A man who described himself as having been ‘addicted to weed for years’ has opened up about what happened to his body and mind after quitting for six months.
Although cannabis is still a Class B substance in the UK and illegal for recreational use, many countries — including Canada, parts of the United States, and Australia — have legalized it either fully or for medical purposes.
While some assume cannabis isn’t addictive, experts say dependence can develop over time — something Dorian Develops, a YouTuber, experienced firsthand. In his video, he explained that quitting weed for six months was the longest he’d gone without it since his teens, having spent most of his adult life smoking ‘24/7.’
Now in recovery, Dorian wanted to share how stepping away from his daily habit reshaped not just his body, but his motivation, emotions, and overall well-being.
He made it clear that his story wasn’t meant to sound like medical advice or a professional opinion, saying: “I’m not a medical professional, I’m just some dude who smoked a lot of weed.”
Mental health
In his February 2024 video, Dorian talked about how he’d always struggled with anxiety and depression to some degree and believed he’d been using weed as a way to self-medicate those feelings.
“After being sober for a while, I’m noticing that my anxiety and depression was definitely elevated by smoking weed every day, it wasn’t reduced,” he said, adding that he noticed significant improvements in his mood and emotional stability after quitting.
Physical health
Years of heavy smoking had taken a toll on his lungs, and he realized it most when training in Jiu-Jitsu. Dorian said he hadn’t realized just how much the habit was impacting his stamina and endurance until he quit.
“Now I don’t feel as winded anymore, I feel like I have way more endurance in my lungs, I feel like I can breathe easier, I don’t wheeze anymore,” he shared, explaining that since stopping, he feels healthier and believes his body is finally starting to recover from years of damage.
Relationship with food
Like many smokers, Dorian admitted that weed had changed how he related to food. While he often had good self-control, he’d end up eating junk food more often and consuming far more calories than he needed.
He revealed that at one point, he was borderline pre-diabetic, which made him take a hard look at his lifestyle and push for major changes, including giving up cannabis altogether.
“Stoners love food, giving up weed has made me have a different relationship with food which is good,” he said, adding: “It’s helped my health a lot.”
Productivity
Before quitting, Dorian often felt mentally foggy and unmotivated. He said that even simple tasks sometimes felt like a struggle when he was high, as if his brain wasn’t processing things properly.
“I felt like I would have to read the same thing over and over because I couldn’t process it,” he recalled, describing how the haze affected his focus and ability to stay on track.
“It’s so much easier to be motivated to go to the gym when you don’t wake up and smoke,” Dorian continued. “[You] have more energy and you just have more mental clarity and focus. It’s a lot easier for you to want to set goals and be ambitious and do bigger things when you’re not in that weed brain fog state all the time.”
Sleep
Since quitting, Dorian says his energy has improved dramatically, and his sleep feels deeper and more refreshing. He now wakes up after eight hours feeling rested — something that rarely happened before.
He compared it to his old routine, where even after long hours of sleep, he still woke up feeling drained.
“I felt like I could sleep forever,” he said, recalling how smoking left him constantly tired no matter how much rest he got.
For him, being able to remember dreams feels like a sign of healing and balance returning to his body.
