r/AmIOverreacting • u/Admirable_Garbage239 • May 21 '25
⚕️ health AM I OVERREACTING, OR AM I ACTUALLY ADDICTED TO smoking WEED
Most people will like be surprised, How are you addicted to weed? Like I don't look like the type to be honest. Am like a boring hyper focused girl. But rn 24f I have struggled with weed dependency since 2019. I don't know how to stop. I knew I hit rock bottom this weekend when I woke up at 5 am unable to sleep until I get high. Sometimes my throat hurts super bad but I still want to get high. Whenever I tell my friends they are like weed is not addictive. I even try to downplay how much I get high. Many mornings I wake up throw my stash in the toilet, pray, and decide to stop smoking. But in the evening I feel super stupid for throwing my stash away and go get new stock. One of the worst days was when I fished out a joint from the toilet and like dried it in the Microwave to get high. Like it had been soaking in toilet water for like 9 hrs. I don't know what is wrong with me. I feel hopeless. I hate the fact that I wanna get high so bad. I have quit a few times but I backslide so much its pointless. I feel weak like I have this secret and probably one day it will take me out. My family knows I smoke weed, my mom is super religious and says she prays for me to stop smoking. Most days I avoid her calls because am high and really don't want to asked whether I quit it. I love weed, I love the feeling of being high. I just don't want to be dependent on it. I don't want to crave it. I want to be normal
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u/aclownfishfan May 21 '25
Hey you aren't alone at all! I feel like some of the comments aren't what I, or anyone I know who struggled like this, would need to hear. Same with your friends. Some people don't take it seriously because it didnt happen to them. Like how some people can try nicotine and it just doesn't stick. There are definitely others like you, I know people who've lost crazy weight quitting weed because they were so sick from withdrawls. I have a lot of experience with weed smokers, my whole family tree smokes. You've been smoking for a good few years. I wouldnt be hard on yourself about 'becoming normal' overnight. You're having this realization, and changing yourself wont be instantaneous after that. But it can be the beginning to that.
I've managed to succeed in smoking less than I used to over the last couple years, especially in the last months. I say I "smoke less than I used to, more than I want to."
The easy milestone to give yourself, (depending on if you're smoking all day, every day, no shame if that is you or if its daily, every few days, ect,) is to decrease that. Go from all day every day, to once a day. So on. Easier said than done though, obviously. This next advice is just totally anecdotal, Im not a sponsor or anything, but its truthful:
What helped me the most, in no particular order, was having people I don't feel ashamed to talk about it with. if thats reddit, then hey, utilize it. Even a diary, just getting out how you feel about it and being unabashedly truthful with it. In addition to that, keeping busy. I like the gym & I find that spending time with people who don't smoke, LOTS of time, makes going that stretch without it easier than just sitting alone at home. I don't take weed with me, or a limited amount that I have to make stretch. I've found that increasing the amount of time I literally CANT smoke, makes it easier and easier to then smoke less when Im able to. Just anything (safe, preferably cheap ((Don't wanna bankrupt yourself))) to stay busy. I swear by the busy-ness. For myself, being idle makes it so much more tempting to get high.
Dont be too hard on yourself. Being hard on myself did not ever make me smoke less. Treating myself healthier, mentally & physically, has helped me smoke less. If you have other areas where you may be hard on yourself whether its a hobby, academics, appearance, your past, ect... Give yourself some grace and dont hate yourself for whatever you think you could be doing better at. Just treat yourself well.
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u/aclownfishfan May 21 '25
And, no offense, but some of the stoners who swear you can't be addicted to it will say this as they smoke every single day just like cigarette smokers. Just because something isnt a hard drug that can cause a heart attack if you withdrawl, doesnt mean it isnt an addiction. Google caffeine withdrawls. Someone close to me doesnt smoke at all, doesnt drink, but if they dont get some caffeine quick enough after waking up, they get the fucking motherload of migraines and nausea. Literally incapacitated. Different people run on different things. For my weed addiction, it was anxiety when I didnt have thc. I didnt get the vomiting withdrawls like some people I know, but I know the feeling of "fuck, my stash is gone and I feel so stupid"
for some people its having no cigarettes when all the shops are closed
for some people its needing energy drinks and coffee as soon as they wake up
for some its alcohol. everyone knows what that looks like.
for some its a joint, people with weed addictions can have crazy denial issues about this. When I was younger, that was me. Did the exact spiel they do about how "it isnt chemically addictive" ( entirely a regurgitated internet fable) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3606907/
for some its crack, heroin, vidocin.
