Marijuana withdrawal as bad as withdrawal from cigarettes

it's all related to which substance you do more and enjoy more. i smoked pot heavily for 5 years(approx.2grms/day) and i found it an absolute bitch to get off. during this addiction i was also smoking cigarettes on a moderate level(1pck/2days) and i found it's withdrawl symptoms quite pathetic compared to that from pot. pot did alot more for me, which was probably why it was harder to give up than cigarettes.
 
I smoked cigarettes from the age of 12 but never really started smoking heavilly till 3 years ago and smoked weed from the age of 12 nearly everyday I am now 19 and quit about 6 months ago, I never once felt any withdrawal symptoms from cigarettes when I quit them, If I stayed in for the day not smoking wouldnt even bother me.

I actually suffered withdrawals from weed, unlike tobbaco which I stopped smoking and never suffered any problems with, with weed thought it's a different story:
  • I couldnt sleep, and even now It is extremely hard for me to get a asleep, even though I havent smoked weed in a while.
  • I dont eat properly, my appetite is completely ruined thanks to weed even now, I useto wiegh a little over average for my age, now i'm skinny for my age, my appetite has never regained to what it was.
  • Even the paranoia and nervousness is still lingering allthough it has got alot better from when I 1st stopped smoking weed, allthough it is still there 6 months on.
 
burn out said:
with marijuana, only about 7-15% of regular users become addicted.

How ironic, I'd love to hear where you gleaned this scientifically produced percentage.


burn out said:
i hope this clears things up.

Yes, good to see we have such an authority on the subject here on Bluelight.
 
Bull. Fucking. Shit.

I've quit pot after smoking multiple times for years on end with only insomnia as a w/d symptom and taking a little diphenhydramine solved that. Nicotine, benzo, opiate, alcohol, these are chemicals that can lead to serious withdrawal , not marijuana.
 
MONSTA!! said:
How ironic, I'd love to hear where you gleaned this scientifically produced percentage.




Yes, good to see we have such an authority on the subject here on Bluelight.


don't listen to anything he says about pot, he claims it ruined his life, makes his head have constant pressure and marijuana also raped his mother and beat his father. 8) the kid blames every problem he has in life on pot. he's a stupid twat. =D :p
 
evryone is right here and can speak for themselves, no one can tell another individual which is most addictive or has the worst withdrawals for them because it is too general and too many factors

there is no disputing that opiates benzos and alcohol have physical withdrawal symptoms even death is possible in extreme cases, which is not the case with marijuana.

That however does not mean that the phsycological addiction/sleep pattern and mental illness potential of marijuana (and withdrawal from) is insignificant, and even though the withdrawals may not cause the body to shutdown or stop functioning it does have the potential to have profound implications to the brain which is I would argue a rather important organ
 
Thats right!! Everyones experinces can be different, some use pot as way of filling in the gaps, some use it along with other substances which they easily substitute when withdrawing from pot and other use marijuana habitually like its going out of fashion, unless your a full time pot smoker who smokes himself to sleep or passes out from it every day for the past year or two you have no right to be judging others on their responses here!!!
 
burn out said:
but how many grams of pot did you smoke each day?

we mainly got hash where i lived, so i'd say anywhere between 5 to 10 grams of decent stuff a week for about two/three years... prior to that i smoked less maybe 2grams approx/week, we got skunk too but less often coz it was more expensive...

i quit pot/hasj cause it made me paranoid, i didn't enjoy blazing anymore.... so i guess that made it easy for me to stop....
 
based on self reporting in a recent study of 12 heavy users of both marijuana and cigarettes.

what a worthless sample size

Tobacco is physically addictive, weed is not. I disagree with this study completely.
 
I've smoked marijuana from the age of 15, with periods of time ( approximately 50% of that time ) of abstinence.

Currently I've been smoking nearly everyday for the past 12 months.

I noticed whenever I've stopped - a definite decrease in appetite, often to the point of nausea.

I don't see the point in a debate (and also it is a media release statement, is it not )

I think the morale of this thread is: it's subjective
 
The symptoms that I recall during marijuana withdrawl from my own experience include: insomnia, loss of appetite and a bit of anger.

