{"id":4412,"date":"2022-02-24T15:44:04","date_gmt":"2022-02-24T15:44:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/wp-home\/?p=194935"},"modified":"2022-02-24T15:44:04","modified_gmt":"2022-02-24T15:44:04","slug":"r-leaves-why-would-someone-want-to-quit-cannabis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=4412","title":{"rendered":"r\/leaves: Why would someone want to quit cannabis?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>  <title>r\/leaves: Why would someone want to quit cannabis? | Leafly<\/title>     <!-- This is Index Exchange, a script\/\/3rd-party integration that interjects GAM. It needs to be 'ahead' of GTM in the DOM, which comes from Cephalopod. GTM loads GAM. This script needs to setup it's interjection stuff before GAM loads. --> <!-- End Index Exchange --> <!-- Quotes = strings--><!-- No quotes = boolean-->\t   <!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v17.5 (Yoast SEO v17.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->                  <!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. --> <\/p>\n<p> <!-- BEGIN Sailthru Horizon Meta Information --><\/p>\n<p><!-- END Sailthru Horizon Meta Information -->  <!-- Google Publisher Tag --> <!-- End Google Publisher Tag --> <!-- Google Tag Manager --> <!-- End Google Tag Manager --> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat --><br \/>\n <!-- Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->   <\/p>\n<div id=\"copy_clipboard_success\" class=\"fixed top-0 left-0 right-0\">\n<div class=\"bg-white p-lg container mt-xl flex justify-between elevation-low rounded\"> <span class=\"flex items-center\">     <span class=\"ml-md\">Link copied to your clipboard<\/span> <\/span> <button id=\"copy_clipboard_close_btn\">    <\/button> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <!-- End Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->   <title>Leafly<\/title>     <title>Leafly \u00ae<\/title>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              <title>Loading\u2026<\/title>                     <\/p>\n<div class=\"bg-white fixed flex hidden inset-0 items-start md:h-auto md:items-center overflow-auto\" id=\"age-gate-container\">\n<div class=\"bg-white md:h-auto mx-auto p-lg text-sm w-full\" id=\"age-gate\">\n<p><label for=\"select-country\">Where are you from?<\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"age-gate__info\">\n<p><button class=\"button\" data-testid=\"age-gate-no-button\" id=\"tou-cancel\">no<\/button><button class=\"button ml-md\" data-testid=\"age-gate-yes-button\" id=\"tou-continue\">yes<\/button><\/p>\n<p><label class=\"checkbox__label my-xl\"><span class=\"text-xs\" id=\"remember-user-label\">Remember me for 30 days. <br \/>I confirm that this is not a shared device.<\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<p class=\"error error--underage hidden\">Darn! You&#8217;re not old enough to use Leafly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"hidden age-gate__loading\">Redirecting you to<span class=\"redirect-domain\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-xs mt-auto\">By accessing this site, you accept<br \/>\nthe <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"tou-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/terms-of-use\">Terms of Use<\/a><br \/>\nand <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"pp-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"container my-xl\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col md:col-9\" id=\"article-content\">\n<p>\u201cIt was nice to know that I wasn\u2019t the only person struggling with quitting. Weed has become so normalized in British Columbia that I felt embarrassed to open up to any of my friends about what I was going through because half of them didn\u2019t even believe it was a drug.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gerald* is speaking about the online community of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/leaves\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">r\/leaves<\/a>, a subreddit on the popular forum-of-forums Reddit. A community of more than 220,000 members, r\/leaves has become the go-to online hub for anyone seeking support as they quit using cannabis, or any related product, such as Delta-8.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>Cannabis has long been a valid recreational substance and a reputable medical treatment, but it is far from benign. While cannabis isn\u2019t as addictive as potent drugs as cocaine and methamphetamines, it can still be habit-forming. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health <a href=\"https:\/\/www.camh.ca\/en\/health-info\/mental-illness-and-addiction-index\/cannabis\">states<\/a> that \u201cafter regularly using cannabis for a long period of time, people can develop physical dependence. If they stop using, they may experience mild withdrawal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cannabis consumers tend to have a strong community, and groups like r\/leaves let folks gain a new support system. <\/p>\n<p>Members regularly report on the struggles they experience trying to wean off their cannabis habits. They often asking for advice on how to get over, say, the one-week hurdle when cravings try to draw them out of abstinence.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>For Gerald, now 9 months sober, his first and only post on r\/leaves gave him an opportunity to voice his battle with the drug, which he explained in his writing: \u201cBefore this subreddit, I don\u2019t think I ever would have told anyone in person that I was struggling and am eternally grateful I took that armour off and admitted I needed help.