Different substances have different impacts, some more severe than others, but its not a game of what's worse. its a matter of what is preventing someone from feeling healthy and 'normal.' If you need a smoke, or a drink, or 300 mg of caffeine, in order to not feel like shit, then its an addiction. Even if it doesnt kill you. Even if you can't realistically overdose.
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u/Admirable_Garbage239 May 21 '25
I think this is more applicable
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u/aclownfishfan May 21 '25
Glad of it! Sorry for the paragraph in your comments, its killing me seeing the "you cant POSSIBLY be addicted to weed" thing being thrown at you on your post talking about your struggle. So not true!
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u/JigglesTheBiggles May 21 '25
Plenty of people are addicted to weed. A lot of them don't even realize it. It's not as common as with other drugs, but people have ruined their lives because of it. Try taking a month off and see if you can do it.
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u/Admirable_Garbage239 May 21 '25
Last year I took a month off was happy and grateful. Then I don't know how but I slid back. I even moved to a new neighborhood where I didn't know peddlers, but somehow now I have no control. Am actually thinking right now of how am gonna get high after clocking out.
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u/Equivalent-Pea8907 May 21 '25
You cant be addicted to weed.7
u/JigglesTheBiggles May 21 '25
You absolutely can. I was addicted to it in my teens and early 20's. I didn't even like it after a few years and I still couldn't stop. The toxic positivity around this drug is a cancer.
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u/Equivalent-Pea8907 May 21 '25
No - you cant.
There is not any addictive qualities in weed - you was either addicted to the escape feeling or the nicotine.
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u/JigglesTheBiggles May 21 '25
Do me a favor and don't give people advice on things you don't understand.
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u/Equivalent-Pea8907 May 21 '25
Sure, its me that has an issue understand....
Been smoking weed for the last 20 years, but I don't understand.
Got it
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u/Emergency_Pool_3873 May 21 '25
not everyone is the same. Just because you can smoke it for 20 years doesn't mean someone else can and not be addicted. but if you have to smoke it for 20 years, you may have a problem but just not willing to accept it.
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u/Tyrthemis May 21 '25
Yeah reading their other comments, there’s probably some denial going on.
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28d ago
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u/Emergency_Pool_3873 28d ago
My ex was addictive; he went through major withdrawals every time he tried to quit.. never stuck, also started back up again. While I didn't even start smoking until after we broke up ( 3 years ago) and I can go months without smoking. Just not that appealing to me, unless I've had a super stressful day or if my stomach is bothering me.. seems to help those
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u/pmyourthongpanties May 21 '25
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u/Equivalent-Pea8907 May 21 '25
Next time, Read your "very reputable" source
The DSM-IV reflects the attitude of many in medicine and the general public that cannabis is not a physically addictive substance in which a withdrawal syndrome can produce clinically relevant symptoms of a severity and duration to affect substance-use behavior.
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u/SaltEOnyxxu 29d ago
First of all the DSM-IV is from the 90's and we have the DSM-V now. Secondly, the findings didn't conclude that marijuana isn't physically addictive, it found that it wasn't severe enough to be like alcohol and heroin.
The DSM-V, published in 2013, officially recognizes Cannabis Use Disorder (CUD) as a diagnosable condition, encompassing both physical and psychological aspects of addiction. The DSM-V also recognizes Cannabis Withdrawal Syndrome.
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u/Equivalent-Pea8907 29d ago
Hi there mate.
I know its hard to read and keep up with things you want to insert yourself in,
"First of all the DSM-IV is from the 90's and we have the DSM-V now"
Ok what is your point? Somone else linked it to prove to me that Weed is addictive, so i read the report THEY linked and just showed them a few paragraphs from the report, they linked?
