I estimate I was using more than 100 mg a day 4 months ago. My anxiety was getting so bad and I couldn’t really eat much without it. I’m on a cruise and also on day 4 completely thc sober and oddly, this process has been relatively easy. I tried to taper with the vape, impossible. I’d be watching the clock and white knuckling it. So I decided to try edibles and started with 100 mg a day. That was the hardest part, saying bye to my quick dopamine hits, but the edibles kept the unbearable withdrawal symptoms in check. I would reduce my edible usage by 5-10 mg at a time but let my body set the pace and never allowed myself to get too uncomfortable. I stayed at 50mg for a few weeks before reducing to 40mg. When I got to 20-25mg I started dreaming again here and there. I’m now on day 4 a cruise and also day 4 completely thc free. It’s 3:45am and I’m wide awake, yet yesterday I slept a solid 8. The only withdrawal symptom I’m experiencing is inconsistent sleep. Dreaming like crazy but mostly enjoying that, it feels really nice to not feel like I’m transporting to morning. I plan to continue occasional recreational use when I return home, only edibles tho, no more vape ever. This was a piece of cake compared to trying to taper down using my vape, just couldn’t do it.

hi, I have a few physical disabilities that cause constant pain & the thing that helps the most is vaping. my vaping habits have become quite problematic over the past year, especially after the breakup I went through at the beginning of the year & my physical health starting to decline a couple months ago. cos I’m disabled, I’m stuck at home a lot, and mostly in bed cos I can’t do a lot without my legs feeling weak and hurting (I am trying to work on the weakness as a separate problem), but I do try to do daily walks. is there anything I can do to make t breaks easier, especially with my pain? I promise I have prescribed medication for my pain, but it doesn’t help that much. I’m currently trying thc oil but I feel like it isn’t doing anything, even for the pain. I know it can take a few hours for oil to do anything, but I’ve tried it both on an empty and full stomach and I feel absolutely nothing (same with edibles). I try to do dbt stuff like letting myself feel the feeling (urges) and then let it go, but that doesn’t seem to be helping either. I’m thinking of trying flower, I’ve heard it helps better with the pain and maybe I’ll use a bit less. but I currently don’t have a lot of money so I can’t do that right now. its so hard for me to sit with the urges because they feel so intense and overwhelming. I apologize for the long post and I’m sorry for any punctuation mistakes due to my dyslexia.

hello, i’m on day 3 of my journey towards moderation and responsible use. i first started smoking at 15 and became a daily smoker around 19/20, especially using high thc vapes. i’m 26 now and weed makes me feel “normal,” but i’m about to start my first full-time job and i can’t do it high.

i haven’t really had any cravings except for wanting to manage the withdrawals, which for me is anxiety, lack of appetite, and nausea. i started microdosing with an edible (20:1 cbd:thc ratio) and using a cbd tincture (1200mg) in the morning. i find going to the gym is really helpful for the anxiety but it’s hard to workout without any food in my body, so that is a bit of a struggle. if i feel like i really need it, especially to get food down, i’ll take 1-2 hits of my vape once or twice during the day.

my goal is to eliminate vaping during the day and push back my first use until after 7pm over the next 27 days. i’m open to any advice. please wish me luck! thanks :)

I’m at my wits ends. I’m so desperate for a break and to eventually stop or switch to edibles but every time I try going without, I go mental and can’t even get through the afternoon. I have tried getting out first thing in the morning and going for a run which definitely helped but still I couldn’t even make it past day one and I don’t know why? I know a lot of the mental and emotional withdrawals for me are in my head coz I went on my first overseas trip in May and quit cold turkey for 2 weeks and was fine 😂 I have BPD and ADHD so emotional regulation isn’t my strong point, please share any words of wisdom 😭🙏

Hello everyone!

I'm new to this community, but responsible cannabis use is something I've been thinking about a lot lately, and I'd appreciate some perspectives from people who have successfully found a healthier relationship with it.

For some background, there was a point where I would absolutely characterize my cannabis use as problematic. I was consuming several grams of high-potency concentrates a day at my worst. At the time I convinced myself I was enjoying it, but looking back, I had developed an enormous tolerance and was becoming extremely dependent on THC just to feel normal.

