Pubdate: Sun, 17 Apr 2016
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2016 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.theprovince.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
Author: Anna Pike
Note: Anna Pike is an associate store manager with a high-end home 
products retailer in Toronto who has an educational background in 
industrial design.
Page: 29

'GET OUT OF THE SMOKY FOG AND GET LIVING'

My name is Anna.

I smoked marijuana solidly for 22 years. When I smoked my first joint 
at 18 years of age, I thought I had found the path to endless 
happiness. In my 20s, using the drug was wonderful and manageable. 
But in my 30s, it became a problem, as any addiction does as you age.

I have not smoked marijuana for the past three months.

As the smoke has cleared, I am the happiest I have been in my life. I 
am about to turn 40 and am excited for this turning point, 
particularly because I don't have my old friend/ enemy living with me 
and controlling so many of my choices.

The impetus to quit was not a conscious one.

In November, I started a new job that was particularly mentally 
challenging for me. I found myself forgetting critical things, having 
erratic energy and living in a paranoid fog.

While I considered that pot might be the problem, I wasn't ready to give it up.

In February, I went on a two-week trip to Mexico with my family and 
my partner. I knew I would not be smoking pot and was OK with that.

What I didn't expect was how great I would feel.

Before that, I had never gone a day without smoking marijuana for 
more than 20 years. As the first week was done and my irritability 
waned, I was filled with an incredible joy.

The sky was brighter, the birds were more beautiful, the ocean was an 
absolute marvel.

My love for my family and partner was boundless. I even contemplated 
adopting a child to share this wonderful joy.

When I returned home, I happened to have no pot in the house, which 
was a good thing, as instinct and habit would have made me smoke.

As the days went on, and I remained pot-free, I became fearful of the 
prospect of smoking. The paranoia, the addiction, the uselessness of 
that drug became apparent to me.

That moment was when it became a conscious decision for me to remain 
pot-free - one day at a time.

I write this because I am concerned about the attitude to marijuana 
in our culture.

The new policies and laws being lobbied and passed to promote pot 
are, to me, equal to the big business of cigarettes.

I respect the use of cannabis for those in chronic pain or in 
palliative care with incurable ailments. It can be a light in a very 
dark place, and I acknowledge that.

My fear is the belief that it is a healthy recreational drug.

I fear for my nieces, both under 13, being able to purchase pot at 
the local store. I fear for people getting into a car and driving 
high. I fear for pregnant moms hurting their babies' brains, not to 
mention their own.

I would encourage pot smokers to get out of the smoky fog and get 
living, start dreaming when you sleep (my dreams have never been so 
vivid since I quit pot).

Stop worrying about the smell, getting arrested, how you are harming 
yourself and being unable to remember what you ate 10 minutes ago.

I would ask people to speak up against new legislation that promotes 
pot as healthy.

It doesn't make you more creative or interesting, it just dulls 
whatever issues you don't want to deal with.

Being smoke-free has forced me to live in the present and to be 
thankful for the wonders and beauty this world has to offer.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom