(About.com) In order to stop drinking, some people who have become dependent on alcohol will take the controversial step of substituting the use of marijuana for alcohol, a practice that is known as the Marijuana Maintenance program.
Although the use of marijuana may indeed be less hazardous than heavy drinking — especially to someone who has been drinking excessively for a long period of time — smoking pot comes with its own set of negative effects and consequences:
- In most jurisdictions, the possession and use of marijuana is illegal. [TRUE link]
- According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, marijuana can contribute to mental health problems. [FALSE link link]
- Use of marijuana can also have long-term effects on the health of regular users. [FALSE link]
- Smoking marijuana can affect the user’s learning and social skills. [FALSE link]
- Long-term marijuana use can affect a smoker’s memory and speed of thinking. [FALSE link]
Also, for those who later decide to quit smoking marijuana, the withdrawal symptoms when they try to quit smoking can be similar to those experienced by people who quit smoking cigarettes. [FALSE link]
Here’s what I know:
- I am the child of an alcoholic.
- I had my first drinks at age 16
- By age 19, I too was an alcoholic. I could drink a case of beer a day. I could drink faster than you. I could drink more than you. My drinking helped me flunk out of college (me, a 3.44 GPA high school honors student who’d been in “gifted & talented” programs all my life)
- At age 22 I had my first puff of a joint.
- Up to about age 32 I continued to drink more than smoke, but I was no longer chugging beers every day. My drinking was limited to a shot or two (or four or six) at my weekend music gigs.
- Since age 32 (I’m 41 now) I have drastically increased my marijuana intake and my drinking now may be a margarita or a glass of wine every other month.
Or we could just refer to the work of the late great Dr. Tod Mikuriya:
Ninety-two Northern Californians who use cannabis as an alternative to alcohol obtained letters of approval from the author. Their records were reviewed to determine characteristics of the cohort and efficacy of the treatment, which was defined as reduced harm to the patient. All patients reported benefit, indicating that for at least a subset of alcoholics, cannabis use is associated with reduced drinking. The cost of alcoholism to individual patients and society at large warrants testing of the cannabis-substitution approach and study of the drug-of-choice phenomenon.
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I switched from booze to cannabis and my overall well-being has improved immensely.
Over the last 6 months I’ve observed the following: 20 lb drop in body weight, lower blood pressure, better sleep, NO HANGOVERS, better marriage, and best of all – no more alcohol drama!
Yes, I will still drink on social occasions but the 3-4 times a week merry-go-round bender is clearly over for me.
I was an excessive abuser of alcohol for about six years. I’m 30 years old now, but from the time I was about 24, up until about six months ago, I drank every day. I mean, every day. I started noticing pain in my lower back consistently and also started to experience frequent heart palpitations. I also smoked cigarettes pretty heavily. I’ve always smoked weed on occasion. I’d go through phases where I wouldn’t hit it for over a year. I even went two whole years without getting high in my early twenties. I started a very stressful job at a call center in 2007 and my drinking started getting even worse. Eventually, I graduated from just beer to my new poison of choice, gin. I would pour myself gin and tonic, gin and soda, gin on the rocks… then wash them down with about sixer. This would easily be 4 or 5 days of the week. Not only was it getting expensive, but my wife and I had started to have some pretty explosive arguments while I was hammered. It all came to a head one night when I put a hole through our bedroom wall with my fist, and kicked the door off of its hinges when my wife tried to keep me out. I’m getting emotional just typing about it…
I knew I had a problem and I didn’t know how to fix it. I was having trouble with cravings and decided to buy a bag to kind of curb them. I started smoking it regularly about six months ago. Now I have maybe a six pack of beer every couple of weeks and only in social settings. My wife and I are getting a long great. I even quit smoking cigarettes! Marijuana has improved my quality of life by leaps and bounds. It saddens me that such a wonderful, medicinal plant can be outlawed when alcohol is destroying lives on a regular basis. I don’t think I need the weed to keep from drinking excessively anymore, but I also just love how it helps me wind down after a tough day at work. I only smoke a few hours before bed and I can’t remember the last time I didn’t get a solid 8 hours of sleep since I started smoking daily. Weed has quite possibly save my life and marriage.
