Marijuana Withdrawal Syndrome
There are now several clinical trials showing that mice and dogs show evidence of cannabis withdrawal. (For THC-addicted dogs, it is the abnormal number of wet-dog shakes that give them away.) Today, scientists have a much better picture of the jobs performed by anandamide, the body’s own form of THC. This knowledge helps explain a wide range of THC withdrawal symptoms.
Among the endogenous tasks performed by anandamide are pain control, memory blocking, appetite enhancement, the suckling reflex, lowering of blood pressure during shock, and the regulation of certain immune responses. These functions shed light on common hallmarks of cannabis withdrawal, such as anxiety, chills, sweats, flu-like physical symptoms, and decreased appetite. At Columbia University’s National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, where a great deal of National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA) funded research takes place, researchers have found that abrupt marijuana withdrawal leads to symptoms similar to depression and nicotine withdrawal.
What the NIDA has learned about cannabis addiction, according to the principal investigator of a recent NIDA study, was that “we had no difficulty recruiting dozens of people between the ages of 30 and 55 who have smoked marijuana at least 5,000 times. A simple ad in the paper generated hundreds of phone calls from such people.” (This would be roughly equivalent to 14 years of daily pot smoking.)
Here is a sampling of comments from dependent marijuana smokers, gathered from my blog, Addiction Inbox :
Comment 1
I’m 55 and I’ve been smoking pot off and on for the last 30 years… I had no idea of the withdrawal I would experience. Two days in, I thought for sure I had some dreaded disease. One minute I would be freezing, the next sweating. The loss of appetite doesn’t bother me because pot always helped me keep on an extra 5-10 lbs from the munchies and sweet tooth. Not sure how long it will take, but I do look forward to the day when this has all passed.
Comment 2
As far as symptoms, the worst for me so far has been insomnia, on day nine I was awake for 28 hours, a hallucinatory experience itself….The temperature regulation thing is very real, I’m freezing, I’m burning, I’m sweating. Starting to get hungry once a day.
Comment 3
The cravings have pretty much subsided but not completely. When I get bored is when it is the strongest. I have experienced the sweating, severe diarrhea, migraine headaches and sleeplessness…. I have hidden this addiction from family for so long and it’s nice to not have to worry if someone is going to stop by and smell it and catch me.
Comment 4
I have been smoking pot since I was 17, I am now 34, happily married with a child. I smoked at least once a day, up to 4 joints a day by myself. I stopped smoking a week ago but I am completely miserable…. I am always dreaming of using, I wake up in sweats and search the whole house for a roach sometimes when I am desperate but at the same time I feel proud that I have not called my dealer or visited my using friends, this time I might as well do it.
Comment 5
It’s been 2 weeks since I vaporized my last bowl, and since then I’ve gotten so desperate I’ve been smoking resin. Last night I used rubbing alcohol to get the resin out of my bong and smoked the resin after the alcohol evaporated. It tasted awful and barely got me high, but tonight I did it again, and I was so impatient that I put the resin-alcohol solution in the oven to help it evaporate! This is how desperate I’ve become – I’ve risked burning down my house in order to get marginally high.
Comment 6
After using heavily for the past 7 years, and basically all day every day for the last 6 months my side effects are major. i still cant sleep properly although at least now im getting 6 hours which isnt too bad. nausea every day. i have a bad stomach to begin with but i usually dont get sick every day. hot and cold sweats. im freezing right now but about half an hour ago i was boiling. i havent eaten properly since i stopped. the thing i dont like is that i feel spaced out constantly. i feel like im bent even when im not. and not bent in a calm relaxing way either.
Comment 7
I am a researcher at a university and have studied the effects of drugs, particularly alcohol, on the brain for the last decade or so. Like many of my friends and colleagues, I consider marijuana to be a relatively low-risk drug when used in moderation by responsible adults. However, I am now forced to admit that my view of the discontinuation syndrome was naïve and that I was completely unprepared for it myself:
Week 1: Despite missing my evening smoking session and feeling some mild irritability, I felt fine.
Week 2: Mild flu-like symptoms, which I assumed to be viral in nature though it did not exactly feel viral. No real desire to smoke marijuana. I assumed I was out of the woods and had gotten off easy.
Week 3: Sudden onset of incredibly intense and vivid dreams. Profuse sweating at night. Difficulty discerning dreaming from waking state. Lack of energy. Upset stomach. Absolutely no appetite. Unable to focus. Saw my primary care physician. All labs normal.
Week 4: This is where the real problems began for me. Sudden onset of intense, full body anxiety…. This led to complete insomnia for days. A very deep feeling of dread and a sense that I was going completely insane. Crying spells that came from nowhere….
Week 5: The intense anxiety slowly began to dissipate… was able to sleep for 4-6 hours a night, which is approaching normal for me. Appetite slowly came back but the thought of eating was unpleasant. Feeling of confidence began to return. Feelings of hopelessness and of going crazy began to diminish.
References
Budney, A. (2004). Review of the Validity and Significance of Cannabis Withdrawal Syndrome American Journal of Psychiatry, 161 (11), 1967-1977 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.161.11.1967
Lichtman, A.H. and Martin, B.R. (2002) Marijuana withdrawal syndrome in the animal model. Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 42, 20S-27S.
Vandrey, R., Budney, A., Kamon, J., & Stanger, C. (2005). Cannabis withdrawal in adolescent treatment seekers Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 78 (2), 205-210 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2004.11.001
WILSON, D., VARVEL, S., HARLOE, J., MARTIN, B., & LICHTMAN, A. (2006). SR 141716 (Rimonabant) precipitates withdrawal in marijuana-dependent mice Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 85 (1), 105-113 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2006.07.018
Dirk Hanson, MA
Mr. Hanson is a freelance science writer and the author of "The Chemical Carousel: What Science Tells Us About Beating Addiction." He is also the author of ''The New Alchemists: Silicon Valley and the Microelectronics Revolution.'' He has worked as a business and science reporter for numerous magazines and trade publications. He currently edits the Addiction Inbox blog, and is senior contributing editor for the addiction and recovery website, The Fix.340 Responses
[...] More info…There are now several clinical trials showing that mice and dogs show evidence of cannabis withdrawal. (For THC-addicted dogs, it is the abnormal number of wet-dog shakes that give them away.) Today, scientists have a much better picture of the jobs performed by anandamide, the bodys own form of THC. This knowledge helps explain a wide range of THC withdrawal symptoms. Among the endogenous tasks performed by anandamide are pain control, memory blocking, appetite enhancement, the suckling re [...]
[...] Brain Blogger post Marijuana Withdrawal Syndrome sampled comments from users left at Dirk Hanson’s blog Addiction [...]
[...] fortunate to have regular contributions from Mr. Dirk Hanson, noted book author and science writer (Marijuana Withdrawal Syndrome); Dr. Jennifer Gibson, clinical pharmacist and medical writer/editor (Autism – No Need For A [...]
[...] like nicotine or heroin. Well, that's not true, either. Well, that's not true, either. Marijuana Withdrawal Syndrome | Brain Blogger Alright, but you didn't answer any of my post about how tobacco is used in greater quantity [...]
[...] addictive. All the pot heads that it isn't. I don't even know anymore after reading this shit…. Marijuana Withdrawal Syndrome | Brain Blogger Opinions? __________________ [...]
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Geez, I call BS on this. I’ve smoked off and on for 35 years. NEVER have I had anything even remotely close to withdrawals. And these comments, I call BS-FAKE on them… Total BS! Never seen it in others either…. come on… always dreaming about it, risk burning my house down, nausea, spaced out, 5 weeks of wd’s. Complete and total BS! Just for the record I am a REAL Scientist with a degree and a state license to practice. This piece is too far from reality to be taken seriously.
I have smoked pot for almost fifteen years every day and after 5 weeks of not smoking I feel like crap! I am doing this to pass a drug test for an externship for college. I have rapid heart beat, sweats, irritability, cannot concentrate, have no motivation, and I am constipated. I cannot sleep, but I do not feel productive. I try to exercise 3 times aweek, I take vitamins, eat healthy, work and go to school. My grades are slipping, my work performance is going down hill. I have even started to cut myself to relieve anxiety. I was fine before I quit smoking. I was an honor roll student, been at my job for almost seven years and now I feel terrible. Pot may not be addicting for an occassional user, I know people like this but it is for me because I have smoked everyday since I was 14 years old. I’m losing my mind!
Ive been smoking it for about 20 years..I leave it alone for a few months then sometimes I have a few tokes, I dont smoke tobacco only weed, I have not had any problems with it, I have noticed that people that say they get addicted, usually get addicted to anything. Its ok for some but others seem to get a problem with it
I also get the feeling that those that have a problem with it are like some smokers that give up. I for one did not have problems with it, I still don’t have problems with it all I know is, I am now pain free its not for everyone, but neither are pharmaceuticals
Here. Have some more attention.
Day 5. Can’t sleep. / stomach hurts. Been a very heavy smoker since I was 13 and I’m 24 now. Withdrawal is def real I just think did people go through it differently . Depressed and hoping these feelings I away. I do remember iwas depressed as a you g kid so may e these aren’t withdrawals but just how I feel without being high. Fucking sucks
After 2.5 months of quitting, I am finally starting to feel much better about life and myself. It’s been a rough ride, which is many cannot quit after long-term chronic use. But I am seeing the other side and it’s a nice place to be. It has allowed me to see what is wrong and to actually do something about it all rather than just toke up. My creativity is actually better as well and my skills are getting better at my art form.
I am now 4 days without it and do agree that WD symptoms definitely exist. I think it can be harder for some too, depending on what else is going on in ones life. I think the trick to making it as smooth of a ride as possible for those who experience heavier symptoms is to find something in your life that means more to you than getting stoned. It won’t abate the physical symptoms, but certainly will give you the strength to make it through the psychological maladies. And from what I know, the length of the withdrawal period can be hastened through regular exercise. Those with Higher body fat percentages tend to take longer to rid their systems of THC, as it is stored in fat cells. So the lower your body fat is and the higher your metabolic rate, the faster you will get through it! I also recommend strongly that one change their daily routine up and do something new during the time that getting stoned would normally occur. Best of wishes to all who are going through this! Hang on to the positive things in life and never lose sight of what you are quitting for.
I definitely agree with this comment. The key is finding a hobby to take your mind off it. Switch up your routine and fill spaces where you would usually smoke with other things.
Think about holidays you’ve had when you didn’t smoke – you didn’t have wd symptoms then.
And for the depression and feeling sh*t – if you think you feel sh*t, or as though you’re gonna have a sh*t day then you almost certainly will.
Can be mind over matter i believe, so you’ve got to be extremely strong mentally and try stay positive. Don’t let weed win – “it’s a little b*itch and it can’t have that affect on my normal sober life”
As for the sweaty palms, you’re not gonna stop that…Good luck all
this is ridiculous all of it… just like the first commenter i smell a big fat piece of BS…
yea thats right… people arent going to fall for this and the lies just need to stop already…
the worst is (even with constant and “HEAVY” use for many years)
first “SYMPTOM” >>> slight constipation >>> DIRECTLY ATTRIBUTED TO the FACT that WHEN smoking ANYTHING it acts as a NATURAL LAXATIVE and helps and aids in digestion…
second “SYMPTOM” >>> is a reduction in appetite… AGAIN ATTRIBUTED TO THE ABOVE MENTIONED CONSTIPATION DUH if your full of waste and it is harder for you to pass it then YOUR BOWELS ARE FULL AND YOUR NOT HUNGRY DUH…
LAST AND FINAL “SYMPTOM”… is a reduction in energy, which is EASILY COMBATED WITH A FRIGGIN EASY REMEDY… its called… CYANOCOBALAMIN AKA VITAMIN B12… TAKE VITAMINS PEOPLE…
AS A MATTER OF FACT ANOTHER WAY TO COMBAT THIS LAST SYMPTOM AND TAKE CARE OF BOTH SYMPTOM 1…2…and 3 is drink some coffee a couple of times a day and there you go theres your laxative and energy booster…
(to college girl) (second comment from top)… if anything what you described is… you are in dire need of MENTAL help and it has nothing to do with your bs “withdrawl” symptoms… what you are showing are signs of MENTAL ILLNESS and stress and anxiety from your life situation… and (dont know whether intentional or not) but please dont MISTAKE your “so called symptoms of “withdrawl” and “attribute your mental illness and blame it on the USE OF cannabis”…
if anything YOU HAVE HAD A PRE-condition AND MENTAL ILLNESS WAY before you ever even smoked… THAT is the REAL issue and if your claims are true and your not some “paid” responder on the site… then you can be thankful that such a plant exists, because it… since it is PROVEN to be beneficial for mental health, then you should be thankful it was probably the BEST MEDICINE for you that kept your mental condition in check and kept you from offing yourself…
so if your already dead because you offed yourself, because you werent “allowed” and didnt have easy medical access to consume cannabis freely…
then well i guess everyone who can read this better end this prohibition bs once and for all so people like her can get the help she so desperately needs because its obvious cannabis was helping her…
so to all… end this bs once and for all… that way people can get the natural AND FREE USE of their OWN medical care that people so need…
(again to college girl)… if your still with us… get help… see a doctor and start using cannabis again and your “mental illness” will go away… thanks to cannabis…
(to general public)… people are a lot more intelligent than back when flappers were around… and you cannot, nor anyone try to “demonize” cannabis and pull a fast one on us, because we KNOW that cannabis is a perfectly HARMLESS plant… it is NOT harmful… and you cannot lie to us and tell us that it is “dangerous” and “harmful” like you did back in the day, because people just arent going to fall for the bull ANYMORE…
again… (the part about you should see a mental health professional is towards (college girl)… the rest is a comment for the “greedy people who profit off of cannabis’ illegality… and then the rest is to the general public…
good day to you all
lack of appetite and diareia very real withdral symptoms
Everyone is different. I was reading today somewhere that cannabis withdrawal symptoms are not a result of detox but of the brain sending distress signals to the body due to what it is used to having. I can totally see this, though I am not sure if it’s detoxification, brain distress, or both. If it is brain distress, then yes, it would make sense that some get withdrawals and others do not.
I am a long time user of cannabis and have quit a number of times. Three years ago I quit for three weeks and don’t remember withdrawal symptoms that very notable. At the time, however, I was not getting extremely high quality weed and don’t know if that had anything to do with it at all….
Two years ago I quit and I had a terrible time with dizziness and vertigo-type symptoms, upset stomach, headaches, irritability, anxiety and depression. The worst of it seemed to abate after a couple of weeks or less. However, the cravings and mood swings continued for a while. After 56 days, I wrote in my journal that I was finally feeling much more stable mood wise and more productive and happier.
However, I started again and just quit for good this time seven days ago. This time I am having digestive trouble, headache, insomnia, terrible anxiety, body aches, headaches, and what feel like hot flashes.
Stress has incredible effects on the body and some may be more prone to such stress than others.
This is something I don’t want to go through again and can’t wait until it ends. It feels similar to opioid withdrawal but different. I remember last time I quit, I used some regular salvia divinorum leaf twice to help with the cravings and anxiety.
I don’t think that it is fair to underestimate the power of addiction to anything on the brain and the stress it causes holistically when that substance is removed. And you are correct, everyone is different – so very different.
Something else I wanted to add is that I was in an addictive relationship with a person and when that ended, I went through some mainly psychological symptoms and some anxiety, but nothing like this.
Also, why did I never get addicted to salvia divinorum?
I think if cannabis was not physically addictive, then more people I know wouldn’t be smoking their brains out every day and not able to go two days without it. So my mind has changed. I do think it’s addictive both psychologically and physically. But maybe not for everyone.
Crying, hot flash, dizzy feeling, as if floating in swiming pool, pain, back flashes of bad shit i have done cause serious anxitity, i was about to get on a plane one of the days gone by, they locked the door and i went crazy in my mind thinking this fucking thing is gonna fall out of the sky, weed mad me do dumb shit stuff i cant believe enters my head, but its in the past and i have to build a bridge and drag myself over it. Nothing serious just dumb ass shit. I would like to congratulate anybody who have stayed strong im nearly two weeks of it and the dizzy feeling is the worst for me, i make sure to force feed my self every day even if i gag i still eat and i feel like shit after doing it, my body starts making the most fucked up noises, like when you make the fart sound from your mouth lol. Today was a bad day until now, i feel a little better from reading some posts i dont mean it in a bad way but up until now i thought my grave was gonna be dug soon from the way i felt. So thanks to you all, if someone you loved has passed pray to them believe me it helps, you need a higher power, i actually talk to my auntie in my head call me crazy or whatever but it saves me from thinking about other things, first of all i think of a time when she made me smile when i was down i close my eyes and see a picture of her face and then it just goes from there, love you missus you are the best, she is the one i believe in and i loved her so thats why she picked me to make me better. I will never touch weed again i will get better and i will never forget the madness that i am going through. I have a long way to go yet and i thank the lord im on vacation because i wouldnt be able to work being like this. I understand why some need rehab i do but im to stubbern and you would want to see what my temper is like, im a fuckin lunatic. My girlfriend is getting the bad me at the minute but any time i lose it i for some reason lash out on her verbaly like a king dickhead 5 minutes later i feel totally retarded and im hugging and kissing her and listening to her laughing calling me crazy, love this girl to bits and intend on give her everything she wants. So i may leave you now and all i can say is there is nothing you cant do you can give up the very same way as you started it, you allow it to happen you make your owen choices. It feels good to say no and if it takes 2 months as most people say well just remember everyday that goes by is one less to get there,, peace out people no hope in the dope, have to go or im gonna shit my self, bye bye.
Lol My brain is finally back to itself, my mood swings are totally gone i still have the odd panic attack but nothing as bad as i used to.. The only way to give weed up is having time to yourself !go on vacation! Or just stay at home and do what you have to do, unfortunatly it does actually take around a month to give it up, i am of it about a month no more or less,, i find im eating alot more than i used to, but for the first couple weeks i had to force feed my self even when i felt sick i pushed it down, i must have shit 7 or8 times a day but made sure i had a full stomach,, i thought i was dying at one stage until i was searching the web about withdrawls and oh boy was i happy to read some posts and i thank you all because i know what you went through… Weed is very addictive and turns you into a retard.. I laughed when people called me a weed head i told them i could give it up anytime boy i was so wrong.. Having a dealers number lodged in my head made it so hard to give up…. This cheeky mother fucker used to ring me and ask me was i ok for stuff and everything.. I will never touch a drug again weed is up there with heroin only dif is people dont see it that way. So give it up you fucking losers its really easy after 2 weeks of the shits headaches pains in your bones depression emotional attack, the very worst is dizzy feelings i nearly died when i got this. Peace out druggies all my love
The new me
Wow, all up on your high horse now calling potheads losers, now that you stopped smoking for a whopping 2 weeks.
Most individuals visiting this site are visiting it for a valid reason, you don’t have to be a dick about it.
Irritability is a common symptom when one has no cannabis during a dry spell. My goal? No dry spells. The tiniest amount of cannabis enjoyed during a down moment of a day, or a part of a pre-sleep ritual can do as much for an attitude as a nap, a bite to eat, or even a quick session of meditation or yoga.
You sir are the one that is full of BS: I am living through the detox right now and have all of the negative effects that the people wrote about. Get a grip shit head.
I feel sad and hopeless. There is no way to change what’s wrong with the human condition once you quit cannabis. That is to say if your quiting to see things clearer it will not work. Just remember this to will pass and don’t be so hard on yourself.
Dont feel sad or depressed. We are in this together. I am experiencing night sweats, depression, insomnia, dizziness, nausea and intense vivd dreams. It won’t last forever. Think of how much better our lives are going to be! I already feel like I have alot more energy than ever before. Resist the temptation! Remember that you truly aren’t alone. I know I am just some random girl in cyberspace, but I am going through the same things you are. We can do this!
ACUTEGIRL, I noticed your kind words to Brandon. I started while in Vietnam to get my mind off what was going on. It helped my PTSD when I returned as without it I had daily nightmares. So from 1968 till now I didn’t stop. (43 years) And for all those years I said it wasn’t addictive.
Well now I feel like living shit with most all the symptoms everyone is writing about.I’ve lost 22 pounds in 3 weeks and still can’t sleep but about 2 decent hours. I’m going to hang in there like you, because now I will soon be a grandfather and want to be around as long as possible. You were kind to reassure Brandon who was having a hard time. Thank You, OldHead
You must live on the east coast where I have seen nothing but butt swag, for those who do know is mexican brick weed. and its a very low thc content. and you prob didnt have withdrawls cuz u have access to pharm drugs. So shut the fuck up. Withdrwls are real you have so smoke good shit which u dont. U prob still smoke the old grass of the 70′s head out west smoke that for a year straight and tell me you dont have withdrawls. what a idiot.
i agree. this is my third day of not smoking and my stomach has been hurting very much. i have smoked for 15 years, daily; i didn’t think it would be a problem to stop. i’m also getting night sweats. symptoms aren’t too bad, but they are real.
you can call it whatever you want buddy. fact of the matter is ive been smoking everyday for 6 months, i haven’t smoked for two days, and it’s not even that i’m craving it…barely am. BUT i’ve been sweating profusely, getting chills, feeling heat/cold waves simultaneously, feeling really spaced out….and this is after a busy day at work, and a long work out at the gym (which should lower the bad feelings…don’t wanna know how i would feel if i sat home all day)
according to the article NOT EVERYBODY HAS THESE WITHDRAWALS.
so it’s one thing to not have to go through it.
but to shit on what other people are going through
by the way, i only found this article after feeling all these symptoms and thinking i’m crazy and searching on google to see if there is such a thing as weed withdrawal. and all my “symptoms” are listed there.
To the so called scientist. You don’t have a clue. I’m so sick right now from withdrawals. Hot and cold sweats, insomnia, depression, fever, swollen glands in my neck, nausea, I wake up covered in sweat with wet sheets. This happens everytime I run out of weed. I’ve been smoking heavily for 22 years. I’m a hard core everyday all day long user. I smoke an ounce a week. @$160 an ounce my habit is costing me to much but I want this sick feeling to end. I’m on day 2 since I smoked and I’m very very sick. I feel like I have the flu.
Where the hell do u get an oz for $160???
I have smoked for over 40 years, and I too quit many times without withdrawals. This time it’s different, it’s been 43 days; dizzy, confused, (still feeling high without enjoying it)pain, vivid dreams,(some scary),and not being able to sleep more than two hours at a time. Can’t wait to get back to smoking!
hey tony are you filling better its been 51 day for me I fill the same way
I’ve been smoking weed for almost 13 years . Heavy use for the past 8 years and everyday for the past 4 years . I live in Cali and grow my own shit . Im now on day 2 of my vacation and I’m definitely having withdrawal symptoms . At home I wake up and go pack a bowl in the bubbler or bong to start my day . I smoke all day until I go to work the night shift . I get home from work and usually go straight to the garage and pack a fatty . I’m on day two of my vacation and it’s 3am . I feel like shit and I have had 2 bites of a burger since we landed.i never imagined this ! If you didn’t have any withdrawals then why we’re you on this site ? This shit is very real and if you honestly smoke cron and you don’t have withdrawals then you are very lucky ! If your just a poser talking down about people who are already down YOU ARE A PIECE OF SHIT !
If you were a “real scientist” you would know that everyone’s body reacts differently to things. I have been smoking pot almost daily for five years and for me personally I DO go through withdrawal symptoms. I know not everyone does but I definitely do.
I’m just saying it can happen.
Lol, the guy that calls himself a scientist without providing his field of emphasis sounds like a troll. F**k that guy.
With your back ground you should know telling people things are “BS” is completely unprofessional. You have no clue your fancy school back ground will never allow you to know. People come here looking for help. You are the not only rude but you sir are full of BS and a joke to those around you. I bet crack is good to right? Your a fool who I bet works at 7-11. No Doctor would ever respond like that.
I am a REAL Scientist with a degree and a state license to practice. Thank GOD you are not my Doctor. A fancy License means nothing unless you have lived through it. Your degree must be from a on line course. I feel bad for you. How’s late nights at 7-11 working for ya because god knows I would never hire you.
I call BS on you!!
and i too can print a degree off the interweb and boast about it. keyboard warriors FTW!!!
Dude, You’re in denial!
Wow, i guess if you didn’t experience these side effects, it must be bullshit, because your experience IS THE ONLY EXPERIENCE that is really important oh enlightened one! I bet you still live at home with your parents too hey? I would suggest that you start smoking again,….for all our sakes. When a pathological narcissist like yourself is baked, the world can rest a little and not have to listen to YOUR BULLSHIT. Thundering fool xoxoxo
well u just smoked on and off….Iv smoked about an 1/8th a day for 15 years…now i have to quit for a drug test at work…iv had all those w.d’s X ten. insomnia,night sweats , loss of appatite, irratabilaty…dont try to downplay someone elses symptoms …they are real(trust me) i call bs on u!…were not talking about couple puffs on the weekend here …these are the testamonies of real chronics.. not posers like u
TYC you are an ignorant fool.
If you smoke consistently everyday for 6 years or more then stop cold turkey these withdrawal symptoms are very very real. It sounds to me that you have never been a chronic smoker since you say “on and off”. I have experienced other drug withdrawal and now withdrawal from weed after smoking a lot everyday for over seven years. Insomnia, loss of appetite, rapid temperature changes, irritability, severe body aches and pains, digestive system upset and severe moods including awful anxiety. The feelings do start to subside after about two months (probably a little bit different for each individual) with no weed. So I call a massive bullshit on your useless comment Mr I am a ‘real’ scientist (who gives a shit). A scientist of bullshit by the sounds of it, saying you are a scientist adds no weight to your comment. You do realise how many different types of scientists there are dont’t you, fool.
honestly your a jackass for saying this. maybe you didnt experience any withdrawal symptoms but how can you say this for every person in the world that has quit? you talk about your degree but your talking like an ignorant high school dropout making bold assumptions. the withdrawal symptons are real. im experiencing them as i type this. the constant headaches. i get 3-4 hours of sleep. my apetite has decreased tremedously. and i have a sense of not knowing where im at at times. its hard to focus and im starting to have slight anxiety. so you should chill with you calling all this stuff bs. the only thing that is bs is your bullshit degree.
Definetely there are withdrawal syndromes. I’m off for 30 days and have had the third “cold”, sweating, bad sleep. It’s not as harmless as it’s sold to me, since it makes you passive and asocial, unmotivated when you use it. And you are craving it when not using it.
After smoking for 17 years daily.. only the best weed out there, was extremely picky….I quit..6 days clean..withdrawal symptoms are real..not lacking sleep, however I feel more fatigue than ever.. No mental symptoms only physical ones..
-Flu like symptoms ( joints hurt around the kegs and knees, nose runs, cough, hard to breathe)
- vivid dreams ( very detailed and colorful, seeing people I have not seen in years, more visual than an acid trip)
- sweating like a pig ( wake up with the bed all wet every few hours)
- lack of appetite
- dazed out
Wondering when will this come to an end and how long this lasts?
If you only smoke a join once a year no problem , but if you smoke everyday for the las 25 years .
I want to see you there !!!!!!!!!
IT is not a good feeling .
Non medical Marijuana use if used properly, the user wouldn’t depend on it daily, meaning they would use as a medicine when needed or stress reliever for recreational use only. These people who have been used for this faulty experiment sound as if they have been using marijuana as someone with a serious medical problem would do. Example a type 1 dietetic with an extreme case of neuropathy who cannot leave the house or even function without 2gs of hash a day would obviously feel some kind of withdrawal, when a body is super dependent on any chemical or substance obviously the body will feel some sort of negative connotation without that dependence. Just as if you give a vegan or vegetarians meat after a long green diet their stomach will not be used to it, and in effect will cause nausea. I have used marijuana since I was 16, I am 20 now and of course cannot say I have always smoked as needed. Of course kids like to get high and abuse drugs which marijuana can be abused as any other substance getting so loaded you literally feel like the anti-drug commercial of the chick liquefying into the couch (I still wish I could find green that made me melt, that’s just dank). Now, I use marijuana on a daily basis but like just a little buzz to take the edge off somewhat like a beer besides much more calming euphoric feeling and the effects last much longer. Or when I get off a long exhausting day of work on the way home when I take those few puffs driving down the freeway to give me that extra mental boost to go and work out. Cannabanoids are way more beneficial then any pharmaceutical product, do your research and it becomes obvious. Unfortunately our Government is soooo full of shit controlling the majority of Americas opinion with propaganda all with the motivation of greed and own personal agendas this has allowed a wonderfully beneficial FREE product to go readily unavailable. Due to the vast access of information on the web this is starting to become more and more obvious still not to the mass majority of Americans. But if people keep self educating themselves with reliable web sources (There are many faulty informational sites online) there’s no way you wont find that marijuana’s pro’s greatly outweigh its cons. One of the largest anti-marijuana contributors is beer manufacturers, you would think that’s weird ya know, weed and beer that a good combo for most people, but actually its because most people would rather smoke a J then a drink a beer but wont because of respect of the law. LEGALIZE GREEN MEDICINE FEDERALLY!!
Hey TYC—- Fuck you.
First off, you probably mean you smoked some low-power shit maybe 3-4 times a week. Woop-te-doo!!! I been smokin at least a bowl every two three hours for over 15 years. Have stopped and in day five am having headaches, fever, major lung congestion, heart palpitations, aches, major anxiety. When you blow through at least an ounce BY YOURSELF every week and THEN try to stop, then give me a call. Otherwise STFU you goddamn poser!
That dude with the ugly dog has a real chip on his shoulder. Sorry that you’re a drug addict who’s upset honest people are telling the truth about marijuana and it’s addictive nature. Get over it and go find an “I love to be a drug addict” thread.
