Lost and found - Giving up cannabis

[wasted]

cannabis and me have had a long affair ... from age 18 it really took off and became everyday , now at 45 i am over a year of having stopped smoking it and cigarettes and i gave up my antidepressants all at the same time , its confusing being addicted to both the tobacco and the ganja ingredients of a spliff , so i really had hopes for turning the corner , finding a new feeling for life and saving money too , £25 doesnt buy that much the drug , and the same for fags each week , so fifty quid every week is a hassle to find especially with variable amounts of work , at 18 my life was on track , but it must have been the drug smoking that made me feel not bothered and i dropped out of the college i was in , and just took on manual jobs , that was the first big problem , then by about age 23 , after five years of copious smoking , i found i couldn't face flying in a plane for a holiday , next it was trains , then any form of transport , from nowhere i had developed the worst claustrophobia , every aspect of life became difficult , i could only take on outside work that was local , cannabis was my refuge but also i have to wonder was it the ganja that had made me need refuge in the first place , i have to live the rest of my life with this severe anxiety , it still remains even though i am clean of it , of course it had been a great pleasure what seemed a more peaceful and intelligent alternative to going out getting drunk , i hated it being illegal and am sure it added to the whole anxiety thing , i still cant understand making drugs illegal , my thinking is we should be bombarded with educational facts about different drugs and you takes your choice , after all , if you take anything you pay an extra price somehow so why on earth punish people ontop of what theyre already suffering , anyway , maybe i was destined for a miserable life of ultra anxiety anyway , but if anyone reads this , and feels they are getting worse and worse limits to what they can face , then just maybe nipping it in the bud early will stop things getting as bad as it did for me ,
i still struggle with wanting to smoke again , my life is so wrecked there feels nothing much left , anyway , good luck and good choices to you all ,

[sharon]

Keep up the good work

arh i felt 4 u wen i read your story. try and stay off it we all behind you. i hope i can write that 1 day that i been off 4 a year well bloody done. i am weaning my self off it. i have never smoked cigarettes so i am wearing nicotine patches they are working i have cut the cost lovely. couldnt stand being ripped off any longer. 21 years on it. if it was free i would still probaly smoke it! i dont smoke iy to get stoned i like to relax with it.