I quit smoking for a bit over a year at one point, and it was difficult. It definitely took the development of new coping skills and it was hard not to reach for something in those moments when I wanted to sort of fill the gap not smoking left behind. It was also super disorienting.

But probably the hardest part was deciding to quit and finding support for it that wasn’t full on anti-weed. I did find a substance abuse recovery discord that helped in a non-judgemental way, but most of the people encouraging me to stick with quitting were pretty black and white about it.

It didn’t make me feel sick the way quitting tobacco did, though, or leave me with that strained feeling of chemical dependence.

Eventually I started smoking again, deciding I liked the positive effects more than I didn’t like the occasional negative effects. It’s nice to know that I can quit, though, if I decide it isn’t worth it.