I was up at 2am yesterday morning and am still awake now( 4 am day after) I have smoked weed and fags for the last 15 years and I can guarantee you that the symptoms described on this site are true. I have smoked at least 5 (max 12) joints a day whilst holding down a full time demanding job for the last 5 years.I am suffering from pretty much everything mentioned here and more. You have clearly never smoked any quality weed in your life or you would not have made those comments. If you would like a chat send me a message.
I second TYC – TOTAL BS. I’ve been a smoker for over 10 years and have never experienced any type WD. And I’m in California’s Green triangle and get some of the most potent stuff out there. Funny thing, I’ve been busy and haven’t been able to pick up a MJ in over a week, and guess what? I feel the same as I always feel (except after a nice BT). And when I do have MJ (which is 95% of the time) I am defiantly a daily smoker. This is BS at it’s fullest.
“Two days in, I thought for sure I had some dreaded disease. One minute I would be freezing, the next sweating.”
HAHAHAHAAA, sounds like this guy got the Flu.
I am offended that you say this is BS! I believe you do not have these terrible symptoms but some of us do! I wish I felt ok! I have smoked 2-3 joints a day to myself. I cannot function without it. This is real and I wish it wasn’t. I have a GPA of 3.8 and I am smart and hard working however when I don’t have a steady flow of thc in my system I cannot focusand I feel sick. I did not have anxiety, insomnia… when I was smoking. These problems started on day two of not smoking and are continuing now into week five. Drugs effect everyone differently. I smoked crack a handful of times when I was sixteen and I never got addicted, it was something I did with a friend that had it. That does not mean crack is not addicting. If I smoked it every day for years I am sure I would be hooked, however, I believed pot was not realy a drug and could mellow me out since I have a bad temper and would be a fun non addictive thing to do. I was wrong. I fell in love with it and smoked every day. Fifteen years later I am sick without it. I have had a kidney infection, ear infection, bloating, itching, insomnia,hot flashes, cold flashes and guess what others are posting the same symptoms. I started researching my side effects because I thought it was just me, maybe I am crazy but I am not the only one! Don’t be so naive to dismiss this as BS! Just because you are lucky enough to not be going through this doesn’t mean it is not real for some of us!
for having a 3.8 gpa you cant spell very well. its spelt Really not realy
Go straight to the asylum ahole.
sorry but you’re an as*hole. if you would read carefully you would see that not EVERYONE suffer from this. why would people comment here if they felt fine? what do you think this was made to scare people from smoking?
i’m still gonna continue smoking long-term…but we all have to take breaks once in a while for one reason or another. but i can’t deny how much i feel like shit right now.
have some respect for what others might be going through, oh mighty defiant smoker.
Wow you ignorant mother fucker, saying withdrawal from marijuana is fake? Hell no, these people on here including myself experience tons of symptoms from quitting. I have been trying to quit for 2 years, and have been smoking for 4. It ruins your life on top of withdrawals! I stopped smoking for a week and suddenly landed a job interview. Interesting while i was high all day i went unemployed for over a year! I used to have to go to work high because if i didnt, i would feel like shit and couldnt deal with anything. It is super addictive and withdrawals are VERY real. Anyone that disagrees and has to post about it is either an ignorant piece of shit or a cannabis club owner. I really hope i can stop for good this time. Im 21 and i need to get my shit together
Your right, the withdrawels are very real. It’s been 2 weeks for me and the insomnia is pretty bad for me right now after smoking every day for 9 years. I also get the sweats and get irritated and angry very quick over little stuff. I can’t control the mood swings, one minute I’m fine and the next the smallest thing sets me off and I want to flip out and punch a hole throw the wall. I’m even going through a 2 week detox kit but it’s not doing a whole lot. The one thing I’m not doing is excercising which I’ve heard helps alot. the higher your metabolism, the quicker you get rid of your symtoms. With that in mind, I’m starting the gym tomorrow and will excercise at least 5 days a week. Hopefully that will speed up the process as I don’t want to deal with these symptoms for an extended period of time. One last thing which seems weird to me, I have no craving at all to somoke…… I quit cold turkey and I actually have a bag of cronic which has been sitting in my room for the past two weeks. I haven’t even thought about going to grab it, I don’t want it. Hopefully I’ll feel normal again soon.
Hey stupid, Marijuana withdrawal WILL happen to you if you smoke a few times a day, every day. You probably only smoked once in a while. People are stupid if they think they are cool because they don’t get WD when they only smoke every now and then. IT ONLY HAPPENS IF U ARE A CONTINUOUS USER. that’s not that hard to figure out, either because in order to get addicted to (and have withdrawal from) ANY drug (that is addictive), you must constantly use it. but of course, some retard will say here that they smoked every other day and had WD because they want attention.
I FOUND THAT THE SOURCE OF A FEW OF THE ABOVE “SEVERE WITHDRAWAL” ACCOUNTS WERE FROM THE SAME IP ADDRESS — PLEASE BE STRAIGHT WITH OTHERS, AND STOP LYING TO FURTHER SOME ALTERNATE AGENDA.
I found the preponderance of people asserting significant withdrawal symptoms out of keeping with what is seen anywhere, so I did some digging. While it is a fact that some people experience some form of drug dependance (about 9%) related to MJ after prolonged periods of moderate to heavy usage, and to a lesser degree and number some experience some types of mild withdrawal (about 1-2% of heavy, long-term users), anyone asserting several weeks or months of significant withdrawal from marijuana is either experiencing:
(i) Pre-existing or self-formed psychological factors (e.g. anticipatory reaction, fear or depressive nature/outlook);
(ii) Pre-existing or overlapping physiological factors (e.g. flu, infection or interaction with other drugs or medication);
(iii) Lies and misinformation.
From my personal experience of smoking about 2-3 grams per day of medical-grade marijuana (typically Sativa-dominant hybrids of between 14-22% THC and 0.5 – 5% CBD) for about 4 years, I have had a few occasions where I chose to take a break for anywhere from about 10 days to about 1 month, and I had what I would call very mild withdrawal symptoms. Compared to the headaches and diarrhea I experienced when I swore-off my 3-5 cups of coffee a day, it was very mild indeed.
With the medical grade MJ I had a little loss of appetite for a few days, along with only sleeping an average of about 4-6 hours (verses 6-8 normal) for under a week.
Compared to the Oxycontin, Fentanyl or Opana I have been on for over 12 years for injuries related to an airline accident, I actually hesitate to even call such marijuana-related reactions withdrawal symptoms, since anyone like me who has either been put on too low of a dose when switching between medications, or has had even a day of missing doses due to pharmacy stocking issues, those Opioid withdrawals are so very different in type and magnitude that the pain, leg and related cramping, violent diarrhea and vomiting, wild temperature swings (from freezing for hours in a hot shower or bath, to soaking the sheets in a 65 degree (F) room with the AC and fan on, and other potentially life-threatening withdrawal symptoms make speaking about marijuana withdrawal seem almost ridiculous.
In any event, for those who don’t know what DEA/FDA-approved medical withdrawal from Opioids and other medications can be like, I am sure they seem significant enough.
However, since there were far more than a few people here making such assertions (far beyond the normal few percent at most), I was not surprised to find a person surreptitiously loading up this blog with false assertions (or at least multiple accounts from the same person using different names).
FOR THE BENEFIT OF THOSE SEEKING TO FIND OUT THE TRUTH ABOUT A MEDICATION THAT HAS HELPED MANY, OR THOSE LOOKING FOR A LESS DANGEROUS AND DAMAGING RECREATIONAL DRUG THAN THE ALCOHOL OR OTHER THINGS THEY ARE CURRENTLY USING– HELP THEM MAKE A WELL-INFORMED DECISION– AT LEAST SOMEWHAT FREE OF EXTERNAL PERSONAL AGENDAS.
Of course you have no issues with weed!! You sound like you don’t have issues with anything, and that your EGO is certainly in check. Please keep smoking oh enlightened master, cause the world needs as many pathological narcissists to be stonned as possible!! Have you ever decided to come off your crutch JJ? Let me guess, you spend all day and night fantasising about your delusions of grandeur? Do you watch movies and think you can act better? Do you constantly judge people and put other down out of your own inadequacy? Just keep smoking my friend, leave the real living up to us. We want you to keep smoking till the day you die……hopefully very soon. xoxoxo
You have no clue of the problem .
IF you smoke for a while there is a withdraw .
CLARA COMO EL AGUA
Hey JJ— f**k YOU!
Oooo… I smoke a joint every day when I can! Hey talk to me when you blow through an oz a week for 15 years and then try to stop. Have you ever scraped resin to get high? That’s the kind of true beleiver I’m talkin about. I’m havin major shit from quittin—palpitations, lung congestion, anxiety. I just wanna slap posers like you who think they are for real because they smoke a couple joints a day for a few years. Dude, when you basically wake up, take a bong hit and look for the remote…that is when ya can get this shit. It is real, unlike your poser ass. Smoking a lot is not a joint twice a day 95% of the time for a few years. Try smokin a bowl every three four hours almost every day for over 15 years and then stop. You will prolly be cryin you f***in p***y.
you haven’t got the same level of dependency as some of these people.
As a scientist you are certainly aware of the risks of metabolic chauvinism–the belief that the reaction to drugs in YOUR body is the same as everyone else’s. As an example, I doubt you would argue that the 10% or so of drinkers who become alcoholics are a bunch of BS artists faking their symptoms, using as your sole argument the fact that you and your friends are capable of drinking responsibly.
But you don’t have to take my word for it. Feel free to peruse the references and catch up on the growing literature of marijuana withdrawal.
Hahaha, “…the growing literature…”
Marijuana withdrawal is real but not nearly to the extent this study claimed.
“As an example, I doubt you would argue that the 10% or so of drinkers who become alcoholics are a bunch of BS artists faking their symptoms, using as your sole argument the fact that you and your friends are capable of drinking responsibly.” Dirk hanson
Maybe those alcoholics should switch to smoking weed. No one has ever died, its cheap, and you can quit smoking for a month long period at your discretion. Watch the movie “super high me”, its hilarious and educational.
Life is like a box of chocolates, and the withdrawal from chocolates is worse than marijuana.
You are a retard. If you get withdrawal from chocolate you must be a woman. there is no withdrawal from chocolate unless you’re a spoiled idiot and don’t know how to act when you don’t have it.
you sound like someone who doesn’t get a lot of poon, Joe.
I have friends who have been drinkers all their lives and never experience withdrawal when they stop. Is that supposed to lead me to call into question the existence of alcoholism?
I once took cocaine, and didn’t get addicted. I guess all those crack addicts are just con artists looking for sympathy.
What these two responses dramatically illustrate is the distance we still have to go in explaining what addiction is. Count yourselves lucky and have some sympathy for those less genetically fortunate than yourselves. For a minority of users, marijuana is an addictive drug. Deal with it.
I agree, some people drink and never become alcoholics… Pot is not any worse than alcohol. I only quit smoking because I want a better job. I wish my addiction didn’t stay in the system for 30-60 days. Heck, coke and meth only stay in the system for 3-5 days. That is not my drug of choice, however, I prefer pot. I don’t smoke ciggerettes or drink. I have tried almost everything but pot is the only thing I have used in the last six years. It is my drug of choice and it stands between me and a successful career. When I do get an externship/internship I fear I will not be able to focus because I am still having these side effects from quiting. What I am typing is not BS, it is real, I cannot sleep and I feel terrible that is why I am typing this!
I am going through the same thing: hot and cold sweats or always freezing and I have the shakes to.
I can’t focus and I am hyper-emotional.
The withdrawl is VERY REAL for me.
Rick
How many of the long-term users reported such withdrawal symptoms? I won’t argue that the accounts you gave are faked, but I am curious about the percentage of users who experienced them.
I smoked full-time for about 4 years then quit because I started to have panic attacks when I got high. Ironic or otherwise, the panic attacks only began some time after I had stopped getting high every day. As far as withdrawal from pot, I didn’t really notice anything big, but I missed the act of smoking. I never smoked tobacco, but I found I missed smoking a joint once in a while. I would probably enjoy that even now, thirty years later.
Makes me realize how extra-difficult it must be to quit cigarettes. Whether it’s the oral fix or just the self-comfort of smoking, there’s something going on there.
No way to know what percentage of long-term smokers become clinically dependent on pot, any more than we know with exactitude what overall percentage of drinkers go on to have serious alcohol problems. But the more than 500 posts about the subject on my blog lead me to believe that the number is pretty low. Not counting nicotine, addiction researchers usually cite figures in the 10-15 per cent range for most drugs of abuse. I suspect with marijuana it’s in that range or lower.
Whether or not the reported results good science, the fact remains that we should legalize marijuana for adults who prefer to use pot as a healthier alternative to alcohol.
If you want marijuana to be legalized, taxed, and regulated for adults, YOU can make it happen. Tell your legislators to support California Assembly Bill 390. It’s easy. Visit yes390.org
I’ve worked at a rehabilitation clinic for 24 years and I have never, ever, heard of marijuana causing such violent withdrawals. From my experience, these withdrawals are closer to alcohol, meth, crack, and heroin (not even tobacco, yes people go into rehab for tobacco). These stories are leaving out the other substances that may have caused these withdrawals or, most likely, just propaganda. Why this author chooses to promote his own agenda is beyond me but it highlights either his poor journalism or his complete and utter ignorance on the subject.
I’d like to the author to explain himself, unless he realizes he is beat and would rather hide.
I cannot believe the ignorance of some of the people on this site. Yet I would have said the same last week before I went cold turkey expecting zero repercussions. I can report that I feel like death – variable fever, hot and cold sweats, insomnia one night, nightmares the next and a headache I would happily wish on YOU for suggesting this is BS. How rude. I know people who have had serious issues with weed over the years. I haven’t experienced a craving but I’m sure people do. What kind of doctor thinks that adding a substance reguarly to their system for years and then stopping it has NO fall out? If you’re still smoking and haven’t quit then you don’t really have a balanced perspective. For those people who had no side-effects from stopping, I’m happy to listen and acknowledge their response. The rest of you are trying to excuse your own addiction (scientists or not). How do I know – because I WAS addicted.
Maybe marijuana addiction to this severity is not common but it is definitely possible. I am living proof of it. You will not see me in rehab because I cannot just quit going to school, working, paying bills, and taking care of my pets(I have many pets that I love very much) I have too much responsibiltyand I cannot go sit in a rehab! I have a house and bills to maintain and no one will do it for me. It must be nice to have the luxury to sit in rehab and not worry that your bills won’t be paid and that you may not have a job when you get out, or that your animals may be dead. I do not have this luxury, I cannot afford it even without having to buy my pot. Many pot addicts do not go to rehab for the same reasons I will not go. Many pot addicts are also fighting other addictions so it seems that their withdrawel is comingonly from the harder drug when in reality pot is causing side effects too. Some people are afraid they will be laughed at for admitting addiction to marijuana when their rehab peers are suffering rom dts and heroin, meth, and alcohol addiction. After all who would believe that pot can be this addicting?
You are a crack pot.
My boyfriend has smoked heavily for 20 years, I have been with him the past 3 years. I have seen him 5 times when he has not been able to get weed and 2 times when he really tried to quit for good, withdrawals are real and true, granted not everyone will develop the same symptoms, that doesnt make them not real. I have witnessed him having night sweats, insomnia, and being so so grumpy and very mean. He has also had diarrhea and terrible stomach pain. I am a nurse and I have no reason to put any BS on this website about withdrawals, Ive seen alot of withdrawals from different drugs, the withdrawals people do experience from marijuana are real and completely true.
Good luck to you all and pray for us
Its hard to continue to be with someone that is mean and grumpy all the time, when you know that person is not normally like that.
Thanks
I’m a wife of a 40 year smoker of Marijuana. I’m a nurse and I’m livings with his Anxiety, mood swings, physical symptoms.(little are no sleep, night sweeting, chills, enlarged lymph glands, eating troubles, vivid dreams fighting and hitting me). He lashes out at other and pick verbal confrontations with others. He is out of smoke and is trying to quit this week(Probably because he can’t get it in town). His reactions with others has run away so many friend I can’t keep count. I’m not able to leave because of financle reasons. I can’t some of you itiots don’t think people have withdrawls.
That is very tough. I was that guy a few weeks ago – minus the hitting my wife – and it gets better. If he really wants to quit, it will get better. If he just ran out of pot and wants to keep smoking, it won’t. Check out the book “The Addictive Personality” subtitled: “Understanding the Addictive Process and Compulsive Behavior” by Craig Nakken, if religion isn’t your thing. For me, it is important. I only got relief from my rage symptoms by reading the Bible, praying; asking God to help me get out of this hell. It works! This is a spiritual problem and a fear of intimacy – like all addictive behavior. I wish you a good outcome and I’m sorry that you are suffering. Remember, he’s suffering too and he’ll be feeling guilty about his outbursts later. He’ll have to forgive himself for it. Not easy for a man to do.
Absolute total BS. I have been smoking since age 12 and am now 42. I feel FINE when I go without smoking. The only difference is that I feel a bit more alert. But I really don’t have withdrawl symptoms ever. I feel very alive and healthy when I go without cannabis.
Recently I took a trip for a weekend and had to go without both cannabis and caffeine. Let me tell you, the caffeine withdrawals I could feel. There were no cannabis withdrawals. I would venture to say that caffiene is a much stronger drug.
And since cannabis is soooo much safer than tobacco and alcohol, less intoxicating than beer, why in the world are we all so up in arms about this great threat to society?
Study something else… like the effects of throwing folks in jail, taking away their children, subsidized housing, etc., just for smoking pot.
Did this person just say she had to stop once for a weekend? That’s your big experiment with quitting weed? WOW!!!! Marijuana stays in your system for days, weeks, and even months… What withdrawal do you think happened there???
They were talking about a weekend without caffeine, not without marijuana. Tobacco, alcohol and caffeine have ALL been shown under clinical settings to be addictive. Alcohol has a *fatal* withdrawal syndrome that is as bad as both benzodiazepine and opiate withdrawal syndromes.
While there is limited research indicating marijuana can cause withdrawal in a small percentage of its users, the truth is that these people were likely either genetically susceptible to addiction or were using other substances in combination.
I smoke every day and once a month or so go for about a week without when I run out. The only withdrawal symptoms I have experienced are cravings and the return of the conditions I’m using it to treat.
And trust me. Having been on a laundry list of pharmaceuticals over the last year and a half(prozac, celexa, zoloft, ambien, lunesta, remeron, trazodone, seroquel, vistaril, ativan, valium and klonopin) in addition to putting myself in the hospital for alcohol I can say WITHOUT doubt that marijuana is by far the safest and most stable substance I’ve been on.
You don’t have to take my word for it but just look up the side effects of any ONE of those and compare them to weed. Then remember I was on an average of 5 of those medicines at any given time and you’ll have an idea of what my life without weed was like.
Oh, and one other thing?
DON’T STOP ANY PSYCHOACTIVE MEDICINE ABRUPTLY.
This should be common sense, and I really, really thought it was, but apparently it’s not. You don’t get off of addictive substances cold turkey unless you’re in rehab or have a death wish.
If you are a chronic smoker of chronic and you don’t want to withdraw then TITRATE YOUR DOSE as you come off. No doctor in the world would tell a 3 year user of Xanax to just STOP because they wanted to clean up.
When you step your dosage off the withdrawal still exists but it is SUBSTANTIALLY reduced.
Just something to keep in mind while everyone’s flaming each other on here.
To “Learn to Read” you should take your own advice. “Samantha” stated, and I quote:
So, yes. She did state that she had gone a weekend without smoking pot. I think you owe “Adi” an apology lol
And if you only go a week without, and smoke every day, and have been on all of those other drugs, I would imagine that it would probably take you a little longer to really begin to feel the effects of marijuana withdrawal. Try going for a month if you want to be more accurate. Maybe two.
That being said, I can’t entirely disagree with what you say. There are definitely side-effects from quitting weed, but it’s going to be relative to each person, environment, past, and other contributing factors. To say that it’s “bullshit” like some of these people is just ignorant lol to top it off, all of the ones calling it bullshit say they still smoke pot AND never stated how long they would go without it. I’m quitting just to detox myself and then to cut back from smoking every single day like I was doing. I’m only on day 4, but I can say that I’ve definitely been more irritable, but only if something goes wrong. There’s a slight loss of appetite, in the sense that it’s just not as appealing. I haven’t experienced any nausea, but I’ve definitely had some softer stool. And I’m a little more anxious about things. I smoked every day for 2 years straight.
It’s not hell. But compared to how you feel while you’re stoned and chillaxed all the time, yeah, life feels a little more stressful. In a couple days, I’m sure I’ll feel great though. None of this 5 weeks craziness.
So ignorant!
Yeah, this borders on embarrassing. There may be a 1/100 case where some jackass makes pot his only friend and loses sleep over it being gone, but no one of sane mind gets those sorts of reactions strictly from smoking grass.
I’d link to this blog for laughs, but no need to give this guy any pub, he’s just fabricating something looking for attention.
The only jackass is people who believe that this is made up. Sure someone may have exagerrated or is just a mental case that blames their mental illness on pot. If I was mentally ill then why did I function so well when I was using pot. I have wrote research papers while smoking a joint and recieved A’s on them. I did not have these crazy symptons when I was high! I only quit to pass a drug test for an internship at college, not because I got caught or can’t stay motivated on pot. I am physically fit, honor student, with friends and family so who is the jackass!
“I’d like to the author to explain himself, unless he realizes he is beat and would rather hide.”
——-
I’m a science journalist, I’m happy to explain myself, as I have been trying to do. Rather than hide, I have a blog, Addiction Inbox, where these matters are discussed quite openly. I have no agenda to promote. (I support the legalization of marijuana.)
One more time: The fact that somebodychas smoked pot for 30 years and can quit without symptoms is entirely irrelevant to my article. We KNOW that. The part that is not so well known–obviously–is the extent to which some people can become strongly dependent on pot and show all the classic determinants–tolerance, withdrawal, continued use despite adverse consequences, etc.
Again, don’t take me word for it, I can only invite skeptics once again to read my source material at the end of the article before accusing me of journalistic malfeasance. (Sort of like shooting the messenger.)
Here’s a more extensive bibliography of articles and peer-reviewed studies on the matter that should help get you up to speed on this topic:
http://addiction-dirkh.blogspot.com/2008/04/marijuana-withdrawal-syndrome.html
Thank you, I see the relevency of this topic. I too support the legalization of marijuana. I am addicted to it and have had to quit to get an internship for college. Just because it can be addicting doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be legal, after all cafeine, ciggerettes, and alcohol are legal. Many extremely addicting drugs are legal with a prescription such as morphine, diludid…I can not understand why it is illegal when alcohol is legal. People suffer terrible dts from alcohol so even if pot is addicting to a few of us that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be legal.There are so many pharmaceutical drugs that cause serious side effects, why does the government target pot? There is so many harmful products out there but still pot is legal. All I want is to come home at the end of a day of working hard to a joint! I do not drive while high, I do not go to work high (though I did as a teenager/ the work part) I do not feel that teens should be allowed to smoke pot, it should be regulated like alcohol. Oh well, maybe someday, I live in Ohio, not California so this may not be so soon.
you have a funny way of supporting the legalization of marijuana. if those “comments” in your article are real testaments of people who have had such withdrawals after using marijuana then they are surely the same people who have withdrawals from everything, TV, food, that kind of stuff. we can’t remove Americans’ freedoms because a few weak individuals can’t come to terms with themselves. if you get night sweats or upset stomachs from not smoking weed (give me a break) then smoke weed or suck it up and get over it soldier, Jesus, how tough is it? those “heavy weed addicts” (hypochondriacs) have no chance in life in general if they can’t figure that one out. it’s like that part of Half Baked where Dave Chappelle has to get up in front of a bunch of junkies and tell them he’s addicted to marijuana, hilarious.
if real medical science determines that marijuana use is found to cause real physical addiction in real humans, not just rats, then so be it, label it as being potentially addictive and let us make our own choices. our gov must stop forcing hypocritical morals on American citizens in the name of fear mongering speculations and decades old propaganda. anyone that is against marijuana use of any kind (medicinal or recreational) for any reason (social impact, message to kids, etc.) but then turns around and chooses to enjoy even one alcoholic beverage or cigarette, for any reason, ever, is the definition of a hypocrite, and if those hypocrites work in our gov they should be removed if they are not willing to change their hypocritical creation and application of laws that ultimately remove our freedoms.
legalize and regulate properly documented and accurately labeled marijuana, it is the only real way to reduce (maybe some day eliminate) the issues created and still being caused by marijuana’s prohibition. let people be people as long as their choices do not infringe on other people’s rights, freedoms, and/or property, as long as they understand and acknowledge the possible consequences, and as long as they understand the reasonably and fairly determined acceptable applications of the choices they make. and boo those weed addicts!
So You must support making alcohol illegal?! Look how many are memers of AA. Look at the terrible side effects of alcohol! My boyfriend has been sober from alcohol for 20 years and when he quit he lay on the floor for a week shaking and halucinating before he could even attempt to do anything. He could not get into rehab they were full. So alcohol should be illegal, is that what you’re saying. Just because people may suffer from addiction doesn’t mean it should be illegal. Should we stop giving people that are hurt pain meds because they are addicting. You obviously are not thinking clearly.
“If real medical science determines that marijuana use is found to cause real physical addiction in real humans, not just rats, then so be it, label it as being potentially addictive and let us make our own choices.”
—————–
I agree completely.
As for my “funny” way of supporting legalization: I support the legal and responsible use of alcoholic beverages, and I also have a great deal of sympathy for the minority of people who become addicted to booze. Is that supposed to be some kind of contradiction?
It’s amazing, the reaction some people have to the idea that a minority of heavy pot smokers can suffer significant withdrawal symptoms after the cessation of use. We had forty years of Anslinger-style “marijuana addiction” stories based on lurid rumor; then we had 40 years of “you can’t suffer withdrawal symptoms from smoking pot. Ever.” Now, I think maybe we’re reaching the point of understanding that, as with heroin/morphine, most people who use pot casually don’t get addicted. In fact, most people who use opiates intensely, as in a hospital for severe pain, don’t start scoring smack on the street after they leave the hospital. Similarly, the huge majority of pot smokers don’t suffer withdrawal when they quit. For a small fraction, it is a different story altogether.
I don’t see this as a terribly controversial proposition. At least it shouldn’t be.
As for severity of symptoms: the basic withdrawal effects of abstaining from nicotine are irritability, constipation, headache, excessive sweating, confusion, and craving. Gee, that doesn’t sound so bad. Why do smokers make such a fuss about quitting?
A study done by Elena M. Kouri and Harrison Pope at Harvard showed 60% of long time marijuana users had significant withdrawal symptoms. My teenage son had very bad withdrawal after two years of daily use –insomnia, nightmares, anxiety, rages, sweats, diarrhea, cravings. It lasted about a month. Withdrawal is a reason people don’t stop and an addiction continues. From all the studies and anecdotal information, Marijuana seems definitely physically addictive for a significant number of users. At first, I didn’t know my son was using, but his addiction became consuming and he couldn’t hide it any more. I’ve read that the younger the age of use, the more addictive marijuana can be. There’s also a lot of discussion of increased potency, so I wonder if that has any effect on addiction. In Britain it was one of the factors that caused cannabis to be reclassified back to B after being downgraded to C for a few years.
Thank you Chris. I’m so tried of angry marajiana envelope pushers rendering this as insignificant. I have felt the effects of withdrawal first hand and they it’s not something to be scoffed at. But clearly I’m an inarticulate dead-beat with no scientific conception and incapable of grasping the higher ‘truths’ of science despite frequent evidence to the contary.
Exactly! When I do sleep I am waking up every hour or so and I have vivid sometimes nightmarish dreams. When I awake I feel tired and out of it. I can not concentrate and feel almost no motivation to do anything. I have to push myself to do anything. I also feel as if I have ADHD, which I have never felt until I quit smoking. congrats to your son for sticking with it. I know it is hard I am going through it right now.
The reason why your article is so lame, is because you fail to address the facts you state in the comments section in the actual article. Just because some people can’t control themselves, doesn’t mean that moderate and responsible cannabis use is bad. You have created an article that the ‘potpragandists’ are going to use to demonize this herb once again. It’s that simple.
Anyone who uses cannabis recreationally all day, every day needs to take a long, hard look at themselves in the mirror and get a grip on some self-control. Too often we blame a scapegoat for a person’s lack of self-control, as is the case here. Cannabis is NOT addictive when used responsibly. Some people, though, are chronically ill and have no choice but to use cannabis constantly. These are chemo patients, AID sufferers, people with MS, Chrohn’s disease and cerebral palsy.
More research also needs to be done on the dramatic difference in benefits when cannabis is ingested or vaporized, rather than smoked. The method of ingestion is incredibly important, and is often ignored or assumed to be “smoked,” further sustaining the negative “pothead” stereotype that has existed for decades. People need to educate themselves on the risks of ANY drug, and the fact of the matter is, that cannabis is safer than the vast majority of synthetic drugs. In all fairness, cannabis is often much safer than many of the things we consume on a daily basis.
We need to legalize it as a medicine and research it’s beneficial properties as well as its potential negative ones, with my suspicion being that the former will far outweigh the latter. The Department of Health and Human Services even holds a patent on cannabinoids as known neuroprotectants and antioxidants. http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6630507.html
Knowledge is power and the truth will set us free. Well, you can’t have truth when it mixed with the hype and sensationalism that has been surrounding this topic for too long… And your article does nothing to quell that type of mentality. As a legalization advocate, you had a responsibility to mention both sides of the fence in the content you provided. I doubt NIDA would’ve approved of that though, eh? Shame on you Sir for not discussing all of the relevant issues that surround this hotly debated topic in your article.
