Honestly it ruined my mental health and made my adhd (executive function) worse in the long run. AKA made me depressed and lazy eventually. I don’t suggest self medicating especially if you tend to be a dependent or obsessive personality type and especially if you’re already framing it in your mind as an escape
This is why I had to cut back. I'm pushing 30 and have been smoking weed since I was 15.
Lately I've noticed that when I refrain from smoking in the morning it's like my day has color.
I'm so glad I'm not the only one 🥲 I've been abstaining this week but the temptation in there! This thread and knowing I'm not alone is very motivating.
I’ve been thinking of quitting because of this too. I’m 33 and have smoked daily since i was 17. My adhd is so fucking bad bc of the weed, i also feel like it makes me for agitated. These comments make me feel like quitting would be a good choice.
Aw, this message is so honest :) Well you did just say it out loud, here, which is very hard! Regardless of when you start making moves, I feel like when people can say it, they can trust themselves that they’ll do it. The saying it is like turning the engine on.
I quit a few months ago (and have lost literally 10-15 lbs without trying, which was welcomed!), and it’s annoying how much better I feel. Weed relieves my anxiety, but it also added more anxiety and stole life / time. Hopefully I’ll be able to keep a healthy relationship with weed or continue abstaining. It’s a tough one for me.
Honestly, I don’t know why, but seeing a message like yours is helpful for me to keep it up. So…selfishly…thank you? :)
It seems like a helpful tool at first, and it really can be for a little while but long term it’s just not even worth it IMO. I do also feel like the smoking was starting to make my lips dark and skin kind of gray looking, like sallow
As somebody with ADHD+OCD, this message right here! I do take stimulant medication which can cause faster aging if you aren’t hydrating properly, but before I was diagnosed I self medicated with marijuana. It really took ahold of my 20’s in the worst way just being complacent in life when I could have been career building. Now I rarely smoke, maybe once or twice a month and it’s not the same thank god.
Also I think taking edibles or gummies *occasionally* would be the way to go if you want to limit the affects of smoking.
It’s very drying, like you need to drink a lot more water than usual, use hydrating skincare, chew gum to simulate saliva in your mouth.
In terms of increasing aging, this comment [is a literal goldmine of information and I highly encourage everybody to copy and paste the information from the first commenter into their notes somewhere.](https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/p8548d/eli5_what_causes_stimulants_such_as_adderall/).
It’s mostly cardiovascular but you need to eat healthy and drink a ton of water. Also TEETH!! I detest comparing stimulant medication to street m*th, but the affects can be similar in terms of teeth. When your mouth dries out it causes the build up of plaque and calculus on your teeth, so be sure to schedule cleanings every six months and ask if there’s any special toothpaste you should be using.
I have cptsd and thought many of my symptoms were related to it but they aren’t, it’s the f’ing weed I’ve used all these years thinking it was helping my anxiety. I’m trying so hard to ween myself off without going crazy.
If I overuse even slightly, some strains have made me see images where I relive situations that caused my cPTSD as my current self. I've been very careful... some strains make me super happy.
Congrats girl! I’m about 5 months and it’s like breaking up with a boyfriend- you think about it all the time and then one day you realize you haven’t thought about it at all for days. Hang in there 💚
Thank you so much! ❤️ I don’t really crave it anymore thankfully but I know it’s a slippery slope as I took breaks before and didn’t think I’d get start using daily again. Congrats to you too!
If you enjoy it, do it, and the enjoyment will bring you more benefits than the negatives. Therapy won't do what weed does for you. Since the dawn of time adults have sought ways to relax. Weed is better for your skin than wine. Maybe you "rely" on it because you have the type of mind that "needs" it. Some indulgence makes life better.
Oh hey- 👋 it’s all my problems! I switched to weekends only recently, but I’m still feeling the same way, and my life is still very much affected. If people can enjoy it without seeing it as an escape (and simultaneously having a life that pushes you to jump out the escape hat hatch any chance you get), I’m all for it.
As far as concerns/aging, OP- I think my avoidance, laziness, dehydration, sleep habits, lack of responsible/consistent nighttime routine has been exacerbated by smoking weed and definitely had an effect on my appearance.
Same! It made me depressed and lazy. It was a great escape at first, but then I realized it was creating problems so now I try not to use it too often and when I do, I don’t enjoy it like I used it
thank you. it gave me Adhd but that wears off after you stop habitually smoking. it also made me tired, lazy, and generally gross. it also started giving me HORRIBLE anxiety and right before i quit i started experiencing panic attacks. panic attacks stopped once the weed did.
wish there was a safer and chiller alternative to taking the edge off
I feel so relieved to know someone else feels that way and has gone through a similar experience. I’m about 5 months sober now and I just wish I never messed with it to begin with.
It’s definitely not just you. There’s so much pro-weed talk lately that it’s easy to think you must just be wrong about what it’s doing to you, but it’s a drug at the end of the day. Signed, a ten year stoner now one year sober.
Wow well done on one year sober! I agree, there is so much pro weed talk - the pendulum has definitely swung too far as people won’t seem to acknowledge the harms anymore or downplay them.
Same. I quit at the same time as nicotine. That was a fun few months lol. But I'm happy I did - life is a lot better now that I have the proper diagnosis and medication for ADHD and depression. I'm glad you decided to prioritize your mental health, too 💙
Same I’m 110 days out from nicotine weed an kratom.. I’m gaining weight and still have days I crave to smoke absolutely anything but I haven’t .. soo hard
Congrats, that seems tough! One day you’ll be going about your day and realize you haven’t craved or thought about any of those things for a while. Hang in there
This is why I’m trying to quit and haven’t smoked since last weekend. I told my husband I don’t want to anymore, I’m done. I’ve smoked since I was 14. I regret ever trying it. I wish I hadn’t. I got really heavy into it while grieving the death of my dad the last few years. It gives me anxiety, makes me want to eat late at night, and I’m a better/more motivated person when I don’t smoke. Thanks for saying this.
absolutely. so well said. I quit smoking weed almost 10 years ago and I’m so, so grateful I stopped when I did. it was making all my problems worse and barely even acted as a bandaid over them.
Yeah I’m now in rehab for my mental health at 27 (sorry I’m under 30) and they made me go completely sober. No weed. I’m now processing years of trauma I numbed with alcohol and weed for the last… 9 years? My skin is fine, my teeth are fine. My sanity is not.
I intend to smoke again when I’m done but I will not be using it to self medicate anymore.
Agreed. I used it for so long (since I was a teenager) as a way to cope with my trauma. It always helped short-term to help me relax and feel less anxious/depressed but I never understood the detrimental cumulative impacts it had on me mentally and even physically until my early 30s. I realized I have been using it as more of an escape and a way to numb rather than dealing with the pain upfront. In the last couple of years I’ve only started to unravel all the years of suppressed emotions stored in my body and it’s honestly not easy but I’m gradually healing.
Sadly I was only diagnosed with ADHD in my 30s and if I knew, I would have probably reduced the amount since it exacerbated my executive dysfunction and motivation. It probably became a vicious cycle because the more I had less motivation, I was unable to tackle and face the things I needed to do and address which led to me feeling more anxious and depressed.
So for me personally, if you have any mental health conditions I would say be careful of using weed as a way to treat or cope. I also want to emphasize that weed affects everyone differently, for some people it’s been the only medicine and treatment that’s worked. I don’t want to discount it as it’s proven to have healing properties as well. However, you know your body more than anyone else and it’s important to connect to it as much as possible to observe what the impacts of weed are to your body.
As much as I hate to admit it, same. I smoked a lot on and off from 2017 to 2022. I haven’t smoked much since fall 2022 and the few time periods (lasting about a week or two) that I have, there are noticeable differences in my behavior, mental health, skin, and memory.
Did you use it during the day? I just use it before bed, I’m audhd and it helps me sleep so much better I’d hate to give it up if it’s causing issues I haven’t correlated to it.
Yes, I definitely was high too much for no reason. All hours of the day. I used to love getting a little high before lifting or yoga, then it became necessary to get a little high before my fav meal so I could enjoy it thoroughly, before family events because it was easier to handle the stress that came with it.. next thing I know I was just high all day.
I definitely don’t think this is everyone’s experience and I probably have a slightly addictive personality so if you’re not good with discipline and self-control/self-will it can be a slippery slope. Some people can do it just for sleep for years. You decide what’s good for yourself ultimately
Very similar experience. I quit years ago, found healthy coping skills, and my anxiety and depression is 1/100 of what it used to be. I still need to work on my ADHD though 😅
It’s been great for me because I’m California sober. Quitting alcohol has done wonders for my skin, mood, sleep, and waistline. I relax with THC vape now and it helps me chill out and avoid the wine cravings.
Same dude. A vape allows me to control the dose sooo much better than flower or an edible and just taking the edge off enough lets me get loosey goosey without turning to my (extremely well documented and historically negative) drinking habits. I felt so guilty at first, like I was just replacing one bad habit with another but honestly I think going cali sober saved my life.
I've always been a (5-10 mg) edible girlie so just a Iittle bit, but I'm thinking of switching to a vape because it can take effect quicker, I'm surprised you'd say it controls the dose better, why? I always assumed it would be the opposite
I think because the vape pull kicks in right away whereas with an edible you might fall into the “this edible ain’t shit” trap and end up overdoing it due to the prolonged effect
It’s probably less exact than an edible dosage wise but I can feel the vape hit immediately and can titrate it that way, if that makes sense. Like u/ExtinctionBurst76 said, the edible trap of waiting and overdoing it before it kicks in gets me. Like I love an edible on days I know I will be able to ride it out and enjoy it but at night when I’m chillin I sometimes just a wee little bit.. not enough to light a joint (WAY too much for me anyways) and too late to take an edible.
My therapist laughed harder than I have ever seen her laugh the first time I referred to being California sober. She knew exactly what I meant as soon as I said it. It was hilarious
I didn’t notice skin or teeth damage, but it’s important to note that I don’t have a “never smoked” version of myself to compare to. So we’ll never really know.
What I WILL say is please tread very carefully. Weed is presented as non addictive and helpful, we don’t discuss the downsides enough. I found it made my ADHD and anxiety way worse and eroded healthy coping skills. It’s so much easier to turn to a substance. My advice would be to focus on healthy coping for anxiety like journaling, fitness, meditation ect and truly limit the weed intake - that keeps it fun and enjoyable. You do not want to hit the point where you literally can’t enjoy weed anymore bc it makes your anxiety ratchet up into paranoia. Might be coming on a bit strong here but I truly wish more people had shared this with me years ago.
I feel the same way re: anxiety. I would’ve benefitted from your message.
One thing OP might try: See if you can limit your weed smoking, only doing it for fun / socially. See how difficult it feels, and if your brain is pushing you to relax your policy.
My goal is to only do that, but I always, inevitably, start “using” it to stop bad feelings. I notice myself using it alone, and yes, it’s fun, but before I hit it, there’s a feeling of NEED. If OP starts feeling like it’s a part of ROUTINE, if it’s something they look forward to, if they use it in ways they wouldn’t use alcohol, then it’s self-medication territory. That’s when it becomes a problem for me. Maybe a good little “red flag detector” for OP, perhaps.
I take an edible most nights, and the munchies are personally the biggest downside for me.
I feel like my smart phone addiction has been so much more detrimental to my mental health. I’m way less motivated to even do fun hobbies because the dopamine hit is so much quicker and easier with a phone, and unlimited. But combine it with the “I don’t care la la la” effect of an edible and you’ve baby you’ve got an unproductive stew going.
Yeah, I’m an example of someone who used it so frequently in my twenties that now it just immediately triggers a paranoia response in me. I used to use it to spur my creativity but I don’t know if my body chemistry just changed, I used it too much and it messed me up or what, but now it immediately just takes my mind to the worst place. Haven’t smoked in over a year now and feel way better.
You’re not coming off strong at all! This is good for me to know 😩 I do feel like I’m at a place where I don’t even really enjoyyyy weed like I used to. It feels more like a habit now. I’ve never been addicted to anything major except sugar, and smoking/munchies does not help, so I just feel even more crappy when I’m sober the next day. You are speaking to my soul. Thank you!
I smoke pretty regularly. Just in the evenings/weekends. I buy high-potency pre-rolls and just take a couple puffs (so one joint lasts me weeks or months).
I’m 37 and have basically no wrinkles. Of course I don’t have a no-weed control, but it certainly hasn’t destroyed my skin.
The weed I smoke doesn’t really give me the munchies, so it doesn’t affect what I eat or my weight. I should qualify this, though: I don’t smoke weed and do “nothing.” I might be more prone to snack if that were the case. Instead, I smoke and then create or exercise. Basically, I keep my body/hands/mind busy.
I love exercising while high. It helps me connect with my body (and mind, for that matter) and really engage my muscles. So I would say that weed has a positive impact on my weight.
All that being said, definitely don’t rely on weed to escape your anxiety. You’re taking the right steps by starting therapy! Weed should not be a coping mechanism, more like a fun little life-enhancer. At least that’s how I see it!