Eventually I realized something needed to change.

I originally decided to take two weeks completely off cannabis. Two weeks became four. Four became eight. And as of today, I've officially hit nine weeks without THC.

What's interesting is that I've genuinely enjoyed the break. I feel much more comfortable functioning without cannabis being something I automatically reach for, and I don't want to lose that progress.

That brings me to where I'm at now. I have a rare opportunity coming up where I'll have the house to myself for a prolonged period, and I've been considering cautiously reintroducing cannabis during that time.

However, I have zero interest in going back to concentrates or vaping. One of my biggest goals going forward is to stop putting cannabis into my lungs altogether. Vape pens in particular became way too convenient for me and quickly turned into a crutch.

If I do reintroduce cannabis, I'm thinking edibles only. My tentative idea was 5 mg the first day, potentially 10 mg another day, and perhaps 20 mg on the final day. Afterward, I'd return to complete abstinence until around mid-December. I'm not married to that dosing schedule, though, especially after nine weeks with no tolerance.

So I have two main questions for people here:

Would you take this opportunity to experiment with responsible use and then resume the break, or would you just keep the streak going until December?

After nine weeks completely THC-free, how strong would you expect 5–10 mg to be? I'm particularly interested in hearing from people who previously had extremely high tolerances and then returned after a long break. I'm wondering whether 20 mg would actually be unnecessary at this point.

My ultimate goal isn't to prove that I can get extremely high again. It's almost the opposite. I'd like to find out whether cannabis can eventually occupy a small, deliberate place in my life instead of becoming part of my everyday baseline.

I'd really appreciate hearing what has worked for others who have gone from heavy use to genuinely responsible/moderate use.

TL;DR: I went from several grams of high-potency concentrates a day to nine weeks completely THC-free. I'm considering briefly reintroducing edibles at 5 mg, then possibly 10 mg and 20 mg, before going back to abstinence until December. My long-term goal is responsible, occasional edible use and no more smoking, vaping, or concentrates. I'm wondering whether it's better to experiment with moderation now or just continue the break, and how strongly low-dose edibles might hit after nine weeks with essentially no tolerance.

Hi everyone, I was smoking from waking up to sleep every day for about 15 years. Only flower, in joints. Never took a break before and never really smoked a lot, but I did smoke all day. 25 grams would last for about 1 and half to two months. I was highly functional but decided I should stop because the thought of going without it (on a trip out of country etc.) would freak me out as I didn't really have the experience of life without cannabis for so long.

I tapered for a few months before stopping, and when I stopped smoking THC 19 days ago, I had almost no withdrawals. I can sleep, eat, etc. I switched THC for CBD. Magnesium (bis/glycinat 150mg) and Ashwagandha (ksm66 500mg) before sleep. I'm not dreaming and remembering the dreams yet, had only one vivid nightmare that woke me up a few days ago, which is weird to me - it seems like the nightmares kick in pretty soon after stopping for everybody else. As I said, this is weird for me, so if anyone has any similar experience or knowledge about this, please let me know.

The only thing I miss now is the release after some very productive days, as I don't like alcohol and believe it's worse for me than weed. I feel like I'm always on and I'd like to be out of my mind/high once in a while. Maybe it's just my addiction speaking, but as I said, I didn't suffer severe withdrawals (for example, some of my friends can't sleep for a week during a T-break). I'd like to know what smoking weed like 1 day a week would do to my CB receptors. I'm sure the stress on receptors would be lesser, but would they be able to heal/reset fully in terms or sleep/REM sleep quality and other things commonly associated with chronic THC use?

Hi everyone,

I’m hoping to get some advice on taking a tolerance break and reducing my usage. I’ve been using weed for about 2.5 years now with my frequent usage(3-4 nights a week to daily depending on timing) being about 2 years. I mostly take edibles and sometimes hit my cart due to the smell of flower. I’ve started smoking slightly more flower recently but the smell is still difficult with my roommates.

Within the last year my tolerance has gone up so incredibly high(At first I was taking 100mg edibles and then have gone up to 1000mg one time because most of my CB1 receptors had been mostly killed off I’m guessing.) I’m currently taking around 400-700mg 4ish nights a week, but I know the only reason it’s not more often is because my tolerance doesn’t allow it.