“Just because some people can’t control themselves, doesn’t mean that moderate and responsible cannabis use is bad. ”
I never said or implied any such thing.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the moderate use of cannabis. In fact it has numerous advantages as a social drug over alcohol–but it is not a miracle drug, completely free of complications or negative side effects for everyone. That’s the fantasy people want to keep alive. I’m more interested in the truth, even when that truth is deemed inconvenient by legalization advocates.
America didn’t end Prohibition by arguing that alcohol can never be addictive.
Sticking to the issue of marijuana being addictive, rather than veering off into the legalization argument, I offer you some science you have obviously missed. The fact that cannabis is not habit-forming was discovered about 100 years ago, and was even used in treating drug addiction.
http://patients4medicalmarijuana.wordpress.com/2009/05/17/marijuana-therapy-to-treat-drug-addiction/
As a scientific journalist, you seem to have completely overlooked science that does not conform to your obviously predetermined viewpoint. It is similarly alarming that of all of the supposed random samples listed in your article, none reflect the experiences of the (I assume random) comments.
Perhaps you could write a follow up which includes the science and experiences offered here in your comment section, or from further study that would include a true random sampling? That’s what great journalism is all about. Propaganda is not helpful when we are looking fr the truth.
Thank you.
Would you attend a dentist 100 years ago?
Me neither. Some of us like a more rounded approach these days.
“Perhaps you could write a follow up which includes the science and experiences offered here in your comment section, or from further study that would include a true random sampling?”
——–
This was not a random sampling, and was not intended to be. A closer reading of the article would have spared you this misperception. As I wrote in the article, the excerpts were “a sampling of comments from dependent marijuana smokers”
If you would like a more in-depth treatment of the subject than the roughly 1,000 words available to me for an article on this blog, you will find a chapter on marijuana and marijuana withdrawal in my recently published book, “The Chemical Carousel: What Science Tells Us About Beating Addiction.”
What then is your response to the science I offered for your journalistic endeavor?
I’m all for the medical use of marijuana when and where it is indicated; I agree that marijuana is safer than almost any drug you can take, because there is no danger of death by overdose; and I agree that it’s time to legalize it. Did I miss anything?
None of which changes the fact that a minority of users exhibit identifiable and verifiable withdrawal symptoms when they quit–unless one is prepared to argue that they are all delusional crazies, which I’m not.
Marijuana Anonymous, by the way, has a robust and growing membership.
http://patients4medicalmarijuana.wordpress.com/2009/05/17/marijuana-therapy-to-treat-drug-addiction/
Yes, I was referring to the science in this article saying that cannabis is simply not habit forming, indicating that if you are finding samples as above, there might be something else at play, rather than a true chemical reaction to an addictive drug.
I would rather read science than hear personal testimonials any day, but that’s just me.
Science is based on observation and testimonial. It is a dangerous society that removes the import of it’s members. I was under the impression that a scientific approach should be an open one that considers all aspects.
Included in the post I shared is a theory about cannabis users choosing to claim dependency and seeking treatment in order to avoid serving time in jail.
“It’s laughable that the Feds are pushing the concept of pot addiction when science shows that withdrawal symptoms from caffeine are far worse.”
There is much recent science in this article. http://www.alternet.org/drugs/80408/
One other issue is that all research has to be done with government oversight, and they ONLY research looking for negatives …
To quote retired Orange County Superior Court Judge James Gray:
“Currently, the DEA exclusively licenses the cultivation of medical-grade cannabis to the National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA), which primarily investigates only the negative effects of cannabis”
(Source:
This could be one reason why it easier to find older science (still valid) that was not conducted by the government and proves my argument: cannabis is non habit forming.
Obviously there is science and there are personal testimonies on both sides of the issue.
Most of the references in the article to which you refer are older cites, particular from the 1970s and 1980s. The most recent citation I saw was 1995.
The majority of the references in my bibliography represent scientific research conducted in the past 15 years:
http://addiction-dirkh.blogspot.com/2008/04/marijuana-withdrawal-syndrome.html
I call b.s. too. Of course, I’ve never “used” because it’s illegal
, but one look at those “official comments” and it’s obvious from certain keywords (“use, dealer, etc.) they were all written by 12 stepper polydrug abusers, almost certainly alcoholics and the like. Use it, don’t abuse it, is what I always say, for EVERYTHING. Except alcohol, that stuff is poison.
What absolute crud – your ingorance makes me cringe. I have stopped on and off and for long periods without effect, but THIS time it hit me like a tidal wave, with all symptoms mentioned. The pot I was smoking was a great deal stronger this time round and it should be born in mind that different plants have incrediably varied forms of THC. I was also in a different country. There are a lot of varients out there and THC levels have raised exponentially in the last 10 years. I certainly feel this has an effect on outcome. But you are clearly not interested in other viewpoints because I’m condemned to be an alcoholic also it would seem. Amazing really when I don’t drink.
Pretty over stated. I’ve smoked off and on for almost 40 years and the only thing I notice when I stop is increased anxiety and irritability. If I have been having trouble sleeking and smoke to sleep that insomnia may return. On the other hand I am a depressed type and began smoking again because of that a few years ago after a ten year break. Symptoms of depression can return when I stop. Oh yeah, the migraines. The only thing that helps is pot. The only thing I can take for any length of time with zero adverse effects. What side effects there are are familiar to us all: munchies, a very interesting outlook, then sleepyness.
I stopped smoking marijuana for ten years (well, less that once a month at MOST). Biggest mistake I ever made.
Marijuana is a profound drug with far reaching effects. The vast majority of those effects are POSITIVE.
There can be mild differences in your feelings after you stop, some of them may cause some discomfort. If you choose to call those changes withdrawals you may, but before you do I suggest you take say, Xanax and Prozac for 6 months and then stop cold turkey. Then, my friends, you will know the definition of ‘withdrawal’.
I just get a bit depressed for a couple of days, then all goes back to normal and I feel great again.
I’m not for or against pot, and my apathy is not a result of my opinion about marijuana…I don’t think its my business what others do. I’ll tell you what I think though – that smoking it in excess puts me into a dream-like state in my own world, and it makes my brain numb. I lack motivation and can’t get anything done.
In small doses though, I think its ok.
Goodness. You did not say anything bad about pot in your article, you simply stated that these were these particular people’s reactions to trying to stop. Samantha can produce all of the “scientific” articles she wants that say that pot is not addictive, I’ve lived with the truth that it is indeed very highly addictive to at least a small number of people. In my experiences it seems to be that the people who most get addicted to it are also ADHD and any medication or chemical responds in the opposite way in them than the rest of the population. They all seemed to get extremely hyper when high and exhibited the opposite of what I’ve heard the effects of pot were supposed to be. Do you think this might be part of why they got addicted to it? Have there been any studies along this route?
Apple: It’s an open secret that many young people with ADHD attempt to use marijuana to self-medicate. ADHDers often say it helps them zero in and focus, which is pretty much the opposite of what most “normal” smokers report.
Is it possible that addiction and withdrawal in this case could be a personal problem, not a cannabis problem?
The low percentage of folks who have these complaints might be the same when looking at anything: TV watching, Hagen Daaz eating, doing yoga… whatever feels good to someone, given their phsychological and physiological disposition, might become the object of their addiction?
I remain unconvinced that cannabis causes withdrawal symptoms without other factors coming into play. Otherwise, the percentage would be much higher, and the comments on this blog would have more than a 2% agreement rate with your selected testimonials.
But I am certainly no scientist…
Dude, what is your deal?! For some people cannabis IS the problem. It may not be for all people, but for some people Advil is a problem. He is in no way saying that pot is a horrible thing or even addictive. He said that SOME people have a problem with withdraw symptoms. I am saying that for anyone to say that it is completely harmless and non addictive, they are not paying attention. Some people have problems with it. You will have to deal with that FACT. Some people get addicted to pot. Some people will have withdraw symptoms when they try to stop smoking. I have a friend who can pick up a pack of cigarettes and smoke for several months and just stop with no issue for years and then start again. I have been addicted pretty much since my first pack. People are different.
That was my whole point, it’s about people, not cannabis. the reason I have difficulty with the premise that pot is inherently addictive as is being put forth here, is that I have heard from scientists and doctors whom I trust fully that cannabis is non habit forming.
“I have heard from scientists and doctors whom I trust fully that cannabis is non habit forming.”
What makes said ‘scientists’ more believable than the scientist right here?
I am 17 years old and i took my first toke when i was 10… i have been an every day smoker for the past 4 years. And let me tell you Samantha, marijuana addiction is a very real thing. I have started hallucinating daily. When I am stoned, and when i am not. Immense anxiety, paranoid thoughts, socializing has become more and difficult. Yet i still smoke. Every day. I am quite positive that I will be crazy forever. Yet i still smoke every day. Why is this? Pot addiction has brought me to the point of lunacy, yet i dont care if i’m ‘baked’.
And fyi i DO know what a ‘real addiction’ feels like. I was dealing with small a Ketamine problem a month or so ago; however, I find there are practicaly ZERO withdrawl effects for K making it an easy one to quit. Also I used to be addicted to cocaine. Weirdly enough an incident that led to me smoking crack made me not want to do coke EVER AGAIN. you could name basically any other fairly common street drug… ive done it.
So i have the self control to NOT WANT TO DO some real nasty drugs after experimenting with them. Yet this marijuana will not leave me alone…
explain that with your science articles
I’ve known too many people who were EXTREMELY addicted to it to ever believe that…
Unfortunately, its true. I’m on my fifth week, and its been a rough month. I was a heavy user; fat bong rip on my way out the door to work, Sometimes I’d come home and take one or two at lunch, and once I got home I’d smoke 3-10 bowls before I went to sleep. I was pretty hardcore for about 4 years.
But, I decided to quit cold turkey. This is probably where I went wrong- I should have weened myself off of it, but I’m not really the ‘lets take it slow’ type. Anyway, I was fine for the first two weeks, everything was fine- I’d think it would be nice to rip one, but this was easily resisted. At the start of the third week, I had nightmares like you wouldn’t believe- one after another, vivid ones, paranoid delusions in the middle of the night. After a the third week, these (kind of) faded and were replaced by the feeling that life is surreal. Halfway through week 3 the cravings kicked in. If I had a bag I’d have smoked the whole thing, but I could only get my hands on the legal stuff- booze. I drank 2 30 packs in a week- I just had to change something. I had been 90% sober for almost a year before that. I stopped that though, and now looking at week 5 I’m irritable & short tempered, and the insomnia is making work a bitch. I’m thinking this is the tail end of it though, things are starting to feel a bit more regular.
Physical withdrawal symptoms would have shown themselves right away… if weeks later you are having bad dreams, it might mean there are psychological problems that have been ‘submerged and they began to release. It has to come out sometime, somehow. I know about using drugs and i know there are underlying reasons someone would smoke the amount you are describing. That stuff is the real issue. I had to deal with that stuff through years of psychotherapy, quitting what is covering those wounds is only the first step, it is not the cure. If the underlying cause isn’t dealt with, you will just turn to something else. Marijuana was a symptom, not the cause of your problems. Just my opinion, of course.
I agree. Addition is always an escape route, and counselling is the real kicker to overcome the issues lurking beneath. But my withdrawal from cannabis started a week after I put down my last cone, so I know it doesn’t kick in imediately.
Legalize it and I’ll be the one of the first to try it out. If it’s addicting I don’t give a toot. I think the advantages of legalizing far out weigh keeping it illegal. When it is legalized(and I think it will be) I just hope that the gov. grades it like tobacco so we know what quality we’re getting. I don’t smoke it now, because I am to paranoid about the law and I don’t know how to go about getting the marijuana. I hate the hypocritical way that Alcohol and Tobacco are legal and marijuana is illegal when it is probably the least of the 3 when abused as far as health problems(not sure there are any with marijuana-though this author obviously disagrees). And, so what if there are some health issues with marijuana-seems everything causes cancer according to the “experts”, meaning one can’t enjoy anything much now days without someone saying it’s bad for you etc. Now light one up for me.
http://patients4medicalmarijuana.wordpress.com/2009/05/12/study-finds-no-cancer-marijuana-connection/
Good news, no cancer – cannabis connection has been found after years of searching by an anti-drug scientist…
ok dont get me wrong im all for pot,but the nightmare stuff is true,im on week 2 an so far thats realy all i get as far as withdraws go,and you say cancer cant be traced back to pot,but thats wrong,you can get throat or lung cancer from smoking anything,even pot,but its no more lethal then cigs an honestly less addicting for me anyway then a pack of newports and definatley not as harmful to the brain or body as liqur
You’re right, nobody has managed to establish any kind of solid connection between cannabis and cancer, and boy, have they tried.
Conventional one-on-one psychotherapy, so useful in the areas where it has application, is of no use whatsoever in the treatment of addiction. Addiction isn’t a symptom of anything but itself. The root causes of addiction do not lie buried in your subconscious, waiting to be unearthed.
Dirk, could you cite the study which has proven that, or if it is your personal opinion, include that in your comment? Thanks!
Should have added, “in my opinion” to the final sentence, yes.
“Addiction isn’t a symptom of anything but itself. The root causes of addiction do not lie buried in your subconscious, waiting to be unearthed.”
Well, that just can’t be a fact. In the same way you have chosen to use personal testimonies in your research, I also see my own testimony as substantial. I had deep issues that as a teen, and I could not deal with them in a direct way. Until I could get real “re-mothering”, and a safe place to open up and look at things that were very painful, I chose to use sex, drugs, alcohol, and eating disorders to cope. The alternative was suicide, so I have always been grateful for drugs.
With years of therapy, I changed. And indeed, the “addictions”, the symptoms of my unhealed pain, were no longer needed. I now can drink no more than a 1/4 glass of wine with dinner. I can’t stand the feeling of being tipsy. That fact sufficiently disproves the “alcoholism is forever / it’s a disease” theory, at least for me. In the same way, the testimonies in your article prove to you that marijuana creates withdrawal symptoms. But this isn’t science, is it?
There were root causes for my drinking and drugging. They are 98% surfaced and healed, I would venture to say. I am happy today, and have forgiven folks who harmed me. Happiness repels addiction.
I am happy to hear that therapy proved to be an effective treatment alternative for you.
There are some thoughtful and some not-so-thoughtful comments here. The article itself is food-for-thought, but I’d like to have seen some more statistics and fewer personal testimonies.
Also, while the author has made his reasons for publishing this clear in the comments, it would have been nice to see them addressed within the article itself. The topic of legalization is such a touchy one right now that I understand why some posters are concerned that this article may be used as anti-marijuana propaganda.
…BTW, does any besides me find it hilarious that numerous people have used personal anecdotes as a way to challenge the scientific validity of the article?
Brush up on your scientific method, folks! Your personal stories are no more or less convincing than the ones at the end of the article. Your experiences don’t invalidate theirs or vice-versa. And frankly, without some cold hard data, I have no reason to believe any of them– yours or theirs!
I left the personal anecdotes for last in a 3-part series, intending them to serve as a coda. For anecdote-free science writing about this particular issue, see the 2nd part:
–Clearing the Haze: Is Marijuana Addictive?
The author is certainly taking a beating from those who seem a little defensive at the proposition that marijuana can induce addiction.
The issue that I think needs to be discerned is if marijuana causes the addiction itself, or is it simply being a placeholder for an individual’s genetic predisposition towards becoming addictive to some arbitrary substance (alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, heroin, etc.)?
Further, the word “addiction” has a negative connotation, which leads to this defensive reaction. I can be “addicted” to running long distances (which I believe science has shown creates addictive-like responses in the brain), yet in what context is this a negative thing? Likewise, are the “withdrawals” experienced when I stop my running routine harmful? Is an addiction simply a closed-feedback brain mechanism to prevent it from experiencing any unpleasantness?
If true, then these studies are simply demonstrating that a minority of the population, most likely predisposed to some sort of arbitrary addiction, experience the effects of addiction after stopping marijuana usage, and provide an explanation for the effects experienced.
Its irrational to believe that any substance is infallible to addiction. Even the, yes, “divine” and “providential” cannabis.
Not BS!!!!! I’m 24 years old and I never smoked Marijuana more than twice a year since I was 18. I thought weed addiction was BS Too! Then last year I started smoking more often because I had just moved to a new city, didn’t have a job yet, or people to hang out with. I’ve never been against people who smoke all the time but I just couldn’t understand it before. I always thought that much smoking was a waste of time and money. I would smoke for a week straight multiple times a day- then go for days or weeks without smoking at all and feel like I hadn’t smoked a day in my life. But slowly I started to feel like I wanted more. The highs always had no repprecutions and I only smoked when I didn’t have anything planned. Nothing wrong with that right? Not for me.
*Note: my boyfriend was smoking the same amount or more the whole time!!!!
I became so stressed or restless when not smoking that I went from not smoking at all really, to smoking on a daily schedule. And when I finally noticed I had been smoking like a chimney- I tried to cut back.
That was my first surprise….. I couldn’t.
When not smoking I would have these psychotic fits of rage and act completely out of character. The more I smoked the more I began to need it to feel normal. And after these “episodes” I would feel so embarrassed and ashamed that I would just go smoke more weed to try to feel better. Every morning I was nauseous, and everyday- all day I had no appetite, I made sure to eat after I got high so that I could eat without forcing anything down. I thought I was sick, I thought I was pregnant, I thought I was going crazy! Because just seven months prior- I had never been happier. And the whole time- my boyfriend was fine.
It wasn’t until I looked at everything in my life that I found it was the Marijuana. I was so 100% sure pot couldn’t be making me feel this way that I ignored all the mental and physical changes it slowly brought on. I was always told pot was safe- that you couldn’t become addicted. I had smoked before and nothing like this developed- nothing at all, my boyfriend seemed to be proof too. But when my life became unmanageable without pot- I knew I had an addiction to it. For a very small few- Marijuana addiction is very real and very hard to overcome- especially when you know other pot smokers who smoke more than you ever did and are fine. Trust me.
I agree with Joseph’s comment and many of the points that Samantha makes as well. Addiction is possible with ANYTHING and for ANYONE. From food to exercise to the Internet, anything can be “addictive.” It seems as though you are attempting to scientifically calculate something that is simply not quantifiable. You are also profiteering off of those who are “addicted,” and there’s usually a whole lot of bias involved whenever profits come into play. Addiction is nothing more than a coping mechanism. As Samantha said, getting to the bottom of what you are coping with is the real issue. JMHO though.
Samantha, you’re in a ridiculous state of denial about marijuana addiction. I want it legalized too- but someday we may have to concede that people can get hooked on it. You must not know that guy who sits around obsessing about where the next bag is coming from- when he just got back from the dealer. I watched it evolve from a hobby into a necessity- for my friends and then to myself.
It sounds like your therapist has got you brainwashed pretty good. Your years of psychotherapy got you off substances… for now. But that does not change the fact that this world is a fucked up place- and I think our addictions (religion, drugs, running, food, gambling, etc…) are ways for the mind to cope with that stress. If you have no addictions, that stress will build until it is unbearable and something is bound to slip.
If “Addiction is nothing more than a coping mechanism”, I say ignorance is your only alternative.
The real trick is to find the addictions that either create the most good, or do the least harm.
Bryan,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. If you are equating food or exercise addiction with pot addiction, then i agree. I have said that in earlier comments. But the author of this article is not treating the term “addiction” as you are.
Food, religion and cannabis are not inherently habit-forming. It is what the mentality and chemistry of the person that causes different reactions. That is my whole point.
Please take a look at this article and see that we paranoid pro-pot-people have a real struggle on our hands:
http://www.motherjones.com/toc/2009/07/editors-note
Essentially, the government has prohibited any research regarding marijuana that would support it’s benefits and only funds research that would further the bad rep that it has…
I have been THC free for many years (after many years of daily use) and never experienced anything other than normal cravings – the I wants (because i like marijuana!) My first reaction to this blog is that its must be some sort of anti-marijuana propaganda.
I’ll continue to remain THC free until the day I can legally enjoy my drug of choice – even if that day is not until I am 100 years old. I am currently very healthy.
Please support the reform of marijuana laws. Visit Marijuana Policy Project @ mmp.org. Thank you.
“You are also profiteering off of those who are “addicted,” and there’s usually a whole lot of bias involved whenever profits come into play.”
To whom is this accusation directed?
I would imagine, to you.
How dare you tell me I experience no withdrawals? Who are you and what makes you qualified? I’ve had withdrawals from opiates, benzos, nicotine, caffeine and marijuana. With the exception of benzos, I personally would prefer the wds from the other drugs over marijuana. They are quite similar to that of other drugs, I found them physically and mentally harder then nicotine or caffeine, and there is no debate on whether they cause withdrawals. They are mentally much longer then anything that I’ve experienced, besides benzos and methadone. So, just because I don’t get episodes of depression, those people who do are lying? Or, the guy who developed a psychosis is just imagining it? Just because you don’t experience something doesn’t mean other people don’t. It’s not like we are identical copies of each other, everyone’s brain is different.
Dirk is just trying to inform people, you guys need to take a logic class before you argue, it’s actually quite pathetic. Just because he’s not going propagate and spread misinformation about a drug doesn’t mean he thinks it should be illegal. I think marijuana should be legal as well, I think all drugs for that matter, on principle. But, that doesn’t mean I’m going to lie to accomplish my task. What led to marijuana being illegal? LIES BY PEOPLE WHO WANTED IT THAT WAY. Personally I think you have to be high quite a bit of the time and on somewhat decent marijuana to get wds, it was until I started smoking a “Mr. Nice”, a potent indica that I got them. And, ya some of those stories are severe, but who are you people to discredit them? The nerve.
It was rather the author, not the individuals’ experiences that I had a problem with. He choose a minute percentage of people’s experiences and listed the worst of them, from what I can tell, without saying this was a very small group who had wd’s, or referring to the percentage at all… making it seem as if withdrawals of this magnitude were commonplace. I think you can see from the reader’s comments that they are NOT. Even you said they occurred only with a certain strain of cannabis.
It is this twisting, or omission, of facts relating to cannabis that I am reacting to. And it was THIS that caused it to be prohibited in the first place:
http://patients4medicalmarijuana.wordpress.com/marijuana-info/history-of-marijuana-prohibition/
“Absolute total BS. I have been smoking since age 12 and am now 42. I feel FINE when I go without smoking. The only difference is that I feel a bit more alert. But I really don’t have withdrawal symptoms ever. I feel very alive and healthy when I go without cannabis.”
This is your first post. “Absolute total bs”, to me this means that you think the article is absolute total bs. The article is informing the public of marijuana withdrawal symptoms. Therefore withdrawal symptoms to you are absolute total bs. So, if withdrawal symptoms to you are total bs, then, people’s personal accounts of wds symptoms are as well total bs. So, yes, you are discrediting my experience. Then you give your personal account of how you feel no w/d symptoms. After the beginning statement I can only assume you added your personal story to back your original statement up or to state that not everyone gets wds. No where in the article was it ever mentioned that everyone gets wds, it would have made the article more informative but in no way is required for it be true and factual. And if your personal account was added to back up your original statement then are guilty of metabolic chauvinism. Either way it is flawed logic.
“Recently I took a trip for a weekend and had to go without both cannabis and caffeine. Let me tell you, the caffeine withdrawals I could feel. There were no cannabis withdrawals. I would venture to say that caffeine is a much stronger drug.”
WOW. You talk about science yet this statement is not really scientific at all. So, because you felt more wd effects from caffeine then marijuana you would venture to say that caffeine is a much stronger drug. So, based on your own account, it has become your opinion or assumption that caffeine is a stronger drug then marijuana. This isn’t scientific at all it is once again a manifestation of metabolic chauvinism.
This is the kicker.
“I would rather read science than hear personal testimonials any day, but that’s just me.” Yet you provide personal testimony, and use it to make completely illogical assumptions. It’s okay for you to use your personal testimony to make assumptions about the effects and strength of drugs as a whole. But, it’s not okay for people to provide personal testimony simply stating what they experienced upon discontinuation of withdrawals. I would think it be the exact opposite.
“But I am certainly no scientist…” I’d hope not.
Definition of propaganda. Propaganda: “the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person”. Since Dirk has already stated that he supports the legalization of marijuana in no way is this article propaganda, he offers no opinions on the matter in the article. It could possibly be used as propaganda by those who want to keep marijuana illegal. If there were an article stating that marijuana is one of the safest drugs out, it could possibly be used as propaganda for the pro-marijuana movement, but that in itself does not make the article propaganda.
In addition to taking a logic class, you should probably know what the words you are using mean.
“I remain unconvinced that cannabis causes withdrawal symptoms without other factors coming into play. Otherwise, the percentage would be much higher, and the comments on this blog would have more than a 2% agreement rate with your selected testimonials.”
LOL, you’re now using comments to validate your argument, I thought you wanted to science? Apparently the people posting on the website represent the entire population of marijuana smokers.
“It was rather the author, not the individuals’ experiences that I had a problem with. He choose a minute percentage of people’s experiences and listed the worst of them, from what I can tell, without saying this was a very small group who had wd’s, or referring to the percentage at all… making it seem as if withdrawals of this magnitude were commonplace.”
Of course he is going to choose people that had withdrawals. He is trying to make the point that they exist, for better or worse. Is he supposed to choose the people who didn’t experience them. There are plenty of articles on nicotine addiction and withdrawals, I didn’t have withdrawals, but they are real. So, why would an author choose me to demonstrate that there are withdrawals. Who are you to gauge the severity? How do you know he chose the worst of them? I think it would be better to choose the comments where people have definite symptoms, it illustrates the point.
Is your hostility caused by withdrawal from cannabis?
I normally step out of commenting when it gets heated and personal like this…
If you read my post more carefully, you would notice I did not ask why the author printed the experiences of folks who had withdrawals, but rather that he did not put it into any context, like “2% of all smokers experience…” or whatever the case may be.
A second place where you could have read more carefully was when I posted my testimonial, I stated, “since you have used personal testimonies, I will share mine… but this isn’t science, is it?”
Dirk, you call yourself a science reporter.
However, in the middle of the comments following the article you started adding a caveat to your article – that only a very few get addicted – but you mentioned nothing like that in the article itself.
Typical science reporting! I am so fed up with the incompetence of your profession. I accuse you of careless, sloppy, undisciplined thinking. Or perhaps you just thought the article would have more impact if you hid the complete truth.
Either way, that makes your article worthless. What else have you hidden from us?
The anecdotes you gave are pathetic – these are neurotic individuals at best who might get addicted to any number of activities such as gambling, excess sugar consumption, surfing the internet, biting their nails…..
What else do you know about these individuals? What other factors may be involved? And what kind of scientific survey asks the respondents to volunteer after reading an ad? Surveys have to be random and blind.
Why are there no anecdotes or statements regarding those who do not get addicted? Good science does not ignore contrary evidence.
I hope you pleased your editor. Because you accomplished nothing else.
Just because you went to college and have a degree in some kind of science does not mean you get to write any nonsense you please.
You are a fraud and your article is a joke.
You just add to the noise in the world.
What is the point?
Another problem I have with the article:
That’s what the NIDA has learned about cannabis addiction? That they had “no difficulty recruiting dozens of people between the ages of 30 and 55 who have smoked marijuana at least 5,000 times”?
What does that even mean? And are we supposed to be impressed that they had no difficulty in recruiting dozens of people?
I guess your MJ withdrawal kicked in while you were writing that para….
Dirk, you need to stop adding to the ignorance and lack of critical thinking already so prevalent in our society. You can do better than this.
Ya actually it is. But, that is beside the point. You still should know what you’re talking about.
No where in your first paragraph is that stated. WTF, do you just make stuff up or what? You might have said it later but that is irrelevant. And once again he the 2% crap is not required for it to be true and factual, it would just make it more informative, you are saying the article is total bs, and it’s not.
Samantha
June 15, 2009 | Permalink
Absolute total BS. I have been smoking since age 12 and am now 42. I feel FINE when I go without smoking. The only difference is that I feel a bit more alert. But I really don’t have withdrawl symptoms ever. I feel very alive and healthy when I go without cannabis.
Recently I took a trip for a weekend and had to go without both cannabis and caffeine. Let me tell you, the caffeine withdrawals I could feel. There were no cannabis withdrawals. I would venture to say that caffiene is a much stronger drug.
And since cannabis is soooo much safer than tobacco and alcohol, less intoxicating than beer, why in the world are we all so up in arms about this great threat to society?
Study something else… like the effects of throwing folks in jail, taking away their children, subsidized housing, etc., just for smoking pot.
The article in it’s entirety, not the individuals who contributed to it, is BS.
its 2009 and the only backup is an article written in 2002….and nothing concrete ever since…i think that pretty much says it all.
Mike, I’m curious what does that say?
Budney, A. (2004). Review of the Validity and Significance of Cannabis Withdrawal Syndrome. American Journal of Psychiatry, 161 (11), 1967-1977 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.161.11.1967
Vandrey, R., et. al. (2005). Cannabis withdrawal in adolescent treatment seekers. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 78 (2), 205-210 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2004.11.001
Vandrey, R., et. al. (2008). A within-subject comparison of withdrawal symptoms during abstinence from cannabis, tobacco, and both substances. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 92, 48-54.
Aharonovich, E.,et. al. (2005). Postdischarge Cannabis Use and Its Relationship to Cocaine, Alcohol, and Heroin Use: A Prospective Study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 162(8), 1507-1514.
Wilson, D.,et.al.,(2006). SR 141716 (Rimonabant) precipitates withdrawal in marijuana-dependent mice. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 85 (1), 105-113 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2006.07.018
Hanson D. (2009) “Marijuana Withdrawal: A Survey of Symptoms.” In The Praeger International Collection on Addictions. Ed. by Angela Browne-Miller. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, Vol. 2 pp.111-124.
