Getting out of it: Getting Ready

Addiction Alternatives

Getting Ready

Where are you at?

It's easier to make change when you know where you're starting from. So how much would you typically smoke in a day, a week or a month?

If you're not sure, try keeping a record for a few days or weeks to find out.

Use \ Day	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
How much:
Cost:
How often:
OK or too much?

You can use this daily diary to record more information on how much you're smoking, and your pattern of smoking. If you are concerned about someone else reading it, you can use abbreviations or symbols that only you will understand.

Where does smoking fit into your life?

To work out how cannabis is affecting you, it helps to look at both the good and bad things about smoking. If cannabis was a totally unpleasant experience, you probably wouldn't be smoking as much as you are, if at all. If there was nothing bad about it, you probably wouldn't be reading a booklet like this.

So what's good about smoking cannabis? What do you like about it? What do you look forward to when you are thinking about smoking?

	It's relaxing
	Helps me to unwind after work
	Helps me sleep
	Helps me get boring chores done
	Improves sex
	Problems don't bother me so much when I smoke
	Helps ease painful feelings like depression, anxiety, grief or anger
	Relieves pain
	I like feeling different from "straight" people
	Laugh and find things funny
	Have interesting ideas or feel creative
	Enjoy smoking with my partner
	Like the feeling in my body
	Enjoy the ritual of preparing the cannabis and smoking it
	A lot of people I know smoke – it's just what we do

So what don't you like about it?

	Expensive
	It's illegal – problems with the law or risk of getting caught
	Causes conflict with other people
	Dealing with dealers
	Paranoid thoughts
	Hard to remember things or think clearly
	It's not as enjoyable as it used to be
	Debt
	I worry about my health
	Find it hard to get other stuff done
	Worry about how it's affecting my kids
	Feel bad about myself
	Feel tired a lot of the time
	Have to hide it from other people
	Do stupid things when I'm stoned
	Makes it hard to work or get a job or study
	How much I eat when I get the munchies
	It's getting too repetitive
	My tolerance is too high – it takes heaps more now to get me stoned

What would be good about cutting down or stopping? What are you looking forward to?

	More money
	Feeling healthier
	Get other things done
	Be able to work better or find work
	More energy
	Think more clearly
	Feel better about myself
	Better relationships with other people – especially people who don't smoke
	Look better or healthier
	Be a better parent
	Enjoy other things in life
	Being able to sleep without smoking
	Remember things better
	Not have this secret from people who don't smoke
	Save money for other things that are important to me

So what makes it hard to quit or cut down? What gets in the way?

	It's a habit
	It's hard to say no when it's offered
	It's too easy to get hold of
	Still enjoy it
	Dealing with problems
	Don't know what else to do with my life
	Difficulty sleeping when I stop or cut down
	Dealing with unpleasant feelings in other ways
	Cravings – think about it a lot
	Feeling irritable or moody when I stop or cut down
	Boredom
	Risk of stuffing up when I try new things
	Relaxing or unwinding
	Would have to avoid some or all of my friends for at least a while
	My partner still wants to smoke
	I get along best with my partner when stoned
	Don't want to be like straight people – mortgage, 2.4 kids and picket fence

How do you want your cannabis use to change?

If you're going to make changes to your cannabis use, it helps to know what you want it to change to. Consider the following questions:

Do you want to stop completely or just cut down?

If you plan to stop, do you want to cut down gradually to nothing, or stop all at once?

If you want to keep on smoking, what is your ideal level of use? (Think about how often you want to smoke – eg per week or month, how often you won't smoke, how much you'll smoke, when will be "regular use" and when will be "heavier use" and how much you want to spend on smoking.)

Use \ Day	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
How much:
Cost:
What time of day:

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