I have noticed my dependence on weed for a while, but have continued to say that as long as it’s not effecting my life negatively, I won’t be worried, but I recently feel like it has. I am currently a college student(I’m going back to college now in my 20s) and I’ve been waking up so groggy in the morning that sometimes I’m not going to class. I also feel like my memory gaps are so awful, I’m constantly forgetting what I’m saying mid sentence. The other negative is that I am a broke college student and yet am spending almost 50% of what I’m making as a student worker on weed since I’m using large amounts of it.

I love weed, and I definitely don’t want to never use again, but I really want to both cut back on my usage but also reduce my tolerance. The last time I took a 3 week T-Break my tolerance dropped to about 100mg but then went back up again the 3rd or 4th time I got high, so I know I need to wait longer. How long should I take a full break for to get my tolerance back down to like 10-15mg? Also, does anyone have tips on how to reduce usage in the evenings? I use as a fun way to decompress and really enjoy it, so I’m worried about my ability to stick with the lower usage after the T-break. Thank you in advance for the help!

It's what I consume regularly because the store I know sells it and it's legal in my country due to a legal loophole, but I've heard many say it's not so good to consume it frequently... I'd like to get some opinions on this from people with more experience than me. 😅

Wrote a post couple of weeks ago how ending of a long relationship made me realize I gotta get straight. Now checking in with my progress:

Initially I dropped consumption from +3g a day (for years) to one volcano balloon each night (~0.15g). This caused severe debilitating wds, and I couldn't handle it while dismantling our old home and moving appartments.

So for the next days I upped my dose to 4 balloons a night, which helped tremendously with the bodily wd symptoms (diarrhea etc.) After a couple of days I switched to 3, and now I am down to 2 balloons a night. I've tried just one, but for now two is good. For me this is a significant reduction, something unprecedented.

During the past few weeks my tolerance has gone down a lot, and I've worked on better routines that support moderation. Most importantly I've changed the location and circumstance for vaping: it used to be my main mode at home with the volcano always on, but now I set up my spot separately for each balloon and pack it away straight after. No more prolonged sessions in front of the device. Also I started a weed diary where I input every balloon and the time I consumed.

These new routines have helped me a lot with moderation. So far I haven't had much pull to go back to my old ways, but I also won't beat myself up if tomorrow I end up having 3 balloons.

One thing I've noticed is that if I have that extra balloon, I can feel it in the groggyness next morning. This is something I didn't really notice with chronic use. I kinda enjoy not being tired & unmotivated in the morning!

By now my appetite is back and gut working normal, and I've also started to have very vivid dreams again. Falling and staying asleep is still a bit difficult, but I can get ~6h most nights so not terrible either.

And so continues my journey. Thanks for reading!

I’m about 16 days into trying to quit thc pens, with two slip-ups during that time. My appetite is still absolutely fucked — I can consistently manage high-calorie shakes, but solid food is a struggle, even stuff I normally love.
How much could those slip-ups have set me back eating-wise? Has anyone found their appetite recovery dragged out after using again?
Also wondering about occasional use down the line. If I had a spliff every couple of weeks, could that keep disrupting my appetite and leave me stuck in this cycle? My main reason for quitting was to stop relying on weed to eat, so I’d appreciate honest experiences from anyone who tried this.

So long story short, I suspect I’m in the prodromal phase of CHS, and decided to stop my daily use to avoid going hyperemetic. However, I don’t really plan to fully quit forever. I’d like to try it as a special occasion/every-now-and-then use and see if that works for me like it does for others.

So what I’ve heard is that it’s recommended to go 90 days for a full cannabinoid receptor reset. I am about 46 days in and I am definitely less nauseous in the morning, and have less diarrhea in the mornings. I do still have random bouts of dizziness and some brain fog but I’ve always had adhd/brain fog so i can’t really tell if my tolerance is reset yet

Anyways, before I start ranting too much, my main question is if I break my tolerance by having a little bit one night, do I have to reset and start over and go another full 90 days to reset my receptors? How exactly does it work? If I smoke one single time and then finish my 90 days (to see how I feel) is it considered “reset” or do I add on like another week or so?

