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for those that claim marijuana isn't physically addictive...

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deviate

Bluelighter
Joined
May 31, 2003
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why do i get and all my heavy using friends get physical withdrawal when we stop?

the symptoms:

- increased salivation
- stomach pain
- loss of apetite
- loss of thirst ( i have to force myself to drink to keep from getting dehydrated)
- insomnia
- general feeling of bodily discomfort.

these feelings cause me to seek out pot and smoke it even if i dont wish to get high, i need it to feel normal.


these symptoms are not psychological , there are caused by the fact that my body has adjusted to functioning under the constant presense of cannabinoids. for example, when i havent smoked in a long time and then get high i get all the common side effects, terrible munchies, cottonmouth, etc. when i smoke everyday, these side effects lesson and eventually dissapear so my mouth doesnt get dry when i get high and i don't get the munchies. then when i quit, im confronted with the opposite side effects, instead of cottonmouth, my mouth produces too much saliva, instead of getting the munchies, i can't eat, etc. i also develope tolerance and need to smoke much more to achieve the same high. anyway, i just wanted to post this because i keep reading posts where people say cannabis does not produce physical withdrawal or tolerance and that's simply not true. you can say the withdrawal from other drugs is a million times worse and not comparable to weed, but that doesnt change the fact that weed causes a physical addiction and tolerance. thoughts?
 
I get

* increased sweating
* stomach pain/ discomfort
* insomnia
* increased somnolence
* general body discomfort
* extreme iritiability.

At first i just don't feel hungry or tired. Eventually i'll try to eat and not be very sucessful. Eventually ill become exhausted and sleep. at this point i try to sleep as much as possible until the time i expect to hook up again. If i have to do stuff, i'll get sudden attacks of the sweats and my stomach will hurt a lot. the whole time i'll be in a completely sour mood.

then i'll smoke, and all of these symptoms go away.

no, pot's not physically adictive ;) The symptoms arent as severe as opiate withdrawl but heavy usage over time will definitely produce unpleasant effects if you stop smoking suddenly
 
The notion of physical vs. psychological addictions along with the notion of tolerance and withdrawal being the main mechanisms by which "addictions" occur have both been refuted as good models for addiction. This is because addicts of even the most well known addictive substances regularly ween themselves off to lose their tolerance. They still go back, of course, but this is after the physical effects have passed and all they are left with is a psychological memory of the rewarding properties of the substance. (The model that succeded this is the Dopamine Reward mechanism.)

I have no doubt that you and your friends experience all of the symptoms that you claim. However, since they are not that bad, they cannot be used as the sole reason you NEED to go back to smoking. The NEED you feel is not because your body is in any physical danger, rather I see these symptoms and your elaboration of their importance as an excuse you are making to yourself to smoke all the time.
 
trust me, if you experienced these symptoms, you wouldnt say they are "not that bad". when your stomach feels like shit and no amount of pepto bismol helps, you want to smoke just to ease the pain. no, you're not going to die from pot withdrawl, but you won't die from opiate withdrawl either.

in a sense i guess you could call not wanting to experience physical withdrawls an excuse to use.
 
i don't notice any physical signs of withdrawl
not even a change of sleeping habits.
and i've been smoking nearly everyday for a year
 
There is also the issue of "self medication" for disorders. Some people smoke pot because they have underlying insomnia, depression, GI disorders, migraines or whatever.

When you stop smoking all that bad shit obviously comes back - plus the more common but still nasty withdrawals. I for one have had a horrible time because of these issues - I believe my thread that I started last time I tried to take a break from pot is still on the first page somewhere in Health Q&A.

--- G.
 
evlove said:
The notion of physical vs. psychological addictions along with the notion of tolerance and withdrawal being the main mechanisms by which "addictions" occur have both been refuted as good models for addiction. This is because addicts of even the most well known addictive substances regularly ween themselves off to lose their tolerance. They still go back, of course, but this is after the physical effects have passed and all they are left with is a psychological memory of the rewarding properties of the substance. (The model that succeded this is the Dopamine Reward mechanism.)

I have no doubt that you and your friends experience all of the symptoms that you claim. However, since they are not that bad, they cannot be used as the sole reason you NEED to go back to smoking. The NEED you feel is not because your body is in any physical danger, rather I see these symptoms and your elaboration of their importance as an excuse you are making to yourself to smoke all the time.
Click to expand...

of course, if i WANTED to quit weed the physical addiction would be only be a minor obstacle, as you said i remember the rewarding properties and continue to crave them long after my body returns to normal physically. when i first became a stoner, i smoked every day but i wasn't physically dependent. so, if for some reason i couldnt get weed or i wanted to quit for 3 or 4 days to lower my tolerance i would always be able to do it. id crave it but id feel fine physically. now if i want to quit for a couple days i have to go through the unpleasant withdrawal, so its MUCH harder to take breaks than it used to be.
 
