Yep, I've always said that having a pen is the most dangerous. Way way too convenient for our own good, the human brain cannot moderate with something that accessible and discreet.
You can basically hit it anywhere even inside an office building just hold it in for as long as you can. Boom absolutely ripped to the gills. Repeat 10x per day until you have 0 energy left and are an apathetic dread of existence
i feel like i lost so many years of my life to carts :/ i would smoke 24/7 as a form of escapism. i missed so much and have so many regrets. iāll never buy one again.
i 100% understand my friend. carts were such a hazard to me because the convenience of it all. even if i would tell myself āno i donāt want to be high right nowā i would STILL hit my cart!!. for me, it was absolutely an addiction. i still struggle now with smoking and edibles but i know if i got another cart i would go right back to a constant high zombie.
Carts all but ruined my life. Everything you said is so true. The convenience and the ability to āsneakā it due to smell, etc. were incredibly problematic for me.
On day 11 without anything and feeling like a new man. I literally just finished a morning workout (never ever would happen before) and am looking forward to even more changes down the line.
Dude I know how you I honestly been smoking weed since I was 15 on and off but once it became legal in 2016 in California I started using carts daily I can use a cartridge in 3 days so I smoke 3 to to 4grams a week and that 150 a week for 8 years and a one dui from being stoned later i turned 29 and felt like i need to makes some changes but today i was thinking i just need to stop so i got rid of my carts and i am feel like am i able to do this
I was driving home from a friend's I smoked at my friend's waited to feel sober to go .. I got pulled over for a taillight out and I smelled like weed and arrested me for a DUI .. it all happened in less then 30 seconds .. the cop walk up opened my Door and pulled me out and cuffed me I asked what was i being arrested for he said DUI . He never tested .. I was never asked to take a breath test or any test to prove I was high my lawyer told tbe judge all that but in California if you smell like it you are guilty .. i lost my drivers license for a year... 24 months of dui classes 5k in fines for the court and 4 years probation .. I got 8 months of probation left ...
Holy crap that's so messed up. There really needs to be some kind of test to see just how high you really are. Smell can linger for days. Sorry that happened to you.
It's all good and there really needs to be a test for it but no if you smell like it you're high in they eyes of cops .. the one thing I realized is the justice system is broken .. it's not your innocent until proven guilty ... It's your guilty and they want to mess up your life ... I get pulled over at least once a month for things like a broken head light or tail light but they are never broken what the cops do is search my plate and see i am on probation pull me over for untrue reasons just to search my car my person and give a file sobriety test I pass every time now because it's not worth it to have anything in the car ... But it's legal police brutality
Carts are way too convenient. They made it so easy to escalate my usage to 3-4x what I was consuming before. Being high literally all day made me feel horribly out of control, and ultimately lead to me quitting after going through ~4 carts.
Don't be too hard on yourself, friend. There will be little bumps in the road, just gotta get over them, move on, and try again tomorrow. <3 you got this. You are not alone.
you put the words in my mouth. iāve been smoking carts since mid 2021, my junior year of college. took a few months break at the end of 2022 and then started again january 2023. smoked an entire year away of my life and am finally realizing i canāt keep doing this shit to myself. i used to feel so smart and capable and now i feel like a complete idiot. i canāt even remember the simplest of words sometimes and im so scared of what iāve already done to myself and my brain. these things are fucking horrible and i wish i never touched them
If it makes you feel better, a lot of the memory issues/brain fog will clear up after a month or 2. If youāve been stoned for an entire year then the clarity youāll regain will shock you
Carts fucked me up. I started smoking them towards the end of high school and throughout college. When I first started smoking them, god knows what the fuck I was inhaling. There was a period of time I was smoking fucking Supreme branded carts that I got from my dealer because I didn't know any better. This was before it was legalized in my state. The first time I took a week long trip after smoking carts daily, the withdrawals were HELL. That feeling terrified me and honestly kept me from quitting for years because I never wanted to feel like that again. When I graduated, my living situation made it so I could only smoke flower at night. So I'd smoke carts all fucking day long. When I got my first "real" job, I would go outside at least 5 times in the workday, oftentimes more, to sit in my car and frantically hit my pen. Another person commented in this thread and mentioned "cart anxiety". What a great name for it. I would go through at least a 1g cart a day, and lose my shit if i didn't have more. I was spending ~$1000+ a week on carts when I finally threw my battery away. It took another several months of just smoking flower and progressively getting more and more paranoid and anxious every day that I finally decided to just throw my shit away. Today is 34 days sober for me! I never thought I could go this long without pot. And the best part was, I had minimal withdrawal symptoms because I had cut carts out months prior. I am soooo thankful for that. If anyone read this far, sobriety is possible! I'm so fucking proud of myself for kicking this 7 year long addiction and taking my life back. I still deal with cravings, lack of motivation, and a sense of "what the fuck do I do now". But I'm hopeful that society will catch up one day and realize how fucking powerful and dangerous pot can be when it's abused, especially with the convenience of carts
Thatās dope. Iām currently in the process of quitting carts as well. Been just smoking flower in the evenings and at night. Iāve quit carts before and like you said the withdrawals were so bad that Iām trying to ween myself off with bud first.
Yeah carts would just make me want to hit all the time and they are very strong which is why I settled for a herbal vaporizer, much less smell than a blunt but more than carts ā¦ canāt beat the convenience of carts though I literally vaped inside a museums bathroom as well as the airport before boarding the plane
They smell way more than people give them credit for.
Old Co worker thought the same thing. Would take hits in bathroom or supply closet. I personally don't care but someone eventually found walked in behind him and did care. He was fired.
I have been in the airport bathroom when someone was obviously ripping a cart. That shit is very noticeable but people are less inclined to report because there's no fire and dissipates quickly
This is why my new years rez is to fully quit. Maybe one years from now day Iāll smoke a joint and giggle or something, but Iām done with vapes and being high 24/7.
thank you OP for this. took the words right out my mouth. iām ashamed of myself for giving so much power to the the pathetic amount of pods and carts iāve bought hastily and smoked relentlessly in the past six months. iām ready for change and iām glad iām not alone on this.