A bit of background to help gauge my usage;
I have been a daily smoker of mostly flower for about 4 years, averaging about 2-4 bowls a night, or about one ounce a month. I usually only smoked at night, but occasionally would have a hit or two in the morning if I was nauseous or didn’t have to work. I used a pen every now and then when I would go out but i wasn’t a heavy pen user. I rarely dab but have in the past.

I’m only 90% sure I was prodromal CHS because of a few symptoms (morning nausea and diarrhea, delayed gastric emptying, and one recent bout of vasovagal syncope and (non violent) vomiting). This is what caused me to go on a long break. But part of me still wants to think that I had those symptoms because when I smoked, I stayed up very late and snacked a lot, and usually smoked before eating/to eat, which could also cause morning nausea and diarrhea and not necessarily be CHS. I never reached hyperemesis and never craved a hot shower.

Since stopping, after getting past the first two weeks of withdrawal nausea, I have noticed I have less morning nausea, and (tmi) I don’t get diarrhea anymore. If anything I’ve been slightly constipated. Though I also haven’t been staying up late and snacking anymore either.

I do still want to do a reset of my receptors, and then change my habits and only smoke a few times a month max, so long as my symptoms don’t come back, but I’d love to know if I can take a little cheat day before my 90 days are up and not have to do another 90 day reset. I’m not trying to pass a drug test or anything so that’s not a concern, I just want to know if my progress will be severely impacted or if one night wouldn’t hurt.

I’m really trying to go the full time cold turkey, but some days it gets so hard. Like tonight is an awesome thunderstorm and I just wanted a few hits to enjoy it, but not if it means my 46 days off will be for naught.

I appreciate anyone who read my ranting and would love tips and more info on how exactly tolerance and cannabinoid receptors work

I’ve been sleeping good the last five nights and my REM Sleep seems to have kicked back online.
I think I’m ready to continue Cannabis but only in Tincture form, 1:1 to start.

I’m 15 months no THC right now. I had initially planned to just quit forever but now I think I’m ready to try once every couple months. There’s some events like friends birthdays or bachelor parties where I feel like I miss out on some of the fun. I’ve been away from weed for so long that it has no hold on me anymore and is never in my thoughts. There was a time when it had complete control over my thoughts and actions. Now I’m left missing some of those fun times but still very hesitant. I spoke with my therapist and he thinks it’s definitely something I can try once and see how I feel, then make a plan after that if I want. The issue is that my favourite time to be high was always when I was alone and I miss that the most. I now live with my girlfriend who would never let me slip into my old ways and I’m grateful for her. So I guess I’m wondering what my plan/rules could look like. No owning weed, none in the house, no more than once a month? Looking for experienced moderators to help me out

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I've been smoking around 5–8 joints daily and regularly consuming bhang. At times, I barely felt completely sober.

My energy and motivation have dropped significantly. I've experienced throat pain, dry mouth, exhaustion, and concerns about my lungs. I've tried quitting for 24–48 hours, but getting through it has been difficult.

I'm not here to preach or pretend I've recovered. I genuinely want to understand how people get out of this cycle.

If you were a heavy daily user, how long did it take to feel normal again? What actually helped you quit?

been off weed for awhile (3 months) and decided to smoke for a bit last week and it was pretty alright but nothing i would see myself going all day everyday with again ever again. im just tryna find moderation, a middle ground where i can enjoy it the same way people enjoy alcohol ever so often without it totally brain/cognitively fucking me. i wanna stay function and normal and maintain my mental health/emotional health ive developed these past few months while also being able to toke here and there.

I'm looking to see if I can find people who have successfully gone from harmful and excessive smoking that's hard to stop even though you want to (what would be defined as addiction) to a new healthy and balanced relationship with weed.

I've heard of people who were heavy drinkers before, and really struggled to cut back, but managed to do it and now only drink socially and don't have a problem with it. I assume this might be possible for some people who smoke weed too, but I've never heard of anyone, so I'm not sure.