The plural of anecdote is data. There is anecdote that shows some folk have difficulty they attribute to giving up pot. There is data evidencing folk do not have a difficulty ‘in times of no pot’. Most of the symptoms in the case of the former are consistent with destabilised endocannabinoid homeostasis. Indeed if they didn’t happen in some people I would be surprised. Cardio/Vascular/Neuro/temp all consistent. They inform us of how important a biological source of exo-cannabinoids may be to ameliorating/alleviating other conditions. As to describing these as withdrawal caused by cannabis that is another matter. It may be, and i speculate, that some or all of these conditions pre-existed the cessation and are now revealed, and that the cannabis users ‘acuity, insight and sensitivity’ to altered stated of conscience also colours the research. I have no doubt that these experiences are real and described accurately. That is a far call from understanding what is actually happening.
However, given the replies to others by D. Hanson, I suspect he already knows this. He may well, I suspect fully understand that valid epidemiological research is impossible under the ‘set’ of a prohibition paradigm. But one has to begin somewhere. I applaude Dirk’s work but also understand why others would label it BS.
Perhaps the following should be the label on legal pot.
Cannabis: Your Milage May Vary
NZ has introduced and passed the legislative model for recreational psychoactive substances that includes accurate labeling. I might argue the above harm reduction label is consistent with known risk profiles.
Marijuana is a perjorative term. Cannabis is the correct scientific name. Marijuana should be stripped from the scientific lexicon.
Wow, what a debate. It makes me so mad to hear the disbelievers, Just look at the 500 blog entries the author refers to. You will also see mine. (-Tim) So they are all BS? 500 BS’ers, and motivated by what may I ask? I am in the aprox 10%-15% (although I think the number is much higher) of x pot users who were severely addicted and suffered and still do miserably from the withdrawls. Will the author please point the readers to these testimonials. They are factual, not imagined. I am 5 months in, after 25 years of daily use, however controversial it may seem, canabis is addictive via physical and mental analysis, hands down.
Tim, a number of skeptics here have concluded that the 500 testimonials of pot addiction on my blog are not reliable case histories, but rather the statements of weak and confused people suffering from various forms of mental disorders that they mistakenly attribute to cannabis withdrawal. For my part, I am seen by some legalization advocates here as a sort of secret agent working on behalf of the forces of darkness to keep pot illegal–even though I have publicly stated my support for legalization.
It’s an emotional topic for certain.
I didn’t think that marijuana withdrawals were possible? I believe withdrawal comes from the chemical addiction that people have to the substance which causes physical symptoms to appear once they are off of it.
Marijuana effects dopamine and seratonin levels in the brain, how is that for chemical addiction. These chemicals occur naturally in the brain but marijuana increases the levels. I researched this while suffering insomnia from having not smoked marijuana in weeks.
I am 57, and have been smoking since I’m 16. I’ve been smoking every day since last October, and very regularly before that. Concern about the effect of the daily smoking on my energy levels led me to go cold turkey 5 days ago for a three week testing period. My plan was to give it 2 weeks to get out omy system, and 1 week to see how I was feeling. I’ve been feeling shitty ever since, which is how I got to this blog while researching withdrawal. Clearly everyone is different, but don’t just dismiss this article as BS. I’ve experienced the vivid dreams, depression, lethargy, nausea and overall weird feeling. I love getting high and feel that pot has been a valuable part of my life and choose to continue to make it such. One thing is clear… going cold turkey is definitely not smart. I’m going to take a toke now.
I’ve smoked pot for quite a while. I also smoked cigarettes (quitting them was much harder, even slowly the way I did it.) I drink occasionally, but not often.
When I quit smoking pot, I started getting vivid intense dreams. Which is super cool honestly. I like ‘em. Maybe I’ll start smoking again and quit again just to get the dreams to continue! lol… they’re great, I can take a bong rip in my dreams, too. No nightmares though, just dreams. It’s been about a month.
The other thing I can corroborate is the temperature variations… none of my friends have this so I think it has something to do with my metabolism. Obviously my energy system is pretty wacked from this whole experience but overall. The worst thing (or scariest I guess) is the black shit I’m coughing out of my lungs. And THAT, is honestly from cigarettes. I quit smoking cigarettes and that’s when that started. But when I quit smoking pot it got worse too. Kinda interesting. Lungs cleaning themselves out as new cilia grow… now I plan to go into the woods and smoke me some more fine herbs
I began searching for withdrawal symptoms last night.
I have been a smoker since i was 18, heavy smoker since i was 20, im now 24. Lately i had been smoking more than usual due to stress at work, about an ounce of good weed a month. (2-8 bowls a day depending on day) Some shared, mostly alone.
Im buying a new car, and had to quit for a month or two to pay taxes and etc on the car.
The first 2 days was fine. I felt more tired than usual waking up.
Day 3 i started having cold sweats at work, and would sometimes wake up with cold sweats
This lasted for another few days.
Day 3 Low appetite, went from eating 2 fish sandwhiches, beer, and fries at lunch.
To eating fries, and just ice water. Quite fatigued sometimes.
Day 5 i started having, not so much nightmares, but very very vivid dreams, and i would wake up, and be wide awake, remembering everything, but confused about reality, i’d feel lost for the first 30 secodns i was awake, far worse than ever before. This continued
Day 5, Headaches started, first very small, would come and go quickly, now on day 7 i’ve had a constant dull headache for 48 hours, feels quite the same as when i stopped taking Anti depressants cold turkey years ago.
Day 5 Horrible insomnia. Lay in bed for hours before i fall asleep, only to wake up 2 hours later for work.
Day 7 Shakes started. Mostly just slight trembling all over, ususaly happens when im having chills and cold sweats.I have to write or type slower to do it accurately.
Day 8ish Shakes were so bad, i could hardly hold a drink. It would appear that after stopping smoking, my blood sugar values got thrown slightly out of whack, my doctor suggested it was because i had gone from eating ridiculous amounts of foods, to very small amounts, possibly my body had been making to much insulin.
Day 11 where i am now. Head ache comes and goes, dreams are back to normal, shaking is still happening, however not as intense, mostly gone. Anxiety is mostly gone, hunger has returned mostly to normal.
I being one of the people who always said, you cant get addicted to weed man!!!! I’ve learned my self thats not true, However, this is the only time this has happened, i have quit smoking in the past more than a couple of times, with out any ill effects greater then temporary depression, or a headache lasting no more than a day or two.
I also believe it should be made legal, and i will also continue to smoke. However i will not allow my self to continue smoking one ounce a month. For the first 3 years, i smoked half of that, or less.
Im having withdrawals after smoking heavily for 4 years, i knew a person who got the shakes quiting cigarettes after only smoking for a week. I see no reason for the people here to be freaking out about the claim of withdrawals.
I am also ADHD, and i find when i smoke is the only time i can concentrate, get homework done, finish a report for work. Etc Etc.
When i used to take adderall, i smoked much less, but the insomnia it caused forced me to stop taking it.
Being a level headed guy, i will agree to the posibility of the “withdrawal” symptoms being related to an underlining condition that pot was merely self medicating for.
However and the people here claiming nothing at all happens, or completely ignoring the possiblity that the symptoms are caused my canabis, simply shows how closed minded our society has become.
I’ve been smoking daily since 1970. Last week I decided to stop for a while. I’ve experienced some cold sweats and a little irritability in the past few days. I’ve spoken to some friends who have been in similar situations and none of them have had anything but a little irritability. I get the feeling that as far as cold sweats go I’m part of a small minority. I have no trouble believing the accounts in the article but would like to know how many people this researcher spoke to that didn’t experience any of these problems. I don’t call BS on this but I do think there is some cherry picking involved here.
i have grown and smoked the best weed anywhere,i could smoke 5-6 or more a day for years,
i stop every so often for months or years at a time after about 5-6 days of irritability im fine,my biggest problem was, and still is am a cheapskate, i wont but it ,but for now appx 18 months the pot police shut my grow room down paid 180 fine, what a bunch of jerks ,they need to arrest criminals who commit crime not grow their owm medicine! my narcotic pain pills were not a concern as they knew i suffer from chronic pain and it also helped with chemotherapy side effects.they left me my bag of pot but took my plants!
I’m surprised at how many people are saying this is unsubstantiated. Sure, it may not have happened to you and sure, it may not happen to a LOT of people, but it’ real. Think about the number of people around you who have an addiction or some form of OCD. You and I can’t imagine why they have their compulsions or addictions and you and I may never experience anything like that, but it’s still very real. I remember watching ‘Intervention’ and feeling so stongly that there was now way I would ever ruin my entire life for a drug, but that sure doesn’t mean others have not or will not. It would be nice to see people sharing their personal stories and opinions without trying to discredit the author and the people who have experienced these withdrawls. What reason would thay have to lie? Your stories just prove that cannibis is not quite as addictive as most drugs, not that is isn’t for some other people. One person’s physiology and psychology is completely different from the next. Take that into consideration.
I have smoked pot on and off for about 25 years, I have had no problem with it, no paranoia, and I can go for months on end without it. I gave up smoking over night, as easy as if I have not ever smoked, so what is wrong with me? I have not ever taken hard drugs, but ask me to give up food and stick to a diet and its like as if my world crumples into a heap, I have thoughts about food in my head that messes with my cognition to the point whereby I will go eat something just becuase.
I know I am not hungry and I am very upset about being 14 stone (196 pounds approx) and whats more I am only 5 feet 2…I am ashamed of myself but I even lie to myself over eating something i know I shouldnt have…whats worse is, 7 years ago before I had a bad fall and got brain damage I was so small in size, i had always battled with my weight but I was a UK size 12/14 and in good shape…so how is it possible to give up drugs such as ciggies, poy, and I never have caffine either, so whats going on in my head huh? I would love for someone to sort that one out….
I think the withdrawal symptoms have a lot to do with the potency of the weed. Today’s weed is so much more potent than long ago. It’s definitely more potent than Hash, at least the stuff I was getting. I guess the ones that haven’t had symptoms smoke sticks because my symptoms are very real. Exactly the same as the others. The only thing that has been easy is staying away from the bowl because I feel like crap and I never want to go through this again, NEVER. I’ve smoked since I was 17, and am now 50 Keep busy, and exercise. This is awful! I am 4 days into this nightmare.
I basically smoked pot every day for 32 years; I can remember each day I skipped, which was about seven or eight total. Was I addicted psychologically? Sure. Did I smoke for a reason? Yes, I had chronic pain. Did it give me enough relief to live my life? Absolutely.
Then I stopped. Withdrawal was total and complete hell for me. I did not sleep, any at all, for NINE DAYS STRAIGHT. It was the worst experience of my entire life, even worse than being pinned into a car wreckage for over a hour. Insomnia continued to this day (four years later).
I had the sweats and temperature changes. Worse yet, I had an extreme cognitive breakdown. Basically, I couldn’t remember shit, I was unable to read because I would forget the first paragraph by the time I had read the third one, I forgot how to drive a car, and more. As I was already physically disabled, I didn’t have to try to work, but obviously I couldn’t have done it. It took a year and therapy with a brain damage specialist to get back to square one.
Samantha – what in the world is your problem, other than being in total and complete, massive denial? And a heartless person to boot? Apparently this study is REAL and TRUE; some people go through a nightmare when they quit smoking.
As for me, I have no axe to grind. I am a strong proponent of MJ in general and believe it should be legalized, as well as used for medical purposes.
Like other posters, I find it incredible that so many smokers have jumped down the author’s throat on this one. It actually convinced me that pot addiction is even worse than I thought, as these posters like Samantha have a major disconnect between common sense/logic and their habit. It’s also disappointing to read how many jerks there are in the world today who disregard critical thinking in general.
Thanks for the study, Dirk Hanson. Good job!
Withdrawal is definitely real for me. I think that nothing explains withdrawal better than, “WHAT COMES UP MUST COME DOWN.” It’s a simple concept that applies not only to all drugs, but even to life experiences. I can’t tell you how many times great experiences in my life like travel or fun time with friends actually led to feelings of depression afterward when the fun was over.
Marijuana has provided profound healing relief to me in my life without a doubt. It has helped me heal from depression, get over childhood trauma, and provided all kind of relief from injuries. It has opened me up to so many things that I know I wouldn’t have been exposed to without it. However, at this point after smoking regularly for like 7 years- I want to be more sustainable and able to build a high from within myself. Also, marijuana simply isn’t doing nearly as much for me as it used to.
One’s withdrawal symptoms, I believe, are related to how low ones dopamine levels have become. The worst withdrawals I’ve experienced have come from when I was smoking way too much- smoking all day- starting in the morning for weeks or months. Quitting cold turkey coming off of being perpetually high led to some of those extreme withdrawal symptoms people talk about, chills, insomnia, loss of appetite, depression, anxiety, aching joints, flu like symptoms, extreme emotions, fuzzy thinking and memory- weird twitches and more. I’ve experienced all this a number of times and when I’ve managed to endure this for more than a few days- it lasted at least a couple weeks or more. In fact, quitting has actually led to me catching a cold or flu a number of times- I think just from the lack of quality sleep and stress weakening my immune system.
However, I made it through those symptoms- distracted myself as much as possible- exercised a ton and took two months off this spring. Once most of the withdrawal symptoms wore off- I actually felt really high not being high. Since then- I try to keep myself from getting too deep in it. If I find myself smoking everyday- I’ll fight the urges and take a couple days off and the withdrawal symptoms aren’t that noticeable just because I haven’t completely drained my dopamine levels. Before, taking even a day off was nearly unbearable- now I can take a week or so off and I might crave weed or feel bored or uninspired, but its not like I have trouble finding the will to eat or find myself taking advil PM just to get to sleep.
Now- whenever I’m not high I try to focus of being present and really taking in the moment. This can get me pretty close to all the irie feeling I’d get when I’d be blazed out of my mind. When I find my mind racing when I’m trying to sleep I try to concentrate on feeling every cell of my body and being- and it calms my mind and quiets my thoughts.
It’s hillarious top read all these DEFENSIVE comments!! Most cronic marjuana smokers I know HAVE withdrawl symptons—but guess what puffies? none will ever admit to it. I have seen their personalities change for the worse when they don’t get some.
Cronic smokers NEED it all the time. That says something in itself! They don’t go without because it’s miserable whe they do. Tell me that you all have been smoking for 10-30 years because you enjoy blowing money on something that turns you into a pseudo vegitable! Every cronic I have ever met is basically the same, they are so into their pot they will fight the defensive fight for pot over anything, they are self absorbed on it, off of it they are freaks with anger issues, on it they have very little motivation or aspirations.
Eww, it’s such a gross way to exsist- “lets go smoke another dirty joint man!- let’s smoke another, yah another to sleep now- wow! I’m a total retard isn’t this great being high/my head in the clouds and NEEDING this stuff ALL the time to just function!”
After reading this blog, this is just the most recent of a litany of posts here that demonstrate a complete lack of knowledge or compassion for those of us that ARE experiencing marijuana withdrawals.
I have been a chronic user for 35 years, using several times per day nearly every day I am by no means a “retard” or vegetable. I have worked 30 years in a highly technical field that requires considerable knowledge and expertise. I have received many commendations for the high level of competence that I have demonstrated in this field.
I was forced to quit for a few months 7 years ago. I experienced many of the withdrawal symptoms symptoms listed above, but by far, the worst was the nightmares. These dreams varied widely in content, from people with automatic weapons invading my home and killing my family in front of me, to my wife leaving me to enter prostitution. I would wake up several times per night, sweating and disturbed from the dreams, only to go back to sleep and have another one. Because of these dreams, I could not wait until I would be able to smoke again. These dreams NEVER subsided in the entire two month period.
I am now forced to quit again, this time for good. I am once again experiencing these nightmares, and it is horrible. They rob me of sleep, and I am exhausted by mid day. I had put off quitting, because I was afraid that the nightmares would begin again, and I was right. For some of us, marijuana withdrawals are VERY REAL, and those that are calling it BS are grossly misinformed. Just because they have not experienced them doesn’t mean that they don’t exist. Marijuana withdrawals are very real, and very disruptive to the lives of those of us who experience them.
I do not have “underlying subconscious problems” as some have suggested. I had a very happy childhood, in a loving upper middle class family. Addiction (yes, I used the “A” word) to marijuana has been my only mental health issue in my life. I started smoking with friends out of boredom, and continued it because I enjoyed it. I believe it should be legalized, as it is far less damaging than alcohol, in my opinion. That being said, I now wish I had never started. Most of the withdrawal symptoms I can handle just fine, but the nightmares are unbearable. I dread going to bed at night, because I know what’s in store for me. I find myself waiting later to go to bed, to try to put off the inevitable, which is only increasing my exhaustion.
Those who have posted here criticizing the article because they fear it will interfere with their pot legalization agenda are poorly informed, and demonstrate a complete lack of compassion. Maybe those of us who experience marijuana withdrawals are a minority of users, but we do exist. To suggest otherwise is a demonstration of ignorance.
PS to Mr. Hanson: If you are aware of any means to reduce the nightmares, please send me an email, or post about it. I am becoming desperate. . .
I don’t know why there are some people here hating. Mr. Hanson is doing some fine work.
I’ve recently (16 days) stopped the weed after being a daily smoker for many years , I suppose 13 or so, one before work, one as soon as I got in from work…….you know the drill. All these symptoms – weird dreams, irritibilaty, nasty spaced out feeling, suddenly weeping and i mean sobbing like a baby, restlessness, appetite effect, etc..- I’ve had them all and still do. Physcologically I want it all the time.
People this is real. The effects are precisely the same for many people. And I don’t think it is such a small minority either.
What really cracks me up is the “I smoke but I can stop for a weekend, or day, or i mean i can cut down maybe smoke just 1 or 2 or 5 in 1 day no problem im not addicted ” types, and they have the cheek to tell me I’m a fool?
FWIW I would probably legalise all drugs and treat it as a medical health issue.
I believe it should be made legal, and i will also continue to smoke. However i will not allow my self to continue smoking one ounce a month. For the first 3 years, i smoked half of that, or less.
Thank you Mr. Hanson for posting such an informative article and discussion. It seems to me that the folks who deny that pot is addictive or don’t beleive others when they share about withdrawels “just don’t get it.” Trying to explain the disease of addiction to those who “use” and do not become addicted is like talking to a brick wall.
I am a researcher at a university and have studied the effects of drugs, particularly alcohol, on the brain for the last decade or so. Like many of my friends and colleagues, I consider marijuana to be a relatively low-risk drug when used in moderation by responsible adults. However, I am now forced to admit that my view of the discontinuation syndrome was naïve and that I was completely unprepared for it myself:
Week 1: Despite missing my evening smoking session and feeling some mild irritability, I felt fine.
Week 2: Mild flu-like symptoms, which I assumed to be viral in nature though it did not exactly feel viral. No real desire to smoke marijuana. I assumed I was out of the woods and had gotten off easy.
Week 3: Sudden onset of incredibly intense and vivid dreams. Profuse sweating at night. Difficulty discerning dreaming from waking state. Lack of energy. Upset stomach. Absolutely no appetite. Unable to focus. Saw my primary care physician. All labs normal.
Week 4: This is where the real problems began for me. Sudden onset of intense, full body anxiety…. This led to complete insomnia for days. A very deep feeling of dread and a sense that I was going completely insane. Crying spells that came from nowhere….
Week 5: The intense anxiety slowly began to dissipate… was able to sleep for 4-6 hours a night, which is approaching normal for me. Appetite slowly came back but the thought of eating was unpleasant. Feeling of confidence began to return. Feelings of hopelessness and of going crazy began to diminish.
Hi all
I’ve given up weed and cigs from a 20-year habit including alcoholism which was dealt with about 4 months ago. I decided to take the booze away frist and then the cigs and weed. I dont know if I could have done all 3 plus the DT’s are no joke, although I never had seizures.
I am on day 3 of going cold turkey and I can say that i have experienced a great many of the symptoms listed. I have been taking sleeping pills every night, due to insomnia, and have experienced night sweats (also before with booze). Irritability, anger, depression, fear that I would never be happy again (thats definately created by the drug void!)
Last night I could simply not cope, but today seems better. In fact I had my first genuine moment of sober nuero chemical happiness. To those currently trying to stop, I would say please carry on. Dont give up just yet. Once the drug begins to leave the body the feelings slowly start to go away and you become sober which for me has been a feeling i haven’t felt for years.
The brain takes a little while to create new reward pathways after having been under the effect of THC (and the rest). I am sure GABA and acetylcholine receptors take time to work properly and new nueral pathways require . Levels of dopamine need tme to adjust. Be aware that the brain doesn’t want you to stop. Its not enjoying losing its addiction either. Think off the tricks it plays to get you to sleep when you dont want to go to sleep.
Keep strong, exercise, eat well, relax, yoga, massages, and also ecourage your friends and family to support you. I had a good cry on one of my friends shoulders last night cause the emotional build up was so intense and it needed to be released.
For those condemming this blog, just f*ck off and doing something else. You’re obviously c&nts and simply cannot fathom what chronic drug addiction and withdrawl is.
To the rest of you, good luck in whatever stage of remission, retry, rehab, or detox your in. Just keep in there and it will eventually get better. Just endure it day by day, hour by hour if need be but keep going.
I wish you all the best
Alex
I have smoked for at least 12 years and I have never felt any withdrawls. The people complaining are obviously wimps.
lol NIDA, nobody with half a brain takes anything you say seriously.
Also, lol @ alex, who was addicted to alcohol, cigs, weed, and claims that people condemning this anti cannabis propaganda don’t know “real” addiction. that’s a joke buddy.
I’ve been a pretty frequent smoker of marijuana for a couple of years; my other pot-smoking friends have been doing so for close to thirty years. When we’re out of pot, none of us experience anything remotely similar to any of the withdrawal symptoms listed above. None of us experience any cravings for marijuana and none of us are compelled to voraciously consume any marijuana that has been placed in front of us. I also have two friends that are intentionally abstaining from marijuana in order to pass drug screenings; neither of them experience these withdrawal symptoms either.
It is worthy to point out that I have several acquaintances who smoke marijuana mixed with tobacco; they do experience cravings, but these are nicotine cravings and a regular cigarette calms them down.
Yes, this is anectodal evidence, but given the lurid descriptions of these intense withdrawals it is worthy to note that our experiences would seem to contradict this study.
I’d venture to guess you and you friends didn’t wait long enough for the real withdrawal to set it or have not been smoking the really good stuff – or were just LUCKY as some said. Everyone is different. If you can’t figure that out – then don’t bother commenting in such a way.
Subjects in our study were long-term heavy users of marijuana who reported a history of at least 5,000 separate episodes of marijuana use in their lifetime (the equivalent to smoking once per day for 13.7 years), were smoking at least once daily at the time Eating Disorders
of recruitment and met DSM-IV criteria for marijuana dependence without meeting criteria for a current Axis I disorder. Subjects were excluded if they reported that they had used another class of drugs more than 100 times in their lifetimes or had consumed more than five alcoholic drinks per day continuously for one month or more in their lifetimes.
It is important to note that although, as a group, the current marijuana users experienced an increase in withdrawal symptoms compared to the controls, only 60% of the subjects in the current users group reported a change in symptoms of at least three points in magnitude. The fact that 40% of subjects who had used marijuana regularly for an average of 22 years did not report experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms during abstinence might suggest that physical dependence on marijuana is not as strong as that observed with other drugs of abuse. This may be due, at least in part, to the long half-life of THC. However, many subjects reported that when trying to remain abstinent in the past, the presence of withdrawal symptoms had played an important role in their relapse. Thus, alleviation of abstinence symptoms may contribute to the maintenance of daily marijuana use in chronic users.
One of the most common symptoms of marijuana withdrawal is a lack of appetite. This usually lasts for 3 to 4 days after the last time you smoke. You can almost think of it as the opposite of the munchies. Fast food doesn’t taste the same with Mary Jane!Don’t be surprised if your appetite shrinks, or that you aren’t interested in food for a couple days. You may even lose some weight when you go through cannabis withdrawal. The lack of appetite can be a part of a more general feeling of sickness that has been described as low-level flu like symptoms. Very few people report diarrhea or nausea, but it does exist for some of us.
A subset of marijuana smokers develop a cannabis use disorder and seek treatment for their marijuana use on their own initiative. A less well-known consequence of daily, repeated marijuana use is a withdrawal syndrome, characterized by a time-dependent constellation of symptoms: irritability, anxiety, marijuana craving, decreased quality and quantity of sleep, and decreased food intake. Treatment studies show that rates of continuous abstinence are low (comparable to relapse rates for other abused drugs), and more treatment options are needed. The objective of this review is to update clinicians on the current state of marijuana research and to describe features of marijuana withdrawal to facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of cannabis use disorders.
this man is only trying to help those who ARE having these withdrawl symptom, he’s not telling you to do anything, give him a break. I have suffered a few of these symptoms as a heavy pot smoker and i found it relieving that someone could explain it. shame on you, i came here for support, not to see stupid petty comments from know it all pot smokers, get a life!
if you had never smoked pot before, by reading this article you would think, Oh my god, the withdrawal symptoms! I had withdrawl symptoms after 3 weeks of Lyrica,(extreme body aches, not to mention bloating weight gain and depression) Two months of Tramadol(flu like symptoms, lethargy, muscle aches and pain) and even a few weeks of Norco after dental surgery (anxiety and body aches). But marijuana? I smoked everyday for 12 years and then stopped cold turkey at a boyfriends request. NO WITHDRAWAL. I felt fine. Absolutely fine.
If helped me in so many ways over the years. Nausea, indigestion, menstrual cramps, anxiety.
Please if you want to help people, write the whole truth and include the countless examples of people having no problem stopping if they want. Geez.
Yeah, not everyone has symptoms. Actually I think most don’t have any at all.
But you quit at a boyfriend’s request? oh, my. I don’t know your story, but personally, I would never quit for a guy. That’s just me though.
Have a good one, peace and love.
I’m 63 and have smoked pot since I was 17. A year ago I quit. Nada, zilch, no withdrawal whatsoever. But I also quit smoking and quit drinking with little difficulty. And I drank me some whiskey over the years! I adore pot, I think alcohol is wonderful and I really, really enjoyed smoking not to mention alot of nose candy and psycholodelics in my younger days. I can only guess at the reasons why and I think it’s because I used the drugs for fun and pleasure and never let them use me.
You have a strong range of tolerance. If you experienced these adverse effects, youd quit pot right on the spot, haha.
Scare tactics. That’s all this article was. People who EAT TOO MUCH go thru withdrawals. People who surf the web too much go thru withdrawals. People who have TOO MUCH SEX go thru withdrawals. Anyone who abuses anything will go thru withdrawals. Those people who go cold turkey on any substance will experience symptoms. Regardless, you’ll note that no one died during their pot withdrawal. Indeed, no one has ever died using it either.
I suspect articles such as this were originally funded by wacko religious government officials who wanted to make a point about Jesus or something. After all, the early 20th century laws that were passed to prevent pot use were originally all about the need to make people adhere to some invisible authority figure.
OMG!!! I HAD smoked every day for 23yrs and had to stop 3 months ago because of a collapsed lung. I have had nothing like some people are explaining here and because of my own experience I feel that these stories are y and maybe a bit over the top. I think it is yourself MAKING yourself feel bad because you cant have what you want. Fair enough, the lung collapsed at the very time I was sucking on a bong but as for withdrawals….NOTHING!!!!
Dear Readers,
I have enjoyed the manifold benefits of cannabis for several decades and have never experienced anything remotely rexembling ‘withdrawal’ symptoms . As an opioid habituee and as someone possesing a post Graduate qualification from the Royal College of General Practicioners in ‘Substance Misuse’- as well as a retired Senior National Advocate of the UK’s Methadone Alliance charity (retired due to ME related ill health 2007) who has taught Consultants, Physchiatrists, Doctors, Nurses, Senior Civil servants, drug users, carers, as well as being a published author on the subject I ahould know a thing about drug use, habituation, ‘addiction ‘ , and it’s nuero-physiology.
Prohibition is a multi billion dollar idustry on which careers, livelyhoods, professions, reputations, incomes and ‘honours’ are dependent- addicted if you like. FIrst of all who sponsors the US research- SAMSA- a US Govermetn body funded as part of the appuratus of prohibition- anyone recieiving reseaerch funding streams from such a source is sure as hell unlikely to bite the hand that feeds it and show up Cannabis ‘withdrawal syndrome’ for what it is- the product of a deranged and delusional society which employs prohibition and the war on human beings who use ‘drugs’ (the proper term should be pharmakons) as a convieniant fig leaf with which to mask the projection and protection of strategic, security, political, economic and other objectives.
If the health of drug users was the primary reason for the prohibition of human beings who use drugs then the first and most effective measure that would improve their health would be the abolition of prohibtion – which has created a global market where any person- of any age- with any health problem- overt or latent- can buy any prohibited substance of unknown purity, adulterants, bacterial and viral contamination, on any street, at any time of day or night so long as they can obtain the cash to purchase such substances at prices inflated by prohibition. After 70+ years one can only conclude tat it is not working.
Time to introduce related legal markets in drugs with the income and taxes generated helping to contribute to the treatment of any who develop problems related to their use of drugs including tobacco and alcohol- the two biggest killers of all.
15 years ago there were NO reports of cannabis withdrawal syndrome- no scientific evidence base- and if by withdrawal we are describing vomiting, diahorea, cramps, abject misery, pain, suffering and clearly measurable and observable symptoms precipitated by sudden withdrawal of a pharmakon- then show me the video’s please.
Yes a person can become a heavy/chronic abuser of cannabis and expereince psychological craving and as- with any psychoactive pharmakon- prescribed or not- those with psychiatric or emotional problems or a family history of the same would be best advised to refrain from using cannabis or for that matter alcohol. Liekwise some precribed medications can produce or induce adverse effects inome individuals.