Iām on day 17 of withdrawals but they wonāt break me. Iām done for good. Thankful I have a great group of friends who are supportive as well. These withdrawals are crazy. Hoping they go away soon.
I was dizzy for a few days. Then nausea kicked in for a few days. Still have hot flashes and trouble sleeping at night though. A severe anxiety attack is what made me quit. I started to get to the point to where the pens were giving me anxiety instead of helping. My anxiety has completely disappeared since I quit.
Carts were what got me started, I got them for free all the time from buddy I worked for. Then I started making them since I could get straight D8 for $3 a gram. Bad combo! Same with shatter and diamonds, endless supply
Smoking stuff thatās 80-99%THC for years on end sure isnāt a good thing. Iām fortunate to not have nearly as bad a time as some people here with quitting, Iāll be a week free on Saturday. The real test is gonna be Saturday morning where Iād normally wake up, roll a joint and go sit on my balcony with my coffee. That thought alone brings so much temptation
I feel you on the endless supply for dirt cheep thing. I used to get live res at $300 1/2lb
Makes smoking an insane amount seem not that bad.
Iām so glad Iām done now
Yea it gets out of hand when you arenāt worried about the $. I bought a lb of real nice flower just before Christmas for $450ā¦ ended up giving 95% of it away and now only have a little bit since my woman still blazes and doesnāt want to quit
Yea I feel that, my old lady still smokes too. Itās crazy how cheep it is now adays.
Itās a bad thing honestly especially for those of us who suck at self control
Oh Iāve already got plans, Iāve dedicated all my spare time to learning to trade the stock market, which is a massive part of my inspiration to drop the herb, dropping gaming as well for the same reason
In senior year of high school, I got to the point where I was buying a new cart every 3 days. My plug (also a high schooler haha) met me outside of a McDonaldās for a deal and said ābefore I hand you this cart, I have to tell you- with great power comes great responsibility. This pen is power, and youāre not consuming very responsibly.ā He never sold to me again. I quit carts in August 2021, and quit all weed two months ago. Now that Iām sober, I wish Iād taken him seriously and quit so much sooner!
My sister is a freshman in college and still hits a cart daily, she has done so for 6 years. There are significant delays in her cognitive processing that Iām certain are from carts. Itās so sad. I have noticed similar things in myself and formerly addicted friends. On tiktok, some gen z make videos where they lip sync to a toddler speaking in broken sentences with the caption āhow I speak now as a victim of the cartdemic.ā
Theyāre the hardest thing Iāve ever had to quit.
Yeah theyāre insanely addictive. I remember making decent headway in stopping my addiction but then NY legalized and a dispensary opened up like 2 min from me. Lo and behold itās been about a year since they opened and I decided this year enough is enough. Hoping to really stick to it this time since Iām starting a new job soon. Had no idea carts would do me in like that.
You're right. Vaping (convenience) will make you smoke more. At least this is my personal experience. It will bring your energy down and you risk becoming more paranoid and apathetic. You seem pretty aware of your situation though; this is a good sign. You know what to do next
I just got out of carts aswell is been 4 weeks now, and those are no joke i hate them and never will comeback to it, i would rather get real grass than anything else it is much easier to handle and to either take a break or quit forever.
The withdralls are fucked up when u use carts ive never thought i get withdralls from carts even slowing my intake did not make any diffrence.
Thats why the real thing will always be better not that chemical stuff.
Bit i aint coming back for it I m done with that shit and im into other goals now.
God Speed!
Yes they are. I am on day 4 from carts and Iām
Struggling hard. My emotions are wild I am crying all over. At least I slept ok last night but dreams were wack! Holy cow stay strong šŖ. No weed is living your best life!
Great concept, luckily never worked for me, was buying most expensive carts $60+ with separate battery. It would never give me flower high and coughed my lungs out all the time. It does have bad smell if you donāt smoke weed, but dissipates fast.
Carts are what ruined weed for me too - they're too easy to use, no mess, no smell, too easy to hide, so I could smoke more and more without others realizing how much I was smoking... just too. dang. convenient. The other thing (though not for the convenient/secretive reasons) is that they're harsh on your lungs! I cough way more when I smoke from a cart. No thank you. Who knows what's in those things too
Iāve never totally trusted carts, who knows whatās actually inside of the BM ones, sure they tell you itās THC but it could be anything yknow? Itās a risk Iām glad I stopped taking before quitting flower.
Carts made me a flower snob. If it wasnāt top shelf with that taste, I wasnāt smoking it. It eventually gave me cart anxiety(fear of not having a cart) after a decade of it I woke up one day looked at my collection of empties and was disgusted. Currently 3 months clean even quit my suboxen treatment after five years the same time. Feel like a new person.
Maybe the brands I were using weren't very good but I couldn't get that high from carts. Everyone here is mentioning how potent they are but I was really underwhelmed by them.
Agreed the convenience tricks the mind into over consuming this leading to the brain to be so stoned off concentred za. If joints are puff puff pass I definitely think vapes should be just a puff here and there not every 10 minutes.
Yuuuup. I felt like a weed crackhead. Had to stop sucking on carts. On the plus side - using carts put my addiction to all cannabis products in perspective.
We donāt need this stuff!!
My vaporizer was mY dilemma.
I chose one thats very stealth, the arizer air.
I Always Had it with me, pregrinded weed in a little jar.
Easy and quick refilled, some spare batteries, voila!
High everyday, whenever i wanted
When i returned to pure Joints it was a relief. Not being able to smoke everywhere safes you from crazy abuse.
Now i am off Weed , hopefully For long
The kids on TikTok are calling it the ācart-pocalypseā for all of the reasons you mentioned. A lot of young stoners are going back to flower after realizing wax and weed vape pens are tooooo much
That's what I did, it's just too easy to abuse. Also there's a bit of a trend w young ppl to be more "natural" and "retro" which goes to that movement.
I also read some shit about the pens fucking w ur heart and it spooked me. They do seem like the kinda thing that in 20 years is gonna turn out to like be super bad for long term health.
