“This stuff steals my soul” — Julius Randle opens up about quitting marijuana and how it helped him stay his family

Julius Randle has opened up about his choice to quit marijuana during a podcast interview. This conversation happened in the episode titled "The Mental Game That Helped Him Go from NBA Doubts to Winning Mindset" of the "Change Your Brain Every Day" podcast, hosted by Dr.

Daniel Amen and Tana Amen.

What Julius Randle said about his experience with marijuana

In the podcast, Randle detailed how marijuana affected his emotional state and daily functioning. He told Dr. Amen that it temporarily suppressed negative thoughts but made them worse upon wearing off, "When it wears off, the ants come back and they're worse."

He further described it as a way to "drown out any type of noise or you know anxiousness," but it prevented him from truly feeling and processing his emotions."The smoking to you know try to drown out any type of noise or you know anxiousness and all those different type of things.” He saidHe later added, “So, just kind of like maybe just covering it up and not allowing myself to actually feel, you know, what's going on and feel like, okay, like we talked many of times this year, I'm like, all right, there might be times where I'm feeling anxious and I'm like, okay, this is great. I'm feeling something."

Julius Randle shared his thoughts on how the habit developed, pointing out at about the 22-minute mark that it was beneficial for his anxiety and morphed into a hobby. However, he admitted it had negative consequences, "But the reasons to stop is it's damaging your brain. It makes you overthink. Be the best version of yourself. Better example. Kendra will be happier. your mother will be happier."

Kobe Bryant taught Julius Randle to stay calm and focused during chaos

During the interview with Dr. Amen, Randle discussed how he transformed hurdles into strengths, drawing motivation from his mentor, Kobe Bryant.

He explained that he developed an alter ego known as "Mamba Disciple" to channel Bryant's approach during intense moments, like the playoffs.We have discussed many different tools, such as using EMDR therapy to overcome trauma, such tools as happy saffron supplements, such strategies as “killing the ants,” and “the one-page miracle” exercise to help you achieve what you want to.He also disclosed about how he used marijuana as a form of coping, the dependence he had on the drug to help him cope, especially when in New York and he was experiencing a lot of pressure and negativity.Randle explained to Dr. Amen that marijuana initially served as a way to manage anxiety, "you picked it up as a way to manage your anxiety and because especially in New York there's a lot of pressure, right? There's a lot of negativity and there's I mean it's a lot."He mentioned that at about the 8-minute point in the episode, it made him feel relaxed and sharpened his senses, enhancing the taste of food. But then it turned into a habit where he began "chasing the feeling."

Still, after looking at brain scans and chatting with Dr. Amen, he realized the negatives, which pushed him to quit after his time with the New York Knicks.

Julius Randle shares how quitting marijuana made family conversations more real

A major focus of Randle's talk was on the impact of marijuana on his relationships, especially with his wife Kendra and their kids. In a video posted on X, Randle mentioned, "Smoking made me distant & not present…I’d kinda be in my own world."He elaborated in the podcast that quitting allowed him to be more engaged, "My wife will be like.

No, you're just not present like we're having a conversation, you're not really present, you know, you're not. You're with the kids, you're not really present."Randle said to Dr. Amen the importance of mental independence for family life, "It's definitely tough in today's world, but I think it's so important to have a clear mind and being able to be strong mentally and independent mentally without anything influencing you as far as you know substance or voice or whatever, like, you know, being able to sort your own thoughts out."He noted that quitting helped him become "a lot more zen," reducing impulsive reactions and blackouts, "Be angry or upset, or you know, have, you know, temperament or whatever. It is where I would just react and, you know, kind of like, black out like those things don't happen, you know, nearly as much. So I think I'm a lot more zen than I used to be."Also Read: “They don’t give sh*t” — Charles Barkley got real about NBA’s messy $77 billion streaming dealFor Julius Randle, quitting marijuana became less about breaking a habit and more about breaking free. He’s no longer “chasing the feeling” or drowning out the noise — instead, he’s present with his family, calmer in chaos, and mentally sharper.