# Replacing Alcohol with Pot?



## bigstupidgrin

So I'm taking 2022 off from alcohol; a 'livercation'. I somehow got away with stopping cold turkey and mostly don't miss it, or at least I never get tempted. In 2023 I'm planning on limiting to 2 drinks once a week. If that doesn't stick, I'll just stay away for good. For background, I was teetering the line between heavy drinker-functional alcoholic.

I do miss some kind of mind-altering fun, so I was thinking about edibles. Smoking/bongs don't appeal to me. I've tried candy bars in the past. I did the noob thing; ate too much, and had a bad time. Internet searches don't seem to lean heavily for or against it.

Like my drinking plan in 2023: pot would be a once/week thing.

Anybody try this?

(edit: it's legal where I live)


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## bot kino

I don't recommend either one. Deal with the pain of life and construct positive outlets to help cope. Feel exhausted? Take a little nap. Bored? Read a book, get out of the house or do whatever you like to do. Depressed, anxious or stressed? Drugs and alcohol make it far worse. Both alcohol and cannabis have addictive potential. Most people who smoke weed don't really do it once a month and can cause lifestyle impairments and general indifference, and alcohol is literal poison would be highly illegal if discovered today. I'm a former alcoholic and it really gets out of hand, trust me. You develop a tolerance and it only grows more and more. I'm not kidding, I don't catch any happy buzz until I've had probably at least 6 drinks, and even if I take a break, it barely changes. Tolerance becomes more and more permanent the more you drink. It will ruin your life any kill if you keep doing it. Personally, it never worked for me to only drink a little on special occasions, or cut back, only total abstinence works for me, because when I have one drink I feel worse than I did sober, and the only way to 'undo' it is to drink more and more and roll with it. Quit for two months and make some lifestyle alterations like diet and exercise and honestly, you won't feel like going back.

With weed, I personally detest the stuff, I don't like the way it makes me feel and people who're high are usually annoying, but if you simply MUST live with something, ya it carries less risk than alcohol.

I think the brain lives in a delicate balance, and I think you'll be happier with nothing except food and water if you give it a fair chance.


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## shameless

I believe weed should be decriminalized, and legal. I would be lying to saying I never take a toke or ever eat a brownie. But I would not say it is my thing. Even with a ton of exposure to it, in my life.

While I have in the past argued to defend a few recovering narcotics addicts, by supporting their desire to supplement with weed. At least transitional. I'd say that I agree with the above user, the best supplemental addiction people can pick up when switching habits, is definitely healthy living (diet/exercise).

While I know the whole all or nothing self denial suggestion, on quitting alcohol is the popular path to recovery. I do not necessarily believe in that method. I personally think the psychology behind self denial like that keeps more people in a on/off wagon cycle, than if they tried other forms of discipline. Because many of the people are holding themselves to too high of standard. So when they relapse, many just say fuck it and go nutzo.

As far as weed, I just think it is over rated. I always have. Longterm it does have the potential to cause severe memory issues. While the longterm ailments of weed are usually far less concerning than those of chronic alcohol use, I still think many people minimize there are longterm concerns with weed.


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## Flabarac Brupip

Well at least pot doesn't kill unless maybe you do something stupid like drive your vehicle high. Alcohol can kill just from what it does to your body.

Plus I smoke weed almost every day while being on psych meds for schizophrenia, and it doesn't make me backslide into psychosis. Whereas I'm pretty sure drinking every day would, just from what I observe in myself from my own experience.


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## WickerDeer

@bigstupidgrin 

congratulations on eliminating alcohol!

Edibles are stronger and longer lasting than smoking. And they are longer lasting than alcohol and smoking as well. You can be under the influence for hours or even days if you take too much.

If you want to experiment with an edible, I would consider a sublingual so that you can measure out exactly how much and then start with the low dose and see how you feel. You also won't be tempted to eat more because of taste, unlike edible cookies etc.


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## WickerDeer

There's also a growing industry of alcohol alternatives that are sort of nootropics.

Drinks like Kin






I haven't tried any, but you could look them up--they are probably made with things like passionflower tea, ashwagandha, melatonin, perhaps kava kava etc.

So there are teas you could make yourself but they won't really get you "high" the same way alcohol or cannabis will.

Cannabis is probably one of the least dangerous.


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## littlewyng

OK I totally misread this as "replacing alcohol with pet." which i highly recommend, since pot (especially legal pot) is expensive.


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## tanstaafl28

bigstupidgrin said:


> So I'm taking 2022 off from alcohol; a 'livercation'. I somehow got away with stopping cold turkey and mostly don't miss it, or at least I never get tempted. In 2023 I'm planning on limiting to 2 drinks once a week. If that doesn't stick, I'll just stay away for good. For background, I was teetering the line between heavy drinker-functional alcoholic.
> 
> I do miss some kind of mind-altering fun, so I was thinking about edibles. Smoking/bongs don't appeal to me. I've tried candy bars in the past. I did the noob thing; ate too much, and had a bad time. Internet searches don't seem to lean heavily for or against it.
> 
> Like my drinking plan in 2023: pot would be a once/week thing.
> 
> Anybody try this?
> 
> (edit: it's legal where I live)



I've been doing both once a week. When I'm done, I'm done (I poured out some booze last week). I also try to make sure I go to bed at a reasonable time and rarely, if ever, do it on a work night.


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