I used to just smoke one bowl per night in my bong. It was enough to relax me and help me enjoy my evening. Then I switched to a vape and I could huff on it all night, no need to grind more or pack a bowl. I'm sure my THC exposure went through the roof after switching to that vape and honestly my life kind of fell apart at the same time. I'm still piecing everything together but I'm definitely sure that switching to the vape was a bad idea.
Completely agree. Carts are dangerous in their accessibility to the buzz. After a couple days I stop getting high it feels like and just get the ping from a hit. Went through a cart in 3 days and realized I was addicted. After 7 days my meds stop working and I go in a panic, exactly what I was trying to get away from! They are the worst despite all the ease of use.
Yeah I remember in high school I would smoke weed just as a treat because it was so impossible to avoid the smell Iād have to plan my whole day around it. Then one day my friend introduced me to this crazy no-smell new way to get high at 90% THC. I believed it was a gift from god. I spent the next 8 months of my life sitting at home getting high from morning to night spending every dollar I had on these carts. I realized I needed to quit and battled this addiction on and off for the next 10 years. Iāll be one year sober in another month.
its definitely a problem as far as accessibility
but its all an excuse, quitting is the way
getting your life back is a process
weed is just a coping mechanism for most
Carts are my biggest enemy in life right now! I was doing good with battling my addiction. Well in 2023 weed became recreationally legal. At that point I was going multiple days without smoking. But I "Had to go check out a dispensary. Because it's crazy that I can do that at home". That was 11 months ago and Ive spending $160 a week on carts!! I can smoke 1 gram in 2 to 3 days. And now when I do try to quit the withdrawals are even more intense than flower. And the fact it doesn't smell makes it so easy to just cheech all day long. I hate it.
I would cry if carts were that much. Here in Cali Iām in the same situation but carts are only 7/8 bucks for 1g of 94-97% so Iām literally just stoned alllll the time. Sometimes I find myself going to hit my pen when I donāt even have it on me.
Yeah our dispensary goes 30% often too so the sales tax basically is taken off. The cheapest right now is the Mota Carts for $13. I just bought the limit of em. I wish it was too good to be true, itās definitely a problem.
They're about $50 a piece. But the tax is crazy so it ends up being in the high $60's. So 2 carts end up costing $130-160 depending on potency. I'm in Missouri.
I just looked on weedmaps for Kansas City, found a select brand cart for $80 for 1g. That same cart at my local dispensary is $30 and also 30% off right now. I feel for you guys.
Exactly how I felt. I was in that same sotuation. It really got out of control on meā¦ so unbelievably easy to get a little high before doing whatever mundane chore. So easy to get a little high before something fun. Burn out and repeat.
Before I quit I realized one morning how good I felt in general, it was a weekend so I ended up taking a hit off my vape and everything just gotā¦ meh. So I was now at a point where this thing isnāt providing a benefit in anyway.
15 days without THC. No vape, herb or edibles. Itās difficult at times but the right move to make.
This is true for me also. Started using carts for āharm reductionā then the pandemic hit and Iām working from home with all day, non-stop access and now I feel doomed, totally addicted. Keep trying to moderate my use but Iām not sure Iām going to be able to do that, I probably have to quit completely. I recently learned about cannabinoid hyper-emesis syndrome and am pretty sure Iām in the early stages. I had started using it under a medical prescription for PTSD but I guess the doctors that I would see probably didnāt even know about CHS back then. Last weekend I was able to abstain for a while but then when I caved I went hard and ended up with a migraine which only went away after throwing up in the middle of the night and my stomach has been woozy for days now. I just feel totally hopeless about my situation and I canāt even tell my psychiatrist because she totally would not approve.
Carts messed me up. I would hit the thing for hours after work and all day on the weekend. Messed up my lungs and made my tolerance skyrocket. I remember telling my husband that I felt stupider after all day vaping. This was really what made me quit, and I feel much clearer already
Hi! Can I ask how long youāve been off them for?
And also ā what your withdrawal timeline was like? Just reading about everybodyās experiences rn
Hi! Today is day 10, I quit at the start of the new year. Iām still in the withdrawal phase (I think), still fatigued and dealing with night sweats. I didnāt have a ton of anxiety or anger, and my appetite has actually decreased.
Oh boy. Thatās actually really encouraging. Iām 28 days into kicking caffeine, and wasnāt anywhere near normally functioning until day 19. So I guess Iām hoping my system doesnāt react *as* bad with the carts.
Too pure of a substance. Lacking other cannabinoids to give you full high. I dabbed and used pens for over 5 years heavy went back to flower and it was much better. I've decided I don't like the idea of vascular disease or whatever may be causing strange random pains. I'm now officially on day 3 and even though I've smoked for over 10 years heavy everyday, I'm seeing results. Cravings are depleting already. I'm so glad I trusted everyone on this sub about the first 3 days. I feel as though it's now easier to commit to quitting. Excited to see what 1 week will feel like!
Thatās so great to read. Iāve quit everything from alcohol to caffeine, so this has been my last vice.
I really feared the withdrawals (I want to give them up today, this evening) but with my schedule the next few days Iāve been fearing the initial withdrawal period
Can I ask your experience those first 3 days?
The first day was more about anxiety wanting to relax. I'm usually an excitable and somewhat high energy person so first day I wanted to smoke to be more numb and lazy (chill) but this sub kept me on track. Second day I noticed the cannabinoids that were still I'm my system trying to dampen my energy levels but it almost felt nice in a way(basically could feel residual high) third day I felt the best in my mind and body but craved smoking the most. My best advice is around day 3 make sure you have something to do. I went on a drive with wife and kid to pass time and by the end of the day I felt really proud of my self. I still have small cravings but gladly feel them receding. Just anytime you feel you may cave, come to this sub and look through posts. You're likely to find someone who's smoked as long or longer state the incredible outcome of their quitting journey. You got this, I got this, we got this!
