How to Stop Smoking Marijuana

Discard all smoking cans and equipment. When there are no more things that can easily make you smoke again, you will be less tempted. Here’s what you should do: ^[1]

• Discard all lighters, matches, tongs, glasses or containers. Empty the bags to make sure nothing is left.
• Pour all the remaining marijuana into the toilet bowl and flush it so you can’t find it by rummaging through the trash.
• Destroy all suction devices. If you can’t disable those things, throw them in some horrible landfill to eliminate the intention of climbing in to get them back. (Perhaps you should wrap it in a trash bag before that.)
• Get rid of everything that triggers the craving, whether it’s your favorite game set or the poster hanging in the room. This may sound extreme, but eliminating any triggers can help you win over old habits.
• If you’re in contact with a cannabis seller, remove the person’s phone number and any contact information.

Make your decision clear to those who support you. Tell family and close friends what you’re up to and ask them to help you quit. They’ll probably be happy to see you give up the drug and will wholeheartedly support you. ^[2]

• This is especially important if you want to stay in contact with people who are smoking marijuana. Tell them you’re not trying to convince them to quit, but you’ll be grateful if they don’t pressure you to use it. If you are not supported by anyone, or they try to force you to “get in”, think about whether that person is really important in your life, when they do not respect your decisions and suggestions. .
• You may even have to avoid friends who used to smoke marijuana with you. If all your social relationships revolve around friends who are “high” together, you will have to find a new social network. This may sound difficult, but that’s how life is.

Prepare for withdrawal syndrome. Fortunately, this phase does not last long: the withdrawal syndrome appears 1 day after quitting, peaks after 2 or 3 days, and finally stabilizes after 1 or 2 weeks ^[3] . You may not have to go through these phases, but it’s better to plan what you’ll do in that case than to relapse. Unfortunately, there will be symptoms. Here are a few symptoms you may experience: ^[4]

• Insomnia: Try to avoid caffeine for the first few days and go to bed as soon as you feel sleepy at night.
• Loss of appetite: You may feel nauseous at first. Try to eat light foods that are easy to digest like bananas, rice, toast, oatmeal, and applesauce.
• Irritability: Because of the mood swings that often accompany withdrawal, you may find yourself getting angry or crying easily. Anticipate this situation, and when it happens, try to hold back and admit it. Tell yourself, “This isn’t me, it’s not the situation, it’s just withdrawal.” Repeat as many times as necessary.
• Anxiety: Feeling nervous, or generally jittery, is a common symptom of withdrawal syndrome that can occur during withdrawal from any substance. Take a few minutes to close your eyes, breathe deeply, and remember that withdrawal is only temporary.
• Elevated body temperature: You may feel hotter than usual and occasionally sweat.

Find another activity to do. Instead of smoking marijuana, spend your free time pursuing a hobby or playing a sport. Try to choose an activity that you can do as easily and quickly as lighting a cigarette – like playing the guitar or going for a run – and engage in that hobby whenever you feel tempted. If you feel so bored and depressed that you don’t want to do those things, you can watch a funny movie or hang out with a friend who doesn’t use drugs. Here are a few activities you can try: ^[5]

• Long walk
• Calling an old friend
• Swimming
• Cooking
• Read a book. For example: magazines, novels, comics, adventure stories, autobiographies.

Change the timetable. In addition to finding a new hobby, you should also change up your daily schedule so that you don’t have to remember the bottle so much during the time when you used to be “high” of drugs. Here are some things you can do: ^[6]

• Change morning schedule. Try getting up a little earlier or later, having a different breakfast, or showering at a different time.
• Change your work or study schedule. Take a different route to the school or work, sit somewhere else if possible, and eat a different lunch.
• Change your study habits. If you normally study in your bedroom (which leads to smoking marijuana), change this habit and study in a coffee shop or library.
• However, don’t eat less just to change your lifestyle. You may feel less hungry, but you should still try to eat the same amount of food as you normally would to stay healthy.

Suppress cravings. Cravings will surface quite often, and it’s important to know how to react when they do if you really want to quit. Here are a few things you can do to avoid giving in to cravings:

• Avoid cravings. Don’t go to places that make you want to smoke, whether it’s the basement of a friend’s house or the corner of the school sports hall.
• Get out of the dangerous situation. Whenever you feel the urge to rise up, leave the place as soon as possible. Changing the environment as quickly as possible is the best way in this case.
• Deep breath. Take a deep breath through your mouth and hold the air in your lungs for about 5-7 seconds until you feel calmer. Pinch your lips and exhale through your mouth, repeating these movements until the craving goes away.
• Put something in your mouth. You can curb cravings by putting something in your mouth, as long as it’s not alcohol or another drug. Try sugar-free gum, sugar-free candy, diet soda, toothpicks, pens, pencils, or straws.
• Drink water. Staying hydrated will help you stay healthy and fight cravings.

Continue to persevere. The hardest part of the withdrawal syndrome will pass within a week or two, and you’ve probably also heard that it can take three weeks to form or break a habit. Once a month has passed, you will probably be fully recovered and free of addiction. It will feel like an eternity in detox, but remember it won’t be that long.

• Have a celebration a month after starting detox. Setting milestones to work towards can get you on the right track, and you can build on that to give yourself small rewards like a night out or a treat for yourself.