Never smoked cigarettes since. I was about 11 when started smoking with friends hiding them in our barn. By 12, I was hooked

I quit drinking years before that because, as tiny as I am, I could still drink grown men under the table. My maternal Grandfather was a mean drunk who only drank on the weekends, but when he'd come home, he beat up my grandmother, mother, and several of her younger siblings.

So I was terrified of becoming an alcoholic since I could drink all day and never get so drunk that I was plastered and never got hangovers. Those are the makings of a pathetic drunk, so I was DONE with drinking by the time I turned 22. I also had to take meds that didn't play nicely with alcohol, so I had double the reasons to stop cold turkey.

I was never big on smoking weed, but essentially can't now because it hurts my throat and lungs, causing me to choke and cough. Quitting smoking can do that to ya, especially if you discover an allergy to it that carries over to smoking weed.

Edibles and topical creams are all I use now and not even that often anymore because, while I enjoy the high, I don't enjoy the extra pain from hyper focusing on pain.

I know lots of folks who do get pain relief from it. More power to 'em!