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He didn\u2019t necessarily curb his cravings through the encouraging comments on his post, but rather through what others were writing on the subreddit. \u201cI would just check the group whenever I felt a craving coming on,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re like waves and I needed to learn to ride them properly. In the past, I would always cave to my cravings, when they came on after I would check r\/leaves as a way of reminding myself what I was quitting for, and why it was worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Quitting cannabis doesn\u2019t have to be a bummer<\/h2>\n<p>A perusal through the all-time top posts on r\/leaves reveals how brazenly honest (and cheeky) this community has become a haven for cannabis fans looking to ditch the joints forever. <\/p>\n<p>One post is headlined with, \u201cMy sober self is trying to convince myself to get high while my high self is convincing myself to get sober,\u201d and another one reads, \u201c46 days clean, and I shot my bong to celebrate never going back!\u201d <\/p>\n<p>A top submission on the cuter side, features photos of puppies the members have bought in light of having more money since they quit spending it on weed.<\/p>\n<p>Within the support community, the comments are refreshingly troll-free and encouraging, with statements like \u201cYou got this!\u201d peppering many posts where pot quitters have begun their arduous journey to go weed-free. <\/p>\n<p>Others use the comments section to ask for advice, such as one person inquiring how other folks deal with the boredom of sobriety (answer: trips to the beach, working out, finding a new hobby).<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-reddit wp-block-embed-reddit\"><\/figure>\n<p>When longtime toker Nancy* wanted to hang up the rolling papers after smoking daily for 10 years, she didn\u2019t realize how difficult it would be. Then she found r\/leaves. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cReading how others successfully quit also reinforced that I could quit too,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen I posted my progress, the group was supportive and told me to keep going. It was nice to hear from those that understood what it was like to quit, and how they coped.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Living in Moncton, Nancy, 52, is close to four months sober, and in one of her posts she explained why she made that decision: \u201cI have let weed cloud my judgement and mask things I did not want to face for too long, and it is time to get my life back.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-xxl wp-block-leafly-blocks-leafly-related-articles\">\n<p><h2>You may also like:<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The online community has come a long way since it began 11 years ago. On its first day, around 12 posts populated the forum. Today the forum averages 1,300 posts and comments daily, attracting around 302,00 unique visitors monthly. <\/p>\n<p>As one of the mods <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/leaves\/comments\/kt4yie\/leaves_turns_10_years_old_today_some_some_notes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a> last year, the site\u2019s popularity has only society\u2019s changing views to thank.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we started there was little, if any, acceptance that cannabis could pose dependency problems in anyone, and I absolutely credit each of you speaking openly about your experience as a big factor in the spreading awareness and understanding of addiction we have today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>*names have been changed for anonymity <\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"author-box\" class=\"p-lg my-xxl bg-white rounded border border-light-grey elevation-low\">\n<div class=\"mb-lg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/r-leaves-why-would-someone-want-to-quit-cannabis.jpg\" alt=\"David Silverberg's Bio Image\" class=\"lazyload inline-block mr-md rounded-full border border-light-grey\"> <\/p>\n<p>David Silverberg<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"text-sm\">David Silverberg is a freelance journalist who writes for The Toronto Star, BBC News, The Washington Post, Business Insider, Cannabis Health, Merry Jane, High Times and many other outlets. He is also a writing coach helping freelance journalists and creatives level up their careers.<\/p>\n<p> <a class=\"text-sm font-bold underline text-green\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/author\/david-silverberg\">View David Silverberg&#8217;s articles<\/a> <\/div>\n<div class=\"leafly-sailthru-signup p-lg my-xl bg-white rounded elevation-low border border-light-grey\">\n<p class=\"text-xs pt-lg\">By submitting this form, you will be subscribed to news and promotional emails from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\">Leafly<\/a> and you agree to Leafly&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/tos\">Terms of Service<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>. You can unsubscribe from Leafly email messages anytime.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat -->  <!--\nPerformance optimized by W3 Total Cache. Learn more: https:\/\/www.boldgrid.com\/w3-total-cache\/ Served from: _ @ 2022-02-24 07:44:13 by W3 Total Cache\n--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>r\/leaves: Why would someone want to quit cannabis? | Leafly Link copied to your clipboard Leafly Leafly \u00ae Loading\u2026 Where are you from? noyes Remember me for 30 days. I confirm that this is not a shared device. Darn! You&#8217;re not old enough to use Leafly. Redirecting you to By accessing this site, you accept the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. \u201cIt was nice to know that I wasn\u2019t the only person struggling with quitting. Weed has become so normalized in British Columbia that I felt embarrassed to open up to any of my friends about what I was&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4413,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marijuana_information"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/r-leaves-why-would-someone-want-to-quit-cannabis.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4412\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}