what worked for me was motivation. a love interest had 3 small children and stated he did not want them exposed to me under the influence. so i quit cold turkey and stopped associating with folks who would tempt me. his argument made sense. after a year or so i was able to associate with anybody and to say no easily. it is harder at first. the one person i could not dissasociate from (a rent paying roomate) realized it was a temptation and hid it around me. i quit 14 yrs ago and slipped only once in the first 2 wks.

i am now able to apply for any job i want without worry about a pee test. this has been good motivation to stay clean.