Hi, I have a friend who is addicted to weed. Can you please tell me how to convince him to stop it? I can't stand it
NA is not the place for someone who wants to stop smoking weed. It's just not that type of substance and NA is not set up for it.There is a Marijuana Antonymous as well if someone is really interested but it's the same NA approach that does not work applied specifically to weed. Quitting has to be a personal choice. If a stoner is forced into NA by courts or parents they get nothing from it. Like all the health and social problems you tell them exist do not. The only problem is them making a problem out of a plant that is also medicine for many things.
NA was in the foundation of my own sobriety, but I didn't go to meetings. I know that sounds so weird because their whole system is hardwired around the meetings. But I found more motivation from some of the shit people said to me that were takeaways from NA/AA (thus 12 step). I thought long and hard about who I was hanging out with and that's what I decided needed to change. your friend may not want to change. you probably can only show him that you're serious about it. once he can see that not everyone is out to get him he may start to come around. typically there are law enforcement interventions, though I disagree with that particular sort of intervention because it tends to end up being more destructive than anything else. But like I said... show him you're serious about sobriety and see if it changes anything. You may end up needing to distance yourself from him as he may be a toxic person. Hope this helps.
I don't hate NA, it works for some people and they do their best. But the rates for relapse are high in NA and for people not in NA. Overall I don't think it's a requirement if you don't want to use drugs. The meetings and lifestyle of "being clean" cam become an addiction to some people too I think. Like they don't believe it's possible to live a life without checking it at these meetings. They are a slave to them like a drug. NA says you are always an addict and that mindset means some people will always need NA to be clean.
I agree the rates or relapse are high. But they are high for pretty much all programs. But considering it's free, widely available and has the biggest number of participants, it's far better than trying to "white knuckle" it because you can't afford the $$ to go to a 30 day personalized program Doing nothing will certainly result in no change for the better.
I went to NA meetings for 41/2 years, not because I'm addicted to anything, but just for the company. Its hard to find good company in Babylon these days, and NA members are about as close to my Rainbow Family as it gets. Out of respect and in order to participate more fully, I stopped smoking pot. Quitting smoking pot is easy, but there were other people at the meetings who went there just to quite smoking pot, and never looked back. People need people, plain and simple, and if they need an excuse to be around other people and to reach out to other people, give them one.