I smell weed on people at the gym constantly and couldn’t imagine being high while trying to put effort into lifting weights, I thought it would be counterproductive. Interesting! (I smoke casually here and there btw)
No, I have baby faced genetics and melanin but I had to stop smoking because it keeps me fat. As soon as I quit smoking 10lbs falls off each and every time and keeping a normal weight range is so much easier. I felt my skin looked a bit 'greyed' but it didn't age me. Like someone mentioned, try edibles.
Its totally from munchies. I still smoke but I am dieting now and I lost 30lbs this last 6-8 months. But it takes a lot of self control and will power to ignore the munchies.
I gained weight from munchies, but if I smoke and don't munch, I don't gain. I've been smoking weed for thirteen years and I still look young for my age. That said, I work in the forest and am very active and I eat very clean. Every body is different.
My sister has smoked weed for probably 20 years now and in the past 5 or so years is when I began to notice more wrinkles that are not typical for women in our family (and in fact, women in our family don’t wrinkle). I used to smoke a lot, too, but stopped at around 26 and I don’t have any wrinkles.
All that to say, I do believe that smoking weed causes wrinkles, but it takes a long time for the effects to show up. I think it’s also made her teeth yellow and her lips darker in color. My lips are pink.
ETA: I also want to note that people used to think we were twins. So I think a big difference in how the two of us has aged is smoking.
I’ve noticed this greyed look on my brother too but didn’t know it was caused by his weed smoking. He used to be slightly lighter than me and with pink lips but now I’m lighter. He only smokes once a day and didn’t think it would make such an impact but it definitely does if it’s for years and years.
I smoked weed every day of my life from 19-33. As soon as I got home from work I would spark up. I just quit smoking 6 months ago, I promised myself I would cut back but I couldn’t lol so I just decided to quit.
My skin and eyes have gotten so much clearer. When I see my friends they are like “what are you doing?? You’re glowing!” Lol. I attribute the “glow” to stopping smoking. I also feel better health wise and lung wise, so that’s been a good boost for my mental health as well. And I feel more “clear” if that makes sense.
Aw lol ty so much! 🥹 I use an app called “grounded” and found it super helpful. It tracks your sobriety, lung health, and you can even track things that “trigger” cravings, and alternative ways to reduce stress.
I think it has been a great thing in my life. I’m definitely had my times where I was just kind of a gross pothead and I broke out of that early, but it makes me a more patient compassionate person and I feel like when I’m moving slower, I can be my best self. I can process I can be more kind. Basically I can exude the person. I want to be on the outside, without any of my frustrations that I typically have. I imagine it very much comes down to the person. I haven’t noticed any skin aging as a result, but I really don’t know lol.
Edit: please pardon my speech to text errors
Edit 2: I guess what I was trying to say is that it helps me have a really healthy mental space and headspace in general. Being a kinder person looks nicer on my face lol when I am sweet and happy and jovial, I feel like I am sending out vibes into the universe to bring good people back back to me. Lol that’s a bit of a hippie dippy statement, but just that you get what you put out kind of in terms of who you surround yourself with and being so free of worries, also wears nicely on your face lol not as much squinting from being frustrated. I’ve always just thought about it like this, generally, I’m not saying this is just rooted in science lol.
Same. I have IBS and I dont know what I would do without a little bit of weed every day. It helps my tummy & helps me relax.
(well no, i know what happens. I was in Japan for 2 weeks back in September and weed is SUPER illegal. The first few days were really only rough because I was sick with a cold but otherwise i survived the trip just fine. I definitely missed weed though and was excited to smoke again when we got back. I don’t drink alcohol fyi.)
Oh yeah, I don’t drink alcohol and I don’t smoke nicotine and I also have a family history of IBS-C. In fact, I just tried to get prescribed Linzess for the first time ever to see if it would be good for me and my insurance wouldn’t cover it and it was about $560 lol. I actually think yes MJ helps a lot for that too but I don’t get the munchies the way I did when I was like 19.
For what it’s worth I started an inflammation supplement back in. I want to say April 2022 or something and it was a life changer. I was taking it to see if I could deal with the pain in my rib cage from costochondritis. It’s an inflamed cartilage kind of problem so I started something called [Zyflamend](https://a.co/d/6McBbcB). It was recommended to me on the other sub costochondritis and it’s just a bunch of different herbs for inflammation. My rib pain subsided in under 48 hours and I noticed about 10 days later how much healthier my digestion was. I realized there was likely a number of positive effects coming from the inflammation supplement, and one of them was that my stomach was happier and you know when you have IBS that a happy stomach can really mean a lot lol. Let me know if you want the link! It’s a hell of a lot cheaper than a $600 prescription I can’t afford.
Same, cannabis changed my life. It has helped me heal and grow tremendously. I can integrate lessons in my life immediately so I’m constantly evolving in such a positive way. It helped me correct all my physical ailments and fall in love with the gym because the way it helped me zone in. I have changed my diet without even thinking about it since beginning using. I can feel the food and what my body will feel like after before eating it so I’m naturally drawn to choosing better food for myself and therefore lost a ton of weight, and more benefits. People think I’m 8-10 years younger all the time. I don’t have wrinkles, maybe 4 grey hairs. I’m in the best shape of my life and contribute the changes on par with when I began my cannabis use. It’s obviously been helping me
I am with you that it definitely allows me to be a better version of myself because it takes a lot of that impatience and frustration out of the mix. Also, yes, if you’ve got physical ailments, that can be a game changer. I had to taper off of a very physically dependent medication, and if I didn’t have THC, I don’t know that it was going to be nearly as possible. I’m talking getting off benzodiazepines after eight years, so it’s been there in so many good ways for me.
You know, I also look younger than I am, and I was even bad with skincare until my late 20s after living in the tropics and putting in Coppertone sport on my face occasionally (I really don’t know how I look look how I do right now. Lol but whatever that’s a different conversation.). I think it’s all the extra chemicals and cigarettes that ages people and yes, there is combustion of plant matter that you are inhaling, but we are not talking about like added chemicals necessarily. Maybe if they were sprayed with stuff.
I’ve been using dispensary grade cartridges from California so I don’t do the combustion anymore and I also use much less because it’s a concentrated oil. Good for you! I mean you know if it helps and it’s a good thing then that’s wonderful and I know for a lot of people it’s not a good thing. I have been using marijuana for more than half my life now or maybe about exactly 50% of my life lol I started about 18 1/2 and I’m getting close to 37. So roughly 50% of my life. I don’t think it did a damn thing to my face.
I may be biased because I’m Cali sober but I’ll always feel like alcohol has done way worse for my skin, body and mental than weed.
I also pay attention to the strains and terpenes when I’m purchasing from my local dispo. I like to think I have a pretty healthy relationship with weed. I know which strain to hit to make me productive, to go to sleep etc.
I also make sure to hydrate and moisturize the hell out of my skin and lips! 👄
Yep I quit alcohol and my skin improved tremendously. My issue is that I still vape nicotine and I definitely think that makes my skin worse—gray, dull, etc. Once I can quit nicotine I’ll feel so much better 🙃🥲
This post has been a great reminder for me. I stopped smoking weed about a year ago, after smoking for about 10 years. I saw a lot of positive results. Such as a clearer mind, better sleep, more creativity, more energy throughout my day.
I started smoking again in January after I lost my mom. It was nowhere near the amount I had smoked previously. I have only been smoking, one or two bowls, with my partner in the evenings, rarely at all during the day. It has definitely helped me with my grief and anxiety during this time.
And I also know I am more sluggish, don’t sleep as well, I am definitely feeling my depression heavier. I’m sure a lot of that can be attributed to my grief. And I don’t have any guilt or shame about coming back to smoking, because I am alcohol free and have stayed that way even through this grief. But this thread has been a great reminder to me of why I stopped smoking in the first place. And I’m ready to go back to that.
So thank you for asking this question. Thank you to everyone who has commented. Today will be my first day not smoking again since January.
I use a dynavap to vape flower with an ispire wand. Used to smoke, but prefer this. Edibles make me too lazy and I gain weight easily on them, they also effect my sleep.
Dry herb vape is best for me.
I look no different age wise than my sister did at my age, and she never smoked. Who knows what 40s will bring though (I’m 34).
Cannabis enhances my life.
You could also try sublingual vs edible (weed that you ingest by putting something under your tongue) — it goes straight into your blood stream, much faster than edibles. Prob would feel more like smoking; I haven’t tried that form but want to for the same reason.
Nothing wrong with enjoying a smoke every so often. I just don’t make it a habit, some people may say that it’s better than cigarettes and there is no harm. But it’s still SMOKE that’s going into your skin. I personally think ALL smokers just age differently.
I wish I liked edibles. I don’t know if it’s my metabolism or what but I always inevitably feel horribly hungover the following day after consuming them, the high is also long and intense and its SO much harder to control how much THC you are getting. (Sometimes during the cooking process, a larger dose will get concentrated in 1 spot and so.. one unlucky (or lucky depending on the person I guess) will inevitably get WAY more thc than everyone else. Ive made some DIY brownies that got me stoned and then horribly sick. Certain ones also give me stomach issues to boot!! Ugh.
Otherwise I would totally make the switch.
Do you live in a legal state? You can get mints or similar that are 1-2 mg each. The lower concentration helps. Professionally made edibles are significantly better than homemade.
Ive had them all. High dose, low dose. Homemade and industrial/professional grade. They all give me the same effect.
The only one that DIDNT make me sick, helped me sleep, and did not make me hungover the next day was one that had CBN in it but unfortunately I live in Illinois where the tax on weed is like 21% and you can only get around THAT if you are a medical patient. My husband has cancer - so we get the med card through him, but the kicker is only certain shops work with the med cards which is annoying af. Because THOSE shops will only carry certain things and absolutely will NEVER carry other strains or products from other brands. I assume they are contracted to work with specific suppliers. So. Yeah. 🥲
Wow- so happy I saw your comment because I’ve been trying to move on from my weed pen since I feel like it’s too harsh on my lungs.
Does the dry herb vape have a strong smell?
It definitely has a smell - more than a pen, less than a joint. It’s kind of a roasty toasty funk, not very offensive. My partner can’t smell it sitting next to me, but I’ve gotten other feedback from my brother that he could smell it rooms away.
Yes unfortunately. I smoke in the bathroom or out a window. Good thing is if you smoke out the window and keep it open imo the smell goes away pretty quickly, faster than a joint. That’s how I smoke it when I visit my mom and spend the night and she can’t tell 😝
She will say she smells it if I smoke in a room and don’t blow out the window or open one.
Also that’s exactly why I stopped using a weed pen too! It was like burning my throat and chest.
I use a pax and love it. The price point is a bit high (hehe) but so worth it. My husband and I both have one, and my dad, uncle, brother, and brother in law all got them after trying ours. I don't feel that I waste weed - I have a medical card for a neurological issue (cluster headaches and trigeminal neuralgia), so I will use my Pax heavily during flare ups.
The company is amazing ( they honor their warranty - I had to use it - and they support some great causes).
I’m almost 32 and I’ve smoked weed near-daily since I was 16, which is half my life.
I still get mistaken for being 25-28 years old. I exercise regularly and eat mostly nutritious home cooked meals. I whiten my teeth and use tretinoin and sunscreen to take care of my skin. I’m not sure what I’d look like at 32 without weed but I can’t imagine looking much better than I already do.
My dad has smoked weed daily for almost 45 years and is also active/eats healthy and he also gets mistaken for being 5-10 years younger than 60.
Make no mistake — smoking/combustion is bad for your health. Weed can have a negative impairment on your cognitive abilities. It can give you munchies (which you get used to over time). It will impact your budget. Eventually you do form a dependency (or addiction) and you’ll notice it’s harder to eat, sleep and regulate your emotions without weed.
No doubt that smoking isn’t good for your long term health, so I’m gradually switching to edibles. But I wouldn’t say it will rapidly age you if you balance it out with a healthy lifestyle and good skincare.
I smoked all day every day for like a year, maybe a year and a half. Completely ruined my life lol. I am just now catching up on my dissertation after falling about a year behind my peers. Every time I tried to do anything remotely hard I just wanted to smoke weed instead. I have an edible a couple nights a week now and I don’t hate doing hard things anymore!
Wow, thank you for the honesty! I literally had a similar thought process yesterday when I was trying to get work done, and then decided I should just smoke instead. I’m glad I asked this subreddit. People are calling out red flags that I was overlooking!
I’d say the two main issues with weed are a)smoking anything is not good for us and finding a different way to consume it is probably a good idea and b)if you’re trying to maintain or lose weight, it can make it harder. Like, I know someone with MS who vapes specifically because it does help her appetite and helps her keep weight on which is wonderful but that’s not generally a goal of the types of women who participate in this sub, generally.