But as ever- it is a case of different strokes for different folks- some people find moderate cannabis use
not just pleasurable but also a positive help in managing chronic pain, the symptoms of MS, ME, cancer, as well as off benefit with psychological and/or emotional problems.
The body produces it’s own opioids- the endogenous endorphins- it has recently been discovered that the body even produces it’s own morphine sulphate- likewsie the body produces it’s own endogenous ‘cannaboids’ .
The question we need to ask is would account for the current ‘reports’ of cannabis withdrawal syndrome?syndrome. What has changed in the last 15 years ? The apologists for the war on uman beings who use drugs argue that ‘skunk and modern hybid varieties are far stronger than past forms of herbal cannabis and/or resins. Nonsense- Nepelese Temple Ball, Afghani Black, double zero, Thia Sticks, Sensimillia, Columbian Red, Cambodian Weed, to name but a few of the potent varieties of years past.
So I suspect that this theory- the ‘skunk’ connundrum- is without substance nor credible foundation.
So what else has changed- certainly in the UK one major change is the wider avialbility of cannabis, it’s increased use among the working class- and those poor who are now deemed ‘surplus to economic requirments’ (this is UK Civil Servent speak for benfit claiments), a fall in the age of regular use, and crticly- the breakdown of old user supplier networks based on friendships- and the emergance and now dominance in the market of crack style distribution and supply methods.
As many are increasingly alienated and disaffected from a society in which they have no stake and assigns them ‘sub human’ value- poverty creates real mental health problems and social ones too. Another significant change has been the reporting- the daytime TV chat shows- the willingness of psyciatrists dealing with the children and teengaers of dysfunctional middle class family’s to create convieniant fictions -for example the mass diagnosis of ADDD and the accompanyig huge increase in the prsscribing of potent amphetmine reallted psyco-active drugs such as ritalin to young people and children at stages in thier life when the brians nuero chemistry and hard swiring are in flux and the process of imprintinmg/forming.
So middle class parents can psyco-pathologise their ‘difficult’ children- elude responsibilty for pursuing careers, wealth, their own intersts at the expence of the unconditional ove human beings, especially children need in order to flourish and become emtionaly stable and mature young adults.
As for the of spring of the proletarit- well they are best psychopathologised and crimminalised- the chidren of the relatively wealthy and privelaged get drunk and just engage in high spirited horse play- but the same behaviour by a prole child or teen would result in an Anti-Social -Behaviour-Order- a Drug Treatment and Testing Order-and the micro mangement of every minutie of their lives.
Many young childtren cope with an incrasingly hostile alien and alienating world- no onder many go onto develop emotional and psychological problems , many will self medicate to manage the – not even recognising that they may have ‘problems’ that might benefit from non judgemental support and help.
Cannabis withdrawal syndrome is a flag of convieniance that masks the real blight- poverty- the poverty of everyday life and human relationships under Glbalisation and a new form of Kapital in the West which has seen the post world war 2 social contract between the forces of labor and those of Capital shredded- mass unemployment that is trans generational – this corrodes the soul and mind.
Kinship ties- the extended family- even the nuclear family- are fragemented, community bonds such as the trade unions, working mens clubs, public houses, social clubs, libraries, schools, public transport- in short the social infrastucture and fabric that gave direction, a sense of belonging, of place, of mapping life and ones personal development- all have long gone. As have the Docks, the factories, the shipyards, the mines, the railways, the times of full employment, all consumed as Kapitals previos explosive growth has inverted and become expansion by implosion – by stripping the working class and lower middle class of social wealth, public amenties, emplyment, sense of place (‘Get on your bike and find work’- ‘There is no such thing as society’ declared the last UK Tory goverment as it inflcited ‘pain’- now we face the prospect of another even more rabidly post Friedmanite obsessed Tory Goverment that has promised us ‘PAIN’).
Back to cannanbis withdrawal syndrome- it seems to occur most frequently among neuroloical researchers who are ambitous, probably would benefit from a bit of weed themselves, and have a vested interest in producing – manufacturing ‘evidence to substantiate the claims of their political paymasters.
ANd if you promote by every means at your disposal ill evidenced, poorly designed, cod science with headlines news and scaremongering reports-then if you tell people their shit dosent smell long enough then sure as hell you will find evidence that peoles excrement really doesnt smell so bad after all.
Best- rant over back to rest. Aplos for speling and typo’s the ME etc is playing meery hell with my cognitive fuctions today.
Again a p**sy that wont admit it. I don’t care how intelligent you think you are, genetics has a great role in it. I had all these adverse effects, thinking there was something wrong with me, if you think your just talking down to a bunch of mitochondriacs, shut up, sit down, and do something productive, because you are aggravating everyone, pot has increased 10 fold in potency, stop smoking mec you little caniving nerd that was never accepted in High School. Im 15, OPEN YOUR EYES.
there’s no god, stop living in Fantasy land, i’m sick of your comfort thoughts.
so nice I said it twice, but the second time with a tweak.
Great comment trail! I’m not sure why people are so fired up to deny withdrawal symptoms. I’m also confused as to why people consistently conflate such with “addiction”. You can experience withdrawal symptoms from ceasing a behaviour without being addicted. You can be addicted to something without experiencing withdrawal symptoms. The possibility of experiencing withdrawal symptoms is not a sufficient reason to prohibit anything.
And yes – you can experience a withdrawal syndrome if you cease using cannabis
It is certainly true that withdrawal symptoms can occur in the absence of addiction. One of the best contemporary examples would be SSRI antidepressants, which can produce strong withdrawal symptoms (not cravings) when people discontinue use, even though the drugs themselves are not addictive.
But I’m having a harder time thinking of a substance addiction which does not produce any withdrawal symptoms during early abstinence.
I am all for the legalization of marijuana. Let that be clear.
I was a chronic smoker for close to 10 years before I decided to quit due to the negative effects it was having on my life. I have experienced nearly all of the marijuana withdrawal symptoms except naseau. You can see my post about marijuana withdrawal symptoms
There are tonnes of comments about these effects!
John Mckee
I can attest to the withdraw symptoms as well. After 15 years of daily smoking I tried to drastically cut back for personal reasons. Without any known previous effects (from having 30 day+- dry spells), I suddenly began having general anxiety and panic attacks. This included sudden spells of dizziness to the point of almost fainting, daily nausea, major heart palpitations, feeling like my body was constantly getting shocked, and feeling like I was going to die…to the point I almost wanted to die to end it. I sought treatment for all my symptoms without fessing up to my use history and there was no known health conditions otherwise. I always will enjoy pot and am not against it but my withdraw is real. CHEMICALS effect everyone different and if you don’t experience any, consider yourself lucky…not stronger or better than anyone else but LUCKY. Stop hating and open your mind. It never seemed to hit me until I decided it was time to all but quit doing it. Now I have to be careful for awhile because while I was clean for 30 days and past the hell I started enjoying it again and within a day the symptons stated coming back.
The objective is to do the marijuana withdrawal… stop smoking it.
So if there is the symptom from doing this, we will try the best to solve it.
Though it has some symptom or they need some substitute instead such as resin.. But it is a good way that they try to do marijuana withdrawal in reality. They have intention to make people be proud of him.
Hello everyone, just wanted to share my story with you and hopefully get some advice.. well it all started with fracturing my tailbone this past december. pills were not working for me to control my pain. so i started smoking weed. i would say that for a whole 2 months i started smokin everyday from morning to night time. then i had to stop 2 weeks ago because i was going to have to drive 21 hours to california to see my parents. 3 days after stopping i a panic attack! it was terrible! i ended up having to go to the emergency room in las vegas. im not even from there and was just passing by so you can imagine how scary that was. after that panic attack i felt this intense anxiety. it was so terrible because it was something that i never felt before. i felt nervous all the time for no reason at all. i knew i was suppose to have fun because i was in vacation but everything seemed so scary. once i got to my parents home i still felt really nervous. especially in the evening.. in the morning once i woke up i would feel good but once evening hit i started feeling the anxiety creeping up on me.. after the california trip i ended up going back to montana where i am attending college and the anxiety has calmed down but the feeling of spacing out and having this unreal feeling is still haunting me. its so terrifying!! there is nothing worse then feeling im not in control.. im barely on my 2nd week of being clean and i hope this passes by quickly.. i will be going to see a doctor tomorrow to make sure there is nothing else wrong with me because its a scary feeling. to anyone cleaning up, good luck! and we can make it!
Well the funny thing is how all the under educated people on the subject are making such powerful acquisitions at the author. Clearly he has stated its withdrawal symptoms happen to people, not to every single one. And for me My family has had marijuana in it for a long time. And I have seen withdrawal symptoms like the author described in a family member who has been smoking for 40 years.
Going on to the comments to the people who think this drug is harmless you are very wrong. While my family member is only one person out of many long term users I have seen the mental disorders the drug has created first hand. This person is now Bi-Polar. This person rather spend their money on another high than other important things. They are always so irritable now until they go have a smoke to calm their nerves.
While many people will go on to say alcohol is just as bad if not worse I do agree and making that illegal though will solve nothing just see prohibition in the early 1900s.
Just because you haven’t experienced it, doesn’t mean it isn’t real…
It’s like me saying, I’ve only heard people talk about the Holocaust.
It never really happened.
Ignorance is bliss, isn’t it?
Substantially reducing withdrawl symptoms can be done with sleep aids! If you do anything that makes you feel good for a pronlonged time you will feel anxious and irritable whether it be a mental perspective or a physcial mechnism in your body. These symptoms I argue are extremly amplified when sleep deprived. It is natural for your body to be unable to sleep after you used pot to sleep. I find it contradicting to use drugs to get off drugs because how will you get off sleeping pills however an organized plan to discontinue one(pot) and then the other(r.e.m inducing sleepp aid) is the best shot at avoiding “relapse”. I find it interesting that all the liftime smokers have such loaded words in there dispute against these real symptoms. 1. if you smoke pot for 30 plus years theres a great corealation you use other substances to fix your problems so perhaps instead of getting high to sleep they drink smoke, are one other medications that make them drowsy or screw their brains out 2. anyone who has held down a professional job is very unlikely to smoke pot to the extent that these sympotms arise when used extensivly.3. all diffrent potencys all diffrent people and all difrent drug histories leave a range of possiblites so anyone who calls these symptoms a fallacy or what they term “BS” is unedecuated narrow minded ignorant and unempathetic, uncomunicable and counterproductive to getting a common understanding towards this issue.
I have never read so many morons defending weed and trying to negate peoples withdrawal symptoms as BS. Have these geniuses ever used their noggin to break down what MJ does to a human being. Let me start by saying that if you have any precondition of gastritis, anxiety, depression, chronic pain, sleeping disorder, Cannabis will most likely relieve these so when you quit these symptoms will resurface 5 times as bad as if you have never done the drug. So in addition to the normal withdrawal symptoms from heavy usage whatever ailments you were pre-conditioned your body will experience it a lot worse when you stop. And another thing MJ takes sometimes several months to completely get out of your body so some of these preconditions you will experience 3-4 months after you quit. Not uncommon, so the clowns writing in that after one week of abstinence they don’t experience symptoms, well the drug THC is still in your fatty tissues and in your brain, just try and pass a drug test morons. Withdrawal is real and different in everyone so stop saying moronic things that its BS when someone writes in their own personal experience, this isn’t a government conspiracy trying to take away your right to be an addict, if you want to do it and you enjoy it more power to you, the people that want to quit don’t care, its your life. And yes I am speaking from personal experience of 10 Years of continuous use from age 18-27, then quitting for 15 years and picking it up again and 9 more years of continuous usage till my tender age of 50 now. I am finally clean for 95 days or so, and yes I didn’t just smoke, I vaporized, baked, smoked from morning till night and even got up in the middle of the night, full blown addict. And by the way I also believe that you can smoke everyday for years, than suddenly stop and you have no withdrawal symptoms, those people do not suffer from addictions, feel lucky my friends, addiction only affects about 10 percent of the population, so its not the drug but the person who is the addict. Addicts are the ones that suffer the hardcore withdrawal symptoms, its brain thing. Snoa Flaik
Good morning,
I am 52 years old and have smoked pot since I was 13. Over the last three years my use has steadily increaced up to the point I was smoke before work, at luch and all evening. In the last seven days I have only smoked a couple of hits off a joint with a friend. I cannot sleep, eat or relax.
Sleep is the worst part. Last night I took two benadryl, two sleep aids and two advil. I only selpt a couple of hours and have been awake since 3:00 a.m.
What am I going to do? Is there light at the end of the tunnel?
Nicely put and well done! I think some people forget how different we all are.
I meant well done Snoa Flaik
This is the most intelligent thing I have read on this blog so far!I have been smoking marijuana since I was 18 and I will be turning 28 in November 2010. Almost four weeks ago I lit up and 1 hour later ended up in the hospital with a SUPER FAST heartbeat and extreme dizziness. After this episode, I decided to quit. The following three weeks have been HELL for me.. Cold one minute, hot the next. EXTREME Anxiety, constant worry of my health, my mind would not not stop racing and thinking negative thoughts. On/off again depression, my emotions were so out of whack I missed almost 2 full weeks of work. My symptoms are currently subsiding gradually, I’m feeling a lot better. I never in a million years thought I would have any type of withdraw if I decided to stop. I’m currently having sleeping issues waking up many times during the night, some nights are worse than others. I find going to the gym and exercising helps ALOT, and learning to clear my mind and understand I was having withdraw symptoms put me more at ease. My Dr. has prescribed me xanex which I have filled but not taken. I do not want to trade one habit for another, although I’m positive xanex would extremely help me! Not everyone will experience withdraw, and some people like myself come to realize I really am an addict and never knew it. I generally have a constant “dead head” most of the day I’ve learned to deal with better, plus random headaches come on me out of no where. I am determined to beat this, I just have to wait it out. To all others going through, you’re not alone and if you truly want to quit you will need to occupy our “Happy” time with exercise or something productive or you will begin smoking again.
just my advice but
DONT DO THE XANEX!!!!!!
I´m freezing and feel hot flashes at the same time, night sweats, insomnia, nausea, loss of apetite, panic attacks and depression, depersonalization, wierd dreams and numbness in extremities. I´m tired of that shit. This withdrawal is very long, how long this will last?
Strong cannabis is an evil drug.
Okay, most of the comments here are absurd and obviously skewed with emotional responses. First of all, withdrawal from chronic cannabis use is a scientific fact. So is withdrawal from chronic caffeine and cigarette use. If you put something into your body on a daily basis over the span of many years, you will definitely notice some type of change when you abruptly stop. DUH. Now, the level of change will vary depending upon the person and several other applicable factors. THC is stored in the body’s fat cells and can easily build up to a point where there’s not more room for it. That alone can make a person feel nauseated, lose their appetite and have digestive issues. If you are trying to stop toking and you’ve been doing it for a while, you must wean off slowly. Don’t just stop cold turkey, that’s idiotic. Use less and less with each passing week over a 6-8 week period to minimize the withdrawal side effects. The more often you use, the longer you’ll want to take to wean down. As far as its addictive properties go, OF COURSE CANNABIS CAN BE ADDICTIVE. So can the Internet though, and shopping. Food is a huge addiction for many people also. ANYTHING CAN BE ADDICTING. The point, is that cannabis is not chemically addicting. It just becomes a habit that many people enjoy and then, over time, turns into an addiction from chronic, perpetual use. If you can’t control yourself enough not to do it all the time, then perhaps you shouldn’t be doing it all. Same goes for drinking, but cannabis won’t kill you in a few hours like alcohol can. In truth, cannabis should be legal. There’s no good reason why alcohol and cigarettes are, but cannabis is not. And for one poster that said their doctor gave them Xanax… FLUSH THAT RIGHT DOWN THE TOILET. Withdrawals from Xanax are ten times worse than those from chronic cannabis use. My mother almost died when she tried to go off her Xanax meds cold turkey. It took her almost six months to completely wean herself off. BEWARE of any prescription meds. Especially the ones for depression and anxiety. Once your body gets used to having it daily, it is super difficult to wean yourself off. Much harder than pot, that’s for sure (IMO, anyway.) Try meditating daily, exercising and reading to help soothe side effects when weaning yourself off of anything (coffee, sugar, chocolate, cannabis, prescriptions, etc.) It definitely helps!
Marijuana has been and will always be a gateway drug. It is the place people start, a majority of youth who are addicted to cocaine and meth state that their addiction started with Marijuana.
So says you! Not all users will agree that it is a gateway drug. My friend was a user of coke, but never used weed, some mates used weed and not anything else, I used weed for years but I would not dream of anything else everyone is different but many want to pass the buck
If there is such a thing as a gateway drug I would say it is alcohol. I’ve done alot of things that I normally would not have done had it not been for alcohol. I’ve never really had a desire to use anything else when I’m high but that is not to say that other folks don’t. Don’t get me wrong, if someone laid out a line I wouldn’t pass it up but it wouldn’t be because I was moving up the drug hierarchy. Pot smoking to me is more of “taking a trip without leaving the farm” kind of thing. I’m 60 years old and for me it is all about being somewhere else other than where I’m at. I strongly believe that it is very important that we spend more time in the here and now rather than being high all the time. What I mean is that we have to be more balanced in our lifestyle. My issues with pot always began when the pot seemingly became ineffective and that typically happened when I was smoking too much. Today, I smoke using the “happy hour” method and I get a nice buzz everytime. Todays smoke has so much more THC that I think we have to treat it with respect. I find if I minimize those times of smoking more than I need (and I’m sure that we are all guilty of this) the high is always better. I hope all of you folks out there find your way if you choose to quit or simply maintain.
I quit after 20 years of fairly constant use. I didn’t notice any withdrawal symptoms at all. This is anecdotal, but so are all the posts saying that they did have symptoms.
There is now a large and growing body of clinical studies related to the marijuana withdrawal syndrome.
This bibliography needs updating, but it’s a start:
http://addiction-dirkh.blogspot.com/2008/04/marijuana-withdrawal-syndrome.html
I just don’t get why it is other people get withdrawal symptoms and I didn’t…odd isn’t but then again not everyone is the same
Do you get withdrawal symptoms when you abruptly stop drinking alcohol? Most people don’t. Some people do. I think it’s about differences in neurobiology. Different wiring, different gene expression, etc.
Thanks for sharing information for Withdrawal Syndrome I really impressed and want some more stuffs again for this post.
Shame on all these a-holes who want to come here and crap on this article as just another prohibition angle. That’s stupid of you. You’ve bought the farm that MJ is the best thing in the world – for everyone. Well it’s not. Look around you at most of the people you really know who smoke a lot of weed and see if that’s where you really want to be in life.
This article is just about research and it has helped me know I am not alone as I have bought the whole B.S. about how cannabis is the
best natural medicine, blah, blah, blah – maybe it is – but not when a person loses his or her ability to use it medicinally which I have seen in most everyone I know.
Have any of them ever gone 30 days without smoking? No. Because they can’t. I don’t want to become a damn plant essence to justify my day to day existence, thank you.
I have been a near-daily (only in the evenings) user during some periods of me life. Now I use weed only occasionally. If I do use for a few days in a row and then quit, I experience withdrawal symptoms. For me it’s mostly irritability, anger and depressive thoughts. It’s relatively mild – but quite unpleasant nonetheless. And it effects my family; I’m grumpy and quick to anger.
Yes, and often it’s the spouse or close friend of a smoker in mild withdrawal who is the first to notice increased irritability and anger as symptoms.
LOL, I don’t need lab mice and dogs to tell you that pot has pretty nasty withdrawal symptoms.
First and foremost, please be aware that my experience with this drug and yours are not the same. Please remember that before trashing my opinions of this drug and how I am choosing to quit it.
I’ve been smoking pot on and off since I was around 18. I’m 34 now. I quit for a while last year, 2010 ( today is 01-01-11 – HAPPY NEW YEAR!). I started smoking again when I took a beach trip to Bodega Bay, CA. last may of 2010. For some reason, I just loved to sit on the beach, my favorite place in the world, and smoke a joint and just watch the waves crash. Anyways, I stopped smoking 12-27-10 because I finally was shown what it was once again doing to my life. It turns me into a lazy slob who doesn’t want to do anything except get loaded when I wake up, and veg all day. I’d like to say there’s nothing wrong with that, but what kind of life is that?! Being a Christian, you would think I wouldn’t be into this. You can call me a hypocrite, cause I am. I say one thing and do another. That’s what pot does to me. I finally got to the point where I wanted to quit more than I wanted to smoke it. On 12-26-10 I took my last hit. I asked my Lord and Savior, Jesus to deliver me from the cravings of this drug. He did that day. However, just because I no longer crave it 3 days later, doesn’t mean my mind isn’t going crazy. I’m not sick in the stomach, I’m not irritated, I’m not having panic attacks. My only withdraw symptom is insanely severe insomnia. I stayed up for new years this year… for all 24 time zones. Yesterday was the same, and the day before that, and the day before that. I did manage to get a few hours rest over this trial. I call it a trial, because that’s what it is for me. My relationship with Christ is 100% why I was able to quit cold turkey. I had nothing to do with it, other than surrendering my addiction. So I willingly flushed a half an ounce of some of the most potent indica I’ve ever had down the toilet.
What stops me from falling asleep is my mind is racing faster than a formula-1 race car. It’s very restless. It’s funny actually… I’ll have songs stuck in my head that I haven’t herd in years, and they won’t leave, no matter how hard I try. To put it simply, the light switch just won’t turn off. No matter how physically exhausted my body and mind are, it doesn’t matter. Pot does something to how your brain naturally functions, and it takes a while to get back to normal. I hear melatonin helps. Maybe I’ll try that.
I’ll agree with everybody who likes this drug, in the sense that it’s a great high. It’s very mellowing and soothing. It works wonders for sleep, eating disorders, it helps ease chemo treatment, and out of all of the other drugs, considering nobody has ever died from smoking pot, it’s by far the safest. I’ll even agree that it should be kept legal for several medical purposes. Patients with cancer, aids, glaucoma, and a handful of other medical problems greatly benefit from marijuana. And remember, it doesn’t affect everybody the same way when you stop smoking it. I guess you can say it all depends on what your motives are. Are you smoking it to just get high? Or are you a cancer patient on chemo, who needs it to keep his or her food down?
But what it does to my brain chemically & psychologically, it is NOT WORTH IT for me! It trashed my relationship with Christ. I was so back sliden in my relationship, I felt like Michael Jackson moon walking. I knew I was in the wrong, but I didn’t care. It’s easy not to care when you are high. Real easy.
So here’s to another sleepless night. Cheers!
The insomnia will pass. I know from previous times that I’ve quit. It takes a few weeks for you brain to get back to it’s normal cycle. Pot really messes that up.
But if you are really looking to quit, please considering turning to Christ. Not just for purpose of quitting pot. There’s such a wonderful joy and satisfaction in having a relationship with Him. It’s real easy. The thief on the cross next to Jesus said only “remember me”, and Christ told him “that day, he’d be with Him in paradise.” The thief believed that Jesus was who He said He was, The Son of the living God. That’s how he was “saved”. If you want a true relationship, you need to come to Christ broken and with nothing to offer. That’s when Christ will deliver and free you. And what an indescribably incredible freedom it is. I won’t get into heaven and hell. That’s for another discussion.
I guess it really comes down to, how badly do you want to be delivered from marijuana’s grasp?
Feel free to mock away. I expect nothing less from this world. It’s okay though.
I’ll post my bulk email address if anybody has any questions. It gets about a thousand spams a day, so no big deal if you want to spam it. Email me at jsreciepts at gmail . com if you are serious about quitting this drug. (and I purposefully misspelled receipts in the email address. The proper spelling was already taken) I’ll pray for you if you’d like, and can offer other support and advice if needed. Please put “marijuana deliverance” in the subject so I can find the email easily amongst the hoard of spam in my inbox.
It has been about 80 days since I quit weed and I have to tell you it has taken me this long to start really feeling good again – like totally clear-headed and mood is much better and energy overall. It’s been a long process of my brain regaining some balance after years of use and it’s probably not totally done yet, but I am happy to be on the other side of this one. You have no idea. The whole Cannabis is god thing is a lie for a lot of people It has it’s time and place but most people overuse it because they think they need it to enjoy life or deal with their problems. It’s totally not true.
I’m 25 and have been smoking practically daily for the last 7 years. Last year, I quit on and off. Every time I quit, I would have to keep myself busy because the cravings were so intense. The first three days were always the worst. I was constantly craving, anxious and depressed. The longest I quit was for two and a half months, but it only took a few days of light smoking to get me back into the habit of doing it every day. I definitely had some serious nightmares and I knew it was because I wasn’t smoking. Now I’m going through a big change in my life, I’m changing jobs and I’ve given myself two weeks in between to stop smoking. It’s Day 8 and I am always on the verge of tears, constantly anxious, the depression seems more severe, I am always craving, every day seems to be a battle. My lack of appetite has become so severe that I’m borderline anorexic. I feel this kind of existential unrest and it was really getting to me. I was so happy when I read that all of these symptoms were not uncommon and has given me strength to persevere to quit for good. To all of you who say marijuana withdrawal is BS, you have either not stopped for long enough or you are very lucky to not have these symtpoms. I wish I could fastforward time!
To the person who insists everyone going through withdrawal symptoms must have been on something else. Quit making blanket statements with assumptions. it makes you look ignorant.
Kate everyone is different
Thought I’d add my 2 cents to the discussion.
After smoking 1-5 joints daily for the last 2-2.5 years, I have decided to quit for a month or 2 to let my body recover a bit. During my time smoking I did have a week off here and there and a month and one part too. (I don’t intend to quit, just like having breaks)
From my own experience with heavy use over the two years and close friends and family who have also smoked a large amount, marijuana withdrawal exists. It does not affect everyone and in those that suffer it, the degree to which it affects them differs with how heavy the use was and genes.
Right now I’m starting my second week of withdrawal. It’s far, far easier to put up with than other withdrawals like nicotine and alcohol (according to friends). I have the sweats most mornings when I wake up. At nights I want to smoke, as was my habit. I have searched a few times for roaches I’ve missed or bits of weed that dropped on the floor. The days are fine but at night I often have a spaced out, anxious feeling at the times when I would normally be stoned while using. My appetite has decreased and my insomnia has become slightly worse (one of the reasons I started using, actually).
On the occasional day I have had the shits (hasn’t happened in the past when I’ve stopped for a while), but whether that’s withdrawal or bad died at the moment due to my lack of appetite I couldn’t say.
To be honest, it’s easy to deal with as long as you can control the urge to call your dealer. The worst part is when I’m bored and have nothing to do, as in the past while smoking that would be an occasion for a joint. Watching movies doesn’t feel right either, because I would always smoke before watching a movie or good tv show.
The withdrawal seems to subside from weeks to months after you quit. The time it takes to return to ‘normal’ depends on how long you were smoking for and how much you smoked. The heavier and longer the use the stronger and longer your withdrawal will last.
damn i thought i was going crazy, thanks for letting me know about the withdrawal, been having crazy vidvid dreams, and cold sweats at night,
Ouch. I just spent 5 minutes reading all of these comments and I have to say as someone who just googled pot withdrawal symptoms because I haven’t slept or had any appetite since I quit, some of these comments are really hurtful.
I’ve always supported the legalization of pot, but that doesn’t mean that the physical symptoms I have aren’t real. Most people can drink alcohol without serious health repercussions but that does not mean that those who do suffer are to be ignored.
I think it is great that most of you seem to be able to smoke pot heavily and quit whenever you’d like. However what I didn’t realize was that apparently your individual experiences negate mine. In the same vein I could say, “I have experienced terrible withdrawal symptoms and so did my buddy Jane. Therefore all of you who say you did not are full of sh*t. I know your game, just trying to seem hard when really, deep down, you are depressed, can’t sleep and have lost your appetite. You are all liars who are too lazy and unmotivated to try and better your lives and would rather tough it out yourselves than man up, admit you are having withdrawal symptoms and get help.” Wow! That doesn’t sound very nice does it. The thought of even saying that to another human being, and negating their own personal experience is sickening to me. Who gave me the right to tell other people how their bodies feel?
I don’t have the flu. I’m not a lazy asshole and I’m not a hypochondriac. Please remember it was not that long ago in history that most people believed that tobacco was not addictive and generally harmless.
I am happy that I’m 30 years old though, because I know that if my 16 year old self had been looking for help and come across the nasty comments on this page I would have been devastated. So please, in the future, think about what you are saying and how you may be contributing to making someone’s bad day that much worse
True, and a very nice and intelligent outlook on all of this.
I have been smoking Cannibis for 20 years plus upto 5 or 6 joints a day
With regards to withdrawel I can confirm they are very real on week 5 the longest I’ve been without a fix and are going through the followings:-
Headaches
Night Sweats
lack of sleep
nightmares waking up with head racing (Not Good)
the moodiness has past
appertite back
sinus problems
Now going through the temptation to have a joint to get some sleep but feel I have gone through a month of hell and realy want to stick it out
Any body out their been through out when can I expect to be back to normal
i’d say about 45 days you should back to yourself
Ok, so I have used cannabis as a means of self medicating for my bipolar disorder, because i’d prefer something that IS NOT a pill, something that comes from the Earth.
I’ve had to quit for the purpose of finding a job, because the rest of the world isnt nearly as forgiving to someone with an ailment as the common man would like to think.
You can try as much as you want to discredit the author, but I’d have to say all the ‘symptoms’ are pretty real to me. Perhaps the people that dont experience these withdrawls smoke nasty shwag, but I’ve been pumping nothing but high potency medicinal cannabis into my body, and without it, I feel sick, angry, when I first stopped I had to go to the E.R. from panic attacks and I had explained to them that I had quit smoking, and described the dissociation I’d been experiencing. They perscribed me xanax, which I refused to take unless completely necassary, and after multiple panic attacks in the psyche ward (which im not sure why I was in there, everyone else was obviously having a much worse time than me) the sent me home.
