College is a time of great fun and experimentation. Unfortunately, it’s also a time when smoking marijuana, or pot, becomes a fact of life for many. Pot has medicinal qualities, true. But not a single frat boy or dorm mate where I went to college (at a state school) ever used it for such a purpose.

Instead, pot was used as a party-time necessity.

Thursdays were usually the big party nights at my school. Everyone was celebrating the approaching weekend by putting whatever harmful or impairing substance they could find in to their bodies to ensure a night of fun and a morning of headaches. They would almost certainly miss that 8 a.m. Friday class.

To this day, I feel it’s a double standard for pot to be illegal and cigarettes to be sold in grocery stores. That notwithstanding, letting pot have hold of your life is a bad idea because of the impairments it makes to your judgment and your sense of responsibility. Like cigarettes, pot can be addictive, and staying hooked on it, while not proven to cause lung cancer, can limit the heights you reach in life.

That’s why, if you are addicted, there is no time like the present to quit smoking pot.

Recommendations on the Road to Cutting Out Pot

1. The addictive nature of pot is psychological, not physical. While cigarettes contain nicotine, which produce a physical reaction and tendency towards addiction, marijuana is a mind-altering drug. The effects have more to do with the brain than the body. So while you may not feel like it is an addictive drug, try to go a week or two without it and notice where the urges for a joint are coming from. Chances are, you will be drawn after this period of “cold turkey” back to the drug. Welcome to addiction.

2. Once you resolve yourself to quit, realize that one of the biggest steps in your decision is to take yourself out of situations where you know pot will be present. This could mean a change in friends, if they are not understanding of what you are trying to do, and try to force you by peer pressure.

3. Of course, it doesn’t have to mean the end of your friendships. If you try honesty, you may be surprised that your friends, “stoner” or otherwise, could actually support your decision.

4. It is a good idea, once you decide to quit smoking pot, that you get rid of any and all paraphernalia in your ownership. By taking out the pot paraphernalia, you make it harder on yourself to indulge when those mental urges take control. And the more these urges are defeated, the more likely you will quit smoking pot successfully. Each small victory leads to a larger one.

In closing, don’t beat yourself up if you relapse every now and then. You may go two weeks before giving in to the urge. The time may come when you give in again. At this point, don’t give up because of one small failure. Take pride in the fact that you’ve reduced the control pot has in your life, and get back on the horse.