Prior to this, I had an intense smoking habit, smoking all day every day. I went on vacation to the beach and brought a half oz with me. I had the bag in my pocket and went to smoke a blunt with my brother on the beach. After we had finished, we decided to go straight in to the ocean. Forgetting that I had the half oz of herb in my pocket I dove in and by the time I finally did realize that I forgot to take the bag out of my pocket it had disappeared into the ocean. Due to this, I had no choice but to stop smoking until I got home and this was the only time that I have ever had noticeable w/d symptoms from weed except for insomnia.
 
I aint even reading the replies yet. All i got to say is...


TWELVE??!????

Sorry, but that just about shits on any respect i could possibly give this study. *SMH*
 
panic_the_digital said:
What bullshit! I've quit both, and cigarettes are far worse. In fact, I had no withdrawal symptoms at all from weed. The same unfrotunately cannot be said for cigs.

Agreed! Sometimes even 6 years later I still want some form of tobacco even if it's just smoking a cigar. I especially want it if I'm drunk.
 
^Yep. Booze makes me want to smoke every time, especially in public. They usually make me sick, but I still keep coming back for more.
 
How ironic, I'd love to hear where you gleaned this scientifically produced percentage.

from scientific studies, where else? 8)

scientific studies on cannabis withdrawal: (originally posted by blowmonkey)

CONCLUSION: A distinctive marijuana withdrawal syndrome has been identified, but it is mild and short-lived. The syndrome includes restlessness, irritability, mild agitation, insomnia, sleep EEG disturbance, nausea, and cramping.


Under "Summary and Conclusions"

http://www.rism.org/isg/dlp/ganja/analyses/Marijuana and Medicine 3a.html#psycho


Review of the Validity and Significance of Cannabis Withdrawal Syndrome
Alan J. Budney, Ph.D., John R. Hughes, M.D., Brent A. Moore, Ph.D. and Ryan Vandrey, M.A

We propose that the cannabis withdrawal syndrome is reliable, valid, and clinically important and should be included in the next revision of DSM.

http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/161/11/1967#SEC6


Didcott P, Reilly D, Swift W, Hall W. Long-term cannabis users on the New South Wales North Coast. NDARC Monograph No. 30. Sydney, Australia:NDARC, 1997:36-41.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...ve&db=pubmed&list_uids=10812291&dopt=Citation


Swift W, Hall W, Copeland J. Cannabis dependence among long-term users in Sydney, Australia. NDARC Tech Rep No. 47. Sydney, Australia:NDARC, 1997.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9744119&dopt=Citation


Crowley TJ, Macdonald MJ, Whitmore EA, Mikulich SK. Cannabis dependence, withdrawal, and reinforcing effects among adolescents with conduct symptoms and substance use disorders. Drug Alcohol Depend 1998;50:27-37.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9589270&dopt=Citation


Wiesbeck GA, Schuckit MA, Kalmijn JA, Tipp JE, Bucholz KK, Smith TL. An evaluation of the history of a marijuana withdrawal syndrome in a large population. Addiction 1996;91:1469-1478

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/searc...//carfax/cadd/1996/00000091/00000010/art00006


Haney M, Ward AS, Comer SD, Foltin RW, Fischman MW. Abstinence symptoms following oral THC administration to humans. Psychopharmacology 1999;141:385-394.

http://www.springerlink.com/app/hom...yk5yadm38dwg&referrer=parent&backto=issue,7,1 2;journal,134,189;linkingpublicationresults,1:100390,1


Haney M, Ward AS, Comer SD, Foltin RW, Fischman MW. Abstinence symptoms following smoked marijuana in humans. Psychopharmacology 1999;141:395-404.

http://www.springerlink.com/app/hom...wn7rvm4kuw1h&referrer=parent&backto=issue,6,1 2;journal,134,189;linkingpublicationresults,1:100390,1


Aceto MD, Scates SM, Lowe JA, Martin BR. Cannabinoid precipitated withdrawal by the selective cannabinoid receptor antagonist, SR 141716A. Eur J Pharmacol 1995;282:R1-R2