Right now, I’m not sure what day I’m at, I had a slight remission because a friend came over and we had made some hash oil, which i refused to turn down.
In the current state I’m in, sleeping is kind of rough, and once I get to sleep, dreams are extremely vivid, and extremely bizarre. Waking up today I feel sick as a dog. I find it helps to take naps during the day, to try and catch up for all the sleep I’ve missed in the past week.
I’m gonna go ahead and say that I COMPLETELY support legalization, and I do intend to return to smoking, but I intend to moderate it because, altho I wouldnt claim this to be a ‘nightmare’, its really really shitty. The fact that I’m on edge all the time definately would have to relate to my bipolar disorder, coupled with the fact that I have had to stop the only medication that TRULY worked for me. I dont want to go back to antidepressants and all the shit I was on before because the side effects were complete bulllshit: gaining massive amounts of weight and being a pizzaface for a good portion of my life.
I would suggest exercise, but at the moment I’m feeling too sick to do it, but meditation is MOST DEFINATELY the saving grace.
And the comment from the douche that said he quit for a weekend? THAT IS NOTHING, it took about 4 days before I started to experience anything, mostly anxiety attacks and dissociation, I kept thinking I was having mushroom flashbacks or something horrible like that. Luckily the mental fog is not such a big deal, just being bitchy and sick is what I’m at now.
I hope for anyone reading this, who is going through this, the thought of OH MY GOD im going crazy!!! has been echooing through your head, but it all passes. If you intend to go back, MODERATION is key. I dont feel cravings or any of that nonsense, but I’d like to blaze some Sour D or some Cheese just so I could feel… Less sick, I guess.
Peace be with you all.
So forget everyone saying this isn’t true. If you’re here, you’re likely experiencing it, so you know. I know, I went through this last month. I have come bearing the miracle: Mirtazapine. It’s an SSRI (generally prescribed for depression), but has the side effects of increased appetite and increased drowsiness. My doc (fully aware of my situation) wrote me an Rx and I was 85% better the next day.
Today is the second day of my “detox”. I’ve been smoking Kush for about 3 years straight now. Every day… All day… All night. I smoked while I was at work, when I took my break, on the ride home, before dinner, before bed, and if I woke up in the middle of the night. I’m quitting just for the hell of it. I have a great job and my wife doesn’t mind it. I’ve quit before… it’s hard FOR ME. Last night I had to deal with night sweats and this strange tingling sensation that starts at the back of my neck and works its way down to the middle of my back. Once that starts… Sleeping is damn near impossible. Like the guy above said…Moderation IS key. If going cold turkey is a problem for you…. Try to wean yourself off of it. I’ve done that before. Smoke about 10% less everyday or every week.
No way to know what percentage of long-term smokers become clinically dependent on pot, any more than we know with exactitude what overall percentage of drinkers go on to have serious alcohol problems. But the more than 500 posts about the subject on my blog lead me to believe that the number is pretty low. Not counting nicotine, addiction researchers usually cite figures in the 10-15 per cent range for most drugs of abuse. I suspect with marijuana it’s in that range or lower.
Those numbers sound about right to me, based on similar comments on my blog.
I believe it should be made legal, and i will also continue to smoke. However i will not allow my self to continue smoking one ounce a month. For the first 3 years, i smoked half of that, or less.
Ive not had any since the last time I was on here, Its not something I NEED to do it doesnt OWN me but it gets rid of this terrible pain around my head where the brian injury units pills do not..I realise some people have problems with it but I never have lucky me
hahahahaaaa thats brain injury not brian lmao and no I still havent had any and wont do now until I go to Amsterdam but they are stopping tourists smoking it there so thats the last time I visit
Hi, i just turned 19 and ive been smoking pot for 5 years, yeah, i know, young as ever right? well thats what i get for living in B.C. anyways, i smoked about 4 oz’s in the past 3 months, and dont want to buy anymore, so i quit. im on day 2, and i feel like crap. i have every symptome of the withdrawls, sweatting, fluish, feaverish, loss of apitite, difficulty sleeping…if your smart you wouldnt smoke as much as i do…hah
What happens to the people that have all the problems before smoking pot? The have as a medicine for a reason. I have been battling eating problems for years, as well as: Severe Depression, ADHD, Insomnia, and Chronic pains in my knees and Shin splints. I’m only 20 and I cant imagine living the rest of my life weather it be 10 or 15 years to 40 or 50 years taking several different pills. After years of taking pills it got hard for me to get off them i realized that i became addicted to them and than became an avid “pill popper” which led me to abusing pills like Oxycontin, Klonopin and Flexeril. I would rather use a vaporizer and smoke marijuana which would replace all those pills. Smoking marijuana gives me the appetite to eat without getting sick, gives me a new outlook that isn’t so bleak, helps me go to sleep(helps with the night terrors as well), keeps me calm so I’m not literally running around like a chicken with my head cut off, and takes away the pain or at least helps me deal with the chronic pain. All i have to do is take a few “hits” and that’s it. I have smoked on and off for years and these so called withdraws that everyone is experiencing i have been experiencing far to long before hand and when I stopped smoking all the symptoms come back, but they aren’t as strong as they were years prior. So maybe the people that don’t need it shouldn’t be doing it, but for the people that do and don’t want to take pills the rest of their life should. I wouldn’t say I’m addicted since I can and have stopped smoking before and I have had no issues doing so. It was harder to stop smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol than it has been to stop smoking marijuana. The only reason I start back up is when the symptoms start to get worse to where i can’t bear it anymore. I think people should stop disregarding the good it does cause of the bad they think it does and start realizing that it does do good.
Marijuana makes you go crazy, makes you lose focus.
I do not mean to disregard you, but I personally don’t think it makes one go crazy in anyway, or lose focus. I myself actually feel rather focused. However, it does make one forget. Which can be nice for people like me, who want more than anything to just forget everything stressful and hideous in this world for a moment while high.
I would like to hear your explanation on how cannabis makes people go crazy…
I was 22 when I started smoking pot and I am 45 now. I pretty much smoked every day during that time except for one 8 month period that I was clean. I haven’t smoked for about five weeks now, but did smoke a few resin bowls during the first 3 weeks. I am pretty much over the cravings as I was just at a party where people were lighting up but it didn’t really bother me. I have probably lost close to 15-20 pounds since I quit. I have headaches almost daily and do not sleep well, because I get this horrible heart burn and indigestion when I lie down. I do not eat much in a day and going to the bathroom can be a challenge sometimes. I was my doctors 4 weeks ago and he said my blood pressure was really high. I did have the chill/sweat thing going on the first couple of weeks but now that is gone for the most part. One of the worst parts of this is the change in my attitude. My demeanor is usually laid back and relaxed, but since I quit, I have a short fuse and what to read the riot act to anyone who crosses me. I get pissed daily about the stuff I have to deal with in my life and constantly wonder how it is that I haven’t killed anyone yet. I want to stay clean for at least a year just to prove I can do it; I just hope that medically, I don’t die from quitting or get violent with someone beyond reason. Believe me, there are plenty of opportunities in my life to go ballistic on someone. I just hope I can get through this without it ending badly. I hope this helps someone out there…
I was unaware of my addiction until I was forced to stop smoking for a few weeks, because I couldn’t get my hands on more. I didn’t think I was addicted(even though I smoked multiple times a day), because I was under the impression that it was impossible to be addicted. Let me tell you this: it is certainly possible. One can be addicted to most anything.
The reason for the popular belief that marijuana is not addicting is because back around the 70s, the plants were less potent. The plants currently have more THC in them, the average around 7 to 8% THC, while a few decades ago the average was around 4%. Growers nowadays are breeding better buds, learning to cross the highest grades together.
I underwent detox without the knowledge of anyone, even myself for a while. One of the worst symptoms for me was low-grade anxiety. I learned on TV one gets anxiety while detoxing because the THC is like a stress reliever in the brain and without it, the brain doesn’t know how to handle all the stress without the THC, having become accustomed to it.
I also had constant dreams of smoking marijuana. Almost all of my dreams during the week or so I was not smoking were about cannabis. In my dreams I saw beautiful buds, and I could almost smell them. All I could think about was the next time I would be able to smoke again. It was like being high was normal, and being sober was some sort of other reality, a depressing reality that I couldn’t escape. I was irritable, and I couldn’t shake my constant want for the herb.
But the second worst thing were the night sweats. I would wake up in the middle of the night at least once every night, dripping in sweat, throwing the covers off. But soon I would be cold again and put the covers back on, only to wake up sweaty again after another vivid dream about the drug. I wanted it again, I wanted to be high so very bad.
Now, I am in control of the habit. I still smoke occasionally, only if a someone else offers. I do not buy my own bags anymore. I used to smoke alone, smoking more and more because my tolerance for the drug was ever increasing. Now I only smoke with at least one other person to keep myself in control. I can smoke and enjoy it without needing it and it’s amazing. My tolerance is low again so I am able to get really high with a little bud. I love it.
It’s a pain reliever, a insomnia reliever, an appetite inducer, and an all around nearly harmless drug. Peace and love.
Stop spreading hate an chill people.
I’m 33 and have been smoking mostly on, little off, since I was 13. About a joint each night and plenty more on weekends for at least ten years. More sporadically in late college years. Recently engaged, we just made a snap decision to let our stash run dry for a while. We have a phenomenal sex life and thought we may be cooling off a bit. Besides, we really didnt know what would happen if we stopped. It’s hard to say something is bad for you when you don’t know what it’s like without it.
Cold turkey day four right now:
Insomnia!! I’m exhausted from work and my body crashes into sleep from sheer fatigue early these days… like 10pm, but come 3, 4, and absolutely by 5am, I’m tossing and turning like mad and completely unreasonably anxious about the day to come. Find myself making to-do lists and going mad about the must-not-forget’s.
Temperature control is totally out of whack. I’m so hot at night, even though I now keep a fan on my night table, blowing directly on to me.
Anxiety is present, but somewhat maintainable.
Slight body aches, but I’m a passionate bicyclist, so lots of cardio must be easing plenty of symptoms.
Constipation. I eat really well balanced meals and am still waiting for a decent shit.
Freak dreams. The early morning anxiety chases away whatever they may have been, but I do know that they are vivid and totally bonkers.
Absent-minded. Wow, I thought the clouds were supposed to lift, but I somehow find myself very stupid at times. Making wrong turns, getting my own email address wrong, calling people the wrong names, etc.
Appetite is okay. Not what it used to be, but perhaps yet again, it’s all the cardio from bicycling and running my dog? I don’t miss the out of control sweet tooth pushing me to eat insane amounts of cookies at 2am!
Generally, save the sweaty insomniac early mornings, the rest of the symptoms are tolerable.
It helps to read about other people’s experiences. I’m glad to know that I’m not the only one going through weird stuff. To be honest, we had no idea what to expect, so it’s good to see that this stuff is all connected.
Thanks!
How cannabis make people crazy??
Cannabis is an Hallucinogen, never forget that. Also cannabis is a stimulant and a depressant at the same time. It´s a very complex drug.
THC has the power to create a “world” inside your mind that doens´t exist. You smoke and you think that you are more focused, more intelligent and more creative. But it´s just the impression. The reality is: more you smoke, less focus you have. THC play tricks in our minds. You start to feel more focused when you are addicted already and the withdrawals makes you lose focus. So you smoke and feel better because your body needs the drug to function.
I smoked a lot of high grade everyday for years and i know what i´m saying. Marijuana is a BIG lie.
And everybody saying that the anxiety is mild is smoking weak or mid buds.
Sorry about my english if i wrote something wrong, I´m not from US.
I’ve smoked for 6 years never missing a day,( easily 2-3 joints/blunts a day.)I lost my job almost 9 months ago and started smoking “Dank”/”chronic” from the moment i woke up till i went to bed. It’s been 11 days now completely sober, and by far the hardest thing i have ever had to do… The first few days i basically only had the urge to smoke and loss of appetite. I am now on day 11 and i have maybe slept 2-3 hours a night for the last 3 days, with hot and cold sweats and waking up with rapid heart rate. I now eat half as much as i used too, losing about a pound a day with pretty bad diarrhea. The anxiety and insomnia are by far the hardest things for me.. it’s like i don’t feel comfortable hanging out with my friends anymore. I guess i stumbled across this site for some short of reassurance. I feel like complete shit and i am praying i start getting better. I do not regret ever smoking marijuana, but i will say that if i knew the withdraws were going to be this bad i never would of started!
im glad to hear im not the only one waking up with a racing heart! its kind of scary isnt it! from what i can gather its gets less and less every day, but its still there when i woke up today, and im currently in the morning period when its still there but not as noticeable as when i first awoke. im only on day 6. i really pray that it only gets better from here. i managed 6 hours sleep at least last night so very happy with that! Good luck to you sir!
Interesting… I stopped 3 weeks ago.. After reading the comments and now realize why I may be hot and cold.. on and off.. the house is 72 and I am sweating.. the dreams… heck yes.. very vivid and mostly not happy ones.. thanks for all of the info people! good luck to all of us !!1
Im on day three of quitting a 24 yr habit of smoking high grade weed. Ive lost 17. Pounds in 3 days. Camt eat or sleep. I have horrid diarreah amd incredible fits of rage. Please tell me this gets better. I hate my life right now. Those who say there are no withdrawls are either lucky or have no clue.
I’d like, for the purpose of possibly educating some, and helping to assure others experiencing THC WD that yes, it’s indeed true!
My experience: I’m 65, retired from my 25 year occupation as a marine chief vessel engineer about 12 years ago due to a back disability. Before I went into the marine field, I was smoking semi regularly. I’d stopped from time to time, never experiencing any kind of craving or WD symptoms. In fact during my career as an engineer, I never smoked at all.
Once I retired, I thought I’d try it again to see if it helped relieve my chronic back pain. To my amazement, it did just that! I was smoking every day, mostly afternoon and evenings, 4-6 tokes per day of high quality MJ and occasionally high quality hash when it was available to me. This went on until last Sunday, when I quit. Reason: On-going hacking cough and shortness of breath. I’ll state right here that I use no other habit forming drug, other than very occasional 500/5 Vicodin. Monday evening, I started feeling like shit! Chills, shakes, nausia, headache, muscle aches, then an elevated temp and sweats. No appitite, food and drink tasted awful. My thought was, ‘Great, I quit smoking and now I get the f’n flu!’
The symptoms were basically the same. This has been occuring regularly every evening for the past 6 days now. I feel ok until about 8pm or so, then it HITS. I don’t crave a toke, I just get physically SICK! First the chills, shakes (into a hot shower for 30 minutes) and wrap myself up in a blanket. Then comes the fever (100-102) and the sweats start when I go to bed. I’d constantly wake up soaked, usually only from the chest up. My hair will be drenched! The next thing were leg and foot cramps at rest in bed! Then by late morning, I’m feeling better, thinking it is finally over with.
At least I thought that for the first day or two. WRONG! So I got on the net and started doing some research on MJ withdrawal. I also thought these WD claims were b/s, but now I definately know better!! Much to my suprise, I found all kinds of entries from folks with the same symptoms as I was experiencing!
As I write this, I’m in the middle of the chill state. This evening I tried working out in my shop on my hot rod project to take my mind off of this, but long about 8:30, BAM! Here we go again! I also woke the other day with my saliva ducts completely swollen to the point where they were pushing my tongue up. Next my lower lip swelled up on the right side, back into my check. These retruned to normal by that night, but upon awaking the following morning, my lower lip was WAY swollen on the left side, back into my cheek. That too was back to normal by early evening. I’ve not had this occur again, but who knows. Last night I went to bed about midnight, and at 7:30 am I finally gave up and got up. All night long was nothing but sweating and very restless- and not one second of sleep! Miserable, to say the least. At least it doesn’t go on all day!
I just now checked my temp- 100.7 at this time, and time to go to bed. Not looking forward to this at all, but I’m remaining positive. One thing for sure, I’m done with pot for good this time. I don’t like it because it was a very positive relief for my back pain. But the repercussions are just not worth the risk.
I’m not a nut, I’m not a liar, and I’m of above average intelligence. My experiences with this situation are absolutely 100% true and accurate! I also went to the ER on the second day of this, spent 4 hours on a bed while they ran some tests (blood work, EKG, etc.) and found no obvious underlying illnesses- and no sign of flu!
Most of my friends all smoke pot as well, as we’re all old hippies. I would not be on here writing of this if this experience if it were not factual, as I loved smoking pot. No more though, not for me! I just want this nastiness to be over and done with, asap!
I hope this helps others who are truly going through this nightmare. I cannot even imagine what heroin WD must be like! Lord have mercy!
Please forgive and spelling or grammatical errors- I’m just not feeling very well at all at the moment!
Lastly, I really don’t need to hear from the know-it-alls who want to tell me I’m full of shit about this, ok? That’s not to say I’m not somewhat constipated, I am- which is very unusual for me, as I’m always normal as clockwork!
Bn an occasional smoker 4 the last 2 years bt recently(last 3 months or so) started smoking daily. when i woke up, before i went to sleep n during the day when i had sm chore to do since it got me ‘focused’. decided 2 take a break n see hoe long i wud last out of nothing more than jus curiosity with no intentions of quiting whatsoever n it was ok for exactly 2 weeks until the day before yesterday when i started getting a mild headache that is now on its third day.i also feel quite moody n not myself n thats when i tried googling abt the symptoms n come across this blog.
what i’d like to say and what seems clear from the comments is dat u dont knw that your addicted until u stop 4 long enough. for the last couple of yrs av defended weed with all my heart n always talkd abt its benefits to whoever gave me an ear. i was planning to smoke 4 the rest o my life bt now am not so sure. i av this feeling that am waking up from a long dream n that i avent been awake fr the last few months even though at the tym i felt perfectly fine. what u need to understand is that u can smoke for all your life n neva notice that ur addicted. u kp tellin urself dat ur i control of it n u sem to be since you can stay without it for a few days n not feel any withdraw bt it takes longer than that.
Am not looking foward to any of the symptoms ur talking abt(except da nigtmares. am kind of an adrenaline junkie) bt now that av read this, am prepared n know that its all going to pass n that am not going crazy. hope this helps someone.
the dreams av began. not nightmares, just really weird dreams. cant even explain how. the mild headache is still at the bck o my mind(not really serious bt still there) beginning to get a grasp of reality that didnt seem to exist before(noticing more things tha r happening around me).
Im 19, nearly 20, have been smoking since i was 14/15, and every day for about 2 and a half years more or less maybe 3. I have been ‘lucky’ enough to pretty much only smoke the highest of grades (amsterdam quality or perhaps medicinal quality but i wouldn’t know about that!) and as a lot of my friends sell as have i from time to time, i have never really been out of supply. i have pretty much made sure that i always have a smoke before bed and when i get up as well as like maybe 2/3grams throughout day.
I am currently on day 5 of my withdrawal. to anyone who says that withdrawal from weed does not exist, they can suck a dick.
racing heartbeat is probably my most noticeable symptom, with nausea, extreme anxiety, on the verge of panic attacks, hot and cold sweats, insomnia and yes, the shits! i could swear coming off heroin is meant to be like this not skunk!! today i also noticed that ‘depression’ (feeling ridiculously sad like i could cry) has started to control a few hours of my day.
i am desperate to know when i will start to physically feel better. because i feel worse than when i was a copiously smoking! everyday tasks are hard to deal with because i’m constantly down in a hole! literally PHYSICALLY suffering so hard, if anyone else has experienced all this it would be so reassuring to hear it, or even more so to hear that i’m going to get better! i haven’t even had a single craving since i decided to go cold turkey on sunday, now being friday and i feel on deaths door.
please help me. i start university in just over a week and i am afraid of dealing with the stress of adjusting to a new environment as well as having to make new friends whilst being like this! ive gone from the life and soul of the party to the grandad in a chair in the corner. are these symptoms right? or am i dying?
Oh man! I hope you are doing well. I quit two weeks ago. It’s so awful I swear I’ll never put myself through this again! I live in Oregon, have a card to grow legally and was rolling in free weed for a couple of years.
I felt great compassion for you when I read your post. I have quit in the past but not for long. This time I am in an out-patient treatment program. I am reading a book titled: “The Addictive Personality” by Craig Nakken and it is all making a lot of sense now – the propensity to start such a hurtful process in the first place.
Beyond that I do find it helpful to read the Bible – a much better coping mechanism than assaulting my lungs and brain with pot. I know that this is a personal choice but I really think it’s about an unmet spiritual need – at least in my case. That is why I say God bless you! and not “good luck!”
God bless you!
so far the hardest thing av had to do 4 the last couple o days was wake up in the morning. i feel exhausted n dont want to get out of bed n the only reason i wake up wen i do is coz i av 2go 2 work.i used to exercise in da morning wen i woke up bt ryt nw its right there near impossible. actually it is impossible. however am starting to feel much better n realizing that av been a little depressed 4 the last few weeks coz am a little happier. enjoying things a little more.
I am on my 3rd day of not using after being high nearly all day, every day for the past year, and let me tell you this is the worst 3 days of my life. Constant upset stomach and nausea. It feels like my stomach is in knots all the time and the thought of eating makes me want to barf. Even just smelling food makes me want to hurl.
I have no cravings or anything so I conclude that this isn’t a physical withdrawal. It must just be massive anxiety caused by my brain freaking out about not getting what it’s used to. I have been seriously restless and nervous the past 3 days.
At random times all the anxiety and stomach issues will go away for a little while…I suspect this might be small amounts of THC leaking out of my fat cells and giving me a temporary “fix”.
Cold turkey after a year of nearly constant toking was a very bad idea. I think I will start to slowly ween myself off it because I am barely eating anything at all right now and it’s terrible.
Some stuff I have found to help with the upset stomach part: 7up, pepto bismol, and tums.
i was a heavy marijuana smoker for approximately 2 years and i am currently on my second week cold turkey and the symptoms are very real and a great cuase of it is most likely mixing tobacco (nicotine) with weed im expereancing, imsomnia, lack of concentration, irratibility, night sweats, constipation, muscle twitching and a bad stomach. i did go to hospital because the affects were that great although they said it was just bad withdrawal symptoms and my body just cleansing itself as well as getting use to not having a regular marijuana/nicotine intake it is very real to those fags that believe it isnt you just have to be patient and things will get better. its so hard but can be done.
I agree that mild withdrawal symptoms exist. I quit for 2 weeks, and it felt like a mild flu. I experienced a lot of the same symptoms mentioned all over the web – the vivid disturbing dreams, sleeplessness, irritability, anxiety, and depression, loss of appetite (lost 10 lbs in one week), chills/sweats, and even a few bouts of irrational crying fits for no absolute reason at all – but consider them all minimal, like a tiny hangover for a week, then I started feeling normal again. I’ve only been a heavy user (roughly 4 joints daily) for about 2 years now. 15 years ago I smoked heavily all throughout high school, from my freshman year until I joined the service at 19, and I was able to quit any time I wanted without experiencing withdrawals symptoms. It’s possible that this was due to the fact that I was younger and more virile (I never got hangovers either), but I suspect that it has more to do with the potency of today’s grass. When I separated from the military an old buddy of mine smoked me up and I got twice as stoned as I did my first time smoking. The tolerance built up faster, and the high faded more quickly. I have a feeling that over the years, medical research funded by powerful pharmaceutical companies has tampered with the natural form of marijuana in its attempts to add a more potent drug to their billion dollar industry (certainly wasn’t the guy growing it in his closet).
“One thing’s for sure… this aint your daddy’s grass no-more…”
whats happenin yall
i decided to quit pot on the 4th of september, it is now the 3rd of november. almost 2 months!
however i slipped up 2 or 3 times, i havent bought anything, but starting university i have been in a few drunken situations when i couldn’t seem to say no.. i regretted it in the morning but i am generally feeling so much bette! i remember when i thought i was physically dying with cannabis withdrawal from my years of substance abuse, and although mentally im still not 100 percent, my body is completely over the worst of it.
cannabis withdrawal was one of the biggest eye openers of my life. i feel im free from the curse of bunnin up, because my life was going nowhere when i just sat on my arse all day and smoked 3 grams of hi grade. words cannot describe how i felt those first few weeks of quitting. i remember my post on here a few months back and looking at it has been interesting. made me remember why the actual hell i went through with skunk, and i’ve had heavy cocaine and ketamine and mephedrone phases/ addictions and quitting all of that shit was piss compared to this. hope everyone else is managing okay, and i just want to say that it is possible!! dont feel like shit because im actual evidence that time is all you need! and to keep your mind busy! doing remedial crappy every day tasks that normal people do.. it’s hard at first.. but now i think i’m basically a normal folk again! good luck to all.. i’m sure i’ll be back on here in a while, but untill then, i have to endure a trip to amsterdam! we’ll see what happens but i dont intend on getting stupidly high, and if i do have a few tokes, i think i can honestly say it will be for the last time in my life; i would never have even thought those words possible 3 months ago. also beware of the raging appetite. when it comes back, jheeez does it come back with a vengeance. i’m eating like 4/5 meals a day i swear.. must have put on a stone, i was 11st.. dread to look at the scales now..
Hi Mate, how did things go with you, are you feeling better, basically, I felt horrible after prob the same as u puffing for about 3 years, (1 doube per day) ! How did the quitting go for you, Did the anxiety and stuff eventually go away, I stopped last week cos I felt like i had a panic attack, and since then have been on the verge of having another one, not sleeping, feeling ‘unreal’ scared etc. Thought I had done some serious damage . Not planning to smoke again, just wanted to know if you got back to Normal? How was the dam.
Hope you are good . CHEERS LIAM
yo liam whats happenin man,
im feeling so much better now thanks man, i cant physically describe how shit i felt that first 2/3 weeks, but it does get better! there is a light at the end of the tunnel! after how i was feeling i thought i would never fully recover from the ridiculous amount of abuse i’d put my body through, but i’m almost a new person! panic attacks are the worst thing man, u just have to remember it is mental anxiety and chemical inbalance in the brain that causes a that reaction to basically make you start freaking out, due to your bodies lack of what it’s been dependent on.. i had my fair share of those.. but yeah if you are past a week your over the brunt of it.. only gets better as time goes on.i can 100% empathise with how you feel, it does get better; things i did to help myself which you may find useful however remedial they sound were drinking loads of green tea, which is a natural anti oxidant cleansing the blood & system etc, do boring relaxing stuff like walk the dog and just walk in general, read a few books etc. physical excersice was really good for me too- releases natural happy feelings is the only way i can describe, and if you do enough in the day you can be tired and fall asleep easier.
Dam was fuckin wicked though man cheers, i had to smoke up cause i went there with some serious pot heads, and i feel a bit shit now, but cause my body isnt dependent i don’t have withdrawal anymore! don’t intend to smoke again though, was only because it was my 20th that i allowed it.. thought it would be nice to go out with a bang!
just remember man normality is only round the corner. u might feel disgusting but it just gets better.
yes this does have real disturbing withdrawel symptoms, i am feeling those right now!! seriously if u think that its fine to just go without it for 2 freekin days, and claim u didnt feel any symptoms and now everyones lying, and is thick or has an agenda, ur a damn idiot, go and try for a month and see how u do or leave people alone cos unless u r them u have no clue, trust me its real, sweating, cold, hot flushes, loss of appetite, friggin insanity, mania etc go on prove it try for a month see how u feel…….. what not going to ? then SHUT UP
If you smoke all day every day you’re not going to know how it feels. I’ve gotten to the point that I’m woken up in cold sweets and have anxiety throughout the day because my intake has gradually increased.
To the people saying this is crap: It isn’t. You clearly haven’t been smoking long enough with enough for it to really impact you.
To the people quitting because of it: Give me a break. I can understand if you having a child or you need to focus on your life more or maybe you just feel like crap, but like Alcohol, you need to have moderation.
With that said, don’t smoke all day and keep it reasonable and you won’t have a problem. I just went overboard and this is happened. Keep in mind this isn’t going to be true of everyone, but you are altering certain chemicals that interact directly with you brain and you’re only a moron to think it doesn’t happen.
All in all: Moderation. Smoke responsibly.
There is no way to smoke skunk marijuana responsibly. It´s ok to smoke crap weed with 2% of THC responsibly.
Please try and not be critical or narcissistic towards others when commenting on your own experience with withdrawals. Everybody is different and will experience withdrawals in their own unique way. My friend and I quit at the same time. My friend had a terrible withdrawal, and is still recovering and taking each day at a time. He has smoked longer than I have. He had a horrific childhood which included sexual and physical abuse, which led him to smoke in the first place to give him some time out. He is an amazing man, and is coping very well but it has come to a point where he has agreed to see a GP and maybe start a short course of antidepressants.
I have been smoking for the past 7 years and for the past 5 days, I have experienced sleepless nights with restless legs, diarrhoea, stomach cramps, suicidal thoughts, anxiety, and extreme irritability!! Im so pissed off with every little thing its ridiculous. I was on the computer today sending horrible remarks and letters to anybody who wrote something on their web page that I didn’t like! This is not my nature. I usually meditate, live a chickpea and love kinda existence. However, my anger and rage is so intense, I have been fantasising of all the people that have hurt me in the past, chopping them up into little pieces and wishing them the worst luck in the world??? I can’t believe the change in me!!! It’s a real SYBIL thing happening!!! My love and light have left me, and I could just rip someones face off right now….lol, i do have a sense of humour and catch myself thinking like a serial killer……, but i do understand whats going on. Its different for everyone, and I just pray that nobody gets hurt…lol !!! xox
I am extremely happy to be done with marijuana. I had a card and smoked all day long for free for two years because I have HIV. It was very unpleasant for several weeks after quitting and I will not put myself through that again! I’m in a good mood most of the time now and it feels like a new awesome drug compared with the high of pot.
