The marijuana debate continues to go back and forth between anti and pro marijuana advocates continually. Is it healthy? Is it unhealthy? Should it be legal? Should it not be legal? and so on ad infinitum. This constant bickering must appear as white noise to those that actually need help when it comes to marijuana because they are addicted to smoking weed and all that battling over how society class’s pot means nothing when you feel you are compelled to partake again and again

The only way to focus on your own personal struggle with marijuana is to shut out the garbled messages and propaganda that both sides spew because marijuana addiction is not really about the drug itself though there are a few things you need to know before you try to quit smoking pot.

• Marijuana is a not a drug that you can become physically addicted to (otherwise known as dependant). Harder drugs such as heroin and even cigarettes have chemicals in them that give your body serious withdrawal symptoms that drive many addicts to seek further drugs to stop the pain.
• Marijuana does have some withdrawal symptoms like vivid dreams, insomnia, nausea and irritability but they are mild and scientifically not classed as physical dependence.
• Addiction is a psychological problem that makes you believe you desperately NEED something like pot or gambling or even sex. Many behaviors can be addictive and smoking weed is one of them.
• To make matters more confusing most people who become physically addicted to a drug are also psychologically addicted as well making those who have a problem with weed often wonder if it is them or the drug.

What this means is that you CAN give up smoking marijuana if you choose to and you are armed with the right information. The key is to remember at all times this is a personal addiction, a personal problem of yours that you cannot blame on marijuana but only on yourself.

This may sound harsh and I want to point out this is not a criticism nor do I mean to diminish the suffering a person can have while addicted nor do I wish to trivialize just how hard it is to climb out of the deep hole that is a psychological addiction. This can and probably will be hard but the first step as you always hear is to admit you have a problem and the next step is to be as brutally honest about that problem as you can!

This might seem like insultingly simplistic advice but bear with me because the word choice has a lot of meaning. A choice is not something you do on a whim, it is not a vow in the heat of the moment and it is not something you can discard when it gets inconvenient.

A choice is something you make with informed knowledge; a choice is a decision to change knowing full well the benefits of quitting pot as well as the problems that continuing to smoke marijuana will cause. A choice is a personal contract to change your life made with full intention to follow it through.

This may appear to just be semantics but the WAY in which we approach challenges and the way we say what we mean to do to ourselves and to other has a great impact on the journey and final outcome.

Reaction is slavery to outside influences. When we react we actually give away our ability to choose, to lead and to take control. Many marijuana addicts are not so much a slave to pot as they are a slave to a habit of reacting to bad experiences that affect them that drives them to smoke marijuana so they can zone out and forget their problems for a little while.

While this is not always a bad thing when it becomes your solution to most problems then you have given in to slavery and have given up the choice to ACT instead of REACT.

When we take control of our lives and take action when problems beset us and choose to confront them then we empower ourselves and free ourselves from the compulsions and the demons of our own minds. When you are trying to quit smoking pot you must remember every time you face a choice and make a decision in regards to the drug do not react to outside stimulus but act on it for the benefit of your own personal well being.

For some this may give strength to give up pot and take on the challenges that beset them and others might find it easier to solve the problems that cause them to smoke before they try to quit. In either case you must be in control of your own actions no the devils of your mind.

The written word is a powerful thing. When we make plans to change and we have all the reasons in the word to do so and we keep it in our head a curious thing happens; it changes and evolves over time. Now sometimes this is a good thing but in the case of overcoming marijuana addiction you may find that all the resolve and reasons you had when you were sober and wanted to quit get distorted, forgotten and blurred when the cravings set in and the demons of your mind get a hold of your once pure ideals and despoil them.

This is where proper planning and writing becomes such a savior. The written word does not waver or change it stays inked and pristine so when you cast your eyes back upon your planning no matter where your headspace is what you wanted and need to do is still there ready to spur you back onto the right track.

In short, write down your goals, your reason for quitting, your reasons for a better life and exactly how and when you are going to do this and fulfill your contract to quit smoking pot.

The road to quitting can be long and arduous with many problems and pitfalls along the way which may discourage you when you encounter those obstacles. Changing something as all consuming as an addiction however is not a contest to see who can do it without error, all that matter is the end goal is achieved and however many times along the way you may stumble does not matter one bit!

Every time you fall, you just get back on trying because every error is a learning experience. Every time you give in you learn something more about yourself that you can use next time to make sure it does not happen again. Every time you feel like you cannot go on just means you are closer to those devils that hold you back so reach out and destroy them and keep going.

This is willpower. Not by overcoming very problem in the way every time but by picking yourself up each time you fall to be stronger and wiser come the finish line.

While these tips are often conceptual and perhaps vague I hope they give you a framework to approach the task of ridding yourself of a marijuana addiction that can change your life.

For more detailed help from an ex-addict who overcame his addiction I recommend downloading Gary Evans the 'Cannabis Coach's Audio guide to quitting weed. Gary lays out everything you need to know about marijuana addiction and the mental state you need to be in to get over this problem with a no-nonsense easy to listen to and easy to understand style.

Click here to visit his site.