All my friends smoke dope
For many of us when we think
about stopping using dope we look around
and find that
most of our friends smoke and our minds
begin to ask ‘why
would I want to stop, other people never
seem to have
any problems.’
Usually there are people in our lives who
we like to get stoned with, best
mates, old mates, flat mates, mates of mates, partners
in life, and partners in crime. People we
have a laugh with, or just people we just
sit around watching TV with.
When we tell our friends
we plan to stop smoking dope they can react
in one of two
ways. A genuine friend will absorb the information
and say something like ‘Good on you,
what can I do to help?’ Others will
question you as to why you are taking this
step and tell you that ‘you don’t
have a problem, so why worry.’
If others are less positive then you have
to wonder whether they really care about
you or whether they feel threatened around
their own relationship with dope.
Remember
when you are tempted to get stoned after
having quit, it is
your friends who
you are likely to turn to for that first
toke. It’s so easy, the joint is going
round and there you are. Perhaps you refuse
it the first time it passes you but the second
time something snaps and before you know
it you’re taking a deep lungful, and
your mind is asking, why did I ever quit?
Let’s be clear: The reason you quit
is the consequences of that first toke. Just
because it felt nice to be stoned after not
smoking for a while, doesn’t mean that
you’ll be able to suddenly control
your usage.
Before your mind tells you anything different
ask yourself were you ever really the sort
of dope smoker who had it all under control
and could take it or leave it.
When
you do finally quit, your relationship
with dope will change as will your relationship
to other people. Not imediately but after
a while it will become easier to make new
friends. Perhaps you may even find yourself
able to fully trust people who have never
smoked dope, you never know!
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