I quit drinking almost 28 yrs ago.
I did attend a treatment center here
in N.H. for they’re 28 day program and was
educated about alcohol. I went to A.A. for about 3
months and found it was not for me. In treatment I learned
about marijuana maintenance and was told that that road would
most likely lead me back to drinking.
The most annoying thing about quitting was the inability to get to sleep.
I had smoked weed occasionally but never cared for the effect but knew it did make me tired.
Seeing as I was not trying to replace alcohol with weed but using it as a way to get some sleep
I decided to give it a try.Just a few hits in the evening and zzzz out I went!
When I started doing this I smoked about 1/4oz every two weeks just in the evening before bed
and now after 28 yrs of no alcohol I smoke about 1/4oz every two weeks and sleep like a baby!
The down side to all this is last yr I was ‘ratted” on for growing 8 plants and am facing felony charges
from the State of New Hampshire (3 1/2 to 7 yrs) for not being the drunk that killed some ones daughter or son! I still do not believe this is the answer for all alcohol problems because I think if you try to substitute a booze buzz with weed you will be sadly disappointed, but for me it definitely was the ticket.
I am 34 and have been drinking since 19 yrs of age. My regual drink would be about 7 ounces of brandy mixed with coke or pepsi about 3 times a week. I didn’t like what was happening with me, I knew my liver was being harmed.
I looked into the medical marijuana card and started using like 1 joint twice a week. Since I have been donig that, I have cut down on my drinking to practically twice a month. I have only been doing this for about 2 months but I have noticed the desire for alcohol to not be as strong.
When I want a drink I usually do drink a beer but feel like crap afterward and regret it. I kick myself for not smoking a bowl through the vaporizer. My sleep is better when I use the herb and I am more peaceful with my family.
My wife encourages me to not drink and rather take a hit or two from the vaporizer on occasion. I hope it becomes legal in Califorinia because it’ll thwart a lot of crime and violence.
Research has demonstrated that Medical Marijuana is a highly effective treatment for Alcohol Dependence. We have a web page devoted to this topic. Please check out Marijuana Maintenance – Cannabis Substitution for Alcohol Dependence at http://hamsnetwork.org/mm
hey all,
ok, let see,,,, first drink when i was 12, but i didn’t start drinking till 18, colege, serrious problems by the age of 25, tried doctors, anidepresents … the aaa, the alcohol treatment centers …. nothing worked ….
all just crap …. started smoking weed about a year ago,,,,, been great ,,,, i’m 31 now …. feel good ,,,, got to work everyday …. i just got a mortocycle…. wen’t back to school …. i have to say that weed saved my life ….
i hope weed gets leagal and alcholo becomes ilegal …. weed works for me, and i bet it works for a lot of people ,,,,, and think of the other thousends of people that it could help….. no i’m not a looser ,,,, a have a degree in mechanical engineering,,,, and now i’m taking phothographing jurnalisim …. weed saved my life ,,,, thank god …. hahah …. oh … i’m a catlic … i go to church every sunday …. so …. what gives you the right to juge me …. trust me if you saw me 3 years ago and now …. you would not recognize me …. totaly diffrent peorson …. i guess i have my mirrace …. it just sucks that i might go to jail for trying to have a life …. that’s all ….. ……………….. to all the hatters …… who the fu…. gives you the right to juge… show me how can you help me ……… ???????????? ….. well …….. ?????????? …. you can”t ………
weed can …. weed did ………….. thanks all ………… :) paw
I have a medical card an have bi polar disorder i was in the mental faclity for depression and wanting to kill my self …………… iwas there from feb 5 til about 3 days ago. iwas sober when admitted. An have not beeen ever sad or stuff when i smoke an i eat much better i gained like 30 pounds….. i looked an felt grt. I’m a lesbian i had isssues with her my finances were like nothing……. just everything piling up…….. so i thought going to seek help would be good……… well first than took my cigarettes, an gave me patch ………..and the doped me up…….i never mentioned my card…………. so I did what needed 2 do to keep them happy but on my release with my medication……I am now <sentenced 2 90 meetings in 90 days ………..so now I only eat like 1 time a day…. I'm sick too my tummy an goin thru hell…. any suggestions…………ty
I would like to share my story. I’ll condense of course. My grandfather,& father died of lung cancer. And were alcoholics. I to became an alcoholic, cig smoker. When my girlfriend left me. And took my family with her, because of my drinking. I decided it had to stop. For so long I had felt like a prisoner. Unable to escape the horrors of addiction. I had lost everything. I decided that I was going to quit drinking and never look back. But I needed help. I looked into getting help from a doctor. But it was expensive. And the pharmaceuticals they were trying to feed me, seemed…. harmful. I smoked a joint. And I was happy after five years. I was happy. And I took it one day at a time. It has been 2 years since alcohol has touched my lips. I am happy other than feeling like a criminal to curb my addiction to alcohol. Or the fact that if I need more medicine. I have to buy from someone I normally would not associate with. I also have been nicotine free for 2 months. I have my fingers crossed but addiction takes time to break free from. I am very happy with marajuana. I jog every day, I eat healthy and cannot remember feeling this well. Unless you count child hood. I just want to be happy. And if a plant, and some healthier life style choices can make me happy then, I would rather be a healthy happy criminal. Then a drunk violent cigarette smoker with lung disease. Thank you for your time.
