I decided not to shortchange the answer by writing just a quick reply and promised a full post after being asked this question.
Hi I just wanted to get your thoughts on POT because I have a problem with Alcohol but not with pot. Considering that it could be a legal alternative to Alcohol in the near future I wonder if you would ever consider recreational pot use acceptable for people who don't have an addiction.
Thanks,
Christopher
My thoughts are very simple when it comes to any type of alcohol or drug use for those of us in recovery regardless of “WHAT” we were addicted to in the past. Don’t do it, any of it. Recovery is about learning to deal with life without mood and reality altering substances regardless of their legality or how they are ingested. Just the very fact that an alcoholic is trying to rationalize smoking a joint, or a junky is considering taking to the bottle means that their disease is influencing both thinking and decision making. Trying to figure out new or safer ways to escape reality and stress is not an exactly healthy exercise for someone like me.
Also, I have a problem with alcohol and pot even for those that are lucky enough not to suffer from addictions.
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Why would I have a problem with pot and alcohol for those who use these substances responsibly? Well it boils down to very reason why people make excuses for drinking and drugging in the first place; reasons such as it’s a social lubricant or it helps me unwind are commonly stated. Just as an alcoholic begins to rely upon alcohol for all one’s answers, many normal people never develop the life skills to interact socially or develop problem solving and stress reducing skills. Because the easy way out is always available at the end of the day by smoking it up or drinking them down.
How do drugs and alcohol adversely affect “normal people”? Here are a few examples. There are the men that never learn to effectively communicate with the opposite sex because they rely upon alcohol early in life for courage and later in life to cope with the repercussions. Many people let problems linger and fester choosing the brief respite of a six pack and the idiot box instead of concentrating on remedies and risk management. How about the group of young friends that will not even gather for a night out if alcohol and drugs are not part of the mix, as if they have never learned to have fun on their own?
In fact, most people will even get visibly upset with just the mention of a hypothetical proposal that would have them swearing off recreational drug use and alcohol for an extended period. Anything that has such a hold on our lives can not be a good thing.
I have a problem with alcohol and pot, even though I have learned how to deal with life on its own terms and know how to laugh and live stress free without using. Then there are those that don’t have a problem with alcohol and pot, yet they seem to have a heavy reliance upon these substances and depend upon them to generate the happiness or contentment they have lost or never learned how to generate themselves.
Those are my thoughts on the subject.
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TDA,
You got it in a few paragraphs.
The analogy I use is that when others were learning life skills such as compromise, taking care of yourself, socializing and money management, I was out in the strip pits getting stoned and drunk.
It worked for a long while.
When It quit working, I was back to the place where I started, just 15 years later. Not fun. Growing 15 years in a few makes the pain poignant. The pains of small lessons learned
come in quick step, without the salve of time.
Sharing those experiences in a meeting is important. Living life and growing is what recovery consists of. Anything else is death or just short of it.
Without the steps as a frame of reference, a guide and a standard, for me there probably wouldn't be anything other than a bottle.
Thanks for taking the time to answer my question so thoroughly. I still haven't made up my mind on the subject but you do bring up good points. I'm reminded of a towlie episode of South Park where towlie learns that he shouldn't smoke pot to come up with ideas but rather he should come up with ideas first and only then reward himself by getting high.
The point about needing to learn social skills is well received. But I take Cymbalta for my social anxiety so I can't agree totally. It seems to require a balance. Your perspective may be that no one should take perscription drugs for anxiety (not to put words in your mouth) that they should suffer through and learn the skills to cope. I'm more of the mind that since they improve my life, perhaps the balance of psychotherapy plus medication is the best path to a happy life. Again, I don't know, it's just how I feel.
So I'm not sure about pot but I'm at least happy that it doesn't control my life like alcohol. And alcohol is a whole other subject....
Thanks,
Christopher
and yes I always think a drug free life should be the ultimate goal, but I support the prescribed use of methadone for opiate addicts and anti-depressants for addiction therapy as long as they are mainly viewed as temporary tools.
Just as you said, a healthy balance should be found in gaining the benefits of these tools without developing long term dependence.
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