“At first, weed didn’t seem like something you could even be addicted to,” Courtney Kocak writes. “In fact, when I first started, that was the conventional wisdom — but after 25 years of Cheech & Chong–ing my way through life, I’m now acutely aware of cannabis’s addictive nature.” And increasingly, so are scientists. Newer research indicates that it’s more addictive than previously thought, particularly the modern potency, and isn’t without its adverse effects, including elevated heart-attack and stroke risk. “The only person who’s going to force me to quit is me, and it’s tough because while I’m tired of this habit, I’m still completely charmed by it,” Kocak writes. “Should I be getting high in the middle of the day as a middle-age woman? Probably not. The problem is it’s so damn fun.’' In a new essay, Kocak writes about her determination to quit smoking weed in her early 40s and how she was able to reach her longest weed-free streak since her 20s: nymag.visitlink.me/Zi9SOR