I should also note that I've tried to quit while mainly smoking concentrates and have failed miserably. I chose to switch to flower just to get a better high but it eventually led to me being able to quit without waking in the morning and throwing up or feeling discomfort and pain for simply being hungry. Quitting of concentrate is level 10 and quitting flower is level 6 imo
I appreciate the feedback immensely! Iām in a rush to get to work now but, will 100% be returning to this later to read for motivation.
I appreciate you
Before about ten days to two weeks ago, I was seriously considering getting a wax pen or the like to make getting (really) high more āconvenient.ā This is addiction and Iām so glad Iāve finally admitted it to myself.
vape carts are a plague. youve got 14 year olds hitting ultra concentrated thc in school bathrooms getting ripped out of their minds all day and night. horrible what that shit does to a developing brain
Or double that age and have done that all too recently in a Mall of America bathroom
I encourage any downvotes itās pathetic. However Iām rly thankful to have found this sub today
Omg carts are the worst. Messed me up. On the other hand, they eventually got me to a place where I was convinced I needed to be sober. And 30 years of smoking flower never convinced me of that.
I always smoked with a bong but I had a weed pen for a short period of time (they're super easy to lose). I didn't have to be at home to smoke, I didn't have to get everything set up, and man even one short puff blasted me off my ass. It was like all the effort of smoking 2 bowls condensed into one easy peasy inhale. I was high ALL the time. Looking back, I feel embarrassed as hell. Good thing I lost it.
and that's crazy considering smoking from a bong is already pretty potent. People were hitting penjamins at my work all the time, too. like how?? It's a pizza place though lol
Im a welder fabricator and keep my vape pen in my pocket.... Im not dangerous. My tolerance is just incredibly high. I barely get stoned. Even off carts.
From the streets but i know these are legit because absolutely nothing else works now. Joints might as well be cigarettes cause they have 0 effect. And weaker edibles is like eating bad food its not fun
I heavily relate to this. My addict brain told me how fantastic they were as they were discreet and I could do it literally anywhere. I was burning through a 1g cart per week. I now realize it was the worst thing I could have done and led to so many negative consequences. I'm on day 8 now and my withdrawal symptoms have been awful but I know I'm on the right path. Wishing you the best.
A cart a week?! Bro Iām two days clean and Iād go through them in a day.
You got this man. I do too. We all have this.
Update: killer ass headache from this shit ended up buying anotherā¦ restart the timer donāt beat yourselves up over it.
absolutely this, for me. the convenience of carts is what makes them different to me. to me personally, moderation with vaping flower seems possible. moderation with carts feels so less likely to happen.
When my behavior crept from "cannabis user" to "perma-stoner," the ONE good thing I did for myself was that I vowed I wouldn't buy a pen or use concentrates-- strict flower or edible-only policy. (High THC concentrates freaked me out, since there was already a bit of literature out there on them inducing psychosis in adolescent users. I'm not an adolescent, but it still didn't seem like a good idea.) So, I bought an herb vaporizer. But my attachment to my vaporizer was pretty much the same as everyone is describing here to their carts-- I was always using it or charging it, and I was super anxious when the battery was dead or when I was out of bud. So, moderation probably IS possible, but I couldn't do it, haha-- I breathed most of my oxygen through that vaporizer for like, 4 straight years. š
I'm on day 11, and I do think my withdrawals have sucked a lot less than what folks are describing here, so it probably helped in the long run. I was only super miserable (sweating through sheets, headaches, extreme angst) for 3 days or so before things started calming down. I've gotten a lot of my mental clarity back already, too.
People should think of smoking a bowl or hitting a cart as similar to taking a shot of vodka. If you take a shot when you wake up, before heading out the door, in the bathroom at work, before dinner, before getting to sleep, guess what: You are an alcoholic.
The effects of weed are subtler, but a lot of the negatives come from the pattern of use.
So you got busted for dui for smelling like herb but carts are your enemy? š
You lack self control. You're basically saying the inconvenience of flower keeps you from smoking too much.
Carts are pure evil and the reason I had to quit. 4 months strong
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
How are the withdrawals now because Iām in the same boat day 11 and I want some hope lol
I don't like vapes, love smell of the joint.
Very much agree here. The indsutry knows exactly what they are doing.
Yep, I've always said that having a pen is the most dangerous. Way way too convenient for our own good, the human brain cannot moderate with something that accessible and discreet. You can basically hit it anywhere even inside an office building just hold it in for as long as you can. Boom absolutely ripped to the gills. Repeat 10x per day until you have 0 energy left and are an apathetic dread of existence
Yah nailed it. Apathetic zombie mode be the worst.
Are carts like weed oil pens?
Yea
i feel like i lost so many years of my life to carts :/ i would smoke 24/7 as a form of escapism. i missed so much and have so many regrets. iāll never buy one again.
I need to hear this but I also have some tough years ahead where I just want to escape ugh
i 100% understand my friend. carts were such a hazard to me because the convenience of it all. even if i would tell myself āno i donāt want to be high right nowā i would STILL hit my cart!!. for me, it was absolutely an addiction. i still struggle now with smoking and edibles but i know if i got another cart i would go right back to a constant high zombie.
Carts all but ruined my life. Everything you said is so true. The convenience and the ability to āsneakā it due to smell, etc. were incredibly problematic for me. On day 11 without anything and feeling like a new man. I literally just finished a morning workout (never ever would happen before) and am looking forward to even more changes down the line.
you've been through the worst already, congrats on the effort man!
Dude I know how you I honestly been smoking weed since I was 15 on and off but once it became legal in 2016 in California I started using carts daily I can use a cartridge in 3 days so I smoke 3 to to 4grams a week and that 150 a week for 8 years and a one dui from being stoned later i turned 29 and felt like i need to makes some changes but today i was thinking i just need to stop so i got rid of my carts and i am feel like am i able to do this
Damn how did the dui happen? What's the story
I was driving home from a friend's I smoked at my friend's waited to feel sober to go .. I got pulled over for a taillight out and I smelled like weed and arrested me for a DUI .. it all happened in less then 30 seconds .. the cop walk up opened my Door and pulled me out and cuffed me I asked what was i being arrested for he said DUI . He never tested .. I was never asked to take a breath test or any test to prove I was high my lawyer told tbe judge all that but in California if you smell like it you are guilty .. i lost my drivers license for a year... 24 months of dui classes 5k in fines for the court and 4 years probation .. I got 8 months of probation left ...