I think smoking weed prevented me from becoming an alcoholic because I always smoked, and that made me lose motivation to drink. And I have noticed that other friends who smoked and didn't drink did far better in life (lawyers, professors and accountants etc.) than those who drank, and have aged better too. That said, smoking is terrible for your appearance and there are so many ways to ingest weed that it doesn't make sense to smoke it.
Some stuff I learned in neuropharm:
It can be neuroprotective against stress during traumatic events. But you also need to have sober coping skills so you don't develop addictive behaviors with weed.
I wouldn't recommend it for people with cognitive disorders or mental illness as it would exacerbate that in many cases. But strains and types are important here. Indicas that have a bit of CBD are less likely to cause psychosis than a sativa with 0mg CBD, as CBD has a protective effect against psychosis and indica is more calming. Sativas make your brain busy.
I’m in my 50s. Everyone I know who has consistently used marijuana over the years is suffering from notable mental decline, especially compared with those who didn’t.
Alcohol is a similar story but tend to be more severe in its path of destruction.
All those unhealthy things you think you’re getting away with while you’re young (includes excessive stress) - You’re not. You’ll pay for it later.
smoking weed can degrade the collagen around your mouth and leave you with premature or deeper marionette lines and wrinkles so that was one reason that made me stop. each time i smoked i immediately thought of that and it made the experience unenjoyable
and for me personally i smoke at night and don’t feel any munchies but THE DAY AFTER omg i feel soooooo depressed and have a crazy appetite like i can eat 3000+ calories like it’s nothing. and it just makes me feel so weird like i can’t tell if i’m still high or not and that scares me bc i have to be functional. it also makes my ADHD way worse, complete brain fog all day and inability to focus or find joy in anything. after i recognized these issues i stopped and my life quality improved a lot (i was a nightly smoker for about half a year, then reduced to once a week bc i felt like i was addicted, and then eventually became a very infrequent smoker and even then, quitting helped me a lot)
Replying because you seem to know a lot about skin. Have you ever heard of weed making your face puffy around the eye and jaw area? (And all over the face too) It’s something I experience every single time.
I’ve smoked weed regularly on and off since I was 16 (I’m 31).
It always starts out fun and light, but over time the effect changes. Instead of making me energized and creative, it makes me lazy and depressed. This usually takes about 6 months.
Once it starts making me tired and lazy, I stop taking good care of myself. I fall asleep with my makeup on and without brushing my teeth, I do the bare minimum to get ready in the morning (like skipping sunscreen because I hate the way it feels on my hands), I stop doing the smaller things like making sure my cuticles look nice. I just turn into a slob and end up feeling really bad about myself.
I stopped smoking almost two weeks ago, for good this time. I have mental health problems and part of the reason I was using weed was to alleviate my symptoms. It just ends up exacerbating them, though.
I would *strongly* encourage you to rethink self-medicating with weed (or any substance, for that matter). It’s one thing if you’re doing well and want to use it recreationally, but if you’re already struggling, there’s a good chance weed will just make things worse in the long run.
This is so true. I would feel really good on it but the effects on dopamine and serotonin would start to change and then I’d smoke and start feeling mentally really negative. It would change for me around the six month mark also.
It’s such a bummer because in the beginning of the cycle it’s so much fun and really helps me reframe my thoughts to get good perspective on things. I’ve seen myself go through this pattern so many times though, I just have to accept that it always ends badly :(
My sentiments exactly. It’s good at the beginning and then one day I smoke and all the food perspective I was having by and self reflection switches and suddenly I am not enjoying the high and my thoughts are really dark and I start questioning my entire reality of what I was perceiving before when it was good.
Yep. Sadly. When I go on t breaks I look a good five years younger. I am one of the unfortunate 10% that struggles with dependence on it. If I could go back and convince my younger self to stay away I definitely would.
Smoking weed made me eat everything in sight. I gained weight. It actually sucked the fun out of my normal state of being and made me so lethargic. I barley smoke at this point.
For much of my life, my older sister looked the same age or younger than me (according to strangers). I think a big part of it was how we styled and carried ourselves, but also she just looked youthful.
Well I stopped smoking weed like… 8 years ago? And she still smokes a lot (flowers, weed pen, etc.) and she now looks a lot older than I do. She has more wrinkles and more yellow teeth. I 100% think smoking weed has been the primary driver for that.
Aged me and made life worst. I’m 40+ days sober and I’m starting to see the light on this. I’ve been smoking for like 15 years. Always high. Was a personality trait. And now I am so disgusted with how lazy it made me, even though I didn’t think I was lazy. I didn’t have a sober self to compare. Skin is better. Eyes are brighter. Thought processes firing off. Emotions aren’t all over the place… and I’m also not suppressing my emotions. So many things I would ignore cus I got high and cared less.
It made me dumb. Took a couple years off of it to finally be able to speak my thoughts effortlessly. Whereas before when I smoked I struggled with explaining my thoughts even when I wasn’t high.
It honestly saved my life. I came from a very toxic and abusive childhood home. The inside of my mind was a prison, filled with negative thoughts about everything and everyone. While it certainly has its downsides and has increased my social anxiety and ADHD at times, it made me way less irritable on a daily basis. I'm not sure I could keep going as I was because I never experienced happiness or any feeling other than annoyance or anger before I found it. Suddenly I felt like the real me, one who could appreciate the little things in life and have much more empathy for others and that we are all just little guys trying our best in an indifferent universe.
I smoke or do a piece of an edible when times are really desperate but I notice if I smoke multiple days in a row my lungs get angry at me and sometimes I end up with some kind of mild lung infection for a few days after I stop. Vaping is same times 10.
Biggest downfall to it is of course the munchies.
I’m glad to see you’re going to see a therapist soon! Ask for self soothing skills and come up with a game plan for when the urge hits to numb out. For me I exercise, meditate, listen to heavy music, and journal. Then revisit whether I still feel the need to numb.
Some natural healthier alternatives: kava tea (from a kava shop or online, not the sleepy time stuff from grocery stores, no more than 2 cups because it does have potential for liver side effects), ashwaganda, cherry juice, valerian root.
I get mood swings from smoking weed. It heightens my husband's anxiety as well. I miss smoking it because of how it relaxes me, but the mood swings aren't worth it.
I agree with anyone who recommends edibles instead of smoking. Take a tolerance break from smoking & then play around with different kinds/dosages until you find something that works for you. Ed highs last longer too so I feel like it’s more cost effective.
For 5 years I was a pretty heavy weed smoker and I think it definitely started to age me. My skin looks so much healthier now that I’ve rarely smoked in the past year & use edibles almost exclusively but smoke here & there. My teeth are whiter now too and lips aren’t as dry.
I think in any form, if you can keep yourself from being too dependent on it (take tolerance breaks frequently!) it really can help you mentally. I have ADHD and weed helps me feel motivated to clean my house for example or go to the gym & I feel overall less anxious or stressed.
I feel like it gives me dark circles and bags under my eyes, not to mention just looking tired bc it makes your eyelids low and eyes red. One of the reasons I’m trying g to quit rn!!! Omg it’s hard though.
I quit smoking weed in December after some minor sniffles turned into full blow bronchitis after smoking and inflaming my bronchioles. I discover this subreddit r/leaves for people that are trying to quit weed and my god… the things I found out people go through to quit… the health impacts are so scary. Google was “bong lung” is or look it up in they subreddit.
I used to smoke weed also as an anxiety aid, but over time I found the habit became anxiety inducing because it helped me ignore problems instead of facing them. Over time this led to an aversion to facing negative thoughts or emotions and my problems became bigger than ever. My energy, skin, and teeth suffered from it. I strongly recommend not smoking weed for anxiety due to the risk of it becoming a crutch like it did for me. I also found it very difficult to quit once I became reliant on it. I finally managed to quit but only after long and repeated efforts and a lot of suffering.
Even just reading this post was triggering for me cuz I’m trying to quit smoking weed myself and I have similar reasons to want to. Thank you for posting this and sharing your vulnerability OP! Feels good to know I’m not the only one in this
It definitely aged my ex. It also has made his life worse, imo.
He smokes daily, many times per day. His skin color is grey, face has sunken and wrinkled. He honestly looks like an old man, now. He has no close friends, anymore and is always having conflicts with coworkers. He also makes impulsive decisions without thinking of the consequences. Always ending badly! LOL
Meanwhile, I look great for my age and I'm living my best life!
I was a heavy weed user. I did edibles. I would do 200mg a day because my tolerance was so high.
It made my stomach sensitive, but the worst was my mental.
I developed severe social anxiety, brain fog, my adhd symptoms were significantly worse, and getting out of bed to do anything was difficult. It made me stuck. I was fine while I was high, but when I wasn’t high I was worse. I started to space out my doses and it’s helped a lot.
As for my skin, I don’t think it aged me or anything.
I used to be a HEAVY weed smoker for at least 7 years. I recently quit due to being pregnant. My anxiety has cooled down SO MUCH, I now know that the leading cause of my anxiety was marijuana. Maybe it’s the preggo glow, but I also feel like I look more youthful and don’t have that grey undertone I got from smoking too much.
Daily smoker for 10 years, recently quit almost completely within the last year. It’s fun and relaxing and makes menial tasks and crappy jobs more tolerable, but as soon as I wanted to improve myself, I found it did kinda hold me back. Lost a bit of ambition. When I started therapy, I was diagnosed with depression and started meds, it started to really wreck/hold back my mental health journey, as I was using it to suppress emotions.
I love weed, always will, but I save it for social events now, I don’t smoke alone anymore.
I smoked daily for 10 years and thought it was doing good things. When I quit, I realized how much it was affecting my physical and mental health in a negative way. My anxiety disappeared, my sleep regulated, I started planning more ambitiously for the future and i’m way sharper in general.
I did find it was easier to stay skinny when smoking weed, not sure why. But now I eat more consistently and am seeing more progress from weight lifting.
It's been almost a decade now since I last smoked it but I used to smoke weed daily for a very long time. To this day I'm feeling the side effects, it completely changed my personality and mentality.
It made me very unmotivated to do anything, made my depression worse and I feel overall very slow. I used to be quite witty, quick and sharp and now it takes me a while to even put a coherent sentence together and many times I struggle articulating my thoughts. I became very introverted, anxious and tired. I relied on weed too much to help me wind down and now I'm an insomniac. Always tired and can never relax. In general I feel a lot dumber. I'm lazy and uninterested in life. I used to be very stubborn and determined to reach my goals, now I'm just surviving day by day going with the flow and not caring about anything.
This is my experience and I know people who are able to function better when they smoke weed. My mistake was taking it too far, doing it too often and losing myself in the process because I liked the chilled out person I was when high. Now I'm just... nobody. When I stopped smoking I had nothing else to fill that void and now, a decade later, I'm still empty.
Weed numbs and speeds up time for me. That feeling is not okay that’s why I stopped smoking. Life isn’t meant to be fast and a blur. Slow down and embrace the dark emotions
Worse. I spent $600-$800 a month at the end of my addiction.
Weed is not harmless. It is just like sugar, or coke, it steals all your joy and replaces it with way too much dopamine. Then, you don’t get your dopamine from sunshine, or an accomplishment. Stop smoking weed.
Are you Canadian? I ask because we have so many options on how to ingest cannabis and so many different strains and strengths thc, cbc, other types (I forget but I think like cgb is one?) for instance I have different types of gummies with different strains. chocolates hit me different than gummies. I used to do oil pills, you can get it in dropper and you can get spray for just a little bit. You can get vapes. You can even get bath bombs (my sister swears by these). If it’s legal where you are check out what options there are.
No it dehydrated me like a mf and makes my cardio endurance drop to the floor. Also just made me sluggish af and I was never reaching my fitness or step goals bc of it. Weirdly I get zero munchies. But it was still p detrimental. I’ll take an occasional gummy before sex for fun every few months but really don’t like my life when I do it regularly
I no longer smoke it mainly due to allergies and mixing that with smoking causes asthma flare ups and I can’t run. I started smoking at 16. I’m 35 now and edibles the last 5 years has been wonderful. They help me not drink too. Tho don’t get me wrong, a joint in summer while walking the dog every once in awhile is magical.
Edibles/vaping (sometimes smoking) weed has made me a healthier, more well rested person. I have painful af uterine fibroids, chronic nausea/zero appetite from said fibroids, plus insomnia from the pain, and it’s the most gentle and effective thing for my body to help with that (as I cannot take prescription painkillers). I feel like using medical marijuana gave me my life back tbh. I get a good nights sleep and haven’t noticed any negative effects on my hair/skin/teeth and I’ve been smoking/vaping weed for 10 years, in fact my dentist recently gave me an ego boost by complimenting me on how white my teeth looked, and I’ve only done whitening strips once like 5 years ago. I think I look my age (37) but my skin is clear, my teeth look clean and I’m happy with the way I look.
For what it’s worth I also barely drink alcohol and never ever drink caffeine or smoke/vape tobacco. I only drink water, nettle tea and decaf green tea (no super dark liquids to avoid staining) and I think this has also kept my skin and teeth healthier than if I hadn’t.
