Pot smoker resolves to quit, but how?

DEAR AMY: I have been using drugs since age 14 and I am now close to 50. Being in a drug culture, I have tried every high there is, but currently I smoke marijuana every day. I have wanted to quit since my early 20s but have been unable to. I sought professional help twice and was laughed away because "it is just pot." Let me tell you, Amy, there is a whole culture of us old hippies who just can't quit. Once again I am resolving to quit, and I am thinking of attending a Narcotics Anonymous meeting locally. I am afraid I will once again be laughed out of the room because my drug addiction does not qualify as "real." I have struggled with this as much as anyone with any drug addiction. Do you think it is like cigarettes, and I just need to suck it up and go cold turkey? Do I just need to be stronger? Or is this a problem that could benefit from a program? I need to stop.TokerDEAR TOKER: Given that you have spent the majority of your life addicted to and taking drugs daily (including during the time your brain was still developing), kicking your marijuana addiction will be challenging, but if I could drop confetti from the ceiling to celebrate your resolve, I would. Good for you! I must admit I am unaware of the culture of recovery in which someone admitting to any addiction would be "laughed out of the room" if his addiction wasn't considered "real" or serious enough.

If this is really happening, then I suggest you need to prove to yourself that you have the strength to push through this, because you deserve to live as a sober person.

I suspect the enormity of your long-term problem may be so overwhelming to you that you may fix upon any reason (real or perceived) to flee.

Please value your recovery enough to commit to a more professionally supportive approach. You may be able to find a low- or no-cost addiction counselor through your local department of social services.