Your article hits at such a good time for me. I’m also 37, and I’ve been on a journey to cut my consumption since the beginning of the year, been posting regular check in’s on my page about it. It’s so nice to hear your voice about this instead of my conservative family cheering me on to quit, from a good place but a very different place than say, you or I. The comparison to caffeine is exactly how I see my sugar consumption. I’m much more concerned about my sugar intake (or addiction to relationships) than my cannabis intake. I haven’t been as successful as I had hoped, and I have still been very successful in cutting my consumption significantly. I am hyper aware of it now, and am reaching towards my goals slowly but surely. A 10 day off the grid silent meditation retreat gave me a lot of great perspective and intuition, and the longest break from cannabis that I’ve had in years. The t break was incredible! I wrote a 7k+ word article about my entire experience.
Also, curious why you chose not to consume while preggo?
Keep up the great work! Wishing you an easy and joyous birth! 🫶🏽
A very thoughtful and non-preachy take on a subject that is usually delivered in a very black and white way with no nuance. I really appreciate this column!
As an RN who has educated many on medical cannabis my advice is to take Dr Dustin Shulak’s protocol for taking a break from cannabis. He has 2, one for inhaling and one for oral ingesting. Remember CBD cuts cravings. He claims and I personally can verify, his protocols can reduce consumption by 60%. BTW thanks for being on Substack. I’m trying but haven’t kept it up. CannaAngel
My name is Whitt W., RN. I wanted to pass along another great resource, in addition to Healer.com. A RN colleague who is trying to change the narrative around this "cannabis use disorder", her name is Nique Pichette, DNP, RN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/niquepichette
Also, if you haven't had a chance to check out the great resource of Leaf411.org; Our mission is to provide education and directional support to the general public about the safe use of legal cannabis (marijuana & hemp). Our team of cannabis trained nurses are passionate about helping our community access balanced education about their legal cannabis use. Leaf411 was built on the belief that affordability and accessibility to professional medical advice should never be barriers to using cannabis safely and effectively. To further this mission, Leaf411 has created additional programs focused on community education and product affordability, creating partnerships that connect cannabis industry leaders and diverse community organizations across the country for social good.
Thank you for sharing your personal journey and thank you for this newsletter!
I just found your Substack and this essay stood out to me because I'm recovering from marijuana addiction. I appreciate your honesty. I'm 56 days sober from weed and I can tell you from personal experience that it definitely can be addictive, and from knowledge of the science that using it regularly causes changes in our brains and that we have no idea what the long term effects of the modern, high potency weed currently being sold legally in my state and many others will end up being.
I have been trying to quit for many years now, with various levels of success, but I have finally made the decision that, I can't smoke weed again, I can't do it in moderation, my brain just can't do that anymore after abusing it for so long. That was the hardest part, I loved weed so much, I kept thinking if I took a break or only did it under x, y, z circumstances, I could gain control of my consumption and not have to give it up entirely. I gave up alcohol too, at the same time, not because it is a problem substance for me but because in the many times I have tried to quit I have sometimes used alcohol for the same reasons that I turned to weed and I wanted to just deal with my problems from a sober space.
I talk about my journey in my Substack, if you're curious to see what it's like from the perspective of someone who is recovered from a weed addiction.
This piece summarizes a lot of things I've been thinking about regarding my level of consumption. Biggest question is would a break make a difference in my daily life and also, how high I would get when I started to smoke again and how long would that be.
Thanks Jackie and also, thanks for talking with Vlad Bautista from my client Happy Munkey recently. Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy as I just became a grandpa for the first time 3 weeks ago.
Appreciate a pro-cannabis person, attempting to honestly assess pot, all the good and bad. Interesting Jackie gave up cannabis while pregnant
Your article hits at such a good time for me. I’m also 37, and I’ve been on a journey to cut my consumption since the beginning of the year, been posting regular check in’s on my page about it. It’s so nice to hear your voice about this instead of my conservative family cheering me on to quit, from a good place but a very different place than say, you or I. The comparison to caffeine is exactly how I see my sugar consumption. I’m much more concerned about my sugar intake (or addiction to relationships) than my cannabis intake. I haven’t been as successful as I had hoped, and I have still been very successful in cutting my consumption significantly. I am hyper aware of it now, and am reaching towards my goals slowly but surely. A 10 day off the grid silent meditation retreat gave me a lot of great perspective and intuition, and the longest break from cannabis that I’ve had in years. The t break was incredible! I wrote a 7k+ word article about my entire experience.
Also, curious why you chose not to consume while preggo?
Keep up the great work! Wishing you an easy and joyous birth! 🫶🏽
A very thoughtful and non-preachy take on a subject that is usually delivered in a very black and white way with no nuance. I really appreciate this column!
As an RN who has educated many on medical cannabis my advice is to take Dr Dustin Shulak’s protocol for taking a break from cannabis. He has 2, one for inhaling and one for oral ingesting. Remember CBD cuts cravings. He claims and I personally can verify, his protocols can reduce consumption by 60%. BTW thanks for being on Substack. I’m trying but haven’t kept it up. CannaAngel
Hi Jackie,
My name is Whitt W., RN. I wanted to pass along another great resource, in addition to Healer.com. A RN colleague who is trying to change the narrative around this "cannabis use disorder", her name is Nique Pichette, DNP, RN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/niquepichette
There also is a great resource from Radicle Health's Youtube page on the matter, check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBWfJu9MNP8
Also, if you haven't had a chance to check out the great resource of Leaf411.org; Our mission is to provide education and directional support to the general public about the safe use of legal cannabis (marijuana & hemp). Our team of cannabis trained nurses are passionate about helping our community access balanced education about their legal cannabis use. Leaf411 was built on the belief that affordability and accessibility to professional medical advice should never be barriers to using cannabis safely and effectively. To further this mission, Leaf411 has created additional programs focused on community education and product affordability, creating partnerships that connect cannabis industry leaders and diverse community organizations across the country for social good.
Thank you for sharing your personal journey and thank you for this newsletter!
I just found your Substack and this essay stood out to me because I'm recovering from marijuana addiction. I appreciate your honesty. I'm 56 days sober from weed and I can tell you from personal experience that it definitely can be addictive, and from knowledge of the science that using it regularly causes changes in our brains and that we have no idea what the long term effects of the modern, high potency weed currently being sold legally in my state and many others will end up being.
I have been trying to quit for many years now, with various levels of success, but I have finally made the decision that, I can't smoke weed again, I can't do it in moderation, my brain just can't do that anymore after abusing it for so long. That was the hardest part, I loved weed so much, I kept thinking if I took a break or only did it under x, y, z circumstances, I could gain control of my consumption and not have to give it up entirely. I gave up alcohol too, at the same time, not because it is a problem substance for me but because in the many times I have tried to quit I have sometimes used alcohol for the same reasons that I turned to weed and I wanted to just deal with my problems from a sober space.
I talk about my journey in my Substack, if you're curious to see what it's like from the perspective of someone who is recovered from a weed addiction.
This piece summarizes a lot of things I've been thinking about regarding my level of consumption. Biggest question is would a break make a difference in my daily life and also, how high I would get when I started to smoke again and how long would that be.
Thanks for this, Jackie! Good, nuanced take on cannabis use — something I've been thinking about myself a lot as well.
Probably one of the most even-handed and well thought out pieces on ouid dependency that I've read in a long time, thank you for sharing.
I treat cannabis as a gift- with respect. I don’t want to abuse or disrespect it by always using it.
Thanks Jackie and also, thanks for talking with Vlad Bautista from my client Happy Munkey recently. Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy as I just became a grandpa for the first time 3 weeks ago.