I wonder if the narrative of "once an addict, always an addict" is true for everyone. There are some vices you couldn't possibly stay 100% away from, or it would at the very least be very hard and limiting to do so (like sex, food, shopping, etc). So people who are addicted to those things often learn to moderate them using sets of rules, contextual changes, professional treatment, etc. Then, they can have a romantic and sexual relationship, eat food or do their groceries in a healthy way. I'm wondering if there is something fundamentally different about psychoactive substances that makes it impossible to treat addiction to them the same way.

(I'm not saying to give it to children or not to be appropriately cautious with it. Please still be responsible with how you treat cannabis.)

I'm just saying that it's literally just candy for adults. It's a sweet treat that just so happens to make you feel funny for a little while.

I fucking love those Goetze's caramel creams. I can't control myself around those, I will inhale the entire goddamn bag in one sitting. Normally I'll just keep them out of the house and only buy them once in a blue moon when I really feel like treating myself. I'm starting to understand that no amount of moderation will work for me long term and I will ALWAYS eventually crack and want to overindulge, so I need to start treating weed the same way I treat those damn caramel creams.

It goes up on the shelf with fancy teas and bath soaps and other creature comforts that make life more pleasant as a whole, and you don't need to do it every single day- it's just a treat after all and too much of ANYTHING is bad for you.

I live in a legal state where I can't throw a rock without hitting like 10 dispensaries. There is no shortage of it and I can just go buy it whenever I want. It's not that exciting "forbidden fruit" that it was when I was a lot younger, it's literally just funny adult candy, and it's not the end of the world if I run out and don't have any for a while.

My wallet will thank me in the long run 😭

Maybe this is a tad extra, but weed is essentially the only “companion” that I’ve had with me for the last 20 years. I’ve had long breaks, taking 6 months to a year off at a time to focus and maybe re-evaluate the relationship I have with it. Overall I’ve led a pretty solitary life for as long as I can remember, and cannabis has been my retreat from all the pressures of life. It’s not something I want to stop doing completely, as I’ve been too sad whenever I tried that before.

It’s really been a safe bubble for me at times, because I’m a very expressive, talkative person but also *highly* sensitive. That combination makes life extra hard to get through socially, and weed sort of helped me hide out and focus on necessary tasks, which take me longer to complete than most.

(Sorry, I’m a bit stoned as I write this, forgive any vague rambling)

I know that I can’t do this alone, and as I get older it seems harder to step away from it without asking for a bit of help. I suppose what motivated me this time is that I’m tired of keeping my life so small and tired of hiding out. I know it’s not like that for everybody, but this is how it is for me, and I’d like to be able to put myself out there, talk, express, and be open to receiving both love and criticism without letting it push me back into a corner. For me, this takes immeasurable courage, so I wanted to mark this moment as the start of my next prolonged break.

My last one was 6 months long, so I’d like to go for as long as possible, maybe even a year or years, so I can save some money, time, and energy and put it toward some things I’ve put off for far too long and take care of some personal business.

How has not smoking affected your sleep patterns? I just stopped 2 days ago (for good) and the past two days my body has been superrrrrrrr fatigued. (I used to smoke a blunt everyday.
I’m sleeping so much during the day and it’s actually GOOD sleep. One of the reasons I wanted to stop smoking is because my sleep at night was just getting so terrible. But now it’s like my body is trying to catch up on good sleep? Will it take time to get “back to normal”?

I'm looking for advice from people who have taken at least a 6 month break before. I'm almost done with what I originally planned to be a 3 month break with the goal of consuming one night a week afterwards. However, I'm starting to wonder if it might be better to push for a longer break. I originally scheduled the break to be done on Halloween so I could celebrate by getting stoned to sit on my porch and hand out candy to trick-or-treaters, which is something I've really enjoyed the past couple of years. However, I'm starting to worry it might not be a great idea to have my first use in 3 months be in a social setting, especially since I use edibles (which can be hard to dose if you don't know your tolerance).

I've also been wondering if I might benefit from extending my break. I've been working with my therapist on two main things: not pushing myself so hard both at work, and finding healthier coping mechanisms for anxiety and exhaustion. Both of those are underway, but definitely not done. Additionally, I have noticed some improvements in overall anxiety and energy levels throughout the day during my break, but it hasn't been anything major. Reading old posts on this subreddit and in r/leaves seems to show people feeling a big mental shift around 6 months. I don't want to stop too early if I'm already halfway there! On the other hand, I know I can be very perfectionistic and am definitely overthinking this lol.