Withdrawl for me is loss of appetite, which is actually ok because I'm not overeating all day like /w weed. Also, I tend to get nightmares for a few days, troubled sleeping, etc.

Mentally, though, I feel 100% sharper/quicker and the world definately seems much more alive.

But this is comparing full blown, chronic use, and abstinence. I believe there is a balance that can be achieved.
 
There is also the issue of "self medication" for disorders. Some people smoke pot because they have underlying insomnia, depression, GI disorders, migraines or whatever.
Click to expand...

normally i dont smoke to medicate anything except boredom but when i get depressed i start smoking like mad and cant stop til i run out.
 
Withdrawal for me is also loss of appetite.
But that's how I am normally - I mean I guess its my natural way, and marijuana just helps that.
Otherwise I can function the same on/off weed... I think you're looking too closely at weed's effect on each of those health problems/issues, and not the picture as a whole...
 
frizzantik said:
trust me, if you experienced these symptoms, you wouldnt say they are "not that bad". when your stomach feels like shit and no amount of pepto bismol helps, you want to smoke just to ease the pain.
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Honestly, I have never heard of anything like that (besides from medical users). Perhaps, there is something else going on. I apologize if I spoke too soon.

In my experience, taking a break from MJ has always been much easier than taking a break from coffee.
 
it takes excessive long term use to get these symptoms, but when you do they arent pleasant. The cannabinoid system in your body is somehow related to appetite, and when heavy long term users cease use, they may experience "anti-munchies". heavy users may use smoking to help regulate hunger (my girlfriend does this.. she often needs to smoke to eat) i dont need to be high to eat but if i havent smoked in 24hrs or so i start to feel some extreme indigestion.
 
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How long would you say these take to kick in generally. I for one have never experienced these, and I have smoked for a number of years quite often. Personally though, I don't seem to experience withdrawals and I am quite sure that if I could I would. I don't really think that they exist.
 
i experience no withdrawls.... i smoke everyday almost every hour when i have the stuff... ive been smoking for a number of years as well... i dont really get 'withdrawls', i mean, it sux not having any, and ive had insomnia all my life, weed helped, but its not like im gonna die if i dont get any dank.... it really depends on the person... i had a friend who quit, and he went though some kinda withdrawls for like a month... then again, ive 'quit' for periods of time as long as a month, and all i got was richer....
 
dementedgoat, you dont even get apetite loss? do you get the munchies when you do smoke?


How long would you say these take to kick in generally.
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they seem to begin about 12 hours after my last high, then they worse and after a couple days they start to get better. i havent gone through the full withdrawal in quite a while so i dont know how long it would last now.
 
i dont go through withdrawl besides a appetite loss, insomnia, and i am more snappy at people when i dont have weed.....


ive been smokin every day for 3 years now...takin breaks every 6 months or so for a week ....

but i took the month of august off no problems after 1 week, then i started to fall asleep and dream again.
 
i get pretty anxious without it now, but don't seem to notice *much* loss of appetite (perhaps a little), but then, i've only been smoking for six months or so though (daily). i *definitely* get the insomnia though, and that's probably the worst thing about it - i don't get much sleep as it is, so insomnia's a fucking killer...
 
it seems like those who take breaks occasionally dont experience withdrawls as much. thats what the should teach in school.. smoking pot is ok.. but dont do it every day.
 
frizzantik said:
it seems like those who take breaks occasionally dont experience withdrawls as much. thats what the should teach in school.. smoking pot is ok.. but dont do it every day.
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frizzantik I agree with everything you say and suffer from the same symptons... I think a big factor is HOW long have you been smoking... the longer I think maybe the worse the withdrawals can be... but I certaintly suffer trying to eat when don't have/can't get/trying to have a break etc... its sucks... but is good for the waist line... hehehe... but can't be good for your health... to those out there that say 'they don't exist' etc etc... Let me assure you THEY do!! You just have not smoked regularly/extensively... or you are just a lucky buggar... but I will also say... I find that symptons can be worse if life is boring and dull... I have come off it whislt travelling... having the time of my life.... although drinking quite heavily and I would say I didn't suffer so much... but if I went back... I would then remember that I didn't eat much... yeah no not much at all... probably why I was trimiest I have ever been... HA... anyways, I think this thread is great... as it tells me 'I'm not the only one that suffers these things...' thanks
 
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