If you can smoke as much and as often as you want to without negative effects then congratulations to you. I cannot and the same applies to most people in this thread and most of the people I know personally (that might be because we have some of the the best pot here in the Pacific NW). If you consider getting baked regularly without any negative consequences a strength or a virtue then you have bigger problems besides being the coolest person on the planet (or in high school).
In the past 3 weeks I felt like crap. Just like the listed symptoms that you guy’s posted pretty much share the same similarities that I’m going through: headache, anger, nausea, upset stomach, and lack of appetite. I can’t workout (the activity I like to do), eat properly or consume any liquids without feeling queasy in which I start becoming very frustrated, angry and impatient. As a result of those symptoms my grades dropped and I had a very hard time falling asleep and yesterday was my first sleep I had in 3 weeks. However, I feel that it is depleting, but it still has some stranglehold on me. The only way I lessen the effect of feeling queasy, and angry is going to college, work, and playing video games. But their we’re some situations when I felt very uncomfortable at college and work. The good thing is that it is only temporary, but one of the worst experiences I ever encountered! Smoking weed isn’t worth it and me thinking about it makes me feel even more sick, ughh!!
OMG this post is so interesting. I have been a regular user for around 10 years and am 35. I have now been without pot for around 4 weeks. I have had two sneeky lapses in this time – which i regret wholehartedly.
I am experiencing horrible mood swings, real highs and real lows. the first week was ok as I just turned to alcohol to be able to sleep. This is course is not the answer but helped me through the sleepless ness of it all. While using canabis I was experiencing serious side effects of stress and anxiety. And I mean serious with really really aparent physical effects – pains around my throuat as if someone was strangling me – tight chest, pains across my back and under my ribs. I would have the shits regularly. I was totally dissinterested in my home life and children and even my wife for that matter.
The physical effects have now gone away but my mental state is not right. I am loosing it – I feel like I’m going mad. I keep going at my wife. She takes the brunt of my mood swings and verbal – I’m a complete c*nt and am totally ashamed of my behaviour. I just feel unable to cope with my mental state. It’s destroying my life.
This morning she completed divorce papers.
Does anyone know where I can go for help? I really need to stabalise my head and become normal again.
I stopped smoking marijuana for the past 5 weeks and I gotta say it’s horrible! I can’t eat anything proper and I always feel like I’m going to throw up!! The insomnia and vivid dreams symptoms faded away, but how come I still lack any appetite and feel nauseated. Really what the fuck!!! Does anybody have an estimation on how long this goes on or should I visit the doctor!? I’m really tired of this B.S. and I wan’t out.
Depends of how long and how much you used, the strength/quality, and your body because everybody have different reaction to different substances. The substances in marijuana are fat soluble, one dose of THC take 10 days or more to leave your system. The withdrawals sucks and sometimes seems will never end, come in waves that will get less and less intense. Go find a good therapist. Good luck!
This is lies.
Did you mean “these” are lies? If so, that is a great relief but it isn’t helping to relieve the obvious symptoms that are in my body as I detox from smoking pot on a daily basis. This is truth.
To be fair, you cannot live without lies for as long as you could without oxygen so “This is lies” is your truth. But is that really life? Are you really alive? Life is very short.
Hi all. This site has been invaluable to me. On day 4 – knotted stomach, can’t eat hardly anything, crying spells, severe anxiety – always feel like I am going to die and sometimes I slip in and out of this dream-like state. Thank goodness I can still sleep (so far) – but the mornings are the worst for me. I feel extremely depressed then. I have gone through this stupid thing before and it took me about a month of hell. I even lost my job because of it. The first time I did it much more. First time it was all day every day for like 6 months. Now it was like every night for like 3 months. I hope and pray this site continues to bring light to those who are in this darkness right now. And to those who think this is BS, then you are very very very fortunate to not have to go through this. I wish I had your tolerances.
Regards,
Doug.
Hi Doug from Canada,
Hang in there! I’ve got 7 weeks so far. I know how you feel – it gets easier and it’s worth it to get your brain back. It was horrible for a while but I found that reading a book on spirituality (in my case I am reading the Bible on Biblegateway.com in contemporary english) filled the void that I had filled with pot smoke for the past 3 years. I don’t see any reason why I would have not started smoking again if I hadn’t done that. Support groups help too. The fear and panic will subside soon.
Best wishes to you.
Island:
Thank you for your kind words. I find morning the worst – crying uncontrollably and shaking. I have become extremely depressed. Here’s my deal: I smoked all day every day for 5 months a few years back and had to spend 2 weeks in a mental hospital because I was useless in the outside world. I found out in there that I have some conditions. Generalized anxiety disorder, borderline personality disorder, paranoid traits. These do not help with the withdrawal. Perhaps some people having some more extreme symptoms may have some depression or anxiety. I am doing my best to save from going in there because I work shift work and have a great job and would lose it for sure. It is now day 5 and things are still extremely difficult. A little appetite back (very little) and very very depressed. Island – I am Christian, too. And although I know better, sometimes I feel like I am alone. I never had cravings to continue again, but right now everything is so bleak. I could NEVER harm myself in any way as I have a beautiful family.
Fighting every day,
Doug
Hi Doug,
We don’t have a good health care system in the US like you have in Canada but even so, I too ended up in the psychiatric ward back in the mid 90′s when I was trying to get clean from pot and other drugs. I went into a drug treatment program from there (I had health insurance through my job at that time) and that helped me get my mind back. I had the same issues – generalized anxiety disorder, borderline personality disorder and paranoid traits. There were good reasons for this and I found out about that by writing my “personal history” in the treatment program.
I am in an out patient program right now and doing some of the same steps again. I will pray for you – it’s going to be alright, Doug!
Please consider an out patient program for yourself because it’s very difficult to get clean and stay clean without group support. Even Marijuana Anonymous is a big help and it’s free. Another great web site is bible.org. There are audio lectures and articles that you can kick back and listen to when you feel anxious. It helps me for sure.
God bless!
ISLAND:
It is day 12 and I am almost back to normal. Eating again, feeling almost normal, except for some snapiness. Now to stay away from it. Withdrawal from that junk is too much to handle a third time. I’m done. I know now that I am not the type of person who can handle this socially. Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences and help. Now I have to resist and everything should be ok.
DOUG
Hi from Europe
I went cold turkey two weeks ago,i’ve been smoking and vaporising 6 plants of Chronic for about 5 months.
The first week was a journey to hell, anxiety moody aggressiveness loss of appetite,sick just think about drink a glass water,shivers,extreme cold and hot in just a few minutes,dry nose and lips,weakness,but the most annoying was/is the night sweat ,i had/have to change my self and dry my hair 2 time a night.
The 2 week, most of the symptoms where reduced (except sweat)but since 3 days i feel always exhaust and no energy at all, i can eat vegi and drink juice,sometimes meat.Tomorrow i’ll start the 3 week.
I take it with fun cause it’s the first time i live this experience,..we will not dye and we know why we are in such mess,soon or later all will be good again.
There must be a reason why from the new year in holland no more coffeshop for tourist and the probability that skunk (over 15 % Thc) will be reclassified and moved into the category with drugs such heroin and cocaine.
I am still pro legalisation but with a more explicative infos about the danger of such shit,more research on this plant would be great cause we still don’t know all about this plant.I remember that i smoked a few leaf just after 16 days of grow,obviously Thc wasn’t present but my eyes was red ,i got appetite and slept like a log while feel just a little alterate.We all point on Thc but forget that it’s one of the 85 cannabinoids that are present in the plant so ,more research would be nice.
ciao
I’ve smocked marijuana for 17 yrs. Gave up on New years Day, 4 days ago. Difficulty sleeping, crazy dreams and I’ve developed a weird twitch in my eye. Does not bother me too much as i’ve got more important things in life than worrying about withdrawal symptoms. Get over it and get on with life. Your lucky if withdrawal is the biggest issue in your life.
No offense, but if you have withdrawal symptoms from weed you were probably smoking something non organic. Know your sources, you never know what the dealers are going to throw in your bag to keep you coming back.
Also, you most likely have a neurological disorder.
You never know what dealers are going to throw in your bag to keep you coming back? Are you SERIOUS! HAAHA the jokes on YOU RETARD!
You must be smoking some of TYC’S SCIENTIFIC POOP! RETARD.
This has to be the longest comment thread in the history of the internet. Years long now.
Look, if you do anything for 7 years and quit you have to expect problems. Did any of you stop to consider that you smoked BECAUSE you were irritable? Not surprising that you would become irritable when you stopped. I don’t doubt that there is withdrawal but how you guys managed to smoke every effin day for the number of years I see mentioned is something of a miracle to me. What IRRITATES me is the whining. What did you expect?
Can’t believe the amount of whining and bitching on here as well as the immature comments. Having smoked for 20 years solid over an ounce a week I don’t need to be a scientist to tell you that weed messes with your body. I don’t see that occasional use could harm you but what I did really messed me up. I had physical side effects and 6 months on after quoting I still get physical effects. It’s really not good for you. Anyone with negative comments just dOnt bother…
yeah not being funny but if you aint got a problem or anything helpful/nice to say, fuck right off yeee cause you clearly don’t have a clue what its like to smoke 3/4 grams of hi grade piff everyday from 15-20 and then go cold turkey.
on the bright side; 5 months clean and i feel like a wizard. still not on top form but slowly getting there. now i eat like 5 meals a day and i way 6 pounds more than i did, feels like i have a new hobby now. kinda preferred the old one but hey i can enjoy life on a normal people level, and still jam with my stoner friends like im one of the boys
Did any of you bright boys consider tapering off? You know, like the first day maybe only smoke half an ounce? Don’t denigrate a great drug because YOU abused it to a really remarkable extent. I do actually sympathize that you all have had problems but for gods sake why compound things by whining like…
I read a few of the comments from above…i have been smoking since the age of 16 am now almost 46…. everyday and night i have smoked and not the bush shit….always hydro…i have gone cold turkey as ya call it once before and experienced a few of the symptoms people mentioned…..but now it has been 19 days…funny how we count the days…i lost my daughter 11 months ago and began smoking more heavily as not to hit the bottle..no i have stopped all together got rid of very close friends as they influenced me so i thought….but the real reason i stopped is because i wanted too i was sick of working and wasteing my money on it as i was going through $100 a day on it.. the symptoms i do have is i can not sleep my mouth tastes like someone shat in it everyday when i wake up feeling hot and cold constant dull headaches which are annoying but i still put up with them and vivid dreams that i think are real but its all in my head i want to stop for myself and my family…but i do know my kids do not smoke as they have seen me bludging money off them and getting cranky and things like that i will admit they have tried it and told me what they went through (thoughts to myself wishes i felt like that when i smoked lol) but it just became a habbit to me a very bad one..my fingernails are growing back and i enjoy things not that i ever did much apart from sitting in my bedroom well thats all i have to say on it oh and i dont have diahreah i do get stomache pains and constipated and also i dont cough up black shit any more which is good well good luck hope you all acheive ya goals…i am still working towards mine as i say its now been 19 days and counting
Hello folks. As with most of the people here, except for the occasional troll who keep calling BS because they experience no withdraws. First off its ignorant to assume that EVERYONE is lying. Second, symptoms are real. I have tried almost every psycadelic on this earth and have experience with drugs and other mild altering chemicals. Im proud to say that I have stopped tripping and rolling but marijuana seems to be my vice. I have been smoking everyday for about 3 or 4 years. And Who says the east coast gets bad weed?? Appalachian mountains supply ridiculous amounts of grade A weed in america. North Carolina is a hotspot for insane bud. anyways I am on day 2 of cold turkey and I have never really experienced anxiety and insatiable restlessness without being high until now and I hate it. My motivation is vivid and my goal is set; though I fear the days to come are going to be difficult, but its good to know other people are running the race of being THC free. Peace and Love
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Hey Gang, There is a wonderful book that has helped me through this addiction and a few others “Higher & Higher’ From drugs & distruction to health & happiness by Jost Sayer (This guy has tried just about every drug available) Highly recommended -gives you a much better understanding of side effects that may be experienced – made me feel alot better that I was not going completely out of mind being straight than stoned off my tree!!! I’ve smoked bongs & joints daily since I was 13 and am now 41. I’ve finally done it!!! Good luck to all – we can all do it and never under estimate the power within CC Downunder!!!!
I can’t believe I’m writing this because I’m 30 years old and have been a pro-cannabis advocate for 15 years now. I usually will smoke everyday for months at a time and then abruptly quit for a few days or a few months and then start up again. I’ve been doing this for 15 years and have never felt any major withdrawal symptoms aside from the usual insomnia/depression/irritability. Similar symptoms that one would feel after quitting coffee or chocolate when consuming them daily.
But these past 3 months I’ve been really overdoing it with nothing but super high grade stuff and I came into some money 3 months ago so I’ve been smoking a lot more than I normally would each day and just taking a break from life and relaxing and doing nothing. I live in California, originally from Florida, and I have to say that the medical-grade marijuana out here is nothing like that of Florida’s. I quit about 5 days ago because I realized I may want to get a job again soon and they all drug test unfortunately, and the following day I woke with my bed sheets soaked in sweat, though it wasn’t hot or cold in the room. I felt fine aside from this scary thing to wake up to but began to feel nausea throughout the day but nothing too bad. On day 3 I felt like something hit me hard about halfway through the day and I was fatigued, had nausea, hot and cold flashes, a general warm feeling, and both the prior nights I had the night sweats returning. I’ve been convinced that I either have cancer or something serious or some type of viral infection. I’d assume it’s a flu but it’s been 5 days now and I still don’t have a sore throat, runny nose, fever, enlarged lymph nodes, or headache.
I would never in a million years think that it was from marijuana withdrawal, because as I said, it’s not the first time I’ve quit abruptly (at least 30 times over the past 15 years), but the timing of the day I quit and the next day with symptoms showing up is definitely making me wonder now, especially with me smoking nothing but medical-grade marijuana heavily for the past 3 months. It could be a life-threatening illness, and that’s definitely what it feels like, but I’m really hoping it’s marijuana withdrawal and if I conclude that it is, I’ll come back and post with this same name and if I conclude that it’s not, same thing.
I really hope that the people who have posted here talking about night sweats and things like this aren’t all the same person (maybe the blog owner or anti-marijuana groups) posting under different accounts. But for the first time in my life I’m actually relieved to hear something bad about marijuana and actually hope it’s true because this is giving me a little hope that it’s not something serious. The comments that said that it’s your brain and it’s confused and doesn’t know how to regulate temperature and such seem to make sense. I really hope you guys are right, but I’ll bookmark this page and come back and post later if I confirm what it is that’s making me sick. I try to be rational and not jump to conclusions but all I can say is that the timing is really strange and there just may be something to all these comments.
I felt morally obligated to post just in case it is marijuana and if there’s others out there who may be experiencing this who are freaking out. I can’t say for sure it’s that and I’d say it’s too early to jump to conclusions. But at the time being, it just makes more sense to me after reading some of these comments than it being something else. I would have loved to wait a month or two before posting so I don’t spread any false propaganda, if it turns out to be a real health issue, but I thought I’d do this just in case I forget or misplace the address to this blog for whatever reason.
Regardless of whether marijuana is the cause or not, I still believe it should be legal and as far as addiction, I have a whole bunch of it sitting in the room with me right now. I don’t feel like some type of uncontrollable urge to smoke it like someone would with alcohol or cocaine. I quit 5 days ago and it’s still sitting here untouched since then. I don’t have the heart to throw it out, especially if it turns out to not be the cause. I think everything should be done in moderation and this probably would have been a lot worse had I been drinking alcohol as heavily the past 3 months (my best friend died at 20 years old from alcohol poisoning, I can’t help but think he’d still be alive had it been marijuana). I don’t regret doing it because it brought me so much pleasure and happiness the past 15 years, but I regret quitting so abruptly and overdoing it so much these past 3 months…..if that is what is causing my symptoms. Everything in moderation.
But I thank those for posting if you guys are being truthful and I will post again in a few months if I can once I determine if this is the cause, but I really have a feeling now that it is.
CJp30, I quit smoking weed a couple of times a month for a couple of days. I smoke a. because I like it and b.it helps the depression, PTSD stuff and migraines. I’ve argued with the people on this board but I have never said that withdrawal from THC isn’t real. The irritability is there and the depression returns, with me. I just get on them for the amount that they smoke and their whining. That said I like your attitude. Why haven’t you considered tapering off? Why put yourself through all of this if you have been able to NOT smoke while you have a pile of weed? Smoke a little, see how you feel. Best of luck-Fitz
Do you guys realize that if you quit smoking for 2 days-just 2 days, your tolerance to THC will plummet. You’ll be back to newbie ststus as far as tolerance. Think how much money you could have saved if you had just stopped for one day a week?
You guys who have smoked an oz a day for 20 years, why not taper off? Is it some macho thing (it only seems to be guys here, I think)? Even you guys will have your tolerance back to where you can get by on an 1/8 to a 1/4 oz a week in no time. Just take a break every once in a while.
TFITZ, you are exactly right. I normally shut it down when smoking becomes less effective and it do feel good when you light up after a couple of days. I actually did quit for several months just so I could determine if I was using pot or if the pot was using me. At the time I was smoking at night and on weekends. I found out I had a penchant for weekend wake and bakes so I would typically smoke much more on Sat & Sun than I did the other 5 days. When I did quit I did notice the difference between the pot of yesterday and the smoke of today as far as withdrawals. Back then about all I noticed was irritibility for a couple of days and today for me it was a little anxiety and waking up every couple of hours, which was typical when I didn’t smoke and 6 hours when I did. Like someone else mentioned earlier, I too believe that if you are going to quit you should ween yourself off like any other drug. Today, I smoke using the “happy hour” method and I get a nice buzz everytime. Todays smoke has so much more THC that I think we have to treat it with respect. I find if I minimize those times of smoking more than I need (and I’m sure that we are all guilty of this) the high is always better. I hope all of you folks out there find your way if you choose to quit or simply maintain.
So it’s like this.
Replace buds w any other feel good activity.
Stop doing that what do you get?
Anxious.
Anxious turns into stress and stress is not good for your mind and body.
Blazing is a.therapitic habit.
You can never just stop a habit, one must replace it.
When I’m onmy non smoking weeks, I need to replace thy habit with SOMETHING.
I’m willing to bet most of ^^^ just stop and don’t do anything else
It’s a balance.
Throw ur balance off, ur not in a good position.
I manage to sleep just fine.
I admit I work like a mother fucker an keep busy all the time, but great work ethic replaces my habit.
Or skateboarding, music and workin out all seem to wear me thin for a great nights sleep.
Sittin on my ass all day, I can stay up for hours too.
My experience.
Thoughts? Ideas?
I’m a medical cannabis patient who’s been on it continuously since last July (some really top-grade organic medicine: AK-47, Himalaya Gold, RockLock, etc). Wanted to see if I could take a break and it’s been hell for the last 4 days: insomnia, irritability, horrible night sweats, aches and pains, diarrhea. Seems like when I was smoking or eating brownies my body felt great but gradually, over time, my mental state became worse which is why I wanted to stop it for a little while. Now it’s the opposite, my mind is a little clearer but my body feels like crap.
I’m NOT a newbie to weed and have long enjoyed it off and on, without these withdrawal symptoms. The difference this time (I think) is that the stuff I’ve had for the past 8 months is much more potent than the occasional bag I used to buy before I became a medical cannabis patient. So, while I’m absolutely NOT condemning medical marijuana use, I’d advise people to only use the strength they need, rather than thinking they need the highest potency strains.
Seriously this is bullshit. all of you weak mother f*****s are just depressed about your life or were super unhealthy to begin with. Dogs shaking gave it away? Give me a break, this is ridiculous.
If you do ANYTHING every single day for over a year and then just stop, you’ll notice a difference, but just because you’re all too weak minded to recognize the difference you perceive it as withdrawals. What a bunch of whining p*****s.
Caffeine, nicotine and alcohol all have far stronger withdrawal symptoms so everybody just needs to shut the fuck up and grow a pair .
Yeah maybe if your 50 years old and have been smoking your entire life than you should stop.
“Oh my god i’m addicted to cheeseburgers because I get hungry when i’m not stuffing my face” Fuck off and suck it up you p*****s.
You’re probably the same people who think cramming Xanax and Oxycontin (synthetic heroin) down your throat is beneficial. (You will suffer or die if you quit those cold turkey). Or giving amphetamines to kids with ADD is a good idea.
Sounds like we should all just keep smoking so we don’t have to go through that.
I have been a pot smoker for 35 years, I am 53 now. I decided it was time to give up, I enrolled in a program. I was given Sativex for 9 days to help reduce the withdrawal symptoms. I also quit cigarettes at the same time (I only smoked about 4-5 a day). I think the Sativex was helpful, particularly for the nicotine. Im at day 28 and have not relapsed. Over the last 4 weeks I have had irritation, depressive feelings, slight nausea, headaches. The insomnia is the worst thing as I work shiftwork and I really need my sleep. I tried giving up pot in 2000 and 2003. In 2000 I got night sweats for a month after giving up. Have not had that problem this time. In 2003 I was over the worst of the withdrawal symptoms in about 3 weeks. I thought the same thing would happen this time but into the 4th week I feel worse than at week 3. I live in Australia, the cannabis is much stronger these days, hydroponically grown and cloned varieties.
One thing my wife and I have noticed is my sex drive has improved. That is an unexpected positive in the withdrawal process. I’ve been drinking more beer than usual (we are having a late hot summer here) and more coffee (which creates its own issues) and my appetite has improved, particularly in the morning. Like some others who have commented here I’m annoyed at some of the comments. If someone has withdrawal symptoms then just accept it. Mr Blunt you are a fool, one day you will decide to give up and then you will know what we are all talking about.
Those you say you can avoid withdrawal symptoms by tapering off, well that may work for some, I tried that 6 months ago and I relapsed. Some of us need a clean break. To those that say chemical drug dependence only lasts a couple of days, I will agree the chemistry does work that way, but there is something going on here. Perhaps long-term smokers like myself have ‘rewired’ our brains, perhaps our amagdalas and hypothalamus have shrunk, leading to long term irritability and other side affects. This may not be withdrawal from chemical dependence but its real. Dont discount someones experience just because it doesnt agree with your preconceptions.
Last year I smoked weed for the whole month of december I stopped for 2 months and exercised everyday. I dropped 50 pounds and got in the best shape of my life (P90X is the best creation on this planet if you want to get jacked). But Once I started up again I got sucked in even more. I have not been sober for more than 2 days since July. Last week I didn’t smoke for a day and a half and I felt like absolute crap. But I need to kick this addiction, whoever says that weed is not addicting, is retarded. I am going to start exercising again hopefully get that beach body, because if there is one thing that I want more than weed, its girls.
Im 30 now ,started smoking weed when i was about 18 .. ,i smoked too much from 7 am till late .dono 10 joints or so daily.I was very unhappy i couldnt enjoyed nothing. Now im on day 6 its 2 a m cant sleep and my face is on fire ,sweating and it stinks like hell,but i can see things lot more clearly.I can enjoy life lot more.I still like the weed and i may will come back to it .but want to clean . And people who says there is not withdra siptoms ,they dont know what they are talking about.
It feel like Flu..
I used to be one of those people that thought that weed was A OK. I still don’t think it is the devil plant that some people make it out to be, but I KNOW that withdrawals from heavy use is REAL! I was so confused at first because I have quit before (but I’ve never had more potent stuff than I have for the last 5 months), but this time has been intense!!! I didn’t know what was going on with me and I thought it was possibly the effects of using MDMA which I have used about 5 times over the course of about a year and a half, but the last time was months ago! My paranoia was so bad that I was seriously too scared to even read about long term effects of MDMA on the internet! finally 6 days into my weed abstinence i got on the computer and started to read about MDMA. THANKFULLY it just didn’t match up (not that MDMA use is ok). So I decided to start reading about possible marijuana withdrawals. OMG! It matched up almost completely! massive paranoia, anxiety, panicking, feeling that i wouldn’t be normal, VIVID dreams, waking up in the night drenched in sweat, mental pings of worry or dizziness (kinda hard to explain that thing), withdrawn from the world, depressed, nothing matters, nothing seems right, even my eyes and vision seems off. The psychological effects were almost unbearable! There are physical effects like bad digestion, slight constipation, no real appetite, tired but cant sleep, but these things are far more bearable than the mental effects. I’m exactly a week in now and although things are much much better then they were (probably due to the fact that I actually know what is going on now), I am still a little scared of if and when anxiety or panic will hit. Sometimes my anxiety hits me and I start thinking that It might not be MJ withdrawals but after reading for hours on the internet i’m pretty certain that it is. This is my first time ever posting anything on an internet sight but I feel like I have to just in case there is someone out there wondering the same things I am. I can’t wait for this to end:( I just want to feel normal for an entire day. As for the people calling BS on peoples withdrawal experiences, grow up. There are people who are hurting.
Gemini: That’s about as good a capsule description of symptoms as you could get. Knowledge is power, as you’ve already discovered. Don’t let “metabolic chauvinists” get you down, with all their bragging about how much they smoke and how they never get addicted.
We’ve gotten way off point here: this is a comments section that CAN serve as a ‘support group’, I suppose but it is really a discussion so quit whining about criticism.
One thing that annoys me and some others is the amounts of weed smoked that is reported here. It’s ridiculous. I could support a decent heroin habit on what a lot of people here spent on marijuana. I have no doubt that these folks are now having a tough time of it but please, I’m not a pussy because I don’t smoke an O Z a day, like some here like to point out. We, the disgruntled commenters, feel that you guys have screwed up to a great extent and now you want to defame a great drug because YOU SCREWED UP. The pluses for cannabis far outweigh the reported problems. I fully support you who want to quit, but do so sensibly. You can’t expect to go from an ounce a day for 20 years to zero and not pay a price. If this is your situation, taper off just like you would do with any drug. Also consider that some of these withdrawal symptoms might actually be the very reasons you started smoking all those years and kilos ago, the anger the depression, boredom. These are the very reasons I continue to smoke-depression, migraines and PTSD. It works wonders for that. That’s my story so please, no STFUs from the puppies.
Good luck!
Befor I throw my two cents in I just want to say that I work with end stage cancer patients and do believe that MJ should be legalized.
That beings said…some of the younger people posting may not remember this but not too long ago people didn’t think cocaine was addictive. It wasn’t until people started selling their cars and houses to get more that people woke up to its psycological effects.
A little more that a hundred years ago opium was a medical miracle was used to treat anything from a toothache to madness. No one can deny its devestating effects now but back then it wasnt so clear.
My point, befor you accuse someone of bullshittery lets get all the facts. Studies of MJ are in their infancy and any results must be duplicated befor they are considered valid.
Dont worry guys ..Im on Day 14 . all sipmtoms disapeared ..Feel gr8.. Just sleeping problems.
I have been off weed for 25 days and can finally say i feel much better. I was smoking every night for about 6-7 years with my mates and increased to daytime as well when i got my own flat about a year ago. Was off for 5 days as i was in Hamburg on holiday and when i was on the plane had a full blown panic attack, i had no history of this previously, i thought i was having a heart attack! Anyway i was having problems sleeping and having bad thoughts. Never linked it to withdrawl and started smoking again to help me sleep. Anyway i started looking at various causes of anxiety and found it can be caused by withdrawl and decided to quit for good, first 3 weeks were hard with insomnia, night sweats and thinking everything was going wrong. I constantly asked myself why i was not getting better even though i quit. I started drinking green tea and after a few days the anxiety and dark thoughts have subsided and only over the last few nights i am having a regular sleep without freeky dreams! If you are thinking of quitting or in the early days of stopping keep going, you will feel better and think of all the money you will save!!
I feel so reassured that I am not in this alone.
I am a 21 year old male who resides in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. I have been an avid toker since the ripe age of 15. I wanted to state that prior to my marijuana use I was diagnosed with ADHD. One year after trying pot I became a full-blown chronic (sunrise to sundown) user. However over the course of the past two years my weekly consumption has grown from smoking 1/8 OZ amongst friends/ Wk to consuming 1/2 OZ min. /Wk alone.
I believe over consumption(previous blogger had it right: Moderation is key) of marijuana has led me to these withdrawal-like symptoms. I just wanted to state that I even kicked a moderate cocaine habit(2 years and counting) and am experiencing similar although not as dramatic complications from marijuana detox.
Earlier a blogger had stated that they believe people who think they are addicted to weed are people ‘who could get addicted to anything’. In a sense I hear you as I personally have a highly addictive personality as it is a common trait associated with ADHD. However, I have attempted to quit on numerous occasions only to cave psychologically. This time is different. I have had zero cravings for the drug, it isn’t on my mind, and I have started to despise the drug for the path it’s lead me down. Weed I am breaking up with you.
I believe that marijuana is especially risky to get involved with if you already have an underlying condition that affects the way the brain is stimulated Ex./ ADHD. I believe between my heavy pot consumption and ADHD it put such a hindrance on my life. It didn’t happen over night although I wish it did because then it wouldn’t have snuck up on me and bit me in the ass. I went from an athlete to couch potato. I went from an ‘A’ student to college drop-out. I went from Management trainee to unemployed bum. I went from loving and caring to violent and full of hatred.
This was a terrible downward spiral that I was in. I had lost myself.
Now recently diagnosed with several stress related illnesses over the past 6 months I indirectly tie this to over consumption of marijuana coupled with ADHD.
I have been diagnosed with Psoriasis, Depression, and I had a hiatus-hernia in my stomach- all triggered due to stress in my life. It was that goddamn weed fog, I couldn’t clear it.
