 24/7 and who you can turn to if you feel yourself weakening to temptation is very helpful.
Dealing with life after addiction can be almost as rough if not more than treatment itself. The key is to eliminate the source of addiction. Some recovering addicts will need to change their entire lifestyle including work, housing, and possible even friends. Other won’t have to be extreme. Again, the support person comes in handy here by assist with new housing or even helping look for a new job. Some of this can even be done during treatment itself, if you decide to go to an inpatient rehab program. Outpatient counseling can also help you to learn about the local resources available.
You’ve made the decision to quit marijuana smoking and this is a step that will help you to transform your life.