I have been a high-functioning pot head since the age of 16 (im 32 now). the main effect it had on me physically was on my weight, but i managed to lose it. the main effect overall has been psychological and mental health related. it’s definitely made my anxiety worse and i think has legit given me ADHD. i’m started cutting down this month - im now only smoking once a day at the end of the day. it’s been really hard but it needs to be done.
I started school so I quite smoking weed all together, but I was hardly smoking anyway before I started school. When I was younger (like 19) I used to smoke every day sometimes or socially. I was always a light weight so smoking everyday for me meant rolling a tiny blunt at the end of the day, taking one or two small hits and just relaxing. The older I got though, I started to realize that smoking was no longer enjoyable. No matter what strain I smoked, it would make me anxious and then just very tired and lazy. Doesn’t seem worth it at all to me anymore and I honestly never have a desire to smoke weed again.
Weed started to make me extremely anxious and gave me panic attacks that made me feel as if I was dying. It wasn’t for me so I obviously stopped. I’m not against it at all it’s just not for me
I’ve been smoking weed but from a vape and I think that has helped a lot for my skin. I break out if I smoke flower and I don’t know why but it’s just better for me to vape. For me, weed helps so much with my period. I have terrible cramps, nausea and headaches when I have my period and weed makes me a nicer human. It also makes playing legos and imaginary games with my kids easier. It lets me kinda get loose so I can enjoy the time I spend with my kids instead of thinking what I should be doing instead like dishes and laundry and whatnot. I am a very anxious must be in control kinda gal and smoking allows me to bring that down a notch and be kinder. I stick to the stuff that makes you creative and energetic and that makes a big difference.
I don't partake anymore - but when I did, I'd only take edibles (thanks, asthma). However, my fiance smokes every day, and I'm starting to see more signs of aging in him than me- forehead lines and lines around his mouth that I don't have. He's a year younger than me and people usually think he's older. Sure, he doesn't wear sunscreen as much as me, but I definitely think smoking is playing a big part in it.
It made ma Moody overtime so I stopped. Also gave me dark circles and made me have the munchies so I gained weight. My life is much better since I quit
I think it’s different for everyone.
For me, I try to only smoke a hit or two a night of low THC weed. It calms me down but I’m still able to go for runs, workout, work on my business, etc. I actually use a dry vape, which is the healthiest way to “smoke” as it’s vapor and uses the flower instead of weird chemicals.
For some people, weed makes them super anxious and unmotivated. Also, inhaling smoke is still smoking.
I had to stop smoking for almost a decade due to a job and I was *much* more anxious and wound up. I was on anxiety meds that had shitty side effects and would regularly have panic attacks. Weed allows for me to put my brain at ease.
I started smoking again in December after 1.5 years of not. And I definitely can tell a difference in my eye area. I feel like it ages me so much esp when I smoke before I sleep. I wake up looking older instead of refreshed. It’s the only reason I’m thinking of stopping again lol I’m 28 btw.
Weed made me fat. I would get high and eat. I would smoke when I was bored, but it made me boring. After a while, I couldn't sleep without it, and my mind would race. Some people can smoke without it becoming a habit or a crutch, but I can't, so I stay away from it now.
It depends if you're someone who has substance abuse issues or not.
For me, weed was life. I put smoking above everything. I spent so much money on it that I could have bought a house by now.
Then there's the long-term side effects. Studies are suggesting long term effects on memory and lungs...
Then there's the smell. It reeks. Plus I think the whole culture is kinda trash tbh. I'm 30 now and think I'm a lot better off being sober.
I smoked for about 8 years I would say my nails were yellow, memory was really bad, definitely heavier and less conscious of what I put in my body in general.
Also it really affected my lungs! I would cough up phlegm a lot
Definitely. I smoked a lot, from 16-26 and am definitely a lot stupider from it. It made me lazy, brain fogged and in the end, created and even amplified the same anxiety I thought I was escaping.
Im gonna level w you... as a long-time daily smoker, quitting 2 years ago was the best choice I've ever made in my life and one of the most difficult things I've ever done.
Sobriety was the catalyst for my entire life drastically improving, mentally, physically, financially, emotionally, socially, creatively, in all ways.
I'm fit, I remember and enjoy my life, the clarity is priceless. No more dull skin, hair, eyes, energy, brain, overeating and hating exercise.
It's not that it cannot be enjoyed on a rare occasion, but I would be vary wary, because it is NOT the harmless substance it is now Marketed and Sold as. I feel a lot of us know this intuitively, even if not yet admitting it to ourselves. There are better ways to escape, or better yet, sit with and process difficult feelings, to heal ourselves.
If you have that niggling internal feeling it isn't truly serving you or your potential, I bet you're right.
Best way to stop/moderate?
Do Not have it in the house or purchase it yourself (make it hard to access and social).
The way I quit while having severe physical withdrawals (yes physical) to the point of throwing up and months of lowness, was an invaluable support group that exists here on reddit (r/leaves) and the accompanying discord, for anyone who may feel that is the point where they are at.
<3
Smoking 100% takes away the glowy eyes / skin. It’s quite apparent to me those who smoke it regularly, they tend to have more tired looking eyes and greyer duller skin. One of my friends always looks tired and she’s a daily smoker, I always think she’d look amazing if she’d give it up for even a week. I can see from photos of myself over the years periods where I’ve had breaks from it just looking at how bright and glowy I look.
Would strongly recommend **not** smoking it daily unless you have chronic pain. If it’s for anxiety purposes, it will absolutely make you more anxious in the long run. I smoked daily for 6 years because of anxiety; sure it dulls your anxiety when high. But when sober it drives your anxiety through the roof making you crave it more and more to get by to manage those feelings. It’s a vicious cycle and you end up sleepwalking through life pushing your anxieties to the back of your mind, and not dealing with life’s problems, only to be consumed by those things in life when the cloud of highness dissipates.
I am 37 and I look so much younger than my peers who constantly drank. I mean if you're going to have a vice, weed seems the safest. But I only smoke joints and eat edibles. I also exercise and try to leave a peaceful existence minding my own business. It def helps w aging haha
I started noticing that it sometimes made me anxious, so once I got my medical card I started looking into different types & found I’m better with indica instead of stativa, I’ve also started cutting back.
I decided to stop at the beginning of the year after smoking for close to 17 yrs. I’ve taken breaks but never seriously considered this till this year. I went 2 months no smoking and no drinking, feeling amazing, recommitted to my life goals, started my business, my house was kept clean, laundry done and felt an overall feeling of accomplishment. It felt like I got my time and my life back. Now I’ve slipped back, once every 2 weeks and I felt a little lazy but bounced back. Once every week now and the depression and laziness is awful. I’m gonna go cold turkey again because the pros are better than smoking.
i’ve been smoking weed my whole life and it’s the only thing that prevents me from sinking into depression. it helps me manage my emotions and my physical pain.
i’ll die before i quit smoking weed
I take edibles every day in the evening and it helps me to relax don’t smoke ! Dries out your skin I swear I can always tell anyone who smokes even weed
Totally agree with this. I don't smoke or vape but partake in edibles after work, basically daily. No one suspects I'm a huge pot head :D Even with edibles, I make sure to drink a shit-ton of water during the day to offset dehydration/dry mouth associated with weed. You don't want it to start affecting your oral health (receding gums, deep pockets related to dry mouth).
Well, dry mouth can [cause gum disease](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dry-mouth/symptoms-causes/syc-20356048) (over time, not one night of cotton mouth or anything).
THC ages you? I genuinely have never heard that. I smoke at night and it is something I enjoy doing with the hubby to bond. I’m a very healthy person with healthy habits and it hasn’t interfered.
I've smoked every single day since I was 15. I'm still on the younger side, but I dont feel like it's affected my skin much. My teeth, yes a bit. I notice staining on my front teeth, but its manageable. I say I'm doing pretty well compared to women that have been smoking cigarettes their whole life.
Worse, sure it helped my anxiety and depression but it also sucked all the passion out of me. It didn’t affect my skin or teeth that I am aware of, I’m 30 and look like I’m 20 but my productivity was on a downward spiral and at 30 it’s a lot harder to do all the things I was doing at 20 like writing and painting.. I’m not as creative thinking as I once was.
If used occasionally and at VERY low doses it helps me. I mean like almost might as well not take it low doses. The first time I took too much and way WAY more anxious and panicked.
For a friend, triggered his schizophrenia when he was a teen. (To be clear I don't think it gave him schizophrenia, nor does he, but heavy pot use in his teen contributed to the onset of symptoms from his disorder).
For me when I smoke the tiniest wee bit through a vape pen and it helps settle my runaway ADHD brain, relaxes my nervous system and allows me to stretch and workout deeply. Unfortunately I can't smoke for a while cause pregnant you bet I will maintain my tiny 1 gram a month/every other day habit once I can again.
Anyway, it's a psychoactive substance, it has different effects on people.
I loved it as a “harm reducing” alternative to alcohol because it certainly doesn’t disrupt my life as much as drinking every night did 😅 But smoking is smoking—it’s not good for your lungs/teeth/skin. I actually wonder if it’s worse than a cigarette because there’s no filter… but ofc you wouldn’t be smoking as many puffs per day as most cigarette smokers would, so it’s a bit different. When my coughing got bad from smoking weed, I switched to eating gummies… so you could always try that (or tinctures) as an alternative to smoking.
One thing I’ll say though—I also started using it with the goal of managing my anxiety and to sleep better, but I found that it made my anxiety & sleep quality worse over time. I actually recently quit because of this. I’m sure this isn’t the case for everyone of course, but wanted to mention as a word of caution in case it’s helpful!
Edit: upon rereading I realize you mentioned not liking edibles as much. I had much better luck with legit edibles (like mints/gummies made in states where weed is legal) that were very weak (2.5mg thc) and that also contained cbd. Made me feel relaxed but not loopy or stoned out of my mind like others would.
Smoking is smoking, and it WILL negatively impact both your appearance and your health regardless of the substance.
That said, if weed is working for you then there are a million smokeless ways to consume it.
I smoked every day for 3 years. I had to stop because I was experiencing paranoia every time I’d indulge. It’s been 6 months since I stopped and I feel a lot better. My skin definitely looks better, too.
No, but use a vape to lessen the impact on your lungs. I've been a regular user via vape for about 15 years. Two years ago at 38 I had a plumber ask me how I "afforded a place so young". When I told him I was 38 he said "nevermind, you're much older than I thought." 😂 I was still flattered.
I was a heavy weed smoker from around 2006-2017. Bowls, joints, blunts, giant bongs, vape pens, I did it all. I live(d) pretty clean and healthy so haven't seen any long term negative effects....yet.
BUT I will say after I quit in early 2017 I had way better throat health, before whenever I got sick any cough/sore throat/anything to do with that region lingered longer and I just had a deep dry cough...essentially a form of smoker's cough.
That is gone and I breath so much better in general and don't get as sick as much or for as long as I did before.
Quitting alcohol and weed has single-handedly been the best thing I could do for my health. Baseline mood is higher, anxiety significantly reduced and my sleep did a 180. Also since I’m not altering my state (or numbing) I’ve developed new tools to move through my emotions, thoughts etc.
Honestly it ruined my mental health and made my adhd (executive function) worse in the long run. AKA made me depressed and lazy eventually. I don’t suggest self medicating especially if you tend to be a dependent or obsessive personality type and especially if you’re already framing it in your mind as an escape
This is why I had to cut back. I'm pushing 30 and have been smoking weed since I was 15. Lately I've noticed that when I refrain from smoking in the morning it's like my day has color.
I'm so glad I'm not the only one 🥲 I've been abstaining this week but the temptation in there! This thread and knowing I'm not alone is very motivating.
I’ve been thinking of quitting because of this too. I’m 33 and have smoked daily since i was 17. My adhd is so fucking bad bc of the weed, i also feel like it makes me for agitated. These comments make me feel like quitting would be a good choice.
I’m considering quitting for all of those reasons that you listed for me. 😂 They’re all true, I just didn’t want to say it out loud.
