I’m pro legalization of Marijuana, both medical and recreational. Many states have made or are heading in the direction of legalization and that’s exciting.
However, I also am pro balance and I know that sometimes you can’t always do everything you want, when you want to. Sometimes it’s not just best for you to be smoking weed. The same can go for drinking, watching TV or even working too much. At a point in your life you need to think about what’s more important for you during this particular time in your life.
I also like to think that I won’t stop forever. It’s kinda like fast food, there are perks to eating fast food but also some downsides. You might really enjoy fast food but you know you can’t eat it everyday because it’s not benefiting you as much as other, homemade food does. However, if you want fast food once in a while, that’s okay, enjoy it. Get something special. But just know that if you start to eat it everyday then you’re going to end up farther from your goals.
Weed is similar. There are definitely benefits to it but also if you use it too much then you are actually doing yourself a disservice.
In this article, smoking can also refer to other means of consumption of marijuana such as edibles or vaping. Those don’t smell as much and are a little more discreet, but they have the same overall effects.
So here are 7 reasons why you should stop smoking weed, at least for a while.
1. It doesn’t have to be forever
As said above, it’s not like you have to quit and never smoke again. Sometimes it’s just not really beneficial to your life. Other times it is.
For example: When my parents died and I was in a deep depression and really questioning life, weed helped a lot with my anxiety and depression. It helped me bond with family members who also smoked as it was an escape from all the problems we were dealing with. If it wasn’t for weed I know things would have been a lot worse; there would have been more fighting, more crying and I may have found an unhealthy way to handle my emotions instead of talking about them with family and friends while smoking a bowl.
But, if you get married and decide to start a family, well, weed isn’t really something you need as much any more. That money is probably better spent on stuff for the house, bills or the kids. You can’t really sneak away as often to go smoke and even if you can there are probably more important things you could be doing.
Flash forward 20 years when the kids are all grown and out of the house, well hey, why not light up a joint and enjoy life? Your kids might even join you (if they are of legal age of course) and it can be a bonding experience just like having a drink with them can be a bonding experience.
So keep in mind, you don’t have to quit forever, but maybe for now.
2. It’s expensive
One of the worst things about good weed is it’s expensive. Depending on where you live prices can vary. And if you get the cheap stuff then it doesn’t get you as high so you end up smoking and buying more in the long run.
Depending on the person, a smoker can spend anywhere from $10 – $200 a week on weed, especially if you are sharing with others. I’m sure some people might even spend more. I’ve known people who have both spent no money and almost all their money on weed.
Let’s say you’re just spending $25 a week on weed. It doesn’t sound like a whole lot at first, but after a year that’s $1,300 that you’ve basically smoked and don’t have anything to show for it. You could have bought a new TV. You could have paid off a bill. What would you do with the extra money?
3. It’s time consuming
When you smoke it doesn’t seem like it but smoking takes up a lot of time. When you stop smoking you suddenly have a lot of extra time.
You might disagree at first, but just think… You have to go and get the weed, break it up, pack it or roll it and then to smoke it. Depending on how much you smoke this can take quite a bit of your time. Plus the time you spend high can also count, especially if you are just chillin’ and enjoying the high.
I will admit that some strains for weed do help you do be more productive and get things done, but what I’m talking about is the time it takes to smoke it, to get it, to pack it. That all takes time. Time that you could have used to do an extra task. Time you could use to do something you’ve been wanting to do but never have time for.
Think of all the things that you would have more time for if you didn’t smoke.
4. If you have kids around or plan to have kids, it’s not fair to them
There have been plenty of times when I’ve gone to a friends house who has kids and we sneak away to go smoke. I feel they can’t always really enjoy themselves though because they have to be paying attention and listening in case their kids need them. Sometimes they get paranoid and cut their session short.
Think of the money you are spending on weed that you could be spending on doing something with your kids. Think of the time spent that could have been spent on them or something for the house.
Kids deserve sober parents to be honest. Kids aren’t allowed to smoke or drink and for good reason. They are still developing. We don’t want them to form habits that aren’t beneficial for them. We want them to focus on school and being a kid.
So why is it okay or parents to smoke and maybe even drink around their kids? I do think a glass of wine is okay around kids but they always ask what it is and why they can’t have any. And then if you get drunk or buzzed and start acting silly, they wonder why. If you come inside smelling of weed, kids notice.
As they get older they can understand better, which could be either good or bad. Some kids don’t care. Some kids do, especially if they feel like you’d rather smoke than be with them or that you need to smoke to deal with them.
If you’re a parent yes you do deserve to enjoy your life, but also think, your kids are only going to be little for what, 10 years? You are responsible for them for 20 years. After that, have at it. But give them your full attention while they are in your care, not weed.
5. It can be addicting
I’ve smoked and quit and smoked again and quit again. For me, I can handle it, although I will say sometimes it’s hard to let go. I eventually do it, but sometimes I do need a little help and it can be a struggle.
Weed feels good. It’s habit forming. When you suddenly have extra time you don’t really know what to do with it. It makes you want to default back to smoking. Or if you have a bad day it’s a nice escape that you will no longer have. You need to find other ways to deal with your issues and to fill your time. Find something healthy to replace it with.
One of the best ways to stop smoking and break the addiction is to stop being around it. If you have lots of friends who smoke that you spend time with it’s going to be much harder for you to stop than it would be if you were around people who didn’t smoke. Out of sight out of mind.
6. It can messy
Smoking weed not only causes ash and resin but also just the process of packing the pipe or rolling the joint can be kinda messy.
And just think of all the stuff some people use when they smoke. Sure you only really need a lighter and a pipe or papers but many people have more tools than that. Experienced, regular smokers usually have a grinder, a paper clip, lighter, pipe, papers, ash tray and other random tools. Oh yeah, don’t forget the weed itself.
You can have an entire table full of your tools and weed. Pieces of it can fall on the floor. Ashes can fall on the floor. Resin ends up everywhere sometimes.
Resin itself is not only messy but actually pretty gross. If you were to pull out resin from a pipe and show someone who had never seen it before, they would be very confused and wonder why you’d want to smoke that. And it does not smell good. Not everyone smokes resin, but if all smokers have seen it. It’s that stuff that builds up in your pipe and then you eventually have to clean it or smoke it. And that process of cleaning it is messy.
7. It’s good to be sober minded and focused
“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” 1 Peter 5:8
A great example of this is actually from the Bible. It says in the Bible that it’s good to be sober minded, that you shouldn’t be a drunkard (or in weed talk a pothead). However, we all know that Jesus drank wine and so did many other people, but Jesus wasn’t a drunk.
Certain people were not permitted to drink like some priest or church leaders. They had really important jobs and if they were to be drunk, they would not be able to do their job to their full potential. Just like in today’s world if a doctor is on call, then he can’t drink or smoke because if he does and they call him, he won’t be able to do his job as well as he could sober.
I relate this to weed. It’s okay to smoke sometimes but it’s not good to be a pothead. It’s not good to smoke all day everyday. When you do this weed becomes your focus. You might even feel like you can’t function right if you don’t have it.
Spend more time sober than you do high. Weed should be used as a medicine when you need it or as a recreation when you’re having fun or need a pick me up. Weed shouldn’t be your main focus in life, it’s just there to enhance it.