- I may drink more, who knows?
We're drinking!
(upbeat music)
But I've been consistently smoking weed
for like a decade.
- Pretty much daily for about 10 ten years.
- So almost 16 years.
- I think weed is great.
I think weed does such a diverse array of things
for different people.
- I started smoking strictly for medical reasons,
but it definitely became recreational.
- It's just a way to unwind and decompress,
because it's just so a part of my lifestyle
that sometimes I let it inhibit me from doing stuff.
- I mean, as I've gotten older,
it's become more medicinal.
It really has helped my shoulder pain,
my ankle pain, my knee pain.
- So I actually started smoking weed
about two years after I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia.
They had given me muscle relaxers to take every night.
I would not remember conversations I had with my husband.
I would pass out.
It was just kind of more than I bargained for.
- And I want to see maybe if I can, at the end of this,
maybe continue to stop smoking,
or just do it maybe once a week or twice a week,
but not every single day, multiple times a day.
- I mean, I think my biggest fear for the week
is that I will actually stop functioning.
Oh, look, there's weed on my shirt. (laughs)
- So this five hours in, and I'm already craving weed.
(laughter)
But I'm smoking instead.
- All right, so I'm about give my roommate all my stuff.
(Roommate calls from a distance)
Yeah, man.
Can you take this and hide it for me?
I'm gonna turn around, I don't wanna see it.
I don't wanna find it, ever, or at least for a week.
No, don't throw it in the trash!
- Kinda runnin' out of things to distract myself with.
I mean, I'm vlogging, but, then, no, I wanna smoke pot.
I don't feel better yet.
I don't feel worse yet.
Just feel like I really, really wanna smoke.
- Typical night
watching the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
with my roommates.
But this week is different 'cause I'm weed-less
- I wanna burrito!
- I want weed!
- I had rough day at work, just stressed, stressed at work.
And all I wanted to do is smoke.
- My sleep is fucked.
And my armpits are sore.
So everything kinda hurts.
Trying out some different pain control methods.
- I'm actually being more social
'cause I'm trying not to think about
how tense I am without weed, so that's good.
Not smoking.
So instead, we're drinking!
The night is continuing, because I'm not gonna race home
to smoke weed.
But instead we're going to go to
the bowling alley! - Hey!
- I'm feeling a lot more vigorous.
I'm feeling a lot more energetic.
- I'm crying, like weeping a lot this week.
And I think that's a good thing.
Think that I've numbed myself out
for probably a little too long.
It's really uncomfortable, but crying feels good.
It like alleviates the discomfort a little bit.
Okay, I'm gonna go reorganize all my drawers now.
Keeping busy. (laughs)
- Yeah, I've just been noticing that I'm a lot more active.
Did a little bit of writing this weekend, which was nice.
I'm also realizing
that times where I think I need to smoke weed,
I actually don't always need it.
- All right, so it's about day five or six now.
And, to be honest, I'm not really affected.
I don't crave it.
I'm not like dying to want to smoke.
But I've been waking up earlier and exercising
and feeling healthier.
I don't know, maybe this is something
that I should consider going forward.
(gentle music)
- So my week without weed was enlightening.
- As much as I love weed, and I think it's a great,
fun thing to do, this really made me take
a hard look at myself.
- The first few days, I was kind of like, ehh!
Aagh!
Bleh!
Why did I decide to do this?
- I kinda like got over the itch in the first few days.
The worst part was just that I couldn't sleep very well.
- This experiment was a great way for me to reset.
- So moving forward, I really think I'm actually gonna
stop for now.
Will I stop forever?
Who knows.
But right now, I'm feeling really good
and I wanna continue this trend.
- I don't need to be as reliant on weed
as I think I am.
- People start smoking to self-medicate.
People start smoking because it helps with physical pain.
There's not one reason to smoke,
and so there's not one reason to quit smoking
or to keeps smoking.
- Smoke weed, enjoy it, enjoy life, life's too short.
But at some point you gotta look at yourself
and realize, hey, am I hurting myself
more than helping myself?
I've been smoking for over 15 years now,
and I think it's time that I take a look at myself
and what's best for me.
- There's a balance, I mean, it's a medicine.
And it can help you in a lot of ways.
But I think, like any medicine, there's a point
at which it stops being helpful.
- I found out this week I don't really need weed.
But, yes, I think I am, after work today,
probably gonna go home and smoke, and eat a pizza,
because that's a great combo.
(quirky music)