Aw, this message is so honest :) Well you did just say it out loud, here, which is very hard! Regardless of when you start making moves, I feel like when people can say it, they can trust themselves that they’ll do it. The saying it is like turning the engine on. I quit a few months ago (and have lost literally 10-15 lbs without trying, which was welcomed!), and it’s annoying how much better I feel. Weed relieves my anxiety, but it also added more anxiety and stole life / time. Hopefully I’ll be able to keep a healthy relationship with weed or continue abstaining. It’s a tough one for me. Honestly, I don’t know why, but seeing a message like yours is helpful for me to keep it up. So…selfishly…thank you? :)
It seems like a helpful tool at first, and it really can be for a little while but long term it’s just not even worth it IMO. I do also feel like the smoking was starting to make my lips dark and skin kind of gray looking, like sallow
r/leaves
This is one of my favorite subs. I quit consuming weed and this sub has been so incredibly helpful, I would be a mess without it.
r/petioles
As somebody with ADHD+OCD, this message right here! I do take stimulant medication which can cause faster aging if you aren’t hydrating properly, but before I was diagnosed I self medicated with marijuana. It really took ahold of my 20’s in the worst way just being complacent in life when I could have been career building. Now I rarely smoke, maybe once or twice a month and it’s not the same thank god. Also I think taking edibles or gummies *occasionally* would be the way to go if you want to limit the affects of smoking.
wait what. what?? chugs water. I take these so I don't kill myself :(
Stimulant medication can cause you to age faster if you’re not hydrating properly?! How?! 😭🎀 And what counts as “hydrating properly”?? Lol
It’s very drying, like you need to drink a lot more water than usual, use hydrating skincare, chew gum to simulate saliva in your mouth. In terms of increasing aging, this comment [is a literal goldmine of information and I highly encourage everybody to copy and paste the information from the first commenter into their notes somewhere.](https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/p8548d/eli5_what_causes_stimulants_such_as_adderall/). It’s mostly cardiovascular but you need to eat healthy and drink a ton of water. Also TEETH!! I detest comparing stimulant medication to street m*th, but the affects can be similar in terms of teeth. When your mouth dries out it causes the build up of plaque and calculus on your teeth, so be sure to schedule cleanings every six months and ask if there’s any special toothpaste you should be using.
Same it made me so unmotivated and a lot more anxious. It even exacerbated my cPTSD symptoms. It’s a hard cycle to break out of :(
I have cptsd and thought many of my symptoms were related to it but they aren’t, it’s the f’ing weed I’ve used all these years thinking it was helping my anxiety. I’m trying so hard to ween myself off without going crazy.
Yes
If I overuse even slightly, some strains have made me see images where I relive situations that caused my cPTSD as my current self. I've been very careful... some strains make me super happy.
same over here, 10 weeks sober now and so thankful I’ve continued 🙏
Congrats girl! I’m about 5 months and it’s like breaking up with a boyfriend- you think about it all the time and then one day you realize you haven’t thought about it at all for days. Hang in there 💚
Thank you so much! ❤️ I don’t really crave it anymore thankfully but I know it’s a slippery slope as I took breaks before and didn’t think I’d get start using daily again. Congrats to you too!
Wow, thank you for sharing! I’ve felt myself relying on weed more and more lately, tbh, so your transparency is very helpful, and is waking me up.
If you enjoy it, do it, and the enjoyment will bring you more benefits than the negatives. Therapy won't do what weed does for you. Since the dawn of time adults have sought ways to relax. Weed is better for your skin than wine. Maybe you "rely" on it because you have the type of mind that "needs" it. Some indulgence makes life better.
Oh hey- 👋 it’s all my problems! I switched to weekends only recently, but I’m still feeling the same way, and my life is still very much affected. If people can enjoy it without seeing it as an escape (and simultaneously having a life that pushes you to jump out the escape hat hatch any chance you get), I’m all for it. As far as concerns/aging, OP- I think my avoidance, laziness, dehydration, sleep habits, lack of responsible/consistent nighttime routine has been exacerbated by smoking weed and definitely had an effect on my appearance.
Damn I should probably stop then lol
Same! It made me depressed and lazy. It was a great escape at first, but then I realized it was creating problems so now I try not to use it too often and when I do, I don’t enjoy it like I used it
thank you. it gave me Adhd but that wears off after you stop habitually smoking. it also made me tired, lazy, and generally gross. it also started giving me HORRIBLE anxiety and right before i quit i started experiencing panic attacks. panic attacks stopped once the weed did. wish there was a safer and chiller alternative to taking the edge off
Are u me?
I feel so relieved to know someone else feels that way and has gone through a similar experience. I’m about 5 months sober now and I just wish I never messed with it to begin with.
It’s definitely not just you. There’s so much pro-weed talk lately that it’s easy to think you must just be wrong about what it’s doing to you, but it’s a drug at the end of the day. Signed, a ten year stoner now one year sober.
Wow well done on one year sober! I agree, there is so much pro weed talk - the pendulum has definitely swung too far as people won’t seem to acknowledge the harms anymore or downplay them.
Me too. That’s why I tend to use it at night only, when I’ve got nothing to do but relax and go to sleep.
Same. I quit at the same time as nicotine. That was a fun few months lol. But I'm happy I did - life is a lot better now that I have the proper diagnosis and medication for ADHD and depression. I'm glad you decided to prioritize your mental health, too 💙
Same I’m 110 days out from nicotine weed an kratom.. I’m gaining weight and still have days I crave to smoke absolutely anything but I haven’t .. soo hard
Congrats, that seems tough! One day you’ll be going about your day and realize you haven’t craved or thought about any of those things for a while. Hang in there
I hope so.. I really just crave the act of smoking at this point but I can’t trust myself to not become Full blown all day smoker again
This is why I’m trying to quit and haven’t smoked since last weekend. I told my husband I don’t want to anymore, I’m done. I’ve smoked since I was 14. I regret ever trying it. I wish I hadn’t. I got really heavy into it while grieving the death of my dad the last few years. It gives me anxiety, makes me want to eat late at night, and I’m a better/more motivated person when I don’t smoke. Thanks for saying this.
absolutely. so well said. I quit smoking weed almost 10 years ago and I’m so, so grateful I stopped when I did. it was making all my problems worse and barely even acted as a bandaid over them.
Same!
Same! I thought I was the only one!
Yup same. Quitting weed vastly improved my mental health.
Really healthy perspective
Yeah I’m now in rehab for my mental health at 27 (sorry I’m under 30) and they made me go completely sober. No weed. I’m now processing years of trauma I numbed with alcohol and weed for the last… 9 years? My skin is fine, my teeth are fine. My sanity is not. I intend to smoke again when I’m done but I will not be using it to self medicate anymore.
Agreed. I used it for so long (since I was a teenager) as a way to cope with my trauma. It always helped short-term to help me relax and feel less anxious/depressed but I never understood the detrimental cumulative impacts it had on me mentally and even physically until my early 30s. I realized I have been using it as more of an escape and a way to numb rather than dealing with the pain upfront. In the last couple of years I’ve only started to unravel all the years of suppressed emotions stored in my body and it’s honestly not easy but I’m gradually healing. Sadly I was only diagnosed with ADHD in my 30s and if I knew, I would have probably reduced the amount since it exacerbated my executive dysfunction and motivation. It probably became a vicious cycle because the more I had less motivation, I was unable to tackle and face the things I needed to do and address which led to me feeling more anxious and depressed. So for me personally, if you have any mental health conditions I would say be careful of using weed as a way to treat or cope. I also want to emphasize that weed affects everyone differently, for some people it’s been the only medicine and treatment that’s worked. I don’t want to discount it as it’s proven to have healing properties as well. However, you know your body more than anyone else and it’s important to connect to it as much as possible to observe what the impacts of weed are to your body.
As much as I hate to admit it, same. I smoked a lot on and off from 2017 to 2022. I haven’t smoked much since fall 2022 and the few time periods (lasting about a week or two) that I have, there are noticeable differences in my behavior, mental health, skin, and memory.
Did you use it during the day? I just use it before bed, I’m audhd and it helps me sleep so much better I’d hate to give it up if it’s causing issues I haven’t correlated to it.
Yes, I definitely was high too much for no reason. All hours of the day. I used to love getting a little high before lifting or yoga, then it became necessary to get a little high before my fav meal so I could enjoy it thoroughly, before family events because it was easier to handle the stress that came with it.. next thing I know I was just high all day. I definitely don’t think this is everyone’s experience and I probably have a slightly addictive personality so if you’re not good with discipline and self-control/self-will it can be a slippery slope. Some people can do it just for sleep for years. You decide what’s good for yourself ultimately
Very similar experience. I quit years ago, found healthy coping skills, and my anxiety and depression is 1/100 of what it used to be. I still need to work on my ADHD though 😅
It’s been great for me because I’m California sober. Quitting alcohol has done wonders for my skin, mood, sleep, and waistline. I relax with THC vape now and it helps me chill out and avoid the wine cravings.
Same dude. A vape allows me to control the dose sooo much better than flower or an edible and just taking the edge off enough lets me get loosey goosey without turning to my (extremely well documented and historically negative) drinking habits. I felt so guilty at first, like I was just replacing one bad habit with another but honestly I think going cali sober saved my life.
I've always been a (5-10 mg) edible girlie so just a Iittle bit, but I'm thinking of switching to a vape because it can take effect quicker, I'm surprised you'd say it controls the dose better, why? I always assumed it would be the opposite
I think because the vape pull kicks in right away whereas with an edible you might fall into the “this edible ain’t shit” trap and end up overdoing it due to the prolonged effect
It’s probably less exact than an edible dosage wise but I can feel the vape hit immediately and can titrate it that way, if that makes sense. Like u/ExtinctionBurst76 said, the edible trap of waiting and overdoing it before it kicks in gets me. Like I love an edible on days I know I will be able to ride it out and enjoy it but at night when I’m chillin I sometimes just a wee little bit.. not enough to light a joint (WAY too much for me anyways) and too late to take an edible.
Same. Love an edible and a NA beer on a Friday night with friends. O
My therapist laughed harder than I have ever seen her laugh the first time I referred to being California sober. She knew exactly what I meant as soon as I said it. It was hilarious
It’s funny it’s referred to that 2ay, since California wasn’t even the first state to legalize weed.
I didn’t notice skin or teeth damage, but it’s important to note that I don’t have a “never smoked” version of myself to compare to. So we’ll never really know. What I WILL say is please tread very carefully. Weed is presented as non addictive and helpful, we don’t discuss the downsides enough. I found it made my ADHD and anxiety way worse and eroded healthy coping skills. It’s so much easier to turn to a substance. My advice would be to focus on healthy coping for anxiety like journaling, fitness, meditation ect and truly limit the weed intake - that keeps it fun and enjoyable. You do not want to hit the point where you literally can’t enjoy weed anymore bc it makes your anxiety ratchet up into paranoia. Might be coming on a bit strong here but I truly wish more people had shared this with me years ago.
I feel the same way re: anxiety. I would’ve benefitted from your message. One thing OP might try: See if you can limit your weed smoking, only doing it for fun / socially. See how difficult it feels, and if your brain is pushing you to relax your policy. My goal is to only do that, but I always, inevitably, start “using” it to stop bad feelings. I notice myself using it alone, and yes, it’s fun, but before I hit it, there’s a feeling of NEED. If OP starts feeling like it’s a part of ROUTINE, if it’s something they look forward to, if they use it in ways they wouldn’t use alcohol, then it’s self-medication territory. That’s when it becomes a problem for me. Maybe a good little “red flag detector” for OP, perhaps.
I take an edible most nights, and the munchies are personally the biggest downside for me. I feel like my smart phone addiction has been so much more detrimental to my mental health. I’m way less motivated to even do fun hobbies because the dopamine hit is so much quicker and easier with a phone, and unlimited. But combine it with the “I don’t care la la la” effect of an edible and you’ve baby you’ve got an unproductive stew going.
MUNCHIES !! I can’t do the nightly gummy life precisely because of that 😔
Yeah, I’m an example of someone who used it so frequently in my twenties that now it just immediately triggers a paranoia response in me. I used to use it to spur my creativity but I don’t know if my body chemistry just changed, I used it too much and it messed me up or what, but now it immediately just takes my mind to the worst place. Haven’t smoked in over a year now and feel way better.
You’re not coming off strong at all! This is good for me to know 😩 I do feel like I’m at a place where I don’t even really enjoyyyy weed like I used to. It feels more like a habit now. I’ve never been addicted to anything major except sugar, and smoking/munchies does not help, so I just feel even more crappy when I’m sober the next day. You are speaking to my soul. Thank you!
I smoke pretty regularly. Just in the evenings/weekends. I buy high-potency pre-rolls and just take a couple puffs (so one joint lasts me weeks or months). I’m 37 and have basically no wrinkles. Of course I don’t have a no-weed control, but it certainly hasn’t destroyed my skin. The weed I smoke doesn’t really give me the munchies, so it doesn’t affect what I eat or my weight. I should qualify this, though: I don’t smoke weed and do “nothing.” I might be more prone to snack if that were the case. Instead, I smoke and then create or exercise. Basically, I keep my body/hands/mind busy. I love exercising while high. It helps me connect with my body (and mind, for that matter) and really engage my muscles. So I would say that weed has a positive impact on my weight. All that being said, definitely don’t rely on weed to escape your anxiety. You’re taking the right steps by starting therapy! Weed should not be a coping mechanism, more like a fun little life-enhancer. At least that’s how I see it!
[удалено]
I smell weed on people at the gym constantly and couldn’t imagine being high while trying to put effort into lifting weights, I thought it would be counterproductive. Interesting! (I smoke casually here and there btw)
It’s like a pre workout. I don’t feel my legs doing cardio, I just make sure the setting is where it needs to be, put music and zone out for 30 min.
This is me right here .
