Responsible Cannabis Use Basics #1: Use Planned Tolerance Breaks as a Fail-Safe
Regular T-breaks can help you examine and adjust your relationship with cannabis.
A responsible cannabis user ensures that they have opportunities for clear-headed reflection, without addiction clouding their judgment.
Cannabis is a powerful psychoactive substance. And though it’s not as addictive or destructive as many other drugs, it can still have a destructive influence on your life, if used wrong.
A case in point would be if someone is unhappy with their career or relationships, and instead of doing the hard work to resolve the issues, they continually use cannabis to escape them. This is not a good long-term strategy and will lead to an impoverished life.
Responsible cannabis use is about being aware of and mitigating the challenges of this drug.
Managing addiction
Cannabis is very pleasurable to consume, and as such, it is inherently addictive. After all, we humans tend to naturally want to repeat pleasurable experiences ad infinitum.
And the problem with addiction is that it skews our thinking. Alcoholics, for example, are very adept at finding reasons to drink. And speaking personally, whenever I decide to take a break from cannabis, my brain does tend to repeatedly suggest justifications for why I should enjoy it just one more time, or why I definitely deserve to enjoy it one more time, for example due to a rough day.
Unfortunately, for many people, this happens in the shadows of their mind – they’re unaware of how much addiction is influencing their decisions.
A responsible cannabis user must ensure they have opportunities for clear thinking when addiction is not clouding their judgment. This enables them to examine objectively, whether the impact of cannabis on their life is still desirable.
This is why taking breaks is a key component of responsible cannabis use. These are often called t-breaks or tolerance breaks, because they reset one’s tolerance to the drug, thereby increasing its potency after the break.
Take a t-break
If you’re a recreational user and haven’t taken at least a 30-day break from cannabis in the past twelve months, I advise you to at least consider it.
You will be able to assess your relationship with this plant from a more objective vantage point, helping you to make better use of its potential in the long run.
And as a bonus, after the 30-day break, your tolerance will have been reset, meaning you will gain far more enjoyment from even small doses. (I’ll write about finding your minimum effective dose later.)
If the idea of a break feels impossibly hard right now, remember that it isn’t forever, just for a month, meaning roughly 0,1% of your life.
You can also commit to a break after your next high, or even at some point in the next two weeks. Just be sure to mark it in your calendar right now, so you don’t forget.
I like to go cold turkey, but if you’ve been a heavy user, you may wish to taper, gradually decreasing your dosage. In any case, once you’re done with your last dose, I'd recommend you put your gear away in a place where it’s out of sight and preferably inconvenient to get at. This is a nice little ritual to tell your mind that you’re done with cannabis for now.
What’s more, not seeing the gear means you won’t be tempted by it. And this is a surprisingly effective strategy, not only for cannabis gear, but also smartphones.
What to expect from your break
Depending on how long and frequently you’ve been using cannabis, you can expect some withdrawal symptoms. Typically you’ll notice effects in your mood, energy levels, and digestion. What’s more, you may also struggle to sleep well and have lots and lots of vivid, sometimes bizarre, dreams, as your brain makes up for the effects of cannabis.
This will pass, typically in some days or weeks. Speaking personally, once my dreams have returned to the baseline, I usually start feeling better and more energetic. I’m “back to normal.”
Of course, the brain has just been deprived of a pleasure source it has grown accustomed to, so it will be screaming for an alternative. What you definitely should not do is replace one addictive substance with another, like nicotine, alcohol, or other drugs. Personally, I like to also give up caffeine and alcohol during my t-breaks, forcing myself to just experience pure, unadulterated consciousness. (And they call my generation “soft.”)
Of course, you can still seek pleasure through something useful. For example, starting an exercise regimen is a good option. The beginning is still tough going, but with the right attitude, it’s actually possible to derive pleasure from facing this toughness head on. I recommend listening to the “Stoic path” lessons on the Waking Up app for more on this, or there’s also this Youtube video if you don’t have access to the app.
Typically, my cravings for cannabis are strongest in the first few days or weeks. And one major prolonging factor is actually self-imposed: I’m still somehow trying to renegotiate this tolerance break with myself and haven’t fully accepted that I won’t enjoy cannabis for many weeks. This is the addiction impulse speaking.
But at the latest in weeks 3 and 4, I typically reach acceptance and begin to feel fine as is. At this stage, I often feel like I could continue the break for months, and it would be no great tragedy. Especially if before the break I’ve been consuming a lot of cannabis, I feel a kind of clear-headedness and energy which seems different from before. I sometimes also realize there are problems and tasks that I’ve been putting off dealing with, and now is the time to do that. Reaching this stage may take longer for you, but I encourage you to try to persevere until you do.
As an added resource, consider checking out this t-break guide from Cornell University.
Use the end of the break to reflect and plan ahead
Once you’ve cleared away the tendrils of addiction, it is important that you use this new clear mindspace to consider your relationship to cannabis. What have the pros and cons been? In what ways has it enriched your life and in what ways has it impoverished it? Here, I recommend actually getting out a pen and paper, because it’s often easier to ideate when you’re not in front of a screen.
Part of you may be afraid of identifying the cons honestly, because you worry that this will lead you to having to give up cannabis. But it is a necessary step to understanding what strategies you need, if you wish to keep cannabis in your lives as an enriching force.
Once you’re done, save your findings somewhere.
Next, define 1-3 more such 30+ day breaks in the next 12 months and mark them in your calendar. For example, I typically take a 1-2 month break in January and after my summer vacation. These feel like logical points for “starting afresh,” and I should theoretically be well rested then.
The purpose of these 30-day breaks is to ensure that you have repeated opportunities to examine the role of cannabis in your life, without addiction clouding your brain. These are effectively fail-safes, meaning that even if your use is getting out of control and destructive, you still have a net in place to catch you.
Stick to your planned breaks
When the reminder comes up on your calendar, you will need to stick to the break, come hell or high water. If you’re disciplined, this shouldn’t be a problem, but if you foresee challenges here, there are strategies to help with this
One is finding an accountability buddy: If you have a shared calendar with your partner or friends, mark these breaks there too. This will make you much less likely to allow the addicted part of your brain to change your reasoning.
Another technique is to write a little note to yourself in the calendar entry. Try to imagine how you’ll feel when the time comes and explain why it’s important to stick to this commitment. Feel free to add some words of encouragement that you think will resonate with you. Perhaps even point your future self to this post of Smart Cannabis Use.
On the other hand, you may find it easy to stick to these breaks, and you may even decide to start more breaks spontaneously : a month here, two weeks there, etc. Cannabis often has the wonderful effect of amplifying self-reflection, and sometimes the result of that self-reflection is the realization that you need to take a break from cannabis. It can be a nice feedback loop. But don’t rely solely in it – you still need the planned breaks as your safety net.
Enjoy responsibly.
-G.G.
Smart Cannabis Use is for informational purposes only. You need to be aware of and abide by the laws in your area. Please also be aware that cannabis is not suitable for everyone, such as minors or those with certain mental health conditions. You are responsible for your own choices and actions.