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7498260&dopt=Citation


Abood ME, Sauss C, Fan F, Tilton CL, Martin BR.Development of behavioral tolerance to delta 9-THC without alteration of cannabinoid receptor binding or mRNA levels in whole brain. Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond 23298.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=8278434&dopt=Abstract


MD Aceto, SM Scates, JA Lowe and BR Martin Dependence on delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol: studies on precipitated and abrupt withdrawal Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, USA.

http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/cgi/c...879c4a2af593d31e4e607314ee067f9a455b5&keytype 2=tf_ipsecsha


Aceto MD, Scates SM, Lowe JA, Martin BR.Cannabinoid precipitated withdrawal by the selective cannabinoid receptor antagonist, SR 141716A. Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond 23298-0613, USA

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=7498260&dopt=Abstract




Vandrey RG, Budney AJ, Moore BA, Hughes JR. A cross-study comparison of cannabis and tobacco withdrawal.
Am J Addict. 2005 Jan-Feb;14(1):54-63.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...rieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=15804877&am p;am p;am p;itool=iconabstr&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_docsum

Budney AJ, Hughes JR. Related Articles, Links
AbstractThe cannabis withdrawal syndrome.
Curr Opin Psychiatry. 2006 May;19(3):233-8. Review.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...rieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=16612207&am p;am p;am p;itool=iconabstr&query_hl=4&itool=pubmed_DocSum

Budney AJ, Vandrey RG, Hughes JR, Moore BA, Bahrenburg B.
Oral delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol suppresses cannabis withdrawal symptoms.
Drug Alcohol Depend. 2007 Jan 5;86(1):22-9. Epub 2006 Jun 12.


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...rieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=16769180&am p;am p;am p;itool=iconabstr&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_docsum




if you read all the studies you'll see the rate of dependence being reported is usually between 7% and 15%.
 
enoughorangejuice? said:
Bull. Fucking. Shit.

I've quit pot after smoking multiple times for years on end with only insomnia as a w/d symptom and taking a little diphenhydramine solved that. Nicotine, benzo, opiate, alcohol, these are chemicals that can lead to serious withdrawal , not marijuana.

what did we say about not applying your experience to everyone?
 
enoughorangejuice? said:
don't listen to anything he says about pot, he claims it ruined his life, makes his head have constant pressure and marijuana also raped his mother and beat his father. 8) the kid blames every problem he has in life on pot. he's a stupid twat. =D :p

marijuana played a significant roll in my developing a very hard to describe condition of "head pressure". i don't blame every problem i have on it but i do blame my head pressure on it (or rather my own abuse of it) and that is very big problem for me. it's very silly of you to call me a "stupid twat" because i suffered serious negative affects from abusing marijuana.
 
and to the people saying the withdrawal is just psychological and not chemical, well first of all read the studies i posted and you'll see that you're wrong. if the withdrawal was just psychological, then it would make sense for quitters to experience anxiety, boredom, depression, etc. but marijuana has specific physiological withdrawal symptoms caused by chemical dependence on thc. the best example is the loss of apatite and vivid dreams so many people experience. if the withdrawal was purely psychological, then some people might experience loss of apatite but other people might eat more to compensate. the fact the the withdrawal symptoms are specific to marijuana indicates that they are produced chemically.

also, the fact that withdrawal can be precipitated by the administration of cannabinoid antagonists proves that there is a chemical element to cannabis dependence.

like i explained before, the idea that marijuana is not chemically addictive arose because most people who use cannabis do not become chemically dependent (only about 7-15% do). so lots of people quit with no problem and then make the horrendous mistake of assuming that their experience is definitive and everyone else will have the same experience.

the responses in this thread have already proved me right. there are posters saying they had a harder time quitting marijuana than tobacco. therefore, you cannot say that quitting tobacco is harder for everyone.
 
"based on self reporting in a recent study of 12 heavy users of both marijuana and cigarettes."

I have more than twelve friends who have tried quitting weed. Why the hell don't I get research funding?

What a load of shit.
 
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