oh i just wanted to add too, that i am looking for suggestions of healthy alternatives to smoking pot. How can I learn to relax. Are there truly any quick fixes? What has helped you guys to quit or get through cravings.

37 over here and struggling with the weed addiction for over 20 years now. So no you are far from alone, and to tell you the truth all those people that do it, I have a feeling like if they could quit they would. I "think" many people who become daily users like me started young, and since it won't kill you they just keep on doing it.

Of course it's impossible finding people that think the same as us about the harmful emotional effects and more that this can pose.

Try and keep strong, if there are meetings in your are for MA try that out. Though I have gone I can't say that the whole time has been positive, but where else can you go in real life to get help with other people? If you can find meetings try and focus on talking about it and listening to other people, I tend to block all the higher power stuff and try my damnedest to ignore the if you don't get a sponsor and work the book you will fail and other negative things they say to people to get them to join, but yeah random thought.

2 weeks clean over here, minus that one day I messed up and felt like crap because of it. I do believe it only gets better over time so one day at a time. For me the hardest part is not going back and buying the day after, but if I can make it past day one it's like a half life on the weed....unfortunately like the nuclear stuff I don't believe that half life ever dies out, and in many ways I'll be living with my addiction till the day I die.

I love living in the moment and not having pot on my mind or a need to smoke. It's the most freeing feeling I've ever had in my whole life being clean.

if I do go out and do it again I highly doubt I would be able to stay clean the next day, so just try your hardest to resist.

BTW I find buying 12 packs of flavored seltzer water to be a great alternative, as well as this relaxation tea they have at the 99 cents store :)

I also like rollerblading so I think I'm going to try and get into that again. not much of a workout person, but I am a kid of the 90s so go figure with rollerblading :)

My motivatiin for stayi g clean is my marriage! My wife was very clear that if I don't stop she will divorce me. Second only to that is the realization that if I use weed, it eventually starts using me. I think I can control it. I make rules about when to use it and within weeks or days I find myself breaking those rules. I always end up going back to once a day or multiple times a day. As much as I enjoy it, I know I'm addicted to it and can't control my use.

As far as healthy alternatives, I find that working out and getting exercise helps a lot with both withdrawal and depression and anxiety. Also keeping my mind busy is important. I read a lot and even dug out some old college math books and started brushing up on my skills.

I also come to this site to find a community of people who are trying to stay off of weed. I went to Narcotics Anonymous for a little while, but couldn't find anyone who was specifically trying to stay off weed. Just no other potheads in my area. I do go to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and try to practice some of the principles I've learned there in my quest to stay sober. The thing I found that works the most with 12-step groups is being involved with the fellowship that forms them. People have a lot of misconceptions about 12-step groups. They tend to think that the meeting itself is all there is to it. That in the steps. When Bill W and dr. Bob got together the first time to help each other stay sober back in the thirties, there was no Alcoholics Anonymous. There were no meetings, there were no steps, there was no big book. There approach was simple, they believed if one alcoholic tried to help another one stay sober, they themselves would have an easier time staying sober. When they brought this philosophy to other people, that's when the fellowship began. Again no big book, no steps, in the very beginning there was only one meeting and that was at Bill W's house. After time, and after bringing more people into the fellowship, they decided to write a book that described how they started beginning as a fellowship. The steps came from patterns that they noticed when trying to help others stay sober. Today the steps are talking points. Kind of like a rite of passage for newcomers. For me the 12-step group works. I find I get more help from working with others than anything else. So that's why I came to this site to find other potheads. The Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous is not the only way to stay sober, but it works for many. Give it a try and see what you think.

By the way, I'm 50 and have been struggling with various degrees of success since my early twenties. My latest stretch has been about 6 months. My longest stretch was about 15 years, that was completely clean no weed alcohol or any other drug.

thanks for all your replies.. still looking for other healthy activities that are engaging however this is a process and patience is key, so finding other things takes time. you can't expect right away to be better or feel great if you are truly addicted. Its difficult. but good to know we are not alone.
Also knowing that cravings do pass in about 10 minutes if you don't obsess about it.. reading is very rewarding. and eating treats. and puttering and trying to stay busy. i find its best to make a plan for the evening ahead of time so that structure is in place and also i look forward to a movie or whatever activities i have set out for the night. but they need to be realistic and something you think you'd really enjoy!