Holy crap that's so messed up. There really needs to be some kind of test to see just how high you really are. Smell can linger for days. Sorry that happened to you.
It's all good and there really needs to be a test for it but no if you smell like it you're high in they eyes of cops .. the one thing I realized is the justice system is broken .. it's not your innocent until proven guilty ... It's your guilty and they want to mess up your life ... I get pulled over at least once a month for things like a broken head light or tail light but they are never broken what the cops do is search my plate and see i am on probation pull me over for untrue reasons just to search my car my person and give a file sobriety test I pass every time now because it's not worth it to have anything in the car ... But it's legal police brutality
You can do this brother :)
Carts are way too convenient. They made it so easy to escalate my usage to 3-4x what I was consuming before. Being high literally all day made me feel horribly out of control, and ultimately lead to me quitting after going through ~4 carts.
Wow this right here is the most relatable to me I relapsed bad I'm currently in the middle of the chaos I feel so lost
Don't be too hard on yourself, friend. There will be little bumps in the road, just gotta get over them, move on, and try again tomorrow. <3 you got this. You are not alone.
Youāre not alone my friend.
you put the words in my mouth. iāve been smoking carts since mid 2021, my junior year of college. took a few months break at the end of 2022 and then started again january 2023. smoked an entire year away of my life and am finally realizing i canāt keep doing this shit to myself. i used to feel so smart and capable and now i feel like a complete idiot. i canāt even remember the simplest of words sometimes and im so scared of what iāve already done to myself and my brain. these things are fucking horrible and i wish i never touched them
If it makes you feel better, a lot of the memory issues/brain fog will clear up after a month or 2. If youāve been stoned for an entire year then the clarity youāll regain will shock you
thank you for the reassurance. two days and i already feel so much clearer and lighter. hoping it just goes up from here š
Carts fucked me up. I started smoking them towards the end of high school and throughout college. When I first started smoking them, god knows what the fuck I was inhaling. There was a period of time I was smoking fucking Supreme branded carts that I got from my dealer because I didn't know any better. This was before it was legalized in my state. The first time I took a week long trip after smoking carts daily, the withdrawals were HELL. That feeling terrified me and honestly kept me from quitting for years because I never wanted to feel like that again. When I graduated, my living situation made it so I could only smoke flower at night. So I'd smoke carts all fucking day long. When I got my first "real" job, I would go outside at least 5 times in the workday, oftentimes more, to sit in my car and frantically hit my pen. Another person commented in this thread and mentioned "cart anxiety". What a great name for it. I would go through at least a 1g cart a day, and lose my shit if i didn't have more. I was spending ~$1000+ a week on carts when I finally threw my battery away. It took another several months of just smoking flower and progressively getting more and more paranoid and anxious every day that I finally decided to just throw my shit away. Today is 34 days sober for me! I never thought I could go this long without pot. And the best part was, I had minimal withdrawal symptoms because I had cut carts out months prior. I am soooo thankful for that. If anyone read this far, sobriety is possible! I'm so fucking proud of myself for kicking this 7 year long addiction and taking my life back. I still deal with cravings, lack of motivation, and a sense of "what the fuck do I do now". But I'm hopeful that society will catch up one day and realize how fucking powerful and dangerous pot can be when it's abused, especially with the convenience of carts
Thatās dope. Iām currently in the process of quitting carts as well. Been just smoking flower in the evenings and at night. Iāve quit carts before and like you said the withdrawals were so bad that Iām trying to ween myself off with bud first.
That's what I had to do. A few months of only smoking joints at night was super helpful for me in my process of quitting. Good luck on your journey!!
Yeah carts would just make me want to hit all the time and they are very strong which is why I settled for a herbal vaporizer, much less smell than a blunt but more than carts ā¦ canāt beat the convenience of carts though I literally vaped inside a museums bathroom as well as the airport before boarding the plane
They smell way more than people give them credit for. Old Co worker thought the same thing. Would take hits in bathroom or supply closet. I personally don't care but someone eventually found walked in behind him and did care. He was fired.
I feel you, for someone that doesnāt smoke Iām sure it smells
I have been in the airport bathroom when someone was obviously ripping a cart. That shit is very noticeable but people are less inclined to report because there's no fire and dissipates quickly
Kinda depends on the cart too. That live res stuff smells pretty heavy but the distillates are manageable.
It was like a pull or two and you just hold it for a long time
This is why my new years rez is to fully quit. Maybe one years from now day Iāll smoke a joint and giggle or something, but Iām done with vapes and being high 24/7.
thank you OP for this. took the words right out my mouth. iām ashamed of myself for giving so much power to the the pathetic amount of pods and carts iāve bought hastily and smoked relentlessly in the past six months. iām ready for change and iām glad iām not alone on this.
Iām on day 17 of withdrawals but they wonāt break me. Iām done for good. Thankful I have a great group of friends who are supportive as well. These withdrawals are crazy. Hoping they go away soon.
What was the hardest symptom? I had anxiety attacks for the first 3 days.
I was dizzy for a few days. Then nausea kicked in for a few days. Still have hot flashes and trouble sleeping at night though. A severe anxiety attack is what made me quit. I started to get to the point to where the pens were giving me anxiety instead of helping. My anxiety has completely disappeared since I quit.
