Preamble

Although I have never smoked ciggaretes and I am only a social drinker,I've smoked weed pretty much constantly for the past 11 years.I can't believe it's been so long but it is apparent to me now that smoking continually like this is unsustainable and I need to find a way to stop smoking weed.
I was 15 when I had my first expereince. I wasn't lured into it or anything like that, rather it was something I willingly partook in. My elder brother (who I looked up to) and all his cool friends had smoked weed in my presence for many years and gradually, it became less of a taboo to me and instead something "cool" to join in.
Funny enough, my first expereince of smoking weed was very negative. I got the fear badly! I had to be rushed to the hospital because my heart was beating so fast my family thought I was suffering from some sort of heart disease. It was such a scary experience I promised myself never to smoke again...
But I broke my promise to myself....very soon, my 15 year old self was hiding in abandoned buildings getting high with my friends. Fast forward to 11 years, I have graduated from University, gained a masters degree and recently found employment in my first full time job. A lot of things have changed in my life, but the one remaining constant has been my constant intake of Marijuana.
I was high through out my lectures, I was high when I wrote both my dissertations (the marijuana did not seem to have an adverse effect on my written work), I've been high through graduations, interviews, funerals, birthdays etc.
I look at myself now and it is harder to convince myself that I am not an addict. More importantly, I look at the negative effect that smoking weed has on me and the potential consequences of being a pot head and I have to find a way to stop smoking weed.
I work in a consultancy, a job that requires attention to detail, and I find that smoking weed is adversly impacting the level of my work. I find myself making sure I wake up extra early to leave my house (as I can not smoke weed at home), so I could meet my dealer for an hour of smoking before work. I usually remain high till about 3-4 pm and once I finish work, I go straight to the dealer for my evening round.
The worst part of my habit is that it takes alot of my time. For example, if my boss wants a report by 9am, I would STILL stop by at my dealers place as this ALWAYS seems to be my first priority. I have missed buses, appointments and deadlines just because I was getting high and I am usually left scrambling to make the time up and in the process I come up with ridicolous excuses on why I couldn't meet my engagement.
At 26, on the onset of what I hope would be a productive career, I am worried that I would destroy something great, because of impulses that I am to weak to fight. So I have resolved to fight it with every tactic I can muster.
This blog would document my fight against my addiction and hopefully, it would act as a free resource to people like me who enjoy a smoke but are increasingly caught in a cycle of addiction.
Please feel free to comment with your own experiences.