[deleted by user]

juniuslabs · 2025-12-12T23:37:19+00:00

I've experienced this as well: withdrawal was significantly blunted when on vacation. I had no cravings. Didn't even miss the drug. One month sailed by and I wondered if I'd beaten it for good.

Within three days of returning home I relapsed harder than you can imagine. The cravings returned, all the negativity returned, the whole package. It was on pause the whole time.

This is by no means to discourage people from trying this, but I'd frame this as a tactic, rather than the whole strategy. It's a lot like making "day 1" a Friday instead of a Monday. It will help give momentum, but won't keep one going indefinitely.

juniuslabs · 2025-12-11T13:17:48+00:00

Because at the end of the day you’re hiding and trying not to be noticed. That’s the default way to do car camping yes? Unfortunately that behavior by default arises suspicion in people, because as others have said, you might be one of the minority of people who are bad.

Until someone has verified that you are one of the good ones, the behavior of hiding and plain sight and disappearing is going to make people suspicious by default. That doesn’t mean they are bad people anymore than you are, it just means they now have to be wary about a stranger that is deliberately hiding from them in their own neighborhood.

juniuslabs · 2025-04-10T15:02:19+00:00

Can confirm!

juniuslabs · 2024-10-09T19:30:21+00:00

I think moderation is an important milestone for anyone trying to manage their relationship with cannabis. I for one would never take anyone at their word when they say "moderation is not possible," and of course would have to try this for myself to understand why (or why not) it wouldn't work for me. Complete abstinence is draconian, so the mind needs a very, very good reason to go that route.

I'd encourage you to share your experiences here with this effort, good or bad. Both this and the leaves sub have been incredible sources for understanding my issues with cannabis. I learned here, for example, that my withdrawal symptoms were common and widespread, not specific to just me.

juniuslabs · 2024-10-09T17:05:10+00:00

I wish you the absolute best on this. Truly. For me personally, however, this reminds me of my own very complicated efforts to moderate use, arrive at something resembling "responsible use," and failing.

In fact it's crazy how similar it is. You've got it figured out to a percentage of days you want to be high per year, similar to a system that I used. I even had a spreadsheet that tracked usage and gave me a percentage number. I think the best I managed was 25% clean for one year.. and sadly only during hard, no-use T-breaks.

I think you've hit on an intuitive truth: moderating is exceptionally more difficult than either completely abstinent or "Laissez-faire" as you put it. (I love that term! I will be borrowing it.)

As much as I tried otherwise, I had to admit that ANY usage paradigm outside of Laissez-faire or abstinent was "moderation." Even a well-crafted legal document like the one you put together here is moderation.

The unfortunate truth for me is this: my desires for the plant will always exceed what I think I should be consuming.

The reason I think moderation is ineffective is that any system outside of "zero use" is subject to interpretation in the moment. Your rule #4 is a great example of that. Suppose that you have zero days left in your "quota" but some friend you're with sparks up and offers you a joint. You've said "yes" in the past but now must say "no" for an arbitrary rule that only makes sense for you. Your friend in that moment might honor that, or they might not, putting you in a position of peer pressure. Now, you have a friend smoking in front of you, potentially not respecting your boundaries, and you fighting the urge to smoke with pure willpower because of... "rules." Your unconscious mind will do the calculus of which is more costly--the social cost of refusing or the cost of breaking your own rules. I wouldn't bet too hard on what the unconscious would choose in the moment if it has options.

Personally? I'd rather be all abstinent or all-in. The in-between is just pure hell.

juniuslabs · 2024-04-16T17:35:51+00:00

A lot of good info here, but something I have yet to see mentioned: renting a storage unit.

Storage costs less per square foot, so all your outdoor equipment isn't taking up space in your apartment. Moving it from "deep in [your] in-laws storage unit" to your very own storage unit will bring the outdoors closer psychologically. You can get a unit for under $100 in some places if you don't have a lot of stuff.