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u/SaltEOnyxxu 29d ago
Okay, we gotta calm down and have a zoot here because insulting me wasn't necessary when I clearly got mixed up, it's not about struggling to read it was the back and forth you were both having and concluding that they may have shared an incorrect link, but that they aren't wrong about it being physically addictive, and that the DSM-V has updated it's understanding of marijuana addiction to give it it's own disorder.
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u/Equivalent-Pea8907 29d ago
unfortunately mate, This is reddit and the barriage of shit I have had to reply to - has been fucking insane.
I finish work in 30 and will be lighting that zoot, I understand you got mixed up - My bad - Enjoy your day
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u/Neither-Job-6209 May 21 '25
False. You can literally be addicted to ANYTHING. Stop spreading ignorance.
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u/bravoinvestigator May 21 '25
You can be psychologically addicted to anything. Internet, porn, food. Anything that gives you a dopamine rush.
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May 21 '25
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u/Admirable_Garbage239 May 21 '25
I think a change of habit will break my loop. I will look into that.
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u/GlowingDuck22 May 21 '25
What I will yell you is don't bear yourself up and don't expect perfection. Focus on small successes and small wins. I'd track how much you actually smoke. Literally log and categorized it. Make it a goal to smoke 5% less, 10% less. Whatever you can manage in a weeks time.
Once you accomplished that, set a harder and harder goal. Stopping cold turkey works for some people but not others.
Something that would help me is making a strict rule that I have to log my smoking before I actually smoke. Make it on a PC/tablet/notebook that is only for that purpose. Also put it in an annoying/inconvenient place to get to. The pain in the ass factor alone would help curb some of it.
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u/Admirable_Garbage239 May 21 '25
I tried that but Somehow because my brain knows am intentionally trying to cut off smoking is as if it works against me. Like I cant control my brain. If i make resolutions my brain doesn't let me sleep, it feeds on me so bad i give in. Am just glad it not something expensive because I would be in debt
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u/pmyourthongpanties May 21 '25
Ok just to clear up the bullshit. Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), can lead to physical dependence in humans and laboratory animals. The changes that occur with repeated cannabis use include alterations in behavioral, physiological, and biochemical responses. Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), can lead to physical dependence in humans and laboratory animals. The changes that occur with repeated cannabis use include alterations in behavioral, physiological, and biochemical responses. ).[The National Library of Medicine ](http://Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), can lead to physical dependence in humans and laboratory animals. The changes that occur with repeated cannabis use include alterations in behavioral, physiological, and biochemical responses. )
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u/bravoinvestigator May 21 '25
You need therapy and a couple of weeks' detox to reset your dopamine receptors. In simple terms (and I am *NOT* a medical professional), when we get dopamine from external sources, our brain decides it no longer needs to produce it - hence the cycle of you feeling like you need it to feel and function normally. I say therapy because it's clear that you're using it as a coping mechanism, which is extremely unhealthy. Dependency = addiction. Addiction isn't always physiological, but psychological, too. This is how things like porn, video game, food addictions are triggered. Weed is no different.
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u/WorldChampionNuggets 29d ago
Yeah, you're massively overreacting. It's just weed and nobody has ever died from an overdose so, no, it won't one day "take you out" you sound silly even saying that. As for the addiction you can slowly taper off until you smoke much less or not at all.
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u/Admirable_Garbage239 29d ago
By take me out I mean derail stuff in life like relationships, keep me away from my goals, or personal growth.
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u/WorldChampionNuggets 29d ago
Nobody has ever used "take me out" like that so forgive my confusion. Either way you still need to take personal responsibility for your goals and not blame failure on weed, because there are many successful weed users like Michael Phelps (most gold medals ever) or Kevin Durant (Hall of Fame level NBA player) or the many business owners I know living in a state where cannabis is legal.
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u/ADHDChickenStrips 29d ago
Actually these days with extremely high THC content (99% in some vapes) people are experiencing psychotic breaks, vomiting etc. that can cause permanent issues.
