If you’re a stoner, you know the power of a well-timed tolerance break. However, if you smoke enough to claim the less-than-flattering title, you probably know the miseries of having your stash pulled out from under you unexpectedly. I recently went to one of my regularly-attended festivals, and thanks to a little run in with some federal officers, had to give up my small travel supply of cannabis. After ultimately enjoying the week (granted, I was gifted some weed near the end of the event, which took the edge off), I realized that a lot of the unhappiness of missing weed was in my head. If you’re forced into a sobriety break with little to no cannabis, there are some personal steps you can work towards to not totally hate your life.
The first thing I knew I had to do was accept the situation, and not dwell on it. I know, that sounds like some hippie-dippie BS about changing your perception being the ultimate solution to any problem you’re experiencing. The thing is, when a situation is out of your control, making a conscientious effort to let go of your emotional attachment to what was supposed to happen is so important. Think about it this way: if something lousy happens to you (like a cop takes all your weed and you’re unable to get more), does it help to sit in your anger and blame the cop, and decide you’re going to have a bad time because of it? Or does it help more to recognize your anger, and make the choice to not obsess over rectifying the situation? It feels good to be mad in the moment, but don’t fixate on it if there’s no simple solution right in sight.
The other mental game you have to play is convincing yourself that your dependence on weed is probably psychological more than anything. For those who are “addicted” to cannabis without an imperative medical need for it, like myself, we can’t imagine functioning without it. Yet, when we don’t have it, do we sell our TVs, bodies, and thieve our neighbors to get some? No, we usually just carry on, albeit a little grumpier than usual. There have been nights where I didn’t sleep very well, or had some bad dreams because I wasn’t able to get high, but my lack of weed has never been an issue in getting done what I needed to. For having a good time, I will admit, it’s a little harder to admit that “I don’t need cannabis.” If I’m out and about with friends, and we’ve forgotten a joint or our vape, there is definitely a sentiment that gets repeated throughout, being “I wish we had some weed to smoke.”
At the risk of sounding like the most privileged cannabis user in the world, I also have found that when in short supply, the universe somehow provides. At the festival where I had to kick my cannabis into the wind, one of our neighbors offered me edibles (which I did not accept at the risk of falling asleep when I was trying to dance), and as I explained, a friend gifted me some flower before the event ended. I don’t want to say that you should rely on cosmic karma to resupply you, but I will say that you might be pleasantly surprised. If you’re trying to smoke weed out there, chances are, someone else already is. Time to make a new friend!