6 Sure Signs of Cannabis Abuse

Cannabis can fit into a variety of different lifestyles, making it one of the most versatile plants we’ve come to discover. Unfortunately, as with any other prescription drug or over-the-counter medication, it’s possible to overuse and even abuse our access to it. Today we’re going to talk about the signs of cannabis abuse and a few solutions to overcome them.

An easy sign to tell if you or someone you know has been overusing cannabis is if all of one’s spendable cash goes toward buying it. Cannabis use should never become a financial burden. As soon as it is, it impacts other financial areas of your life and unnecessary debt may become quite a burden. Have a budget, a monthly limit set aside for cannabis purchases and exceed it. Make sure that you use a limited amount in a day so that you can have some set aside the rest of the week or month if you’re a frequent user.

The next indicator that indicates you may be abusing cannabis is if you’ve been putting your life’s goals and ambitions on hold, often replacing your time spent pursuing them with consumption. Each one of us has goals we’re chasing after, be it simply spending more time with family, a consistent routine at the gym, pursuing educational achievement, or getting a business started. Instead of taking steps towards manifesting these dreams into reality, you find yourself searching for the vape pen, pipe, or edible and zoning out in front of the TV for hours. It’s totally fine if this happens infrequently enough that cannabis is enjoyed but not if it totally removes the motivation to aspire as an individual. Complete lack of any drive or motivation is a sign that cannabis is having a negative impact on your life. Try to ease away from this bad habit slowly by using less and less while attempting to take the first steps towards those personal goals you’ve been putting aside.

Cannabis use becomes a big problem when those you love begin to tell you they prefer you to be lucid and sober. If your behavior while high is impacting the way others see you and feel about you, and also causes them to criticize how you behave in front of your family and friends, this is an indicator that you may have begun to abuse it. You can try getting help from the same people that want you to sober up because they’re bound to be glad you’re attempting to reverse the trend before it gets even worse.

For whatever reason, there may be a sense of guilt when you consume. It could be the social stigma, or it could be a personal reason linked to a past event in your life. It could be because someone you're close to and love doesn't approve of your use of cannabis at all. Whatever the reason, guilt should never be a feeling attached to cannabis. It's a medicine for many and an occasional fun escape for recreational users. If you feel guilty after taking an edible or using the vape pen, it's time to evaluate how much you’re using and decide how you plan to cut down so that you reduce the feeling of guilt too.

Some strains are great for enhancing creativity and can stir artistic thoughts in our head, some comment on epiphanies surfacing as long as the right stimulus and triggers are present in one’s environment. But if it has become nearly impossible to focus or find creativity without consuming cannabis, this is a sign that its use has become detrimental to our well-being. We don't want to become dependent in any way on the plant. It may be time to give your brain a break because lack of focus might have its root cause in another health issue you're unaware of. Give your body time to readjust and normalize itself by taking a break from THC & other cannabinoids, so you can regain control of your own focus and creativity.

And finally, if you’ve noticed yourself breaking your own consumption rules, it’s time to take a step back. We give ourselves rules for a reason, such as don't smoke before visiting parents or don't smoke before driving. Whatever your rules are, consistently breaking them and coming up with excuses is a sure sign you’ve begun to use too much cannabis. Stop yourself and ask why taking a hit of cannabis is so important to you in that moment. Breaking your own rules means you're placing cannabis as a priority over other, more important aspects of your life. Keep a clear head and be a stickler about your rules and priorities.