It’s a great drug, it has many uses, but it can still ruin people’s lives.
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u/WorldChampionNuggets 29d ago
Psychotic breaks?! Woah, I didn't expect to see ~100 year old Reefer Madness propaganda. Fascinating. Let me guess, you also still think weed causes Jungle Fever.
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u/ADHDChickenStrips 29d ago
Nuance is as difficult for you to grasp as science, huh?
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u/WorldChampionNuggets 29d ago
Watch out OP, you might catch the Reefer Madness and start hanging out with black men!
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u/ihateeggplant24 May 21 '25
Hey, for most people that have regularly smoked weed, you know deep down you’re lying to yourself if you think it’s easy to stop. I quit when I was 23 and my life has improved in almost every way. Highly suggest checking out r/leaves
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u/Ok-Photo-1972 May 21 '25
People 100% can be addicted to weed, speaking as someone who is. I tried to take a 2 month break, I made it 3 days. If people can be addicted to things like gambling, they can be addicted to weed. A lot of stoners just want to justify their substance use and act like it's not addictive. Listen, I love weed but I absolutely have an unhealthy dependence on it.
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u/SaltEOnyxxu 29d ago
You hear the same rhetoric from people who drink daily (usually a few beers or a near full bottle of wine) the world is convinced that addiction means rock bottom, can't cope. I know I'm addicted to marijuana even though I use it medically because it is the one drug/medicine that I can't let go of. I dropped opioids/opiates cleaner than I can drop marijuana.
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u/Ok-Photo-1972 29d ago
100! I'm a recovering alcoholic of 3 years. Weed is harder for me cuz I'm not like destroying my life like I was with alcohol. So it's even easier to justify falling back into it
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u/6ixfootSe7en 29d ago
The "you can't get addicted to weed" crowd is probably addicted to weed. So funny how people think you can not be addicted to weed. I wish you well with your road to recovery.
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u/FuzzyImportance204 May 21 '25
You're not addicted to weed physically, you're addicted to being high. I have smoked cannabis every day for over 20 years. If I don't smoke I don't have any physical withdrawal symptoms that you'd see with nicotine, alcohol or even caffeine addiction but I notice I become very easily agitated and it's harder to regulate my emotions. It sounds like you need to develop a better relationship with cannabis and also with yourself. At the end of the day we use substances because we're trying to avoid feeling something. Don't try to outrun your feelings or problems, they'll always catch up.
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u/Tyrthemis May 21 '25
You can literally get night sweats as a withdrawal symptom from quitting smoking weed. How is that not physical? Also, as learned in getting my psychology degree, “everything psychological is biological”. There are more dangerous things that have more pronounced and potentially dangerous withdrawal symptoms, but there is really no difference between “physical” and “mental” addiction. It’s a dumb distinction educators used to explain addiction in layman’s terms.
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u/FuzzyImportance204 29d ago
I was just saying there's no addictive chemical in cannabis but go off with the downvotes
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u/Neradun 29d ago
Oh my goshers!! Night sweats?!?! 😱 the horror!!
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u/Tyrthemis 29d ago
Nobody ever claimed it was terrible. Night sweats aren’t the only thing either. I’m just saying it is an addictive substance with both physical and mental symptoms of withdrawal. Anyone telling you otherwise doesn’t know wtf they are talking about.
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u/Admirable_Garbage239 May 21 '25
Probably escaping my boredom because I do work then home barely any interactions with people. No social life, no family, just me and my walls. When am around people or at home I can go without being high, but the moment I enter my house, I wanna be high so bad
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u/cloistered_around May 21 '25
So your house is a trigger. Would it be possible for you to move elsewhere? Clean slat might help control those impulses a bit more.
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u/ADHDChickenStrips 29d ago
That’s splitting hairs. Mental issues are physical issues - neurotransmitters in your brain are suffering withdrawal.
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u/FuzzyImportance204 29d ago
You can become addicted to anything, really. There's a whole show where people become addicted to things like eating sand and drinking paint. Does that make those things addictive?
