Tag: getting high

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Cannabis Addiction

Cannabis leaf artwork

Being natural is normal. Being you without any exogenous chemicals is normal. But when you use a substance to get high while hiding behind the excuse, “it makes me normal,” then something is clearly wrong. No drug can make you normal. People want to see the real you and if you’re saying that drugs make you normal, then there is something that you’re doing wrong. Cannabis addiction is notorious for making users believe that the high makes the normal.

Drugs were never created to make you feel normal. There are many arguments behind the creation of drugs, but almost everyone will agree that drugs are not a replacement of your personality. If your personality is changing while experimenting with a drug, then please stop using the drug. If anything good is to be observed from drugs, it’s perhaps their great ability to make you more creative, allow you to think outside the box and relax more efficiently. But your personality must remain congruent with these drug-induced states, or else you’re allowing the drug to mold your personality into someone you’re not.

Breaking bad cannabis addiction chemistry sign

Cannabis Addiction is Real

Many people are still under the impression that you can’t get addicted to cannabis. Many uneducated people continue to push the line, “weed hasn’t killed anyone.” Cannabis addiction has nothing to do with deaths. Drugs such as cocaine, meth, MDMA and PCP can lead to deaths, but cannabis is not one of them. What cannabis shares in common with all other drugs is the potential for psychological addiction. The fact that cannabis doesn’t cause deaths is even more appealing to users. They believe, “if weed isn’t that bad, then why not keep using it?”

The physical safety net of cannabis acts like a reinforcer for people to keep using the drug. The more a person uses, the more they need to consume to get a similar high. This is because their mind, at the receptor and neurotransmitter level, becomes desensitized to the THC; it needs more of it to feel as high as before. So the user consumes more or spends more money on a higher quality product, until they become tolerant to the new dose. In addition, with practice comes perfection. A user will also learn how to more effectively function under a high state of mind, motivating them to consume the drug in different situations.

Overall, the idea of cannabis addiction is something to keep in the back of your mind if you’re a regular user. Reminding yourself of this possibility can help you regulate your intake, especially if you find yourself toking more. There is no shame in catching yourself smoking more and having to cut back down. Your mental health comes first; having fun always comes second.

Are you Ready? (This is Defeating Stigma Mindfully)

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It Makes Me Normal

Cute young woman holding green bong

The Lamest Excuse To Use A Drug

Being natural is normal. Being substance-free is normal. Being you without any exogenous chemicals is normal. When you use a substance to get high while hiding behind the excuse, “it makes me normal,” then something is clearly missing from your natural self when not under the influence. No drug can make you normal. None. Zip. Zero. Nil? Yes, nil! People want to see the real you and if you’re saying that drugs make you normal, then there is something that you’re doing wrong or suffering from.

Drugs were never created to make you feel normal. There are many arguments behind the creation of drugs, but almost everyone will agree that drugs are not a replacement of your personality. If your personality is changing while experimenting with a drug, then please discontinue that drug pronto. If anything good is to be observed of drugs, it’s perhaps their great ability to make you more creative, allow you to think outside the box and relax more efficiently. But your personality must remain congruent with these drug-induced experiences, or else you’re allowing the drug to mold your personality into someone who you’re not.

Don’t do that. Just be normal. Just be you (with/without drugs).

Are you Ready? (This is Defeating Stigma Mindfully)

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Getting High During Social Distancing

Person holding unrolled cannabis joint with grinders on table

Is Your Brain The Real Enemy?

With so much time on your hands, your brain begins to beg you, “Please give me some candy so I can feel bomb!” The problem with listening to your brain’s demands is the same problem when you listen to a child’s continuous requests: you give up power as they gain more control. Getting high during social distancing is certainly very tempting but you have to resist your brain’s desires.

The coronavirus pandemic is a perfect time to develop a drug addiction; hence, why you have to redirect your mind away from substances. With so much free time on your hands and mixed feelings regarding the current social situation, substances become an avenue of escape; a destination that is often hard to return back from.

Getting high helps you to enhance your isolation at home. It makes activities such as cruising the web, watching YouTube videos, having sex, eating and putting on a Netflix show much more enjoyable. That’s because substances hijack your reward center in the brain and release great amounts of dopamine; much more than naturally released when having sex with an attractive partner!

That’s why half the world is addicted to a substance; it’s like candy for adults. Just as children love sugar highs, adults love a state of intoxication. Since we are little, we have been programed by society to enjoy getting high. The difference between those who do and don’t comes down to many factors, including the current COVID-19 pandemic!

Getting high may truly make your social distancing experience more enjoyable; no one is denying that. But are the consequences worth it? When all of the smoke clears up and the coronavirus dies down, will you want to be in a position of stepping out in public with an addiction on your hands? If you do end up in that position, the real enemy was your brain who convinced you all along to get high and you fell for it!