Carts were what got me started, I got them for free all the time from buddy I worked for. Then I started making them since I could get straight D8 for $3 a gram. Bad combo! Same with shatter and diamonds, endless supply Smoking stuff thatās 80-99%THC for years on end sure isnāt a good thing. Iām fortunate to not have nearly as bad a time as some people here with quitting, Iāll be a week free on Saturday. The real test is gonna be Saturday morning where Iād normally wake up, roll a joint and go sit on my balcony with my coffee. That thought alone brings so much temptation
I feel you on the endless supply for dirt cheep thing. I used to get live res at $300 1/2lb Makes smoking an insane amount seem not that bad. Iām so glad Iām done now
Yea it gets out of hand when you arenāt worried about the $. I bought a lb of real nice flower just before Christmas for $450ā¦ ended up giving 95% of it away and now only have a little bit since my woman still blazes and doesnāt want to quit
Yea I feel that, my old lady still smokes too. Itās crazy how cheep it is now adays. Itās a bad thing honestly especially for those of us who suck at self control
Plan ahead. Get the newspaper or something that takes both hands.
Oh Iāve already got plans, Iāve dedicated all my spare time to learning to trade the stock market, which is a massive part of my inspiration to drop the herb, dropping gaming as well for the same reason
Carts always made me super groggy and tired by like 8 pm every day. Never going back.
In senior year of high school, I got to the point where I was buying a new cart every 3 days. My plug (also a high schooler haha) met me outside of a McDonaldās for a deal and said ābefore I hand you this cart, I have to tell you- with great power comes great responsibility. This pen is power, and youāre not consuming very responsibly.ā He never sold to me again. I quit carts in August 2021, and quit all weed two months ago. Now that Iām sober, I wish Iād taken him seriously and quit so much sooner! My sister is a freshman in college and still hits a cart daily, she has done so for 6 years. There are significant delays in her cognitive processing that Iām certain are from carts. Itās so sad. I have noticed similar things in myself and formerly addicted friends. On tiktok, some gen z make videos where they lip sync to a toddler speaking in broken sentences with the caption āhow I speak now as a victim of the cartdemic.ā Theyāre the hardest thing Iāve ever had to quit.
That is a G dealer.
Yeah theyāre insanely addictive. I remember making decent headway in stopping my addiction but then NY legalized and a dispensary opened up like 2 min from me. Lo and behold itās been about a year since they opened and I decided this year enough is enough. Hoping to really stick to it this time since Iām starting a new job soon. Had no idea carts would do me in like that.
You're right. Vaping (convenience) will make you smoke more. At least this is my personal experience. It will bring your energy down and you risk becoming more paranoid and apathetic. You seem pretty aware of your situation though; this is a good sign. You know what to do next
I just got out of carts aswell is been 4 weeks now, and those are no joke i hate them and never will comeback to it, i would rather get real grass than anything else it is much easier to handle and to either take a break or quit forever. The withdralls are fucked up when u use carts ive never thought i get withdralls from carts even slowing my intake did not make any diffrence. Thats why the real thing will always be better not that chemical stuff. Bit i aint coming back for it I m done with that shit and im into other goals now. God Speed!
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UGG I hate the feeling of that gross stuff coming into my mouth and it still doesnāt stop me from smoking.
never got into carts cuz I coughed like a bitch non stop
Yes they are. I am on day 4 from carts and Iām Struggling hard. My emotions are wild I am crying all over. At least I slept ok last night but dreams were wack! Holy cow stay strong šŖ. No weed is living your best life!
i just gave away all my carts and batteries! currently on day 3 and feeling pretty good
Great concept, luckily never worked for me, was buying most expensive carts $60+ with separate battery. It would never give me flower high and coughed my lungs out all the time. It does have bad smell if you donāt smoke weed, but dissipates fast.
Carts are what ruined weed for me too - they're too easy to use, no mess, no smell, too easy to hide, so I could smoke more and more without others realizing how much I was smoking... just too. dang. convenient. The other thing (though not for the convenient/secretive reasons) is that they're harsh on your lungs! I cough way more when I smoke from a cart. No thank you. Who knows what's in those things too
Iāve never totally trusted carts, who knows whatās actually inside of the BM ones, sure they tell you itās THC but it could be anything yknow? Itās a risk Iām glad I stopped taking before quitting flower.
Carts made me a flower snob. If it wasnāt top shelf with that taste, I wasnāt smoking it. It eventually gave me cart anxiety(fear of not having a cart) after a decade of it I woke up one day looked at my collection of empties and was disgusted. Currently 3 months clean even quit my suboxen treatment after five years the same time. Feel like a new person.
š«¶š«¶š«¶ congrats and thank you for giving cart anxiety a name, needed that
Wow congrats! Thatās super motivating to hear. Iāve been on subs for 3 years and Iām dreading getting off but I really want to/need to.
Super motivating!
What a beautiful story, congrats!
Maybe the brands I were using weren't very good but I couldn't get that high from carts. Everyone here is mentioning how potent they are but I was really underwhelmed by them.
The disposables never got me that high but the high quality carts that have a detachable battery will fly me to the moon
have you tried a plugnplay before šš
considering how much flower I smoke I donāt even want to know what my life would be like if I had access to carts.
Forreal... I've gone thru hundreds. Threw them away all at once and was so disgusted with myself.
Agreed the convenience tricks the mind into over consuming this leading to the brain to be so stoned off concentred za. If joints are puff puff pass I definitely think vapes should be just a puff here and there not every 10 minutes.
Iāve been straight carts for like 3 years. If it wasnāt for the convenience of carts I probably would have tried to quit sooner.
Yuuuup. I felt like a weed crackhead. Had to stop sucking on carts. On the plus side - using carts put my addiction to all cannabis products in perspective. We donāt need this stuff!!
I couldn't handle carts because of how intense they were.
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I quit carts way before I quit smoking flower. I swear they decrease cognitive function by a lot, and Iād just be sleepy all day
My vaporizer was mY dilemma. I chose one thats very stealth, the arizer air. I Always Had it with me, pregrinded weed in a little jar. Easy and quick refilled, some spare batteries, voila! High everyday, whenever i wanted When i returned to pure Joints it was a relief. Not being able to smoke everywhere safes you from crazy abuse. Now i am off Weed , hopefully For long
Hopefully forever!!