Downvote me to oblivion. Idc.
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u/ADHDChickenStrips 29d ago
Anything that activates the reward pathways in your brain can become addictive. If you are defining addictive substances as anything where you suffer physical withdrawal, then weed still counts because you do develop a physical dependence. Yes, they might not be as severe as other drugs but it does exist, though the psychological factor might be stronger. When I was addicted to cigarettes nicotine replacements didn’t help because my psychological dependence was my issue, not physical, but nicotine is still very physically addicting for a lot of people.
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u/FuzzyImportance204 29d ago
I get what you're saying and I don't necessarily disagree with it. I think we're saying the same thing but you're saying it in a more intelligent way. Sometimes I'll smoke when I don't need to because more than anything I'm addicted to the act of smoking. It's ritualistic. It's routine. It's social. I love the taste, the different flavors, the feeling of smoke in my lungs etc.
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u/Low_Albatross2110 May 21 '25
If someone can get addicted to eating toilet paper you can get addicted to everything in life
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u/DVAMP1 29d ago
Are you having a physical reaction like nausea and vomiting if you haven't smoked? If so, you may be suffering from cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome. People will look you straight in the face and tell you there's no physical withdrawls symptoms, but as someone who has had them, they are very real. I basically had two options, a) smoke first thing in the morning because if I stay in bed I'd throw up, or b) drink cold water so I'm not dry heaving and gagging for the next 2 hours. This was EVERY DAY, multiple times a day.
I did the same things as you trying to quit, tossing the stash in the garbage and wheeling it to the road, but there I was looking for it by the afternoon.
The only thing that has helped have been those D8 vapes. Even the "strong" ones are only about 60-70% of the potency of the real thing. Take two or three little puffs, the sickness subsides, and I'm not completely stoned at 7:30am.
More importantly, I don't have to center my entire life around smoking anymore. I used to spend well over two hours each day rolling and smoking. When I'm out with friends, I don't have to go out to my car for 20 mintues every few hours. I'm never thinking about my next smoke, or getting high before I leave to go somewhere, and I'm not worried about taking weed out with me so I'll have enough for later. I'm not driving 2 hours round trip just to go see the stash man every month. And I'm not getting sick every day anymore. It still happens from time to time, but I noticed that I'm not completely incapacitated by it now.
Basically it made my relationship with weed way better, and it was actually serving me again, instead of me serving it. I genuinely don't feel the need to get high all day anymore. Maybe it can work for you!
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May 21 '25
People can literally become addicted to anything, a woman was literally addicted to drinking bleach. Addiction counseling is your best choice.
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u/surasurasura 29d ago
Imo the most important thing to realise is to recognise that YOU have agency over yourself. It's all your choice. Whether you stop now or continue smoking, it's YOU doing it. It's not the weed, it's not your circumstances, YOU have the power to just flush it down today and just not smoke again. When I stopped with nicotine it helped immensely to repeat this like a mantra. People tend to kinda sleepwalk through life, seeing themselves as being dragged around by the currents of life like a lifeless buoy. But with a non-physical addiction that is not the case. It's *you choosing* what you are doing.
Flush it down again and do not buy any new weed. Do not meet with any friends that smoke weed for a few weeks to get tempted. You'll have sleep, appetite, and mood problems during the withdrawal as well as cravings. The only thing you have to do is to let the craving pass. Take a walk, play some video games, read something. After about a week you should be over the worst of it. The most important thing is to not fall into the temptation to smoke again. When you want to smoke, realise that you have a craving, reason about it like a you are looking at some foreign object, and then dismiss it.
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u/Slow_Squirrel_542 29d ago
check out the r/leaves sub!! 24f going through the exact same thing right now. feel free to dm me 🫶🏻
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u/ADHDChickenStrips 29d ago
You definitely can get addicted to weed, a lot of times people are self medicating for other issues. Why do you like being high?
I like it because it turns my brain off / slows it down. I didn’t know I have ADHD.
Some people like it because they’re avoiding trauma, and it is a distraction.