So don’t allow your brain to become your enemy. It does not always look out for what’s best for you; the brain is quite selfish! The human brain is so smart that it comes up with ways of tricking you into giving it what it desires. And once you give it a glimpse into the world of getting high, it will take full advantage of the dopamine rushes by keeping you hooked on drugs as much as it possibly can.

Control your mind and you will be in a good position to carry forward.

Are you Ready? (This is Defeating Stigma Mindfully)

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The Gateway Drug

Person passing marijuana joint to another person's hand near outdoor trees

From Marijuana To Other Drugs

When people hear marijuana being the gateway drug, they are quick to become offended and dismiss the saying right away. But what they fail to admit is how marijuana increases one’s curiosity to either get higher or try a new substance that will provide a new effect. The gateway theory is not as farfetched as many would like you to believe.

Marijuana does an amazing job at enhancing your senses, making you think outside the box and helping you escape reality. Your perception while high is significantly altered: movies become more interesting, Netflix becomes your best friend, iTunes glows louder than ever before, hooking up feels better than ever before, etc.

Guess what happens when one starts coming down from a high, especially after having a good time? They want to get right back up. And that’s what they often do. The reinforcer is all the pleasurable activities that are enhanced by marijuana itself. But many eventually give up on marijuana, and not for a good reason.

They give up on it because they have lost their taste buds for the substance. They want something more potent that will take them to Pluto instead of Saturn (even though Saturn might be more safe and fun). And so that’s when marijuana users become influenced by others around them, “Hey man, have you ever tripped on acid before?”

In general, the use of marijuana can lead to an interest in recreational psychedelic use. Because high doses of marijuana itself can be a little trippy, it’s not unusual for many users to be attracted by the allure of tripping on magic mushrooms (psilocybin), LSD or even DMT.

But tripping is not done very often; nobody dedicates every weekend to using hallucinogens. So now the user scratches his or her head and thinks of a new drug to try. That’s when they become influenced by others around them again, “Hey man, there’s a party this weekend. Have you ever tried coke?”

In conclusion, that is what is meant by the gateway drug. People might wrongfully believe that “one hit of marijuana means hit one of something else”, but that’s incorrect. The gateway theory is based on the idea that regular use of marijuana can slowly spark one’s curiosity to alter his or her mind with a more powerful substance, or a substance that provides a different effect in general; not necessarily a stronger high.

That’s the gateway theory.

Are you Ready? (This is Defeating Stigma Mindfully)

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Addicted To A Lifestyle Of Drugs

A male driver making a drug payment through window

How To Help Someone With Drug Addiction

What is surprising to hear and learn is that the love for a substance is only half the battle; the other half is the lifestyle surrounding the drug. At first, a new substance makes you very excited; its discovery and introduction into your life brings you joy and floods your mind with anticipatory “high” sessions full of fun and excitement.

Until you become hooked. You have been chasing that first high which felt so great but never attainable again. You believed that with repetitive use, that first great high would be experienced again. You soon come to an acceptance that achieving that first great high will never happen again, but now you are confronted with a new problem: withdrawal.

Many users report that the lifestyle surrounding a drug is what they enjoy: getting the natural rush when heading towards “the spot” to obtain the drug, the paraphernalia of the drug, meeting with other users to share the drug, enjoying certain activities while high on the drug, etc.

When helping someone suffering from a drug addiction, you have to understand that their lifestyle has been hijacked from them:

  • They may no longer have money
  • They may no longer have family support or friends
  • They may be suffering from a physical or mental illness
  • They may have lost all hope and drive to better themselves
  • They may be on the verge of becoming homeless
  • They may be experiencing withdrawal symptoms, preventing them from obtaining a job (their job becomes preventing future withdrawals)

We have a tendency to become irritable and distasteful towards drug addicts. But we must remember one crucial point: we are all humans battling a different type of struggle. We must not look at each other as being better or worse; rather, we need to try to understand each other’s struggles and difficulties.

Listen to a drug addict’s stories, concerns, struggles and pain! Make suggestions and give advice at appropriate times, but in a calm and supportive manner. Expect relapses! They are part of the recovery process. Most importantly, use your heart and imagine being in their shoes! Do not put on your bias lenses which prevent you from understanding where they are coming from.

And lastly, never give up hope on someone suffering from a drug addiction! If they see you giving up on them, what bit of energy is left for them to not give up on themselves? Sometimes, you may be their last hope and if they lose that as well, what else is there to live for? That is when suicide becomes a viable option in the mind of a drug addict with poor judgement and a distorted reality.

Help prevent suicide, mental illness and suffering by being kind, listening and offering help to people suffering from a drug addiction!

Are you Ready? (This is Defeating Stigma Mindfully)

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