All of this non-sense led me to choose to nix my habit. Well, it’s been 4 days without a hoot and I am experiencing mixed emotions.
Here is my version of how the detox has gone:
Day 1:
-Woke up determined to kick it.
-Irritability/frustration
-Loss of appetite
-Force fed myself
Day 2:
-Severe nausea + stomach pain
- Profusely sweating
-Temperature change ie./ hot flashes
-Loss of appetite
-Sad
Day 3:
-Nausea + stomach pain have subsided
-Profusely sweating
-Started to regain appetite towards evening
-Sad
Day 4:
All symptoms have disappeared except profusely sweating. It’s quite honestly driving me nuts I have been walking around my home with a towel, wiping my limbs dry.
Like previous commenters stated; If only I knew what I was getting myself into.
Yeah, all those things you described about your life is the weeds fault.
This is the worst sort of the postings here. Blame it on the weed if it makes you feel better but it ain’t the weeds fault, it’s yours. You chose to sit on the couch, you chose to drop your activities. YOu did this because yo were a teenager with a bad attitude. Glad you out grew it. Now we get to blame THC for YOUR hiatal hernia.
Thanks for helping me prove my point.
Hi everyone, wow what a great site glad i found it. It great to see I’m not alone with the withdrawal symptoms and wish everyone success in kicking the habit. A brief background of mines- I started smoking very young, 13yo and from 15-16 i smoked very regularly but with wasn’t until I went to university that I started smoking heavily everyday.
I’m now 24 and finished university, I’m back living at home and for the last 6 months I’ve been using marijuana as a fix for boredom as I am still searching for a job/career. So 3 weeks ago I was doing the usual night time smoking in bed watching films when I took a huge panic attack for no reason which lead to a 4 day migraine, (possibly the worse experience of my life )I literally couldn’t do anything but lye in dark, quiet room and sleep. After this my view of marijuana was shaken but I continued smoking a few days after I recovered to yet again experience another minor panic/anxiety attack and found the good times when I was high were replaced by anxiety and depression so I decided I had to give it up for good.
I am now on week 2 of quitting and the symptoms I am experiencing are very similar to many posts on this site which give me some relief. I am regularly feeling nausea, getting hot/cold sweats, vivid dreams in the handfuls each night (compared to none when high) and have been very dizzy throughout the day, the dizziness for me is possible the worst part of this withdrawal, it happens very randomly and can last for hours. Its an intense feeling which leads to a racing heart and a feeling that I am going to faint followed by headaches. i find paracetamol does help some and would recommend trying it.
The bottom line is that marijuana is addictive if your personality and the drug mix well it can be very easy to abuse it. I know people here will hate and say we’re talking sh*t and it’s our fault for smoking too much but hey life’s short and weed’s fun its better than alcohol abuse imo. I will always have a huge fondness for the drug as it has shaped me as a person for the better. I am a happy go lucky person and often described as the “nicest person you could meet” and owe a lot of my good nature and tolerance to it. When your ready to quit do it because you want to quit and know it won’t be easy because anything that’s great is hard to let go. The withdrawal symptom are hard to bare but there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Good luck everyone
addiction is an excuse and a bad habit when it comes to pot.
Of course your going to want to blaze and get anxious when you stop.
what do you expect, honestly?
You have to do something to replace that, so you dont feel anxious
you stop eating fast food, you feel symptoms or anything else, youll feel that habit want to come back, duh
After 17 years of grade A dope smoking i decided to quit. When i started i was at college, now i have been through another degree, a couple of good jobs and started to feel like it was enough of being numbed. I only used to smoke at night. Last joint i did was 5 days ago, and even i have the resources and the connections i decided to stop. Frankly, first night was horrible but the second i just immersed myself on reading, playing with the dog, surfing the web and also tried to get more involved at work. I´m learning to play bass guitar and started distracting with a new PS3 console (another kind of dope i guess). After a night of sweating and irritability now i feel everything is passing, as if i had been on a 17 year dream. It was beautiful, i never got busted or had a bad trip and now i´m just facing the future with what i learnt through all this years. Try it, you will feel a great sense of reward by just using your will and your time to actually DO something.
okay… IF… and ONLY if these “comments” that are somehow indicating such “horrible” withdrawal symptoms are somehow “directly caused by the PHYSICAL cessation of cannabis use”
THEN OUT OF THE possible 200 comments seen here that “say night terrors cold sweats etc… really extreme “symptoms”…
then you must all be the ONLY 200 and heck I’ll even go to the “extreme myself and say something just as ridiculously exaggerative”…
you are the million out of the billion… that’s right I’ll say you have 1,000,000 out of the 1,000,000,000 whom have never EVER experienced ANY WITHDRAWAL symptoms to such extremes like i have seen so called and “stated” on this site…
if anything like I mentioned before, were slight digestive issues… and IN STARK CONTRAST to what has been propagated on this thread…
in which I am really suspicious of… was the insomnia, because cessation of cannabis leads to LACK OF ENERGY not the other way around…
so im easily suspicious that these are real accounts of true withdrawal symptoms of cannabinoids…
these “accounts” of “insomnia” and “cold sweats”… seem like a jumping of the “other drug withdrawal symptom bandwagon” to try and affix those common withdrawal symptoms of other “hard drugs” and misrepresent cannabis as having “similar PHYSICAL withdrawal attributes”
kinda like a “withdrawal placebo” or familiarization with having had “withdrawals” from other drugs in the past and then your PSYCHOLOGICAL DEPENDENCE NOT PHYSIOLOGICAL kicked in and you just simply “felt” it in your head which created the anxiety then to lack of sleep etc… of not being able to get your fix of WHATEVER tv… chocolate… food… etc…
psychological dependence is a product of your thinking, not from the physical world… such as coming from a harmless plant like cannabis or from its cannabinoids…
so it is easy to be suspicious of a vast majority of these posters to be “real” physiological dependencies… because they are “first of all” so similarly alike and always “to the extreme”… especially with regards to the insomnia… cold sweats and night terrors…
so all of the propagandists out there… should take a hint and perhaps you can just switch your argument against cannabis elsewhere because you have changed your “attack” strategy so many times before and flip flop whatever you think “idea” and again more “pathetic attempts” to demonize cannabis will be best at the time…
so even if all of these “posters” were telling the truth and also are “real” testimony… then in giving you all the benefit of the doubt… again going way up there for you all in giving you fluffed up numbers… here ill even say there are a million of you people with these “symptoms” for shits and giggles…
even if you want to say that these “so called EXTREMES” exist…that STILL MAKES the “withdrawal” symptoms for the HARMLESS PLANT 0.1 FLIPPING PERCENT…
thats right only a TENTH of ONE PERCENT have EVER experienced some of the crazy crap I have seen posted on this site…
anyways… good day to you all
here’s the truth… FOLLOW COMMON LAW AS IT IS PERFECTLY LAWFUL TO CONSUME WHATEVER YOU WANT… IGNORE THE FRAUDULENT LEGAL SYSTEM… ONLY THEN WILL THINGS CHANGE…
John: Are you through? Good. Then you can start doing your homework and learn something:
http://addiction-dirkh.blogspot.com/2008/04/marijuana-withdrawal-syndrome.html
Dear Mr. Hanson,
I have researched, MULTIPLE sources, ESPECIALLY ACTUAL LABORATORY FIELD WORK… and MY RESEARCH DOES NOT COME FROM…(facetiously put)>>> internet “sources” like “stoner.com” etc…
A lot of the stuff you find on the “internet” WHETHER again jokingly put>>> “HERBIE.COM” OR IN ALL SERIOUSNESS LIKE GOVERNMENT FUNDED RESEARCH ON .GOV SITES…
THEY ARE BOTH “fluffed” up for… YES BOTH SIDES OF THE ARGUMENT…
When I had mentioned any “numbers” such as million or billion… it was in “astute” satire… because I was so astonished to hear people give such outlandishly “severe” ESPECIALLY PHYSIOLOGICAL symptoms…
PSYCHOLOGICAL yes, PEOPLE NOT cannabis can DISPLAY and CAUSE those “symptoms”… ESPECIALLY WITH REGARDS TO ANXIETY, STRESS, ultimately leading to other issues such as depression, hostility, “insomnia” and “night terrors” etc…
I sincerely suggest you go and PERFORM some REAL “SCIENTIFIC” laboratory work yourself, since you stated that you are a “scientific journalist”…
YES… CANNABIS USE AND “CESSATION” OF USE… DOES HAVE A DIRECT PHYSICAL EFFECT ON THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM…
THE VAST MAJORITY HAVE CONSTIPATION… ALTHOUGH SOME DO DISPLAY DIARRHEA…
THIS IS DUE TO HOW THE THE OTHER MULTITUDE OF CANNABINOIDS ACT UPON THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM AND GREATLY REDUCE INFLAMMATION ALSO BY DIGESTIVE MUSCLE RELAXATION… WHICH IS EITHER OCCURS SIMPLY THROUGH THE INHALATION OF HARMLESS CHEMICALS FROM “SMOKE” OR THROUGH THE HARMLESS CHEMICALS INGESTED THROUGH ORAL CONSUMPTION…
HOWEVER, THAT LAXATIVE “EFFECT” IS MOSTLY CANCELED OUT “DURING USE”… AS CANNABIS GIVES THE BODY A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF DEHYDRATION…
IM SURE YOU HAVE HEARD OF THE COLLOQUIALLY SO NAMED “COTTONMOUTH”…
THE CESSATION OF CANNABIS USE… AFFECTS THE DIGESTIVE MUSCLE TISSUE FROM THE LOSS OF THE CHEMICALS THAT INDUCED THE MUSCLE RELAXATION… AND THUS… IN LAYMAN’S TERMS… WHAT WAS ONCE “RELAXED”… IS NOW “SEEMINGLY CRAMPED”…
THE PHYSICAL SYMPTOM OF “withdrawal” from CANNABIS in which the PHYSIOLOGICAL STANDPOINT… IS ACTUALLY… “FATIGUE” MORE SPECIFICALLY DIRECTLY ATTRIBUTED TO SOMNOLENCE or more commonly called “drowsiness”…
THESE “REPORTS” OF HAVING INSOMNIA WAS NOT DUE TO THE PHYSICAL NATURE OF THE REDUCTION IN CANNABINOIDS IN THE BODY… IT IS DUE TO THEIR PSYCHOLOGICAL PRE-EXISTING AND UNDERLINING ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AND OR MENTAL CONDITIONS, SUCH AS STRESS, ANXIETY ETC…
TO MAKE IT PERFECTLY CLEAR… THE EFFECT OF THE PHYSICAL WITHDRAWAL FROM THE DISCONTINUATION OF CANNABIS CONSUMPTION… IS BEING “TIRED”…
AND AGAIN IN LAYMAN’S TERMS… BEING TIRED… DOES NOT LEAD TO “STAYING AWAKE”…
IT LEADS TO SLEEP…
TO FURTHER EXPLAIN SIMPLISTICALLY… THE “DROWSINESS” BY THE CESSATION OF CANNABIS… IS CAUSED AS A DIRECT RESULT OF THE SUDDEN DROP IN THE EXITED SYNAPTIC ACTIVITY THAT CANNABINOIDS HAVE ON BRAIN CHEMISTRY… PERIOD
WHAT HAS HAPPENED HERE is you have UNFORTUNATELY had a VAST majority and sampling of an array of NEUROTICALLY PSYCHOLOGICALLY INDUCED SYMPTOMS THAT ARE “EXAGGERATED” DUE TO THEIR UNDERLYING MENTAL CONDITIONS… (THAT CANNABIS DID NOT CAUSE… IT WAS THEIR PSYCHOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS THAT WERE THE CAUSE…BTW)
So please in all fairness… WHETHER INTENTIONAL OR NOT… PLEASE… Don’t try and go down that road… again people wont fall for it ANYMORE…
AND IN ADDITION TO THAT IF NOT MOST IMPORTANTLY THE “RESULTS” OF THOSE STUDIES… A VAST MAJORITY OF YOUR “SOURCES” “ARE” government funded research…
TRUST ME I KNOW WHERE YOUR “DATA” is coming from…
ARE you aware of the HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of people that are FORCED TO EITHER SPEND TIME IN JAIL, OR GO TO “REHAB” AND ARE THE NUMBER ONE SOURCE OF THAT “DATA” ???
WHY ELSE DO YOU THINK THAT THEY HAD NO PROBLEM FINDING THOUSANDS OF PEOPLES’ SO CALLED “TESTIMONIES”…
All of the so called “data” collected from “those” government funded sources… come from psychiatric centers and “drug abuse centers” in which those poor people who were given that ridiculous ultimatum…
And thus had to falsely “admit” that they had an addiction and or some “form” of drug “problem” to avoid being thrown in jail…
AND ALSO… the data had been “fluffed” in order to “lump” in the so called “harmfulness” of NOT ONLY THE USE, BUT DISCONTINUATION OF USE IN THE FORM OF “WITHDRAWALS” SEEING AS CANNABIS IS BELOW COFFEE ON THE “SCALE”… THEY NEED TO TRY AND FLUFF UP OTHER ASPECTS OF THE PLANT IN ORDER TO MAKE IT SEEM “MORE HARMFUL” AND “CLOSER” TO THE OTHER DRUGS LIKE HEROIN WHICH IS HARMFUL ETC…
BECAUSE SINCE THEY CANT FIND SOMETHING “SIMILARLY HARMFUL” ABOUT IT’S USE IN COMPARISON TO OTHER “HARD” DRUGS WHICH THEY ALWAYS WILL LUMP IN TOGETHER, THEY WILL TRY TO “AFFIX” ANYTHING THEY CAN TO IT IN ORDER AND IN ATTEMPTS TO “DAMAGE” CANNABIS’ REPUTATION AS A VIABLE AND SAFE SUBSTANCE…
Please if you respect your “profession” and or just humanity in general…
Then, please provide at the very least an EQUAL amount of DERIVED FROM BOTH INDEPENDENT STUDIES THAT WEREN’T “LEGISLATIVELY BIASED”…
And like mentioned in my last comment… NO ONE SHOULD BE TRYING to “legalize” ANYTHING…
DO YOU OR DOES ANYBODY WANT THE OWNERSHIP OF THAT WONDERFUL PLANT TO BECOME THE GOVERNMENT’S “COMMERCIAL PROPERTY” ???
THEN BY ALL MEANS GO AHEAD… GET IT LEGALIZED AND GIVE YOUR CONSENT AND YOUR NATURAL RIGHTS TO FREELY CONSUME IT OVER TO THE GOVT…
AND THEN, YOU ALL CAN ENJOY IT NO LONGER BEING A FREE PRODUCT…
HOWEVER… WHAT SHOULD BE DONE IS… ANY “CONTROL OVER” AND ANY ACTION THAT IS TAKEN UPON PEOPLE WITHOUT THEIR OWN CONSENT SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN…
ALSO IN ADDITION TO THAT… PEOPLE NEED TO WIPE THE LEGISLATION OFF THE BOOKS… THAT IS SPECIFICALLY MEANING TO ELIMINATE ANY AND ALL PENALTIES FOR ITS USE, CULTIVATION… ETC…
BUT I GUESS THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE TO WELL, FIRST APOLOGIZE WHICH YOU KNOW THAT THEY WONT DO… AND IT WOULD LEAD TO RELEASING 20% OF THE INNOCENT POPULATION THAT HAVE BEEN THROWN IN JAIL FOR NO CRIME AND NO HARM AGAINST ANYONE AS THEY WERE LOCKED UP AGAINST THEIR WILL JUST FOR A HARMLESS PLANT…
OR SHOULD I SAY IN REAL TERMS 20% of THE ALREADY 10 BILLION DOLLARS IN TAX REVENUE THATS 2 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR THEY ALREADY MAKE FROM ALL YOUR TAXES PER PRISONER CAPITA for “housing” or holding these innocent “cannabis users” hostage is what it really is…
AND WE ALL SHOULD KNOW THAT WOULD BE BAD FOR THEIR “BUSINESS”…
So by keeping it illegal on the federal level, not only do they get the tax revenue from its “legal medical use” in the billions…
THEY ALSO GET BILLIONS FOR LOCKING PEOPLE UP AS WELL…
SO YOU YOU SEE… THE MEGALOMANIACAL SYSTEM THAT HAS BEEN PUT IN PLACE BY GREEDY PEOPLE, GET TO HAVE THEIR CAKE AND EAT IT TOO…
The govt isnt some scary giant “entity” out to get you, it is the PEOPLE who keep filling in, generation after generation who will always want control and power over others, and if people allow it to happen, it will continue…
ITS YOUR CHOICE PEOPLE…
(To Mr. Hanson)… You gave me the suggestion to research, which I have btw…
Now… I also give the suggestion that you ALSO research both the legal system and the law of the land… aka common law… and the difference between them…
SINCERELY,
JOHN
On the first night that the withdrawal symptoms showed up, I had horrible thoughts in my head about hurting my own family (ex. stabbing them.) It shook me so bad that I thought I was going crazy.. At the time I still didn’t know that it was most likely the withdrawal symptoms kicking in. It was until the day after that I asked one of my friends about “anxiety” that she told me about Marijuana withdrawals. At first it hadn’t crossed my mind because I thought that weed was just an innocent herb, in fact, maybe even a blessing from God. I didn’t consider myself a heavy smoker until I realized that I actually was smoking a lot.. Like taking hash oil bong rips, taking “snappers” of very potent weed mixed pure hash, and eating very potent edibles as well. I never considered myself addicted though for just last Friday I decided I was going to take a little break. Anyways, like I stated at first, on the third day of not smoking, I went to gym and worked out very vigorously (This was before the initial symptoms began), and that night was when it all started.. I haven’t smoked in about a week, yet I have no cravings. I think the thing that bothered me the most were those messed up thoughts I had. I never once thought about seriously hurting my family until then. I just wanted to know if those screwed up thoughts could of in fact been the marijuana withdrawal symptoms. I also have had the other symptoms like not being able to sleep, eat, think clearly, paranoia, etc. I really hope it isn’t just me having those thoughts about hurting my own family… I just want to know if it might be related with the withdrawal….. the funny thing is I haven’t really craved smoking though. Someone please reply. I want to clear my head of all of this non-sense
By the way, I’m on the 4th day after the initial symptoms have showed up, and I am getting better. I just wanted to get that out there.
Hi dude..I have same simptons ..I want to brake my TV with remote.When go to see my friends want to smashed theyr TV.When talking to someone Im thinking about fighting that peson .Its crazy .. I can control it but still thinking about to fight someone.Weed its not just inocent Plant. I have oversmoked my head!I have quit smoking about couple weeks or months ago.Well time to time roll a Joint and i can enjoyed it ..Weed is g8 i love it ,but it affected my life too much ..Stop smoke weed for few weeks than have single joint ..makes you feel better. ..
Good luck
Thanks for replying Marion… And yeah your right, this shit is pretty tough. Day 5 though, and I am still feeling a little bit better day by day. And its funny how you said stop for a couple of weeks and then smoke a bit because that was my initial plan. At this point, I’m not so sure if I’m going to stick with that plan anymore though. I think my biggest fear right now is that I’m not going to fully recover, but I can’t keep thinking like that. I wish you luck too pal. Thanks again.
Dear “Eric…AND Marian”
if you arent bsing about these “so called symptoms” just to make cannabis “look” bad for the website…
THEN…
please seek psychiatric care asap…
those “feelings of what you said about HURTING others DID NOT COME FROM CANNABIS NOR THE BREAK IN CANNABIS USE EITHER…
you have, and probably have had, underlying pre-existing psychological issues that you need to have worked out and have a medical professional help you with your issues…
I say this with all sincerity… if you two really are for real about your symptoms AGAIN… IT WAS NOT CANNABIS OR THE CESSATION OF USE THAT CAUSED YOUR PSYCHOSIS…
YOU BOTH HAVE UNDERLYING PRE-EXISTING PSYCHOLOGICAL ISSUES THAT HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH CANNABIS…
IN FACT IT WAS MOST LIKELY THAT THE CANNABINOIDS THEMSELVES WERE SUCH AN EFFECTIVE AND VIABLE TREATMENT FOR YOUR MENTAL ISSUES… THAT YOU SHOULD SEE A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL TO HELP KEEP YOU ON YOUR MEDICATION, SO IT CAN HELP YOU BOTH… BECAUSE AS IT STANDS… CANNABIS IS A VERY EFFECTIVE PLANT IN TREATING MENTAL DISORDERS… AND YOU TWO SHOULD BE SO THANKFUL THAT IT DOES EXIST…
P.S. TO ALL WHO COME UPON THIS SITE… WE WONT FALL FOR THE LIES…
Why in the world would someone lie about something like this…? Honestly, you might be right. I haven’t had a perfect childhood per say, and maybe I could be suffering from some underlying psychological disorder. But, before anyone of this happened, I was a regular person. Never in my mind had the thoughts of hurting people crossed my mind until now. In fact, I always tried to be as helpful as I could. Until recently I have started to get a grip of things and am starting to return to normal. If you really think that all the problems and complications that people are posting here about marijuana withdrawal are BS, then I believe there might be something wrong with you aswell. Just like you, before I knew what it was, I was convincing myself I was indeed going “crazy” and was seriously considering talking to a psychiatrist. I’m on day 5 that the initial symptoms kicked in and am feeling majorly better. I told myself that if in a week I totally still don’t feel better, I WILL talk to a counselor/psychiatrist because the last thing I want to do is hurt anyone, or even think about hurting anyone…..
Dear Eric,
I am surprised you have replied back so soon… and with such clear journalistic grammar and punctuation as well…
Just so it is clear… CANNABIS was not the “trigger” for your hostility… NOR was its discontinuation of use…
There is great news for you with regards for your treatment which has been provided in many clinical studies, as CANNABIS HAS been proven EXTREMELY effective as a mood stabilizer and IS SUBSTANTIALLY far more effective than 90% of the ssri’s and ALSO 100% SAFER than ANY pharmaceuticals out on the market today…
IN FACT… IT IS EVEN SAFER THAN ALL OTHER OVER THE COUNTER MEDICATION AS WELL… SUCH AS ASPIRIN, IBUPROFEN, ETC…
So if you do see a psychologist you need to let them know that CANNABIS has helped you with your condition and that you can save your organs and more importantly your brain from HARMFUL drugs like prozac, xanax, abilify, etc… WHICH ARE HARMFUL FOR YOU AS OPPOSED TO THE SAFE AND RELIABLY EFFECTIVE CANNABIS…
Thank you for your response, as I do hope, that you do go and get BOTH cannabis and counseling, and very importantly BOTH IN combination…
And lastly, I also hope that you do go with the knowledge that CANNABIS IS THE ONLY NATURAL, SAFE, AND EFFECTIVE substance that can provide you with the medicinal help you need…
So that way, you can start to live your life in happy, healthy manner, both physically and mentally…
Sincerely,
John
To JohnBullshitpotter
Im not trying to make cannabis bad!I said I do love pot ,I used to be addicted to heroin back in days,Cannabis saved my life.
Cannabis can help in many ways also it can dammage something when smoking too much like I did.If people thinks its allright to smoke from early morning till late night,they are wrong.
May due all depents on person .
I know one friend ,he do grow himself and smoking since 6 am till 11pm ,he is hard worker and working all day ,
If you guys see his Joints he make OMG. And he is all right no problem at all after all these years.
My psychosis ?? Just wanna smash someone TELEVISION
))
I dont know where it come from .
Here is just one source for cannabis that should be read BY ALL, to see that any “symptoms” of psychological and or physiological withdrawal ARE VERY MILD… so ifANYONE is experiencing ANYTHING severe like what has been mentioned above in this blog THEN YOU NEED TO SEEK PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELING… BECAUSE ANYTHING “SEVERE” LIKE WANTING TO “HURT YOURSELF” OR OTHERS HAS AND HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH CANNABIS…
http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/special_subjects/drug_use_and_dependence/marijuana_cannabis.html?qt=dronabinol&sc=&alt=
John,
Hey. Thanks for your advice, I know your only trying to help. Right now, and as of lately since I last replied to you I have been able to think clearly again like I was able to before all of this started happening. I can assure you that, from my knowledge, I had no former psychological disorder or anything of the sort. I am feeling way better than before and am returning to my old self. I am not thinking, and haven’t thought of hurting anyone. Especially not my family. I’m starting to get a grip on things and am starting to be as happy as I was before I stopped smoking some Mary-Jane I agree with you that weed can indeed help many people, but remember, not everyone is the same. I have to clarify that on the first night that this happened, I was so scared I didn’t know what to think. Obviously I was out of sync with what was really going on. If I ever feel like I did before, and I know there is nothing behind it, I will do whatever it takes to keep myself, my family, and anyone else safe. God bless you all and be strong, the way you feel right now will not last long, I promise. Some advice my friend told me was, if your gonna quit, don’t just stop completely out of nowhere like I did. It’s like when you run a mile. Your not suppose to stop moving completely after your done running, or else your gonna feel the brunt of what you did 10x worse, and might suffer some nasty side effects. Your suppose to walk a lap or so until you catch your breath, and that way you won’t feel as bad.If your gonna quit smoking, and have been smoking very potent weeds, hash, hash oil, and eating strong edibles like what I was doing over here in california, just lower your dosage. Don’t stop completely, just smoke less and less and less until you stop. I want to think I’m already out of the woods and am ready to leave this behind me. Good luck all. You can do it.
I am 36 and from Melbourne Australia. I started smoking a joint or 2 a night when I was 23. I have continued to smoke almost every night for the past 13 years. I typically smoke between a quarter of a gram to a gram per night. I never smoke during the day as I have held full time professional work all my life. I typically smoke from Friday night, through to late Sunday evening each weekend. During this time I have stopped smoking for a few months at a time, the longest duration being 9 months in 2008.
I never smoked bongs, but I have always smoked super strong hydro. Considering I am just over 6 foot and I am 100kgs, I consider myself a light weight as I get stoned very easily. Some nights I would only smoke half a small joint and that would be enough to get the edge off a stressful day.
prior to starting smoking at 23 I was very anti pot smoking. I have always had trouble sleeping as my 3 year old sister died of cancer when I was 8 years old. This triggered intense vivid dreaming. I was a reasonably well balanced teen and young adult, doing well at school, sport, music and was very social.
Just before I turned 23 my grand mother died and we were very close. I then broke up with my first love after being together 4 years. Over night I went from a punk rock loving kid, to playing Elliot smith wallowing in self pity and depression. I cut ties with basically all my mates who weren’t muso
Muso’s and smoked pot.
I quit smoking just over 6 weeks ago.
The first 2 weeks wasn’t overly difficult as my fiancé and I were just about to head on an overseas holiday and we were excited after 12 months of almost 7 day a week work. My sleeping was okay and I was physically exhausted.
2 days before our holiday, and 2 weeks into quitting, we found out we were both likely to lose our jobs due to our employee going into receivership. We stand to lose $160k a year in combined income after bleeding for this company.
The stress from this uncertainty started to make it difficult for me to sleep. My partner has never smoked with me in 5 years. We arrived overseas in a warm tropical climate which helped me swet out the crap and I worked out in the resort gym every day for over 2 weeks.
The cravings were none existent, however we had a tsunami evacuation and I suffered my first panic attack. I became terrified I was going to die. We had a few thunderstorms during the trip and I became too frightened to walk outside, petrified I was going to get struck by lightening.
I started falling asleep later and later and getting more adjitated, waking up tired and irritable. Once again, I had no craving to smoke as I promised myself to quit and get healthy as I am about to get married.
Apon arriving home I suffered a massive panic attack when getting off the plane. I was rushed to hospital with what I thought was a heart attack. Dizzyness, chest pains, pins and needles in my left arm e.t.c. This was 3 weeks ago. I was cleared of all major heart concerns.
In the last 3 weeks I have had terrible insomnia, pain in my joints, sensitivity to light, headaches and night terrors. I was lucky to sleep 2 ours a night making it impossible to go back to work. Once I would fall asleep I would dream of all the things I was dealing with 13 years ago just before I started smoking pot. I am happily engaged and my lady is a superstar.
I am feeling depressed, tired and reclusive. If I drive my car, my eyes start to hurt and feel really heavy. My dreams are like LSD flashbacks. I am irritable and snappy. I was prescribed sleeping pills which I took for a week and they had little impact on me sleeping. I am trying to avoid codine for my tension headaches and light sensitivity as the entire point of quitting pot is to rid myself of dependency.
It’s 2 am and I am wide awake, though my eyes are heavy. The last 3 nights I have had between 5-6 hours sleep which is great, but it’s all been interrupted with me waking from dreams. During this last 2 weeks I have also quit caffeine due to the insomnia which I assume must play some part in the headaches and irritability.
Anyone who claims there are no withdrawals from pot is either extremely lucky, ignorant or smoked natural bush weed in small doses. I have no cravings to smoke again as I have never been a heavy tobacco smoker. It’s only the sleep I crave which makes me even contemplate calling a mate to pick up a joint. But my will power is stronger this time. I have a family history of heart disease so I need to stop inhaling smoke into my lungs and increasing my heart rate.
I wish all of you who have made the decision to quit the best of luck in getting through this tough time. It’s obvious to me that if you resort to smoking to suppress something that as soon as you quit, even decades later, the issue with jump back at you. I will let everyone know my progress over the next few months. I have lost about 6-7 kgs in the past 6 weeks.
If I didn’t have then support of my wonderful partner, I don’t know how I would have been able to face these moods swings and especially the insomnia and anxiety.
I have used heroin for 20 years now and i can honestly say that after being a on and off pot smoker for 16 years that the withdrawl symptoms from weed are way worse. Hell, even the addictiveness of marijuana is worse. Smoke it just one time and your hooked