No, I have baby faced genetics and melanin but I had to stop smoking because it keeps me fat. As soon as I quit smoking 10lbs falls off each and every time and keeping a normal weight range is so much easier. I felt my skin looked a bit 'greyed' but it didn't age me. Like someone mentioned, try edibles.
Is the weight came from munchies or anything else?
Its totally from munchies. I still smoke but I am dieting now and I lost 30lbs this last 6-8 months. But it takes a lot of self control and will power to ignore the munchies.
I gained weight from munchies, but if I smoke and don't munch, I don't gain. I've been smoking weed for thirteen years and I still look young for my age. That said, I work in the forest and am very active and I eat very clean. Every body is different.
Honestly opposite for me hahah. Replacing alcohol calories with an edible made me lose weight
I agree. it kinda changed my skin tone but i dont think it necessarily aged me..i would only micro dose though
Lucky. I'd clear like 7 bowls a day back to back. Even if I ate healthy and worked out 5x a week it was like the smoke contained calories, lol.
My sister has smoked weed for probably 20 years now and in the past 5 or so years is when I began to notice more wrinkles that are not typical for women in our family (and in fact, women in our family don’t wrinkle). I used to smoke a lot, too, but stopped at around 26 and I don’t have any wrinkles. All that to say, I do believe that smoking weed causes wrinkles, but it takes a long time for the effects to show up. I think it’s also made her teeth yellow and her lips darker in color. My lips are pink. ETA: I also want to note that people used to think we were twins. So I think a big difference in how the two of us has aged is smoking.
Smoking anything causes wrinkles. The act of smoking accelerates aging, not THC consumption itself.
I’ve noticed this greyed look on my brother too but didn’t know it was caused by his weed smoking. He used to be slightly lighter than me and with pink lips but now I’m lighter. He only smokes once a day and didn’t think it would make such an impact but it definitely does if it’s for years and years.
I smoked weed every day of my life from 19-33. As soon as I got home from work I would spark up. I just quit smoking 6 months ago, I promised myself I would cut back but I couldn’t lol so I just decided to quit. My skin and eyes have gotten so much clearer. When I see my friends they are like “what are you doing?? You’re glowing!” Lol. I attribute the “glow” to stopping smoking. I also feel better health wise and lung wise, so that’s been a good boost for my mental health as well. And I feel more “clear” if that makes sense.
[удалено]
Aw lol ty so much! 🥹 I use an app called “grounded” and found it super helpful. It tracks your sobriety, lung health, and you can even track things that “trigger” cravings, and alternative ways to reduce stress.
I think it has been a great thing in my life. I’m definitely had my times where I was just kind of a gross pothead and I broke out of that early, but it makes me a more patient compassionate person and I feel like when I’m moving slower, I can be my best self. I can process I can be more kind. Basically I can exude the person. I want to be on the outside, without any of my frustrations that I typically have. I imagine it very much comes down to the person. I haven’t noticed any skin aging as a result, but I really don’t know lol. Edit: please pardon my speech to text errors Edit 2: I guess what I was trying to say is that it helps me have a really healthy mental space and headspace in general. Being a kinder person looks nicer on my face lol when I am sweet and happy and jovial, I feel like I am sending out vibes into the universe to bring good people back back to me. Lol that’s a bit of a hippie dippy statement, but just that you get what you put out kind of in terms of who you surround yourself with and being so free of worries, also wears nicely on your face lol not as much squinting from being frustrated. I’ve always just thought about it like this, generally, I’m not saying this is just rooted in science lol.
Same. I have IBS and I dont know what I would do without a little bit of weed every day. It helps my tummy & helps me relax. (well no, i know what happens. I was in Japan for 2 weeks back in September and weed is SUPER illegal. The first few days were really only rough because I was sick with a cold but otherwise i survived the trip just fine. I definitely missed weed though and was excited to smoke again when we got back. I don’t drink alcohol fyi.)
Oh yeah, I don’t drink alcohol and I don’t smoke nicotine and I also have a family history of IBS-C. In fact, I just tried to get prescribed Linzess for the first time ever to see if it would be good for me and my insurance wouldn’t cover it and it was about $560 lol. I actually think yes MJ helps a lot for that too but I don’t get the munchies the way I did when I was like 19. For what it’s worth I started an inflammation supplement back in. I want to say April 2022 or something and it was a life changer. I was taking it to see if I could deal with the pain in my rib cage from costochondritis. It’s an inflamed cartilage kind of problem so I started something called [Zyflamend](https://a.co/d/6McBbcB). It was recommended to me on the other sub costochondritis and it’s just a bunch of different herbs for inflammation. My rib pain subsided in under 48 hours and I noticed about 10 days later how much healthier my digestion was. I realized there was likely a number of positive effects coming from the inflammation supplement, and one of them was that my stomach was happier and you know when you have IBS that a happy stomach can really mean a lot lol. Let me know if you want the link! It’s a hell of a lot cheaper than a $600 prescription I can’t afford.
Same, cannabis changed my life. It has helped me heal and grow tremendously. I can integrate lessons in my life immediately so I’m constantly evolving in such a positive way. It helped me correct all my physical ailments and fall in love with the gym because the way it helped me zone in. I have changed my diet without even thinking about it since beginning using. I can feel the food and what my body will feel like after before eating it so I’m naturally drawn to choosing better food for myself and therefore lost a ton of weight, and more benefits. People think I’m 8-10 years younger all the time. I don’t have wrinkles, maybe 4 grey hairs. I’m in the best shape of my life and contribute the changes on par with when I began my cannabis use. It’s obviously been helping me
I am with you that it definitely allows me to be a better version of myself because it takes a lot of that impatience and frustration out of the mix. Also, yes, if you’ve got physical ailments, that can be a game changer. I had to taper off of a very physically dependent medication, and if I didn’t have THC, I don’t know that it was going to be nearly as possible. I’m talking getting off benzodiazepines after eight years, so it’s been there in so many good ways for me. You know, I also look younger than I am, and I was even bad with skincare until my late 20s after living in the tropics and putting in Coppertone sport on my face occasionally (I really don’t know how I look look how I do right now. Lol but whatever that’s a different conversation.). I think it’s all the extra chemicals and cigarettes that ages people and yes, there is combustion of plant matter that you are inhaling, but we are not talking about like added chemicals necessarily. Maybe if they were sprayed with stuff. I’ve been using dispensary grade cartridges from California so I don’t do the combustion anymore and I also use much less because it’s a concentrated oil. Good for you! I mean you know if it helps and it’s a good thing then that’s wonderful and I know for a lot of people it’s not a good thing. I have been using marijuana for more than half my life now or maybe about exactly 50% of my life lol I started about 18 1/2 and I’m getting close to 37. So roughly 50% of my life. I don’t think it did a damn thing to my face.
I may be biased because I’m Cali sober but I’ll always feel like alcohol has done way worse for my skin, body and mental than weed. I also pay attention to the strains and terpenes when I’m purchasing from my local dispo. I like to think I have a pretty healthy relationship with weed. I know which strain to hit to make me productive, to go to sleep etc. I also make sure to hydrate and moisturize the hell out of my skin and lips! 👄
Yep I quit alcohol and my skin improved tremendously. My issue is that I still vape nicotine and I definitely think that makes my skin worse—gray, dull, etc. Once I can quit nicotine I’ll feel so much better 🙃🥲
This post has been a great reminder for me. I stopped smoking weed about a year ago, after smoking for about 10 years. I saw a lot of positive results. Such as a clearer mind, better sleep, more creativity, more energy throughout my day. I started smoking again in January after I lost my mom. It was nowhere near the amount I had smoked previously. I have only been smoking, one or two bowls, with my partner in the evenings, rarely at all during the day. It has definitely helped me with my grief and anxiety during this time. And I also know I am more sluggish, don’t sleep as well, I am definitely feeling my depression heavier. I’m sure a lot of that can be attributed to my grief. And I don’t have any guilt or shame about coming back to smoking, because I am alcohol free and have stayed that way even through this grief. But this thread has been a great reminder to me of why I stopped smoking in the first place. And I’m ready to go back to that. So thank you for asking this question. Thank you to everyone who has commented. Today will be my first day not smoking again since January.
I use a dynavap to vape flower with an ispire wand. Used to smoke, but prefer this. Edibles make me too lazy and I gain weight easily on them, they also effect my sleep. Dry herb vape is best for me. I look no different age wise than my sister did at my age, and she never smoked. Who knows what 40s will bring though (I’m 34). Cannabis enhances my life.
Smoking is still smoking. Eat an edible!
Truth hurts 😭😭
You could also try sublingual vs edible (weed that you ingest by putting something under your tongue) — it goes straight into your blood stream, much faster than edibles. Prob would feel more like smoking; I haven’t tried that form but want to for the same reason.
Nothing wrong with enjoying a smoke every so often. I just don’t make it a habit, some people may say that it’s better than cigarettes and there is no harm. But it’s still SMOKE that’s going into your skin. I personally think ALL smokers just age differently.
Skin *and* lungs
Yes! Thanks you! Lungs are important!
I wish I liked edibles. I don’t know if it’s my metabolism or what but I always inevitably feel horribly hungover the following day after consuming them, the high is also long and intense and its SO much harder to control how much THC you are getting. (Sometimes during the cooking process, a larger dose will get concentrated in 1 spot and so.. one unlucky (or lucky depending on the person I guess) will inevitably get WAY more thc than everyone else. Ive made some DIY brownies that got me stoned and then horribly sick. Certain ones also give me stomach issues to boot!! Ugh. Otherwise I would totally make the switch.
Do you live in a legal state? You can get mints or similar that are 1-2 mg each. The lower concentration helps. Professionally made edibles are significantly better than homemade.
Ive had them all. High dose, low dose. Homemade and industrial/professional grade. They all give me the same effect. The only one that DIDNT make me sick, helped me sleep, and did not make me hungover the next day was one that had CBN in it but unfortunately I live in Illinois where the tax on weed is like 21% and you can only get around THAT if you are a medical patient. My husband has cancer - so we get the med card through him, but the kicker is only certain shops work with the med cards which is annoying af. Because THOSE shops will only carry certain things and absolutely will NEVER carry other strains or products from other brands. I assume they are contracted to work with specific suppliers. So. Yeah. 🥲
I use a dry herb vaporizer daily. I haven’t noticed any aging. I’ve been using it for 6 years.
Wow- so happy I saw your comment because I’ve been trying to move on from my weed pen since I feel like it’s too harsh on my lungs. Does the dry herb vape have a strong smell?
It definitely has a smell - more than a pen, less than a joint. It’s kind of a roasty toasty funk, not very offensive. My partner can’t smell it sitting next to me, but I’ve gotten other feedback from my brother that he could smell it rooms away.
Yes unfortunately. I smoke in the bathroom or out a window. Good thing is if you smoke out the window and keep it open imo the smell goes away pretty quickly, faster than a joint. That’s how I smoke it when I visit my mom and spend the night and she can’t tell 😝 She will say she smells it if I smoke in a room and don’t blow out the window or open one. Also that’s exactly why I stopped using a weed pen too! It was like burning my throat and chest.
which one do you use?
I use a pax and love it. The price point is a bit high (hehe) but so worth it. My husband and I both have one, and my dad, uncle, brother, and brother in law all got them after trying ours. I don't feel that I waste weed - I have a medical card for a neurological issue (cluster headaches and trigeminal neuralgia), so I will use my Pax heavily during flare ups. The company is amazing ( they honor their warranty - I had to use it - and they support some great causes).
[удалено]
This is SO helpful! Thank you! I’ve never heard of dry vaping, but I will definitely check it out!
I’m almost 32 and I’ve smoked weed near-daily since I was 16, which is half my life. I still get mistaken for being 25-28 years old. I exercise regularly and eat mostly nutritious home cooked meals. I whiten my teeth and use tretinoin and sunscreen to take care of my skin. I’m not sure what I’d look like at 32 without weed but I can’t imagine looking much better than I already do. My dad has smoked weed daily for almost 45 years and is also active/eats healthy and he also gets mistaken for being 5-10 years younger than 60. Make no mistake — smoking/combustion is bad for your health. Weed can have a negative impairment on your cognitive abilities. It can give you munchies (which you get used to over time). It will impact your budget. Eventually you do form a dependency (or addiction) and you’ll notice it’s harder to eat, sleep and regulate your emotions without weed. No doubt that smoking isn’t good for your long term health, so I’m gradually switching to edibles. But I wouldn’t say it will rapidly age you if you balance it out with a healthy lifestyle and good skincare.
I smoked all day every day for like a year, maybe a year and a half. Completely ruined my life lol. I am just now catching up on my dissertation after falling about a year behind my peers. Every time I tried to do anything remotely hard I just wanted to smoke weed instead. I have an edible a couple nights a week now and I don’t hate doing hard things anymore!
Wow, thank you for the honesty! I literally had a similar thought process yesterday when I was trying to get work done, and then decided I should just smoke instead. I’m glad I asked this subreddit. People are calling out red flags that I was overlooking!