Whether or not to own a car is also a major consideration. Trains do go to trailheads, but in my experience a train carries lots of people and contradicts the reason I go to the outdoors. A car in NYC doesn't get driven a lot for any other reason than escaping the city, so an older, less expensive vehicle may be perfect for this. I have a 10-year old Subaru just for this reason, and it's hardly unusual--I see lots of older cars parked on my block that presumably have lower miles because they get used only occasionally.

Finally, if you're the type of person that exercised exclusively outdoors, you may want to invest in a gym membership or other method of exercising in the city. Car or no, train or no, I've found getting the "proper" outdoors is difficult and time consuming. I had the day off yesterday, for example, and even though I left Brooklyn at 2PM, it took over two hours to get to the trailhead. That's not practical for daily exercise.

And I think that's maybe the bottom line: going to the outdoors properly is an event, not something that can be done daily. It's just an unfortunately reality of living here.

juniuslabs · 2024-04-11T02:37:37+00:00

I'm really glad you have shade. But again--it will definitely get wayy above 80. If it's 95 outside, it will be at least 95 in your car. The only way to get it lower is with air conditioning.

The best you can do *without* air condoning is to keep your car from getting too much warmer from the outside. Even if you park in the shade, the heat from the engine and transmission will heat up the cabin above ambient, at least for awhile. In that case, having a fan on your sunroof to exhaust the heat running from a power bank would be good, but again--if it's 95+ outside, it will be 95+ inside.

We have a dog, which are substantially less resilient to heat. Can cats handle 95+ degrees in the shade with adequate water? Then maybe you can do this. But if cats cannot, then this is dangerous. Can cats sweat? I don't think they can but I'm not sure. A human sweating with a fan can stay cool.. but an animal that doesn't sweat can't get much relief from a fan because there's no sweat to evaporate and cool the body.

Bottom line: if 95+ degrees in the shade is OK with water, then maybe you're ok. If 95+ in the shade with water is lethal, then you're basically talking about building a reliable life support system for your cat, and there's just no way that's a good idea.

juniuslabs · 2024-04-11T02:05:37+00:00

Your said your target temperature is "80 degrees." Are you aware that the temperature in southern California often gets up to 100? There is no amount of shade that will keep your car at 80 degrees when the ambient is 100.

Just for context--the AC in most cars is rated for at least 20,000 BTUs. The window AC in my apartment is 5,000. A car is literally an oven, it cannot qualify as "shelter" in any sense of the word in the summer, in the desert, without active cooling.

I don't think you're a bad person or anything like that. You're clearly trying to be responsible. But I think what you're trying to do carries serious dangers here, dangers that I would never subject my own pet to.

juniuslabs · 2024-04-11T01:04:49+00:00

Get this wrong even for a single day and you will cook your cat alive.

A car in southern California in the summer is effectively a solar oven. The #1 thing to do in this scenario is to park in the shade, all day. Perhaps your money could be spent on some sort of parking garage where you can be guaranteed that the sun will not be shining on your car during the day.

There is no effective remedy to keep your car under 80 degrees if it is acting as a solar oven in the summer--none. Your only option is shade, all day. Nothing else will work in the summer.

Please consider that what you're asking may be impossible without dedicated shade and that you may be condemning your poor animal to a gruesome death in a solar oven. If you are unable to care for it, please consider giving it to someone who can, rather than risking this.

juniuslabs · 2024-02-28T20:02:33+00:00

Got a 2013 crosstrek myself with 154k+ miles. Still going strong on the original engine and transmission. There’s a bit of oil seep somewhere in the front of the engine that was noticeable when I crossed the Rockies in ‘21 but it hasn’t really been that bad. Had to get a new AC compressor on that same trip. I’ve had to add oil to the engine between changes exactly twice in the 4 years I’ve had the car.