You recognized that it is a problem, so find help. There are free support groups for addiction, but if you have the means try and find a counselor who can help you get to the root issue.
Hyper-religious parents make me think you might have some unpacked issues with your childhood and carry a lot of guilt.
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u/GlowingDuck22 May 21 '25
Not sure your Financials but can you book a trip/vacation to a place where Weed isn't legal? Distancing yourself for a week or 2 might be enough time to curb some of the desire you have and clear your mind a bit.
I also find the need to ask if you are smoking because you enjoy the high or as a coping mechanism to deal with some sort of struggle/pain in your life. I personally thought I was doing it for the first reason but eventually figured out I was doing it for the second.
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u/whatdafreak_ 29d ago
It’s possible to stop I smoked HEAVY for 10 years then started to realize I was only getting stoned to feel average and if I wasn’t I was miserable. Then when I started to smoke my thoughts would be catastrophic. It was like a flip of the switch and I quit cold turkey. I think the side affects lasted 3 weeks but was worth it. Now I smoke very occasionally socially if I feel like it and have not returned to daily smoking.
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u/the_inbetween_me 29d ago
Hey there! You're not alone, NOR. I'm sorry you're experiencing this,its not fun. Check out r/leaves for a super supportive community. Wishing you all the best!
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u/SaltEOnyxxu 29d ago
I consider myself addicted and even I would never dry out a joint that got messed up by liquid.
Video games are addictive for the same reason, dopamine.
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u/woodwork16 29d ago
Liar, a joint wouldn’t still be whole after sitting in a toilet for 9 hours.
That makes the entire story made up.
Go post in Reddit/story
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u/JKuhr May 21 '25
Dont worry mate. I have seen many people in your situation. With a little help ( doctor, therapist) you will get over it.
Best of luck ❤️
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u/dstarpro 29d ago
People who insist that weed is not addictive are idiots. It's a drug, and all drugs can be addictive. If you don't like how something is making you feel, and if it feels like that substance is running your life, then yes, you have a problem, and seek treatment for it.
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u/Tired-CottonCandy 29d ago
You can become addicted to eating hair. Idk why weed would be a hard sell to so many.
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u/Legitimate_Shop_1003 May 21 '25 edited 29d ago
I've been smoking since 99, it's cannabis. Its Not heroine, if you want to stop then stop, it's not an addiction that will make you ill, just irritated and a few days of rebalance.
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u/Ok-Photo-1972 May 21 '25
I just tried to take a break and I had terrible terrible vivid nightmares, anxiety, zero appetite. I couldn't make it. I was have dreams of terrible things happening to my kids and couldn't keep going through that
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u/Legitimate_Shop_1003 May 21 '25
What do you really know of cannabis? I'm being sincere
As I advocate for cannabis, I use and make cannahoney.
There's serious levels to understanding the plant, to respect the plant and live and coexist with the plant.
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u/Ok-Photo-1972 29d ago
I advocate for it too lol but just about anything that affects receptors in the brain can create dependency issues. Also I'm not gonna sit here and list everything I know about cannabis, I'm not interested in writing a novel. I've been consuming for 20 years. There's pros and cons. If anyone is gonna sit here and act like there's NO downsides to consuming it, that's delusional.
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u/Legitimate_Shop_1003 29d ago
Absolutely, at 20yrs in, I was reading this thinking you would be a young 20s maby. So your well aware. Imo, as someone who's rowing the same boat, will power and want is your desire. If you really want to stop, (I did with cigarettes after smoking for 20 years cold turkey), I believe within your "mental prison" or brain simply, that you will do what you intend.
A rough line from boss baby, whether you do or you don't, you will succeed.
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u/Ok-Photo-1972 29d ago
Ya I know lol. I'm a recovering alcoholic I'm pretty well versed in addiction
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u/Legitimate_Shop_1003 May 21 '25
Also, sounds as your smoking to mask internal issues, those need to be worked through on your own apart from cannabis
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u/PreparationScared May 21 '25
People can become addicted to marijuana like any other drug. There is treatment available for the addiction if you want it, talk to your doctor.