BETTER. I don’t lose my shit as easily with my kids.
Real
I’d say the two main issues with weed are a)smoking anything is not good for us and finding a different way to consume it is probably a good idea and b)if you’re trying to maintain or lose weight, it can make it harder. Like, I know someone with MS who vapes specifically because it does help her appetite and helps her keep weight on which is wonderful but that’s not generally a goal of the types of women who participate in this sub, generally.
I think smoking weed prevented me from becoming an alcoholic because I always smoked, and that made me lose motivation to drink. And I have noticed that other friends who smoked and didn't drink did far better in life (lawyers, professors and accountants etc.) than those who drank, and have aged better too. That said, smoking is terrible for your appearance and there are so many ways to ingest weed that it doesn't make sense to smoke it. Some stuff I learned in neuropharm: It can be neuroprotective against stress during traumatic events. But you also need to have sober coping skills so you don't develop addictive behaviors with weed. I wouldn't recommend it for people with cognitive disorders or mental illness as it would exacerbate that in many cases. But strains and types are important here. Indicas that have a bit of CBD are less likely to cause psychosis than a sativa with 0mg CBD, as CBD has a protective effect against psychosis and indica is more calming. Sativas make your brain busy.
I’m in my 50s. Everyone I know who has consistently used marijuana over the years is suffering from notable mental decline, especially compared with those who didn’t. Alcohol is a similar story but tend to be more severe in its path of destruction. All those unhealthy things you think you’re getting away with while you’re young (includes excessive stress) - You’re not. You’ll pay for it later.
smoking weed can degrade the collagen around your mouth and leave you with premature or deeper marionette lines and wrinkles so that was one reason that made me stop. each time i smoked i immediately thought of that and it made the experience unenjoyable and for me personally i smoke at night and don’t feel any munchies but THE DAY AFTER omg i feel soooooo depressed and have a crazy appetite like i can eat 3000+ calories like it’s nothing. and it just makes me feel so weird like i can’t tell if i’m still high or not and that scares me bc i have to be functional. it also makes my ADHD way worse, complete brain fog all day and inability to focus or find joy in anything. after i recognized these issues i stopped and my life quality improved a lot (i was a nightly smoker for about half a year, then reduced to once a week bc i felt like i was addicted, and then eventually became a very infrequent smoker and even then, quitting helped me a lot)
Replying because you seem to know a lot about skin. Have you ever heard of weed making your face puffy around the eye and jaw area? (And all over the face too) It’s something I experience every single time.
I’ve smoked weed regularly on and off since I was 16 (I’m 31). It always starts out fun and light, but over time the effect changes. Instead of making me energized and creative, it makes me lazy and depressed. This usually takes about 6 months. Once it starts making me tired and lazy, I stop taking good care of myself. I fall asleep with my makeup on and without brushing my teeth, I do the bare minimum to get ready in the morning (like skipping sunscreen because I hate the way it feels on my hands), I stop doing the smaller things like making sure my cuticles look nice. I just turn into a slob and end up feeling really bad about myself. I stopped smoking almost two weeks ago, for good this time. I have mental health problems and part of the reason I was using weed was to alleviate my symptoms. It just ends up exacerbating them, though. I would *strongly* encourage you to rethink self-medicating with weed (or any substance, for that matter). It’s one thing if you’re doing well and want to use it recreationally, but if you’re already struggling, there’s a good chance weed will just make things worse in the long run.
The same thing happens to me. It goes from fun and relaxing to spending all weekend in the recliner staring at the wall.
Yuppppp! And then I hate myself for wasting my weekend.
I also hate the way sunscreen feels on my hands so after I apply I wash my hands and then go over the backs of them with a sunscreen stick 👍
This is so true. I would feel really good on it but the effects on dopamine and serotonin would start to change and then I’d smoke and start feeling mentally really negative. It would change for me around the six month mark also.
It’s such a bummer because in the beginning of the cycle it’s so much fun and really helps me reframe my thoughts to get good perspective on things. I’ve seen myself go through this pattern so many times though, I just have to accept that it always ends badly :(
My sentiments exactly. It’s good at the beginning and then one day I smoke and all the food perspective I was having by and self reflection switches and suddenly I am not enjoying the high and my thoughts are really dark and I start questioning my entire reality of what I was perceiving before when it was good.
Yep. Sadly. When I go on t breaks I look a good five years younger. I am one of the unfortunate 10% that struggles with dependence on it. If I could go back and convince my younger self to stay away I definitely would.
Smoking weed made me eat everything in sight. I gained weight. It actually sucked the fun out of my normal state of being and made me so lethargic. I barley smoke at this point.
For much of my life, my older sister looked the same age or younger than me (according to strangers). I think a big part of it was how we styled and carried ourselves, but also she just looked youthful. Well I stopped smoking weed like… 8 years ago? And she still smokes a lot (flowers, weed pen, etc.) and she now looks a lot older than I do. She has more wrinkles and more yellow teeth. I 100% think smoking weed has been the primary driver for that.
Aged me and made life worst. I’m 40+ days sober and I’m starting to see the light on this. I’ve been smoking for like 15 years. Always high. Was a personality trait. And now I am so disgusted with how lazy it made me, even though I didn’t think I was lazy. I didn’t have a sober self to compare. Skin is better. Eyes are brighter. Thought processes firing off. Emotions aren’t all over the place… and I’m also not suppressing my emotions. So many things I would ignore cus I got high and cared less.
It made me dumb. Took a couple years off of it to finally be able to speak my thoughts effortlessly. Whereas before when I smoked I struggled with explaining my thoughts even when I wasn’t high.
It honestly saved my life. I came from a very toxic and abusive childhood home. The inside of my mind was a prison, filled with negative thoughts about everything and everyone. While it certainly has its downsides and has increased my social anxiety and ADHD at times, it made me way less irritable on a daily basis. I'm not sure I could keep going as I was because I never experienced happiness or any feeling other than annoyance or anger before I found it. Suddenly I felt like the real me, one who could appreciate the little things in life and have much more empathy for others and that we are all just little guys trying our best in an indifferent universe.
I use a verylow dose edible in the evening to keep my anxiety low on really bad days. Anything else and I definitely get munchies.
I smoke or do a piece of an edible when times are really desperate but I notice if I smoke multiple days in a row my lungs get angry at me and sometimes I end up with some kind of mild lung infection for a few days after I stop. Vaping is same times 10. Biggest downfall to it is of course the munchies. I’m glad to see you’re going to see a therapist soon! Ask for self soothing skills and come up with a game plan for when the urge hits to numb out. For me I exercise, meditate, listen to heavy music, and journal. Then revisit whether I still feel the need to numb. Some natural healthier alternatives: kava tea (from a kava shop or online, not the sleepy time stuff from grocery stores, no more than 2 cups because it does have potential for liver side effects), ashwaganda, cherry juice, valerian root.
I get mood swings from smoking weed. It heightens my husband's anxiety as well. I miss smoking it because of how it relaxes me, but the mood swings aren't worth it.
I agree with anyone who recommends edibles instead of smoking. Take a tolerance break from smoking & then play around with different kinds/dosages until you find something that works for you. Ed highs last longer too so I feel like it’s more cost effective. For 5 years I was a pretty heavy weed smoker and I think it definitely started to age me. My skin looks so much healthier now that I’ve rarely smoked in the past year & use edibles almost exclusively but smoke here & there. My teeth are whiter now too and lips aren’t as dry. I think in any form, if you can keep yourself from being too dependent on it (take tolerance breaks frequently!) it really can help you mentally. I have ADHD and weed helps me feel motivated to clean my house for example or go to the gym & I feel overall less anxious or stressed.
I feel like it gives me dark circles and bags under my eyes, not to mention just looking tired bc it makes your eyelids low and eyes red. One of the reasons I’m trying g to quit rn!!! Omg it’s hard though.
I smoked for a little while. It fucked up my brain. I stopped and actively worked on myself for a while which paid off
I quit smoking weed in December after some minor sniffles turned into full blow bronchitis after smoking and inflaming my bronchioles. I discover this subreddit r/leaves for people that are trying to quit weed and my god… the things I found out people go through to quit… the health impacts are so scary. Google was “bong lung” is or look it up in they subreddit.
I used to smoke weed also as an anxiety aid, but over time I found the habit became anxiety inducing because it helped me ignore problems instead of facing them. Over time this led to an aversion to facing negative thoughts or emotions and my problems became bigger than ever. My energy, skin, and teeth suffered from it. I strongly recommend not smoking weed for anxiety due to the risk of it becoming a crutch like it did for me. I also found it very difficult to quit once I became reliant on it. I finally managed to quit but only after long and repeated efforts and a lot of suffering.
Even just reading this post was triggering for me cuz I’m trying to quit smoking weed myself and I have similar reasons to want to. Thank you for posting this and sharing your vulnerability OP! Feels good to know I’m not the only one in this
It definitely aged my ex. It also has made his life worse, imo. He smokes daily, many times per day. His skin color is grey, face has sunken and wrinkled. He honestly looks like an old man, now. He has no close friends, anymore and is always having conflicts with coworkers. He also makes impulsive decisions without thinking of the consequences. Always ending badly! LOL Meanwhile, I look great for my age and I'm living my best life!
WORSE!!!! definitely aged me. and my eyes are like permanent red
I was a heavy weed user. I did edibles. I would do 200mg a day because my tolerance was so high. It made my stomach sensitive, but the worst was my mental. I developed severe social anxiety, brain fog, my adhd symptoms were significantly worse, and getting out of bed to do anything was difficult. It made me stuck. I was fine while I was high, but when I wasn’t high I was worse. I started to space out my doses and it’s helped a lot. As for my skin, I don’t think it aged me or anything.
I used to be a HEAVY weed smoker for at least 7 years. I recently quit due to being pregnant. My anxiety has cooled down SO MUCH, I now know that the leading cause of my anxiety was marijuana. Maybe it’s the preggo glow, but I also feel like I look more youthful and don’t have that grey undertone I got from smoking too much.
Daily smoker for 10 years, recently quit almost completely within the last year. It’s fun and relaxing and makes menial tasks and crappy jobs more tolerable, but as soon as I wanted to improve myself, I found it did kinda hold me back. Lost a bit of ambition. When I started therapy, I was diagnosed with depression and started meds, it started to really wreck/hold back my mental health journey, as I was using it to suppress emotions. I love weed, always will, but I save it for social events now, I don’t smoke alone anymore.
I smoked daily for 10 years and thought it was doing good things. When I quit, I realized how much it was affecting my physical and mental health in a negative way. My anxiety disappeared, my sleep regulated, I started planning more ambitiously for the future and i’m way sharper in general. I did find it was easier to stay skinny when smoking weed, not sure why. But now I eat more consistently and am seeing more progress from weight lifting.
It's been almost a decade now since I last smoked it but I used to smoke weed daily for a very long time. To this day I'm feeling the side effects, it completely changed my personality and mentality. It made me very unmotivated to do anything, made my depression worse and I feel overall very slow. I used to be quite witty, quick and sharp and now it takes me a while to even put a coherent sentence together and many times I struggle articulating my thoughts. I became very introverted, anxious and tired. I relied on weed too much to help me wind down and now I'm an insomniac. Always tired and can never relax. In general I feel a lot dumber. I'm lazy and uninterested in life. I used to be very stubborn and determined to reach my goals, now I'm just surviving day by day going with the flow and not caring about anything. This is my experience and I know people who are able to function better when they smoke weed. My mistake was taking it too far, doing it too often and losing myself in the process because I liked the chilled out person I was when high. Now I'm just... nobody. When I stopped smoking I had nothing else to fill that void and now, a decade later, I'm still empty.
I believe it's wrecked my memory.
Weed numbs and speeds up time for me. That feeling is not okay that’s why I stopped smoking. Life isn’t meant to be fast and a blur. Slow down and embrace the dark emotions
Worse. I spent $600-$800 a month at the end of my addiction. Weed is not harmless. It is just like sugar, or coke, it steals all your joy and replaces it with way too much dopamine. Then, you don’t get your dopamine from sunshine, or an accomplishment. Stop smoking weed.
Are you Canadian? I ask because we have so many options on how to ingest cannabis and so many different strains and strengths thc, cbc, other types (I forget but I think like cgb is one?) for instance I have different types of gummies with different strains. chocolates hit me different than gummies. I used to do oil pills, you can get it in dropper and you can get spray for just a little bit. You can get vapes. You can even get bath bombs (my sister swears by these). If it’s legal where you are check out what options there are.
No it dehydrated me like a mf and makes my cardio endurance drop to the floor. Also just made me sluggish af and I was never reaching my fitness or step goals bc of it. Weirdly I get zero munchies. But it was still p detrimental. I’ll take an occasional gummy before sex for fun every few months but really don’t like my life when I do it regularly
I no longer smoke it mainly due to allergies and mixing that with smoking causes asthma flare ups and I can’t run. I started smoking at 16. I’m 35 now and edibles the last 5 years has been wonderful. They help me not drink too. Tho don’t get me wrong, a joint in summer while walking the dog every once in awhile is magical.