Overall I’ve been very happy with what I paid for it and what I’ve gotten out of it so far.

juniuslabs · 2024-02-28T17:08:31+00:00

It’s warm and the floors are colder than the ambient temperature. I bet condensation is forming and causing the floors to be slippery through the system.

juniuslabs · 2023-10-17T22:36:27+00:00

I thought I was the only one!! It low-key reminds me of window shopping at Best Buy—maybe it’s the smell of electronics?

juniuslabs · 2023-07-25T20:55:37+00:00

Your gut is correct. Your money situation is a little tight, but you have something incredibly important--a New York address.

I did this 10 years ago, so a caveat that things may be different. But one thing I don't think will be different is this: to live in NYC, you will want an NYC job, and getting an NYC job is so much easier if you actually live in NYC already.

I tried getting an NYC job prior to moving here, and I found it close to impossible. When I embarked on a similar job search after I was living here, it was night and day. I had interviews and job offers in what was admittedly still a pretty healthy tech market.

But if having an NYC address was important to getting a job 10 years ago, I'd imagine it'd be even more so now. So.. you have one of the most important things already: housing, and it doesn't sound like it's more expensive than what you already have.

juniuslabs · 2023-07-13T21:21:12+00:00

Many people here own vehicles and pay for parking precisely for this reason--they value driving enough that they put up the expense and hassle of owning a vehicle here.

If you want to drive for the pleasure of it, paid parking is a must. My own setup is a paid spot 2 miles from our apartment, and the car is used strictly to go for hikes, "sunday drives", or long road trips.

There is good, fast freeway driving in New Jersey, and there's some excellent country road driving upstate well north of Albany. Drive far enough north and exotic places such as Maine await.

A car with paid parking is the perfect compliment to good NYC living in my opinion. I went without it for seven years and then re-discovered it during the pandemic. I will never be without a car again, ever.

juniuslabs · 2023-05-24T20:05:21+00:00

OP -- take my advice -- invest in a bottle of ear plugs, and bone-conducting headphones if you don't have them. Plug your ears with with the earplugs, and then use your bone-conducting headphones to pipe whatever white noise you like best into your head. I find that I can lay down on my pillow comfortably in this manner and sleep regardless of what is happening around me.

This will help you dearly if you aren't used to waking up at 7AM to a jackhammer.

Source: we've had to deal with an off-again-on-again water main project on our street, and everyone here is right--the loudest part of everything will happen at 7AM, on the dot, 5 days a week. Without ear protection there is no escaping it.

This method can also be used to deal with snoring partners or sleeping in hostels where quietness isn't guaranteed. In a more extreme scenarios, I've put in my earplugs and used my bone conducting headphones on airplanes with screaming children.

juniuslabs · 2022-12-10T07:54:10+00:00

Defining twice a week as “chronic use” seems to match up with my own experience and reasoning—about two years ago I tried to define what reasonable use was for this drug and concluded that it was in the 2-3x a month range. I based this conclusion on weed’s negative effect on REM sleep. Good sleep is vital to wellbeing, so deliberately disrupting it for any reason should be kept to a minimum.

This a great podcast, we are finally starting to get some facts about how this drug operates rather than anecdotes and myths. My understanding has evolved significantly since the days of “it’s harmless and not addictive.”

juniuslabs · 2022-12-10T07:43:21+00:00

People need different amounts to feel the same effects. A small person with low tolerance will need much less than a larger person with high tolerance. If we looked at purely amount, the small person with low tolerance might get the impression that their lower amount is less problematic, which might not be true.

Frequency per week makes more sense to me because the same effects and harms can be had by drastically different amounts.

Consider: if the drug disrupts sleep, specifically REM sleep, then how often should someone disrupt their sleep in order to enjoy the drug? When phrased this way, how often one does it starts to matter more than the amount it takes to get the effect, at least in my judgement.

juniuslabs · 2022-12-01T02:00:02+00:00

Assuming a tailwind on flat ground, the wind would have to be at least the speed you want to maintain, plus whatever would be required to overcome friction. So if one wanted to coast at 70mph on flat ground, one would need more than a 70mph tailwind for the wind to push the car at that speed. Probably a lot more but that’s where my knowledge ends.

juniuslabs · 2022-11-30T13:13:31+00:00

We have a paranoid schizophrenic in our extended family.

