Marijuana and Poker

[21times20]

i smoke about 4-5 times a day, basically once i'm no longer high i smoke again and it has not stopped me from winning consistently over the past year as i've learned to play...but still in the back of mind i keep wondering if being stoned pretty much 75% of the time i'm awake might be significantly hurting my ability to progress as a player, even though my poker aptitude under the influence is still well above average

i wish if i stopped smoking for a few months i would have some solid evidence to show whether it really makes a large difference one way or the other, but since i've been playing for a little less than a year i don't think one could say for sure whether a winnings increase after stopping should be attributed to a drug-free lifestyle or continued improvement due to greater experience

still i can't help thinking i'd have the motivation to play more hours and that there might be a slight possibility of drastic improvement if i could live sober 24/7...but really i don't know if i could manage, if i don't smoke all the time i usually end up drinking all the time, poker has at least helped me with my alcoholism...now that i think about it, just exercising the willpower not to be substance-dependant would probably be such a mental breakthrough for me that it would improve my poker playing regardless of any physical improvements so really i don't think my specific case would really prove anything

however, even if i will not be able to contribute any scientific evidence on the effects of marijuana and brain, i really can't think of anything i have to lose by going a few months completely sober, as much as i love weed the chance of seeing a significant improvement in my play seems to be infinitely greater than the chance that i'll become a worse player or even advance in skill more slowly

all that being said, conquering a substance-abuse problem is a little bit more difficult than just thinking it is a good idea to stop, i really do pretty much turn into an alcoholic whenever i don't have any weed