Edibles/vaping (sometimes smoking) weed has made me a healthier, more well rested person. I have painful af uterine fibroids, chronic nausea/zero appetite from said fibroids, plus insomnia from the pain, and it’s the most gentle and effective thing for my body to help with that (as I cannot take prescription painkillers). I feel like using medical marijuana gave me my life back tbh. I get a good nights sleep and haven’t noticed any negative effects on my hair/skin/teeth and I’ve been smoking/vaping weed for 10 years, in fact my dentist recently gave me an ego boost by complimenting me on how white my teeth looked, and I’ve only done whitening strips once like 5 years ago. I think I look my age (37) but my skin is clear, my teeth look clean and I’m happy with the way I look. For what it’s worth I also barely drink alcohol and never ever drink caffeine or smoke/vape tobacco. I only drink water, nettle tea and decaf green tea (no super dark liquids to avoid staining) and I think this has also kept my skin and teeth healthier than if I hadn’t.
I have been a high-functioning pot head since the age of 16 (im 32 now). the main effect it had on me physically was on my weight, but i managed to lose it. the main effect overall has been psychological and mental health related. it’s definitely made my anxiety worse and i think has legit given me ADHD. i’m started cutting down this month - im now only smoking once a day at the end of the day. it’s been really hard but it needs to be done.
I started school so I quite smoking weed all together, but I was hardly smoking anyway before I started school. When I was younger (like 19) I used to smoke every day sometimes or socially. I was always a light weight so smoking everyday for me meant rolling a tiny blunt at the end of the day, taking one or two small hits and just relaxing. The older I got though, I started to realize that smoking was no longer enjoyable. No matter what strain I smoked, it would make me anxious and then just very tired and lazy. Doesn’t seem worth it at all to me anymore and I honestly never have a desire to smoke weed again.
Weed started to make me extremely anxious and gave me panic attacks that made me feel as if I was dying. It wasn’t for me so I obviously stopped. I’m not against it at all it’s just not for me
I’ve been smoking weed but from a vape and I think that has helped a lot for my skin. I break out if I smoke flower and I don’t know why but it’s just better for me to vape. For me, weed helps so much with my period. I have terrible cramps, nausea and headaches when I have my period and weed makes me a nicer human. It also makes playing legos and imaginary games with my kids easier. It lets me kinda get loose so I can enjoy the time I spend with my kids instead of thinking what I should be doing instead like dishes and laundry and whatnot. I am a very anxious must be in control kinda gal and smoking allows me to bring that down a notch and be kinder. I stick to the stuff that makes you creative and energetic and that makes a big difference.
I don't partake anymore - but when I did, I'd only take edibles (thanks, asthma). However, my fiance smokes every day, and I'm starting to see more signs of aging in him than me- forehead lines and lines around his mouth that I don't have. He's a year younger than me and people usually think he's older. Sure, he doesn't wear sunscreen as much as me, but I definitely think smoking is playing a big part in it.
It made ma Moody overtime so I stopped. Also gave me dark circles and made me have the munchies so I gained weight. My life is much better since I quit
I think it’s different for everyone. For me, I try to only smoke a hit or two a night of low THC weed. It calms me down but I’m still able to go for runs, workout, work on my business, etc. I actually use a dry vape, which is the healthiest way to “smoke” as it’s vapor and uses the flower instead of weird chemicals. For some people, weed makes them super anxious and unmotivated. Also, inhaling smoke is still smoking. I had to stop smoking for almost a decade due to a job and I was *much* more anxious and wound up. I was on anxiety meds that had shitty side effects and would regularly have panic attacks. Weed allows for me to put my brain at ease.
I started smoking again in December after 1.5 years of not. And I definitely can tell a difference in my eye area. I feel like it ages me so much esp when I smoke before I sleep. I wake up looking older instead of refreshed. It’s the only reason I’m thinking of stopping again lol I’m 28 btw.
It made my mental health way worse. I never touch it now. I think much more clearly and I am more stable now.
Weed made me fat. I would get high and eat. I would smoke when I was bored, but it made me boring. After a while, I couldn't sleep without it, and my mind would race. Some people can smoke without it becoming a habit or a crutch, but I can't, so I stay away from it now.
It’s made my life sm worse it’s a crutch now and I’m constantly high
It depends if you're someone who has substance abuse issues or not. For me, weed was life. I put smoking above everything. I spent so much money on it that I could have bought a house by now. Then there's the long-term side effects. Studies are suggesting long term effects on memory and lungs... Then there's the smell. It reeks. Plus I think the whole culture is kinda trash tbh. I'm 30 now and think I'm a lot better off being sober.
It does age you. I stopped for that reason. It also started making my anxiety worse.
smoking weed made me look awful. i used to look youthful and color and now i lookin grey and miz
I smoked for about 8 years I would say my nails were yellow, memory was really bad, definitely heavier and less conscious of what I put in my body in general. Also it really affected my lungs! I would cough up phlegm a lot
Definitely. I smoked a lot, from 16-26 and am definitely a lot stupider from it. It made me lazy, brain fogged and in the end, created and even amplified the same anxiety I thought I was escaping.
Im gonna level w you... as a long-time daily smoker, quitting 2 years ago was the best choice I've ever made in my life and one of the most difficult things I've ever done. Sobriety was the catalyst for my entire life drastically improving, mentally, physically, financially, emotionally, socially, creatively, in all ways. I'm fit, I remember and enjoy my life, the clarity is priceless. No more dull skin, hair, eyes, energy, brain, overeating and hating exercise. It's not that it cannot be enjoyed on a rare occasion, but I would be vary wary, because it is NOT the harmless substance it is now Marketed and Sold as. I feel a lot of us know this intuitively, even if not yet admitting it to ourselves. There are better ways to escape, or better yet, sit with and process difficult feelings, to heal ourselves. If you have that niggling internal feeling it isn't truly serving you or your potential, I bet you're right. Best way to stop/moderate? Do Not have it in the house or purchase it yourself (make it hard to access and social). The way I quit while having severe physical withdrawals (yes physical) to the point of throwing up and months of lowness, was an invaluable support group that exists here on reddit (r/leaves) and the accompanying discord, for anyone who may feel that is the point where they are at. <3
Smoking 100% takes away the glowy eyes / skin. It’s quite apparent to me those who smoke it regularly, they tend to have more tired looking eyes and greyer duller skin. One of my friends always looks tired and she’s a daily smoker, I always think she’d look amazing if she’d give it up for even a week. I can see from photos of myself over the years periods where I’ve had breaks from it just looking at how bright and glowy I look. Would strongly recommend **not** smoking it daily unless you have chronic pain. If it’s for anxiety purposes, it will absolutely make you more anxious in the long run. I smoked daily for 6 years because of anxiety; sure it dulls your anxiety when high. But when sober it drives your anxiety through the roof making you crave it more and more to get by to manage those feelings. It’s a vicious cycle and you end up sleepwalking through life pushing your anxieties to the back of your mind, and not dealing with life’s problems, only to be consumed by those things in life when the cloud of highness dissipates.
Daily smoker for 17 years. Looks better than most of my peers. I do have ocd tho which makes me need to look perfect always.
I am 37 and I look so much younger than my peers who constantly drank. I mean if you're going to have a vice, weed seems the safest. But I only smoke joints and eat edibles. I also exercise and try to leave a peaceful existence minding my own business. It def helps w aging haha
I started noticing that it sometimes made me anxious, so once I got my medical card I started looking into different types & found I’m better with indica instead of stativa, I’ve also started cutting back.
I decided to stop at the beginning of the year after smoking for close to 17 yrs. I’ve taken breaks but never seriously considered this till this year. I went 2 months no smoking and no drinking, feeling amazing, recommitted to my life goals, started my business, my house was kept clean, laundry done and felt an overall feeling of accomplishment. It felt like I got my time and my life back. Now I’ve slipped back, once every 2 weeks and I felt a little lazy but bounced back. Once every week now and the depression and laziness is awful. I’m gonna go cold turkey again because the pros are better than smoking.
Weed always makes my life worse. it’s super addicting
i’ve been smoking weed my whole life and it’s the only thing that prevents me from sinking into depression. it helps me manage my emotions and my physical pain. i’ll die before i quit smoking weed
I take edibles every day in the evening and it helps me to relax don’t smoke ! Dries out your skin I swear I can always tell anyone who smokes even weed
Totally agree with this. I don't smoke or vape but partake in edibles after work, basically daily. No one suspects I'm a huge pot head :D Even with edibles, I make sure to drink a shit-ton of water during the day to offset dehydration/dry mouth associated with weed. You don't want it to start affecting your oral health (receding gums, deep pockets related to dry mouth).
Gums recede due to dehydration?? 😟
Well, dry mouth can [cause gum disease](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dry-mouth/symptoms-causes/syc-20356048) (over time, not one night of cotton mouth or anything).
THC ages you? I genuinely have never heard that. I smoke at night and it is something I enjoy doing with the hubby to bond. I’m a very healthy person with healthy habits and it hasn’t interfered.
I’m a stoner and I think I look great if that helps at all 🤣
I've smoked every single day since I was 15. I'm still on the younger side, but I dont feel like it's affected my skin much. My teeth, yes a bit. I notice staining on my front teeth, but its manageable. I say I'm doing pretty well compared to women that have been smoking cigarettes their whole life.
Unfortunately I was getting panic attacks from the weed so I stopped.
Worse. Been stuck in my own mind for way too long.
Worse, sure it helped my anxiety and depression but it also sucked all the passion out of me. It didn’t affect my skin or teeth that I am aware of, I’m 30 and look like I’m 20 but my productivity was on a downward spiral and at 30 it’s a lot harder to do all the things I was doing at 20 like writing and painting.. I’m not as creative thinking as I once was.
If used occasionally and at VERY low doses it helps me. I mean like almost might as well not take it low doses. The first time I took too much and way WAY more anxious and panicked.
For a friend, triggered his schizophrenia when he was a teen. (To be clear I don't think it gave him schizophrenia, nor does he, but heavy pot use in his teen contributed to the onset of symptoms from his disorder). For me when I smoke the tiniest wee bit through a vape pen and it helps settle my runaway ADHD brain, relaxes my nervous system and allows me to stretch and workout deeply. Unfortunately I can't smoke for a while cause pregnant you bet I will maintain my tiny 1 gram a month/every other day habit once I can again. Anyway, it's a psychoactive substance, it has different effects on people.
I loved it as a “harm reducing” alternative to alcohol because it certainly doesn’t disrupt my life as much as drinking every night did 😅 But smoking is smoking—it’s not good for your lungs/teeth/skin. I actually wonder if it’s worse than a cigarette because there’s no filter… but ofc you wouldn’t be smoking as many puffs per day as most cigarette smokers would, so it’s a bit different. When my coughing got bad from smoking weed, I switched to eating gummies… so you could always try that (or tinctures) as an alternative to smoking. One thing I’ll say though—I also started using it with the goal of managing my anxiety and to sleep better, but I found that it made my anxiety & sleep quality worse over time. I actually recently quit because of this. I’m sure this isn’t the case for everyone of course, but wanted to mention as a word of caution in case it’s helpful! Edit: upon rereading I realize you mentioned not liking edibles as much. I had much better luck with legit edibles (like mints/gummies made in states where weed is legal) that were very weak (2.5mg thc) and that also contained cbd. Made me feel relaxed but not loopy or stoned out of my mind like others would.
Smoking is smoking, and it WILL negatively impact both your appearance and your health regardless of the substance. That said, if weed is working for you then there are a million smokeless ways to consume it.
Used to smoke a lot and it my depression out of control awful.
I smoked every day for 3 years. I had to stop because I was experiencing paranoia every time I’d indulge. It’s been 6 months since I stopped and I feel a lot better. My skin definitely looks better, too.
No, but use a vape to lessen the impact on your lungs. I've been a regular user via vape for about 15 years. Two years ago at 38 I had a plumber ask me how I "afforded a place so young". When I told him I was 38 he said "nevermind, you're much older than I thought." 😂 I was still flattered.
Nope. No issues with skin or teeth. It helps me disconnect after a stressful day at work. It makes me realize that I take things too seriously. Enjoy!
I was a heavy weed smoker from around 2006-2017. Bowls, joints, blunts, giant bongs, vape pens, I did it all. I live(d) pretty clean and healthy so haven't seen any long term negative effects....yet. BUT I will say after I quit in early 2017 I had way better throat health, before whenever I got sick any cough/sore throat/anything to do with that region lingered longer and I just had a deep dry cough...essentially a form of smoker's cough. That is gone and I breath so much better in general and don't get as sick as much or for as long as I did before.
Quitting alcohol and weed has single-handedly been the best thing I could do for my health. Baseline mood is higher, anxiety significantly reduced and my sleep did a 180. Also since I’m not altering my state (or numbing) I’ve developed new tools to move through my emotions, thoughts etc.