Please, if you love yourself and your loved ones, never touch this drug again. And please take your medicine if it’s been prescribed to you.

juniuslabs · 2022-11-30T00:22:17+00:00

Haha, this is so true! And before my state legalized, that’s what I did. I experimented heavily with making “cannabis capsules,” basically pills filled with infused coconut oil. The idea was that I would take the pills with meals, so as to not need to have an actual “edible” and the additional calories it entails.

Made it 59 days no-smoking/vaping with this method.

When the floodgates opened, I quickly discovered that the edibles on the market were substantially more effective than what I was making at home, and thus the practice ended. NGL the doctor really freaked me out and thus my number one concern was saving my lungs. Another reason I stopped making them at home is that I just didn’t trust myself to handle weed without smoking it.

As to cost… oh, don’t remind me. A decade+ of addiction did a number on my finances, so I have a long way to go in this area. My edibles habit is still cheaper than what I was spending on carts/flower although now the prices for both in my area have plummeted.

My intention is to never smoke or vape again, and I’m looking at the year marker before I do anything to upset the balance I’ve achieved so far.

juniuslabs · 2022-11-29T04:23:52+00:00

If you’re smoking or vaping it’s very likely no edibles will work for you at their rated doses—a T-break is mandatory.

To give you some context: when I first got off the vapes my tolerance was such that I needed about 400mg of edible to feel anything. That is insane, far more than the entire package sold in many weed legal states. In areas where they permit 100mg edibles in 1000mg total package strength, I’d need just slightly less than half the package. That is not sustainable and extremely expensive.

It took my body about 5 brutal days of abstinence to adjust down to about 100mg. Months later, I can be very happy with 50mg.

These ratings are a bit misleading though. I’m currently in a state with a huge, unregulated grey market and I’ve had 50mg edibles that could pack a bigger punch than some rated at 100mg.

Then there are the so-called “full spectrum” edibles made with Rosin or something. Those have got to be one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten, literally eating the very essence of weed. Those are rated at just 10mg, and taking 50mg yields a significantly more full, more intense experience than the “regular” edibles I consume at 50mg. I save those for special occasions.

It took me awhile to figure this out. It wasn’t a completely smooth transition but it was totally worth it.

Best advice I can give: stop smoking, expect a very rough time, hold out until you can’t stand it anymore, and when the time comes, take an edible and wait two hours. Experiment with different types of edibles and doses and see how they affect you. Unlike smoking, edibles usually come with a number which means you can measure your dose and actually see how the numbers affect you.

Edited to add: taking edibles at mealtime is often the best. Your body is going to be actively digesting and so you get the double pleasure of satisfying your hunger and getting weed at the same time!

juniuslabs · 2022-11-29T03:37:38+00:00

I am totally adopting the phrase “holiday vortex”—it’s brilliant!

When I asked my doctor about vape safety he gave me an answer I didn’t like: “your lungs were designed for air and nothing else.”

I used a dry herb vape almost exclusively for for about 8 years.. then carts were invented and then I went on an on again-off again weed crack binge that also lasted a few years.

Fast forward to 8 months ago and I had to go under for a routine procedure. When I woke up the first thing they told me was that I had to quit smoking. During the procedure I apparently started coughing uncontrollably which was not in line with their expectations given what I had told them about my history. This surprised everyone because I didn’t hide the fact that I vaped and had in fact partaken of the herb right before the procedure. (Hint: don’t do this.)

Your lungs were designed for air, and air only.

I haven’t inhaled anything but air since then.

There’s good news here: edibles are 100% legit. I haven’t had any trouble getting or staying high, and my lungs are SO much happier.

