Can You Really Blame Cannabis For Your Cannabis Addiction?
Depending on who you ask, cannabis can be very addicting or not at all addicting.
When you ask psychiatrists and rehabilitation specialists, they refer to “cannabis use disorder” as evidence that cannabis is addicting. But if you ask lifelong cannabis users like me to stop cold turkey for a month or two, we could do it without breaking a sweat.
This brings us to an important crossroads: is it the substance that makes the addict, or does the addict choose the substance?
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My greatest addiction had nothing to do with substances
I could cite the various studies on different substances, compare the addiction properties and argue that one drug is more addicting than another.
I wouldn’t be wrong.
However, as someone who can be quite obsessed with strategy challenges; One of the most difficult addictions I had to deal with had nothing to do with any substance.
I had struggled with excessive gambling for years, and while I didn’t consume anything physically, it was one of the hardest addictions to overcome.
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I found that quitting smoking after 15 years was easier than quitting gambling.
Did I have a legitimate reason to blame the game for my addiction? Or was it me; the addict choosing a vehicle of compulsive coercion?
After giving up two very different addictions, I can safely say that while the substance may have addictive properties, it is always the addict who pulls the trigger.
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Do you blame the addict?
In a way, yes! The addict is definitely the single most important factor in any type of addiction. The problem is that the addict loves to shift the blame.
When I gambled excessively, I would justify my actions differently to avoid the very real problems that plagued me.
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The addiction was simply an “easier choice” for my subconscious than dealing with the underlying problems. Thus, essentially all addiction is a means of escape.
Unless you are ready to deal with these underlying issues; The addiction will only continue to manifest in your life to avoid facing your hidden pain.
Addiction is mental malware that requires an antivirus program
The thing about an addict is that the addict knows that what they are doing is not conducive to their bottom line, but they do it anyway!
This is because addiction has rewritten your mental algorithms to embed itself in what you believe to be your personality.
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In reality, the story of “You + Your Addiction” is the most convincing work of fiction you have ever created, full of emotional nuances to convince you that “THAT’S YOUR BURDEN!”
However, when I stopped smoking tobacco – which according to some sources is due to the same level of addiction as heroin or cocaine – I realized that addiction is mental malware.
I’ve read the book EASY WAY TO QUIT QUIT SMOKING by Alan Carr, which essentially deprograms your brain by addressing the top “reasons” for smoking.
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The book doesn’t try to force you to quit, it just begins to put things in perspective and in my case, before the end of the book, I threw away my smoking pack and have never looked back.
This wasn’t the first time I’ve managed to “reboot my system” – but after that second flush of cigarettes, I feel like I’m done with this habit forever.
What are you trying to avoid?
Understand that it is not actually the substance that is addicting, but rather your relationship or the narrative you have built around the substance that is addicting.
When I managed to untangle my mind and rewrite the underlying narrative about tobacco, I was enjoying the withdrawal symptoms. It was a feeling of victory every time I felt shitty.
I understood that tobacco addiction and gambling addiction were intertwined; one helped maintain the other. When I managed to quit gambling, I was ready to quit smoking.
But before that, I had to make a decision about my addictions inside myself. I had to face the music and take a cold, hard look at my life.
It was only when I made these internal adjustments that the addiction fell off like it was yesterday’s news.
It is always you – it is never the substance!
Similar to the people who say “cannabis ruined my life” or “it’s because of cannabis”, you’re still missing the point.
Cannabis is a plant. It has no will of its own. Cannabis doesn’t buy itself, it loads itself into your pipe, lights itself, and forces you to get high all day. You are 100%.
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But here is the good news. If you do, you can undo it too!
However, to do this, you need to first take stock of your life. Ask the difficult questions;
- What in my life sucks so much that I just want to get away from it?
- What has to change in order for me to be happy? Realistic?
- What do I have to change in my life so that I can be in control of my decisions?
It’s about taking full responsibility for all of your problems. It’s not because of any excuses you can come up with. It’s not your circumstance, it’s not your trauma – it’s malware that needs to be interrupted.
The sticky end result
If you want to blame substance for your shits – you still haven’t learned the ultimate lesson on addiction.
You sit in the driver’s seat and are just as easy to drive as you made it to be – getting out of the car is just as easy. The question is; Do you really want to, or does your current configuration of misery satisfy your needs to the point where minimal to no effort is good enough.
But the moment you are ready to let go of everything, that change happens deep within our being. And once that decision is made, nothing can stop you – not even relapses.
This article originally appeared on Cannabis.net and was republished with permission.
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