Some background on my usage: Over the past 4 years I moved from taking one 5mg gummy once a week on Friday or Saturday evening, to 15mg every night to self-medicate for burnout from my (then undiagnosed) ADHD. Even after I got on ADHD medication 9 months ago, I continued to get stoned every evening because it was a habit and I got withdrawal anxiety if I stopped.

Thanks for making it through that wall of text. I'd love to hear your opinions and thoughts!

Hi so i am looking to start a t break soon. I’ve done some before and i typically go 90-100 days. First, im trying to gauge where i fall with people.. i smoke about 3-4g per day in joints and then 20-30 vape hits periodically. I smoke everyday and the longest timeframe i go without smoking is when i go to bed.

Im worried about getting through the withdrawal.

Specifically, i know it makes my OCD soooo much worse when i withdrawal.

Does anyone have ocd and take t breaks and have any advice or remedies for some of the spikes in repetitive behaviors and/or intrusive thoughts?

Unfortunately i think smoking has become more of a compulsion for me than anything else, and idk if i should try to navigate it differently this time, from more of an OCD lens?

Anybody else feel this? On a trip at the moment for a week and because I’ve broken out of my normal routine, my brain doesn’t get the same cues each day which induce the cravings I feel at home when I smoke routinely. Not only that, but because I’m so busy and so stimulated the entire time, I don’t miss it or think about it really. I’ve noticed a few fleeting thoughts here and there but they just appeared as thoughts but without the craving feeling I usually get with them. Anybody else have similar experiences?

Hi everyone, throwaway account for obvious reasons here.

I've been smoking weed on and off for about 12 years (the first few years were only on vacations or particular celebrative days with friends), and about half a year ago I've started using it quite a bit more than I used to.

I used to smoke about half a 0.3g joint which is a very small amount, and that was basically only on weekends. Now for the past year I've been smoking once or twice a week, the amount is a little higher as I smoke the whole joint but it's still about 0.3g.

With that situation said, I'll now talk about my general health:
For the past couple of years, I've been having physical pain in muscles and joints, mainly my back and hands / wrists, and I've been trying to understand where the hell it's coming** from.
I also had other issues like shallow breaths (sometimes), brain fog, and just a general sense of dread and that everything in the world kind of sucks or is evil.

Went to physicians, physiotherapy and all sorts of stuff but nothing fixed it so my brain of course started monitoring more and more my situation to see if it would worsen or not.
About a year ago, as I've said before, I started using a bit more and it felt less and less exciting than it used to be, while highlighting my issues more and more.

So of course I went to a psychologist (which I already went to before so I knew them), we talked about these things among others that happened in this time period in my life, and we've come to the conclusion that I needed a psychiatrist's consult on this. So I went, and they gave me a medication for generalized anxiety disorder called lyrica (pregabalin), a common SSRI called bupropion, and another one for sleeping, because I told them sleep wasn't restorative anymore.

I've been on these medications for about two months, not much has changed if not that I feel a little bit more flat, I can recognize bad thought patterns (like realizing I'm getting angry at someone for no reason), but I feel like when I'm high things have worsened again.

**Whenever I smoke, my brain starts flipping through toughts, my physical pain seemingly worsens, which triggers my self monitoring, which triggers my anxiety which leads to shallow breaths, palpitations and most if not all that is included under this disorder.

At this point, I don't know if I truly do have a medical condition, if my anxiety started from a panic attack or something else, if it's weed that's causing all of this, or what.

So today I've decided to share my story, hopefully finding someone in a similar situation that has sorted things out, any help is appreciated.

Oh and about two years ago, when all of this started, my thyroid started acting up again (basedow disease, so hyper) and from then I've been taking medication to keep values under control. Some people suggested me to simply remove my thyroid as this is the second episode and it's most likely going to happen again. Just throwing this out there in case it means anything.

TL;DR: I probably have generalized anxiety and don't know if weed makes it worse or not.
Sorry my post isn't really that readable I assume, my attention deficit doesn't allow me to write coherent paragraphs