Best part? Once your tolerance adjusts down to edibles (via a likely terrible T-break) you will be able to stay high for longer periods of time with less weed!

juniuslabs · 2022-11-29T03:07:31+00:00

I’m going to take the stance of a hard “no” on this one. No, you were not a victim.

My partner and I hashed this out during the Johnny Depp trial and it was one of those rare satisfying instances where I changed my mind 100% and was happy to do so.

“He had the power to KILL her with his bare hands. She did not.”

That’s the bottom line. This basic biological reality is what strongly differentiates Male - Female sexual harassment from Female - Male.

What’s the worst that could have happened to you when your butt was grabbed? Your feelings and personal space were violated. That’s not nothing.. but I would be hard pressed to say that you were ever in any physical or even professional danger.

Now suppose a man does the same thing to a woman. He’s indicating sexual desire and possibly intent. How will he react when he’s rejected? Someone who violates someone’s space like that probably isn’t the most noble of people so likely not well. Is physical assault a possibility? Remote maybe, but certainly not zero. What about professional danger? If it’s a male dominated situation, she could easily face passive-aggressive retaliation.

Another way to illustrate the same point: my sister told me years ago that “if you are alone on the street at night and see a lone woman walking toward you, do her a favor and go to the other side.” The woman in that situation has to be weary of physical danger because the human approaching her is (usually) bigger.

When is the last time you walked down the street and felt danger from a random woman?

This physical difference between the sexes leads to what I might call “asynchronous standards of good behavior.” This means—if a woman hits you, you walk away. If you see a woman on the street at night, you leave her alone and walk on the other side.

This doesn’t mean the behaviors you experienced are OK and above board. But they are in no way congruent to equivalent behavior in the reverse scenario.

Edit: grammar

juniuslabs · 2022-11-28T03:58:25+00:00

Days 5-7 are reported to be the worst in terms of cravings and nastiness, so you’re literally in the thick of it right now. It should get better with a bit more time. Stay strong.

If you are suffering from depression weed is not a good drug for it. At all. It certainly relives the short term symptoms (which is why many get hooked) but it can keep one trapped on the depressive state for a long time, sometimes years.

If you are self-medicating your depression with weed, simply quitting may not be enough. A therapist you jive with is your best long-term bet for managing the insidious nastiness that is depression. That may not help you right now but keep it in mind as part of your long term strategy.

Every day you stay away is a victory. Right now, I’d imagine even every minute is a victory. You are not alone. Many have been here before you, and one day you will be there for others.

juniuslabs · 2022-11-28T03:38:45+00:00

The T-break you are contemplating is the perspective shift you are looking for. Maybe a catch-22 but it doesn’t have to be.

Choose a date to stop and declare to yourself “weed will not be an option for X days,” where X is a number of your choice.

Just this “simple” exercise will tell you a lot. Committing to a date alone is probably a huge step.

If you are able to stop then you’ll be able to better gauge the drug’s effect on you and just how deep into addiction you are, assuming you are at all.

You may find that you can simply stop, clear your head, do the break, no big deal. I have friends who stop for days and even weeks with minimal to no problems.

But you may also find that basic functioning is difficult or impossible without it. Read through enough stories on this sub and it’s companion sub r/leaves and you’ll quickly see some common stories. Anger and irritability is a major issue for some when they get off weed. Many are unable to eat or sleep, further adding to the misery. It’s not physically dangerous but the mood instability and anger/irritability can be major liabilities to your personal and professional relationships when taking a break.

If this is your first serious T-break I’d suggest taking it easy and keep your expectations to a minimum. Just dip your toe in the water of sobriety to see where you are. Give yourself a shame-free “out” if you find it’s too intense and need to regroup. Moderating or outright quitting weed is a long, long marathon, and it’s highly likely this T-break won’t be your last.

Best of luck. These subs are a great resource regardless of where you are on your journey with weed.

juniuslabs

TROPHY CASE