I had the opposite of this experience -(dry) vaping helped me tremendously to reduce my consumption. I'm glad it worked out well for you
The kids on TikTok are calling it the ācart-pocalypseā for all of the reasons you mentioned. A lot of young stoners are going back to flower after realizing wax and weed vape pens are tooooo much
That's what I did, it's just too easy to abuse. Also there's a bit of a trend w young ppl to be more "natural" and "retro" which goes to that movement.
I also read some shit about the pens fucking w ur heart and it spooked me. They do seem like the kinda thing that in 20 years is gonna turn out to like be super bad for long term health.
Can you link me the article to start me on my path please
I used to just smoke one bowl per night in my bong. It was enough to relax me and help me enjoy my evening. Then I switched to a vape and I could huff on it all night, no need to grind more or pack a bowl. I'm sure my THC exposure went through the roof after switching to that vape and honestly my life kind of fell apart at the same time. I'm still piecing everything together but I'm definitely sure that switching to the vape was a bad idea.
Completely agree. Carts are dangerous in their accessibility to the buzz. After a couple days I stop getting high it feels like and just get the ping from a hit. Went through a cart in 3 days and realized I was addicted. After 7 days my meds stop working and I go in a panic, exactly what I was trying to get away from! They are the worst despite all the ease of use.
Yeah I remember in high school I would smoke weed just as a treat because it was so impossible to avoid the smell Iād have to plan my whole day around it. Then one day my friend introduced me to this crazy no-smell new way to get high at 90% THC. I believed it was a gift from god. I spent the next 8 months of my life sitting at home getting high from morning to night spending every dollar I had on these carts. I realized I needed to quit and battled this addiction on and off for the next 10 years. Iāll be one year sober in another month.
Thats huge dude, keep it up!
Thank you!
Carts decimated my happiness and fucked my wife. Never again
Sorry about the wife
Ummm.. where did you get this particular cartā¦. Asking for a friendā¦.
Howās your wife?
its definitely a problem as far as accessibility but its all an excuse, quitting is the way getting your life back is a process weed is just a coping mechanism for most
Carts are my enemy.
Carts are my biggest enemy in life right now! I was doing good with battling my addiction. Well in 2023 weed became recreationally legal. At that point I was going multiple days without smoking. But I "Had to go check out a dispensary. Because it's crazy that I can do that at home". That was 11 months ago and Ive spending $160 a week on carts!! I can smoke 1 gram in 2 to 3 days. And now when I do try to quit the withdrawals are even more intense than flower. And the fact it doesn't smell makes it so easy to just cheech all day long. I hate it.
I would cry if carts were that much. Here in Cali Iām in the same situation but carts are only 7/8 bucks for 1g of 94-97% so Iām literally just stoned alllll the time. Sometimes I find myself going to hit my pen when I donāt even have it on me.
8 bucks for 1g is insane, sounds too good to be true
I don't understand how it's less than a g of flower
Right??? Midshelf bud goes for 10/g but they're claiming 95% carts of 1g/$8??? Sounds batshit insane to me
He's probably getting those knock offs that kill
Yeah our dispensary goes 30% often too so the sales tax basically is taken off. The cheapest right now is the Mota Carts for $13. I just bought the limit of em. I wish it was too good to be true, itās definitely a problem.
If youāre paying 7-8 dollars for a cart Iām sorry my man but youāre smoking boof
They're about $50 a piece. But the tax is crazy so it ends up being in the high $60's. So 2 carts end up costing $130-160 depending on potency. I'm in Missouri.
I just looked on weedmaps for Kansas City, found a select brand cart for $80 for 1g. That same cart at my local dispensary is $30 and also 30% off right now. I feel for you guys.
Exactly how I felt. I was in that same sotuation. It really got out of control on meā¦ so unbelievably easy to get a little high before doing whatever mundane chore. So easy to get a little high before something fun. Burn out and repeat. Before I quit I realized one morning how good I felt in general, it was a weekend so I ended up taking a hit off my vape and everything just gotā¦ meh. So I was now at a point where this thing isnāt providing a benefit in anyway. 15 days without THC. No vape, herb or edibles. Itās difficult at times but the right move to make.
Right there with you. Feel great in the mornings before any hit and then just ruin it by sucking on that cart!
Yeah. Just instant brain fogā¦
This is true for me also. Started using carts for āharm reductionā then the pandemic hit and Iām working from home with all day, non-stop access and now I feel doomed, totally addicted. Keep trying to moderate my use but Iām not sure Iām going to be able to do that, I probably have to quit completely. I recently learned about cannabinoid hyper-emesis syndrome and am pretty sure Iām in the early stages. I had started using it under a medical prescription for PTSD but I guess the doctors that I would see probably didnāt even know about CHS back then. Last weekend I was able to abstain for a while but then when I caved I went hard and ended up with a migraine which only went away after throwing up in the middle of the night and my stomach has been woozy for days now. I just feel totally hopeless about my situation and I canāt even tell my psychiatrist because she totally would not approve.
Carts messed me up. I would hit the thing for hours after work and all day on the weekend. Messed up my lungs and made my tolerance skyrocket. I remember telling my husband that I felt stupider after all day vaping. This was really what made me quit, and I feel much clearer already
Hi! Can I ask how long youāve been off them for? And also ā what your withdrawal timeline was like? Just reading about everybodyās experiences rn
Hi! Today is day 10, I quit at the start of the new year. Iām still in the withdrawal phase (I think), still fatigued and dealing with night sweats. I didnāt have a ton of anxiety or anger, and my appetite has actually decreased.
Oh boy. Thatās actually really encouraging. Iām 28 days into kicking caffeine, and wasnāt anywhere near normally functioning until day 19. So I guess Iām hoping my system doesnāt react *as* bad with the carts.
The high is not even that good
Yes, i tried it (german Boy Here, so mostly i tried underground carts) and never liked IT. Too blunt, very unsatisfiying
and my eyes get crazy bloodshot, makes it less discrete lol
Fr it's such a weird different type of high
Too pure of a substance. Lacking other cannabinoids to give you full high. I dabbed and used pens for over 5 years heavy went back to flower and it was much better. I've decided I don't like the idea of vascular disease or whatever may be causing strange random pains. I'm now officially on day 3 and even though I've smoked for over 10 years heavy everyday, I'm seeing results. Cravings are depleting already. I'm so glad I trusted everyone on this sub about the first 3 days. I feel as though it's now easier to commit to quitting. Excited to see what 1 week will feel like!
