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[MEGA] Cannabis Addiction & Withdrawal

drscience said:
Would this have anything to do with chemical dependence?
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If that was directed at me, I don't think so. Granted, I've been dependent on certain chemicals before, but right now I'm almost drug-free (I take dyphenhydramine to help me get to sleep at night) and I still have wicked anxiety. I don't even drink coffee. ;)

I'm pretty sure I know exactly what most of the anxiety and stress is from, but it's a long-term issue that I'm going to be dealing with until July 1, 2011 so I pretty much have to struggle through it. I've been to three doctors and all three wouldn't prescribe me any benzos because I'm in the system as a high risk for substance abuse (not those words exactly, but to that effect).
 
sorry, i meant to ask is the sweating problem related to dependence to THC?

but that does make sense, the anxiety causing the sweating. very interesting.
 
Man on man...I'd hate too see you try too quit hard drugs. I literaly never had any of these problems when I stopped smoking for 5 months. I stopped and I didnt sweat, get cramps, eat a baby, I just didnt smoke pot.


But....since I am starting too sound like a dick, the best advice I can persnally give is too just wait it out.
 
Colmes said:
Most likely, an increase in anxiety. I guess that would make you sweat more. Other than that, I dont see too much connection between how much you sweat, and quitting smoking of the marijuana.
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thc stores in fat cells right?

whats sweating got to do with the breakdown or release of it from those fatty cells?

maybe im really stoned and just thought hey when you quit weed and the bodys getting it out of the fat cells and you sweat it off...lol
 
p3n1x said:
thc stores in fat cells right?

whats sweating got to do with the breakdown or release of it from those fatty cells?

maybe im really stoned and just thought hey when you quit weed and the bodys getting it out of the fat cells and you sweat it off...lol
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You can sweat without burning calories/fat cells, so I don't think there is a direct relation between quitting weed and sweating. I think Colmes was on to something with sweating being a consequence of anxiety, which would be a by-product of quitting pot.
 
take up swimming, its the best workout for the amount of time you put into it, also if you do it often enough you might stop sweating heavily (it works for some people), something about chlorine damaging glands, you'll itch like hell but you won't sweat
 
[MEGA] Cannabis, Cannabinoids, Addiction, Withdrawel and You Vs. Yeah, it happens

Its high time we get a Mega thread about Cannabis addiction and withdrawal up in here! I dont care if Cannabis addiction seems like nothing compared to those of you out there who have a problem with benzos or hard opiates. And no you do not get the kind of terrible withdrawal that one would get when they are coming off of a have xanex addiction or H. It still is a reality that regular pot smokers much face, and we have every right to confide in one another about how cranky we get or how we cannot eat when we are out of weed. The psychological effects can be just as bad.

So i encourage you stoners to post in here when talking about addiction or withdrawal from Cannabis or Synthetic cannabinoids. The synths are just as likely if not more to cause addiction problems due to the high amounts of chemical in some spice mixes.

Any threads created talking about this topic will be merged with this thread.

-Neko



I've seen many topics on here touching on addiction in general and in individual post but I don't think there is a thread talking just about this. I'm not talking facts so please leave studies out of this... studies aren't always fact and affects of any drug can vary from person to person. I am talking about personal experience stories and hope we can get people from both viewpoints.

I, myself, have only ever been physically addicted to cigarettes and after a 13 year smoking habbit have been clean for just shy of 6 months now. I will never pick up another cigarette due to being diabetic and having circulation problems.

As far as alcohol goes, alcoholism runs on both sides of my family. My father is an alcoholic and apparently my grandfather on my mothers side was also. My younger brother is an alcoholic. I have always been able to take or leave this.

I have been smoking marijuana for the same time frame as cigarettes but quit when I was pregnant with my son and I'm not as heavy as a smoker as I used to be for many reasons. I mostly smoke at night and can go weeks on end without smoking before I buy a bag or smoke with some friends. I have always been able to just take it or leave it. Yes, sometimes I get stressed and really want to smoke but I don't have sleeping problems, appetite problems and really the stress has only really got to me badly since I quit smoking cigs so I think that is actually more related to that.

People complain about physical addiction to marijuana all the time but I just don't understand it. For me, at least, marijuana has no physical short term or long term side effects from quitting.. if anything, I have more motivation and my short term memory gets better... but thats it.

I feel the need to mention that I might physically be different then other people anyway because, while I did take chantix to quit smoking cigs and didn't smoke marijuana at this time, I only experienced 2 weeks of physical withdrawl in the form of irritability, insomnia, and a dry throat/heartburn feeling for my craving side effects. After a month I was already spending time not only in close vacinity with other smokers but also in enclosed spaces (like a car) with them and had very minimal and usually no side effects at all. Actually, the only time I have any reaction now is more socially when I smoke a bowl with my sister and then she lights up a cig afterwards. People are amazed by this.... so maybe I am just a different animal all together.

Oh and I also want to mention that I have mild bipolar and severe social anxiety disorder on top of ptsd and intermittent explosive disorder so my occassional irritability for the few days after not smoking anything might actually be from those disorders adjusting to my lack of self medication. I have also had a therapist agree that the marijuana seems to treat these disorders as compared to when I'm not smoking.

