I used cannabis to get off heroin 16 months ago. I've been living a positive, goal oriented life ever since. Cannabis helps me out tremendously to remain humble and actually think before I acted. When I would have a craving to use I would spark up a bowl instead, giving me time to throughly think about the consequences of what will happen if I go stick that rig in my arm.

I don't know, some people think I switched addictions.

But when I was shooting dope I wasn't a manager at a retail store, in college full time and changing my lifestyle habits for the better, so by that assumption I'd much rather "switch" addictions any day of the week.

I'm not saying cannabis is an end all, be all. I put in a lot of mental and emotional work during that period which I attribute much of my success too, but these moments would have been much hard to experience if I wasn't able to calm my mind to a state of tranquility. One thing I loved about opiates was that they calmed my thoughts. I was diagnosed with ADD as a child and always noticed racing thoughts and anxiety a huge downfall of mine. Bud seems to have replaced the need for a pharmaceutical to help me relax, whether it's a Xanax, adderall, or a Roxicet.

Tl;dr Cannabis helped me see the value in myself, combined with self evaluation plus therapy, this "treatment" allowed me to grow for the better.