The INVERSE is also true.
Lack of cannabis, cannabis-prohibition,
the spectre of long-term
detectability in drug-tests,
and to a lesser-extent, the prevalence of
crappy ditchweed over higher-quality
food-grade herb, tends to cause people to
partake of the more-dangerous flammable-beverage.
God forbid that
this tragic-absurdity continue any longer!!!
Cannabinoids PROMOTE NEUROGENESIS,
(and vice-versa!!!)
I am a recovering alcoholic….if I drink nothing good will come from it and I will not be able to stop….cannabis has helped me not to need the drink…..I wish that my father and grandfather had used weed instead because both died tragic alcoholic deaths….it is a medicine to help people stay off alcohol…no doubt.
There has been alcohol in my family for many generations. My children grew up without any of the problems associated with alcohol because I chose weed. This choice had the added benefit of a relatively low stress lifestyle for ALL of us.
With weed I have been able to alter the course of history for my family and NO ONE can confiscate that.
Hell YES, it works.
Addiction is in my family’s genetic make-up, with alcoholism being the key player, I used to work for a major beer distributor and had access to all the beer I could stand, I used to be a sailor, and I play in a band, in and out of bars every week. I’ve done my fair share of “sport drinking”. I used to smoke a pack a day, and I’ve smoked cannabis for the past 15 years.
Once I started educating myself on the benefits of the good bud, I realized that it was time to ditch the “ditchweed”, and seek out the more carefully grown stuff that I was reading about.
Many years, and many hook-ups later, it became clear that there was a lot more to it than just getting stoned for the hell of it.
In January of this year, just to appease my own curiosity, I started self medicating on a more routine basis- at least 3 times a day- like a dietary supplement. Since then…
I barely drink anymore, maybe one or two, at best occasionally; I put down the cigarettes in May and have not had a single one since then, without the cravings or the urge to kill; my overall health is as good as it has ever been; I’m more active and personable these days; and, if I wanna settle into a nice hazy “stone” for the evening, I know that I won’t run the risk of doing something stupid to myself or anyone else, nor will I feel like hell the next morning.
If I had my way, MARIJUANA, would be in health food stores across the land- with an age restriction, of course.
So, here’s to your health America!
Smoke it if you got it.
I haven’t had a drink this year.
I made some of those 00 caps with the recipe from THCF, I think, and I feel FINE all day…*
Weed definitely helped me kick the drinking. And drinking made me crave cigarettes, which I’ve also been able to abstain from this year (until someone hands me a cold beer).
If the 00 coconut/canna caps just aren’t doing it, I’ll crank up the vaporator (I just made that up, it’s a Vapor Bros. vaporizer) and once in a while I’ll still burn a fatty.
Now, if I could kick these Dienfall PM’s!
*the super-condensed version of that recipe: saute an ounce or so of pureed dried schwagbud in virgin coconut oil for 20 mins on low heat while stirring occasionally, encapsulate ensuing sludge when cool.
Start with one, to see how you react.
Four keeps me relatively mobile and painless for four or five hours.
I’ve found that drinkning ruins my buzz.