Whether you are looking to reduce consumption to reduce the tolerance generated over the years, to detoxify your body for a few months, to deal with a dependency / abuse condition or because you plan to stop using Cannabis altogether, having a strategy in mind will always be the best way to deal with the situation.

So if you are in your first attempt to reduce your consumption or you are a frequent user with several unsuccessful attempts, do not worry, here I share 7 tips to achieve it.

Table of Contents:

• 7 tips to quit marijuana

1. Gradually decrease consumption
2. Find a support network 
3. Modify the habit of consumption 
4. Understand why you are using
5. Put obstacles that hinder your access to consumption.
6. Eliminate scenarios associated with consumption
7. Incorporate new activities 

• Reasons to do a detox

Tips to quit marijuana

Many cannabis users, when we start our consumption for recreational purposes, we tend to not worry about the frequency with which we use the plant, not feeling that it is directly limiting the development of our lives.

It is only when we begin to need greater amounts to obtain the same effect or we feel that we do not enjoy life in the same way when we are not elevated, that we realize that something is not right.

First of all, if you are part of the group of users who seek to reduce their consumption because they consider that it is becoming abusive or generating dependency, do not panic, it is not the end of the world , but if you should pay attention and work to solve it or improve it. 

First of all, I recommend that you take a look at the other articles in the responsible consumption section of the blog.

Second, I will tell you that you are not in a dead end, although abandoning a substance that you have been using regularly and frequently is not easy, it will be easier for you than abandoning other substances of our daily life, such as alcohol and tobacco. 

I tell you this because dependence on Cannabis is mainly due to a psychological component, secondary to the constant stimulation of our biological reward system by the plant’s cannabinoids.

Something very different from the biochemical dependence resulting from the prolonged use of tobacco and alcohol, which can even, in heavy users who suddenly stop drinking, have fatal outcomes.

Tip number 1: Slowly decrease consumption

It is no coincidence that this is the first tip on the list and it is that completely abandoning the use of Cannabis, suddenly, will not be an easy task, especially if you are a frequent user accustomed to high doses.

The abandonment of any substance to which we have created dependence may generate symptoms when trying to quit and Cannabis is no exception, being able to cause symptoms such as:

• Anxiety
• Irritability
• Insomnia
• D esmotivación
• D intensive consume eseos
• Loss of appetite
• Among others

The intensity of these will be exacerbated if we abruptly stop consumption, so a gradual decrease will be the best option .

How to do a staggered descent?

• You can start by reducing the frequency of times you smoke per day or per week. If we smoke 3 times a day reduce it to 2 or 1.
• Another way to approach the situation is to reduce the amount of weed you use, if we usually smoke a 1 g joint every time we smoke, reduce it to a 0.5 – 0.3 g joint.

Once we feel good about these quantities and frequencies, we can reduce them again until we reach our goal. 

Nipping the problem in the bud may not be the best idea in this situation and on the contrary, it could increase the possibility that you will relapse. 

Tip Number 2: Support Network 

When we try to quit a habit that we find hard to quit, it is essential to have a good support network. 

We recommend that you tell your partner, your family and your close friends that you are trying to reduce or eliminate your consumption, in this way you will not only be able to count on them to support you during this process, but you will also have an external reminder that you must stay in foot to reach your goal.

It is a good idea that you tell your friends and people with whom you usually use Cannabis what you are trying, in this way those invitations to consume that often play as a temptation difficult to ignore will stop arriving.

Tip Number 3: Modify the habit built on consumption 

It is very common for us to build a habit or routine around our cannabis use, such as smoking when we wake up, before going to sleep or when doing a specific activity.

A very useful strategy to break this association that our brain has made is to replace the act of smoking with another activity in these routines. This other activity can be anything, have a cup of coffee, meditate, exercise, walk your pet or any activity that your creativity and personal tastes decide.

On the other hand, modify the hours and moments of the day in which we usually consume Cannabis, for example; Smoking at night, if we usually smoke in the morning, will help us to deconstruct these habits created around our consumption.

Tip number 4: Why are you using it?

Many recreational users often develop an abusive use of Cannabis when using it as a form of self-medication, even though this can happen in an unconscious way. 

It is considered self-medication to use any substance autonomously to alleviate any unwanted symptoms, such as using cannabis to sleep, for stress, for anxiety or to increase our appetite. 

When these symptoms are frequently found in our daily lives, it is common to resort to a systematic use of Cannabis in the search to alleviate them.

Carrying out an introspection task where we ask ourselves the reasons why we are smoking so frequently, can be very helpful to be in full consciousness and find a different way to face these problems.

Tip number 5: Create obstacles that hinder your access to consumption.

This is a simple but at the same time very useful tip to try to reduce our consumption and consists of designing strategies that do not allow it to be easy for us to consume.

They can be actions such as hiding in different parts of the house the necessary implements for smoking. This will not only make it more difficult for us to get it, but it will allow us to realize and regret what we do while we are finding each element.

Another very useful strategy is to keep a minimum amount of grass and give our harvest to a friend, in this way we will not have it within our reach as a temptation. If it is not in your availability to cultivate, you can do the same avoiding buying large quantities and limiting yourself only to buying what you will consume each time.

Tip number 6: Eliminate scenarios associated with consumption

We all have favorite situations to consume Cannabis, it can be to meet that particular friend or group of friends with whom we usually smoke or vaporize, a certain type of music that we like to listen to when we are high or that park in which we usually sit for a while to enjoy a cañito.

A useful tool to reduce our consumption can be to avoid frequenting those friends with whom we usually use Cannabis, not listening to music that makes us want to smoke and / or looking for a different route home that does not include the park that we usually frequent for that purpose. .

Those small actions that seem insignificant are precisely those that will be added to make it easier to achieve our goal.

Tip number 7: Incorporate new activities 

Finally, a tip that could not be missed is to occupy our time in new activities, this will help us keep our mind away from the desire to consume and will allow us to reconnect with activities that perhaps we had abandoned for a long time. 

Exercising is usually an excellent option for this purpose, not only because it will allow us to keep busy while we improve our physical condition, but because after exercising, our body releases endogenous cannabinoids that will give us a feeling of well-being that will make it easier to reduce or abandon the consumption.

Learning to play an instrument, read a book, paint, take a walk in the city or in the mountains can be activities that help us keep our thoughts elsewhere and at the same time reconnect with that hobby that we had neglected.

Reasons to do a detox

If at this moment you are still doubting whether or not you should reduce your consumption or not, ask yourself, why should I do it? 

• A detox time will allow us to decrease our tolerance, which will make us need less grass to be high and have a better effect when using it.
• Decreasing our consumption will allow us to learn again how to enjoy the different elements of our life that we no longer enjoy without being under the influence of cannabis.
• Reducing our consumption will help us eliminate those symptoms associated with abusive or dependent use.
• Limiting the times of the day dedicated to consuming cannabis will allow us to take time to recover those activities and hobbies that we had neglected.
• Chronic consumption of any substance produces negative consequences on your health, so abandoning them or reducing their consumption will have a positive impact on your physical and psychosocial well-being.

It is important to emphasize that these tips that we give you are strategies based on scientific articles and our experience to help you achieve this purpose. Yet these tools may not be of use to everyone, and in no way do I hope to replace or replace the help that a qualified healthcare professional can offer you.

Finally, I would like to end this blog by reminding you that having an abusive use of cannabis or any other substance does not make you a bad person, we should not at any time feel inferior or less valuable as human beings because we are going through a situation of dependency. Being aware of our situation is the most important step and having the courage to face it is the second.

I hope this blog has been useful to you.