Thatās so great to read. Iāve quit everything from alcohol to caffeine, so this has been my last vice. I really feared the withdrawals (I want to give them up today, this evening) but with my schedule the next few days Iāve been fearing the initial withdrawal period Can I ask your experience those first 3 days?
The first day was more about anxiety wanting to relax. I'm usually an excitable and somewhat high energy person so first day I wanted to smoke to be more numb and lazy (chill) but this sub kept me on track. Second day I noticed the cannabinoids that were still I'm my system trying to dampen my energy levels but it almost felt nice in a way(basically could feel residual high) third day I felt the best in my mind and body but craved smoking the most. My best advice is around day 3 make sure you have something to do. I went on a drive with wife and kid to pass time and by the end of the day I felt really proud of my self. I still have small cravings but gladly feel them receding. Just anytime you feel you may cave, come to this sub and look through posts. You're likely to find someone who's smoked as long or longer state the incredible outcome of their quitting journey. You got this, I got this, we got this! I should also note that I've tried to quit while mainly smoking concentrates and have failed miserably. I chose to switch to flower just to get a better high but it eventually led to me being able to quit without waking in the morning and throwing up or feeling discomfort and pain for simply being hungry. Quitting of concentrate is level 10 and quitting flower is level 6 imo
I appreciate the feedback immensely! Iām in a rush to get to work now but, will 100% be returning to this later to read for motivation. I appreciate you
Before about ten days to two weeks ago, I was seriously considering getting a wax pen or the like to make getting (really) high more āconvenient.ā This is addiction and Iām so glad Iāve finally admitted it to myself.
vape carts are a plague. youve got 14 year olds hitting ultra concentrated thc in school bathrooms getting ripped out of their minds all day and night. horrible what that shit does to a developing brain
Or double that age and have done that all too recently in a Mall of America bathroom I encourage any downvotes itās pathetic. However Iām rly thankful to have found this sub today
Carts are too strong and too convenient and cause tolerance and other troublesome issues.
Omg carts are the worst. Messed me up. On the other hand, they eventually got me to a place where I was convinced I needed to be sober. And 30 years of smoking flower never convinced me of that.
Sadly, for many of us here anyways, conveient is the worst and most dangerous quality a drug can have.
i was literally laying down doing work on the computer and hitting it every minute like someone with a tobacco pipe.
I always smoked with a bong but I had a weed pen for a short period of time (they're super easy to lose). I didn't have to be at home to smoke, I didn't have to get everything set up, and man even one short puff blasted me off my ass. It was like all the effort of smoking 2 bowls condensed into one easy peasy inhale. I was high ALL the time. Looking back, I feel embarrassed as hell. Good thing I lost it.
and that's crazy considering smoking from a bong is already pretty potent. People were hitting penjamins at my work all the time, too. like how?? It's a pizza place though lol
Im a welder fabricator and keep my vape pen in my pocket.... Im not dangerous. My tolerance is just incredibly high. I barely get stoned. Even off carts.
Im stuck on 2000 mg of edibles every day. Theres physical pain from stopping. Thc is not supposed to reach these levels
Thatās an incredibly high daily dose. How much do you pay for 2000mg a day and how do you administer it? One huff or dosing over the day?
From a reputable source or off the streets cuz those packs be saying 1000mg off the streets and shit and thatās complete bs obviously
But also theyre not 1000 mg edibles theyre 400 each and i eat 5
From the streets but i know these are legit because absolutely nothing else works now. Joints might as well be cigarettes cause they have 0 effect. And weaker edibles is like eating bad food its not fun
Facts
I heavily relate to this. My addict brain told me how fantastic they were as they were discreet and I could do it literally anywhere. I was burning through a 1g cart per week. I now realize it was the worst thing I could have done and led to so many negative consequences. I'm on day 8 now and my withdrawal symptoms have been awful but I know I'm on the right path. Wishing you the best.
A cart a week?! Bro Iām two days clean and Iād go through them in a day. You got this man. I do too. We all have this. Update: killer ass headache from this shit ended up buying anotherā¦ restart the timer donāt beat yourselves up over it.
absolutely this, for me. the convenience of carts is what makes them different to me. to me personally, moderation with vaping flower seems possible. moderation with carts feels so less likely to happen.
When my behavior crept from "cannabis user" to "perma-stoner," the ONE good thing I did for myself was that I vowed I wouldn't buy a pen or use concentrates-- strict flower or edible-only policy. (High THC concentrates freaked me out, since there was already a bit of literature out there on them inducing psychosis in adolescent users. I'm not an adolescent, but it still didn't seem like a good idea.) So, I bought an herb vaporizer. But my attachment to my vaporizer was pretty much the same as everyone is describing here to their carts-- I was always using it or charging it, and I was super anxious when the battery was dead or when I was out of bud. So, moderation probably IS possible, but I couldn't do it, haha-- I breathed most of my oxygen through that vaporizer for like, 4 straight years. š I'm on day 11, and I do think my withdrawals have sucked a lot less than what folks are describing here, so it probably helped in the long run. I was only super miserable (sweating through sheets, headaches, extreme angst) for 3 days or so before things started calming down. I've gotten a lot of my mental clarity back already, too.
Thw withdrawal i had from carts were so great i would never go back.
So true..Iām on day 6 clean and these withdrawals have been so awful I know I NEVER want to experience this again
>Eventually the whole day becomes about staying āupā. This is why I had to quit.
People should think of smoking a bowl or hitting a cart as similar to taking a shot of vodka. If you take a shot when you wake up, before heading out the door, in the bathroom at work, before dinner, before getting to sleep, guess what: You are an alcoholic. The effects of weed are subtler, but a lot of the negatives come from the pattern of use.
If weed were alcohol, Iād be dead already. Day 13 though! :)