Post reply to a recent discussion about cannabis on the Graham Hancock facebook page.

I posted this in response to this article.

I love Graham Hancock. He's a brave and brilliant visionary and explorer. My experience with cannabis was not like his. And yet not completely unlike his. I quit after a few short years (that I can not even remember) of use in the early 80'd to go on to grow and change without the drug. I used Transcendental Meditation to mitigate stress and Kyria Yoga to quell anxiety and depression instead of alcohol and pot. My family was deeply damaged by alcohol cigarettes and the lies perpetrated by the industries behind them. The sudden legalization of cannabis raised the specter of profiteering and governments desperate for tax revenue while ignoring the possible damage legalization might do. CERTAINLY this is wrong.
But not entirely. I suppose all things have a dark and light side to them. Cannabis is no exception. Graham openly admits it was an addiction and that it negatively effected his relationships. I've seen this in umpteen friends who destroyed their careers and relationships with this potent drug. Why Graham Hancock continues to pursue the good aspects of cannabis is understandable. I think that's great and I apologize if my lop-sided zeal and improper attitude. Still I think what triggered my annoying post was a belief that American society is not ready for this. That we are an easily addicted culture. The dark side of legalization is huge while the light side holds great promise for medicine and more. I agree with Graham, government should keep their mitts off the individuals right to consciousness expanding exploration. Recently I was informed that the strain of cannabis "sativa" was more likely to render an experience of consciousness expansion than other strains. I don't know if this is true. It could be true. But I'm cautious. What I see is a massive build up of excuses to use cannabis recreationally to the profit of questionable people with highly questionable motives. Money turns American businessmen and agents of government into cannibalistic evil bastards who would sell their mother down the river for the deal. So I think I'll abstain for now. I believe we are already toxic enough with the 60,000 chemicals floating in our blood-stream that should not be there. Still any move toward freedom is a good move. Colorado being the proving ground for now. I suppose it's a wait and see game. I guess it's up to each of us to decide how much we want to utilize this freedom. And to trust that we have good judgment regarding it. Sorry if I offended the sensibilities of Mr. Hancock or anyone here.

The Benefits of Quitting Marijuana

We found all of the benefits of quitting listed below in personal account posts within internet recovery forums.¹ To see the original posts where these description came from please follow the link in the footnotes below.

In no particular order:

1. Gaining clarity in thinking
2. Becoming more articulate - No longer embarrassed during intellectual conversations with others
3. Noticing an improvement in memory
4. Feeling an increase in energy
5. Needing less sleep
6. Not worrying about getting arrested or having legal problems
7. Not worrying about having to hide a habit from children or family members
8. Having more free time - No longer needing to ‘steal’ all that time from my work, family and hobbies to find time to get high and to find and buy drugs
9. Having more cash - No longer wasting so much money on weed but also no longer wasting so much time high that could have went to productive activities
10. Reduced feelings of anxiety and depression
11. Feeling more able to have meaningful interactions
12. More able to cope with stress - More likely to actually deal with problems and sources of stress instead of just getting high – greatly reducing overall stress levels.
13. No more paranoia
14. Feeling more self respect
15. No mindless ‘munchies’ feeding sessions
16. Having clear lungs and being able to breather better
17. Handling mood changes better
18. No longer hanging out with shady drug dealers/supporting organized crime
19. Hanging out with people are truly friends rather than people who are just people to use drugs with
20. Better personal fitness
21. Having dreams at night again
22. Improved personal appearance
23. Improved sense of smell
24. More patience
25. No more treating those around us badly because we are coming down or in need of THC
26. Feeling truly rested after a good night’s sleep (rather than slightly burnt out)
27. Performing better on the job
28. House is not so messy anymore
29. Improved communication skills
30. Less guilty feelings - No more feeling like you’re lying to people all the time while you’re hiding your marijuana activities and highs
31. No more avoiding people you love because you are too stoned to interact with them
32. Increased openness to emotional experiences
33. Not having to worry about running out of pot anymore
34. Easier to get out of bed in the morning
35. An increased ability to experience simple pleasures in life without needing to be high
36. A better relationship with a romantic partner
37. An improved concentration level
38. More self confidence (able to overcome marijuana habit)
39. More ready to continue with self improvement in other areas of life
40. Increased real creativity (able to produce stuff that makes some degree of sense to other people…not having so called ‘great’ ideas every night that you can’t remember or explain by the morning)
41. Increased possibilities for adventure and growth (doing things other than just sitting around getting high and watching TV or playing computer games)
42. Feeling more in touch with a wide range of emotions and moods, instead of just self medicating with weed all the time to stay ‘happy’ at all times.
43. More able to feel real happiness instead of ‘fake’ happiness
44. Performing better at work, no longer behind on projects all the time
45. No more worrying about whether you still you smell like that joint you smoked not long ago when in public situations. No more worrying about the smell of pot in the house when the doorbell rings unexpectedly. No more panicking when you’re walking down the road high with a sack in your pocket right toward a couple of police officers.
46. Better overall health = getting sick less often
47. No longer rushing to get away from non-smoking friends and loved ones to get home and smoke alone!
48. Don’t have to worry about where and when to get high when visiting with family over the holidays
49. No longer feeling panicked when local supplies dry up temporarily
50. More able to focus in on what you’re doing – and to actually finish something up before moving on to the next thing!
51. Good moods don’t expire as a high wanes down – good moods can last all day.
52. Always ready to respond if needed to an emergency situation (there is nothing worse than having to take a child to the ER while stoned off your head)
53. More able to really fit as a team member at work
54. Able to inspire other people in my life to change unhealthy habits
55. Improved singing voice – tuning guitars with others doesn’t take FOREVER – improvised solos get more creative…can actually remember all the lyrics to songs!
56. Old and long forgotten memories start creeping back into my brain
57. No more needing to worry about the look of my eyes – no more needing to constantly use eye drops
58. More self confidence to stand up for myself (instead of just wanting to escape notice so no would know that I was high)
59. More able to look at what is making me unhappy in my life and working to improve myself – instead of just lighting up for a very temporary solution to my sadness
60. I am more reliable without weed – more likely to finish what I start and more likely to do what I say I will do
61. Feeling less apathetic about things
62. When high didn’t feel comfortable taking classes with other people (social anxiety and paranoia) now can take yoga and other classes to improve myself.
63. Can feel natural highs now
64. Can see better in full sunlight without needing sunglasses
65. Better able to connect sexually with my partner when not high all the time
66. No more scary chest pains
67. No more having to obsess about whether or not I should quit or about the damage my drug use was doing to my relationships and career
68. No more worrying about germs when sharing a joint or a pie with others
69. No more wasting time trying to hook up with a dealer
70. No more dark circles under the eyes all the time