With that being said, I want to know where everyone else weighs in on if marijuana is physically addicting or not. Maybe then I will understand how someone can possibly lay claim that it is because I just haven't ever experienced any physical addiction myself....
 
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I believe that marijuana is not physically addicting in the literal sense. I don't think that when a person quits, the sudden deprival of marijuana's psychoactive chemicals in a user's body is the immediate cause for any physical withdrawal symptoms. However, I'm fairly confident that the psychological stress a heavy habitual user experiences when they quit is likely to manifest itself into some very real (albeit non-life-threatening) physical symptoms.

Stress is a funny thing that can wreak havoc on an otherwise healthy body, especially the compounded stress a habitual drug user will experience when they can't or won't access the chemicals they rely so heavily upon.
 
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^^^ Marijuana can be a little psychologically addictive, but its all in your head. Ive been toking for 4 years every day and I cant imagine not having any to smoke, but if i need to quit for a job I can quit easily. Its just those first couple of days might suck! :p
 
I personally believe that marijuana is 100% psychologically addicting, but the degree of addiction varies from user to user. While I don't think that marijuana is physically addicting, I have experienced physical withdrawal symptoms from easing up on my THC consumption. These symptoms include: loss of appetite, difficulty sleeping, irritability, nausea (yeah, this is a big one for me), and a general overwhelming shitty feeling.

My anxiety has also spiked tremendously since easing off, however I no longer feel right about being so dependent and addicted to a substance so I'd ideally like to quit. We'll see how that goes, though, as weed is a huge coping mechanism for me.
 
Although it is around 95% psychologically addicting (you can go through physical symptoms with HEAVY usage. Such as not wanting to eat / no sleep) , it has a pretty damn strong addiction potential.
Part of the reason is people always associate weed with a harmless plant, not a drug. And slowly by slowly they smoke more and more often, before they know it they area a full on stoner and are so deep in the haze they think nothing is wrong with it.

Not to say you can't be a heavy stoner and be real productive , but many people get comfortable living a pretty crappy life as long as they are high daily.
 
Some people experience mild physical withdrawal symptoms(insomnia, loss of appetite) after heavy or long-term usage. Usually the symptoms last a week or so. It's certainly not physically addictive in the sense that something like heroin or alcohol are physically addictive.

Psychological addiction is a much more complicated issue. Marijuana isn't particularly addictive in the traditional sense, like cocaine, for instance. A better term might be "habit-forming", like how people are "addicted" to sex, eating, television, gambling, sugar, etc. There is no standard criteria for psychological addiction, but at this point it becomes somewhat of a semantic debate. My impression is that by thinking of cannabis as addictive we are downplaying the significance of seriously addictive substances like tobacco, heroin, methamphetamine, etc. It seems like there needs to be a distinction based on pharmacology and the direct effects on the reward pathway. We may find that marijuana "addiction" is based more on liking than wanting.
 
I stopped smoking weed a month ago after 2 years of smoking regularly because I felt I needed a break. I experienced sleep disturbances, vivid dreams, night sweats, anhedonia, changes in appetite, and I felt pretty down. After about 2-3 weeks the symptoms subsided.

It might not be addictive in the traditional sense, but if you are a regular user with high tolerance then whatever receptors have been downregulated by it (like CB1 and CB2) are sure going to notice its absence.
 
You can withdrawal physically from sugar and caffeine so I'm sure you can from pot. It probably depends on how long you've been smoking, how much, and the strength of your cannabis.
 
It's not physically addictive, just mentally. However, there can be physical withdrawal symptoms, especially if you have been smoking a lot of high quality bud. Usually I only get mild insomnia, but I once barely ate for two days and didn't even realize it because I ran out of pot and didn't really feel like getting more.
 
Salutations NinaGrrl,

ninagrrl said:
...please leave studies out of this... ... With that being said, I want to know where everyone else weighs in on if marijuana is physically addicting or not.
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Hummm... What objective study ever mentions vaporization anyway???

I'm a former smoker who used to consume both tobacco and hashish in the mid '90s while my conversion to vaporism is 2 years old. My only regret is that i didn't find out about this healthier alternative method during my college years as i feel this could have been most beneficial to me by promoting the acquisition of an improved cannabic lifestyle. As far as i'm concerned "addiction" is a non-issue comparatively to "T-Breaks": recreative benefits appear to wear off quickly after sustained abuse and hence this naturally leads to abstinence, eventually - which for me effectively addresses any remaining addictive aspect... Also i think it's quite likely that age would be a factor as well.

Thanks to vaporization technologies young persons may be getting a better opportunity to teach themselves self-control & moderation i believe, perhaps because combustion smoke is what this "addiction" affair is all about actually - but that's just me, no certainties! Who knows what's the next level going to be thanks to new specialized strains emerging...

In any case, lets not forget cannabis makes an excellent food supplement even if eaten fresh (e.g. under the form of non-decarboxylated salad)!!

:)
 
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