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quitting pot like quitting heroin?

Every person is different but I smoke more weed then most people do (close to half an oz every 3 days) and I have stopped "cold turkey" multiple times even for periods as long as 6 months and have not experience any of the extreme effects some of you have (but everyone is different!). Of course the mental side effects are real and always there but certainly nothing of any "physical" nature. However; I have experienced w/d from opiates and alcohol and it is a completely different story.

Also I will not even pretend to be an expert on the chemistry of cannabis's effects on the brain in terms of similarities with opiates pertaining to addiction, but just from my un-expert opinion the things you are saying about CB1 and CB2 receptors does not sound very technically convincing. Maybe you have dumbed it down for us less knowledgable but would you mind elaborating on the way that cannabis causes withdrawal in terms of the stomach and pancreas, as well as the part about how it effects the mu-opiod receptors?

I thought the whole reason Cannabis is not an "addictive" drug is due to the fact that there are no physical withdrawal symptoms to it. I would think that the anti-drug campaigns would be all over it if there was in fact physical proof of withdrawal effects. I also don't understand how the physical relationship between the two receptors would make a difference on how they react to each other. I would assume that they are not triggered by movement but rather electrical impulses no? Like I said I am no expert and I am not trying to be so if you do have a more in depth explanation I am interested.
 
snowboarder88 said:
What are the main similarities and differences between quitting pot and quitting heroin/ like mental and physical effects between the two?
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Quitting heroin is like letting yourself get so ill you end up throwing up everywhere and shitting yourself where as quitting smoking weed at the very worst you will suffer a little bit of anxiety.
 
Yeah, I hate to talk shit in here, but these are totally opposites. I suffered H, morphine, and opium withdrawals, and I seriously considered killing myself during withdrawal. That's how bad it was. Quiting weed is a cakewalk in comparison. It's a mental thing, where is opiate withdrawal is a very, very intense mental AND PHYSICAL experience.
 
^
i dont think youre talking shit really - its true enough the stuff is to be arguably the most detrimental part of the stuff.


but, if you have made it through a heavy addiction to opiates, using the experience as a reference for situations like this can be helpful.
 
Im withdrawing from the ganja right now..im not sick..but im not hungry im wicked bitchy and i don't want to do anything until im high...but i have other issues also..bipolar/anxiety/depression so when i lose my band aid i cry..The weed is my cigarette since i don't smoke thoughs awful things but when i don't have it i go into bitch mode 5000! Just like a person who smokes cigs all the time would if they were taken away..ive also smoked almost everyday since i was like 14..Woe is me..why is the herb always gone..
 
Yeah, I'm not trying to say that quitting weed has no consequences, it's just that it's nothing like quitting heroin. I've quit both...on different occasions, so I know. Suck it up, pussies!!! Hahaha, I'm just totally kidding!!!!

I will say that if you are having a really hard time quitting weed, please for the love a God don't even mess with opiates. You will have an awakening like no other.
 
yeaaa i went through a benzo addiction some years ago..not fun..in and out of the ER almost everynight for a month or longer i don't remember it was like a bad acid trip withdrawing from xanies..
 
FlyBoy81 said:
Yeah, I hate to talk shit in here, but these are totally opposites. I suffered H, morphine, and opium withdrawals, and I seriously considered killing myself during withdrawal. That's how bad it was. Quiting weed is a cakewalk in comparison. It's a mental thing, where is opiate withdrawal is a very, very intense mental AND PHYSICAL experience.
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No I agree, I think this thread would be offensive to anyone who has gone through opiate or heroin withdrawls. There's really no comparison.
 
psyckokilla said:
yeaaa i went through a benzo addiction some years ago..not fun..in and out of the ER almost everynight for a month or longer i don't remember it was like a bad acid trip withdrawing from xanies..
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Yeah, benzo addiction is no joke either...I've never experienced it, but i know it's bad. Must worse than quitting weed.
 
I've never done heroin, but I'm a daily pot smoker (at least a gram, closer to an 8th a day when possible) for the last six years. I've been addicted to pharmaceutical opiates and gone through withdrawals about three or four times, and honestly I could kick opiates WAY easier than kicking pot. I've been smoking within minutes of waking up for years, I don't even know what life would be like not stoned, but from the small glimpses of it that I get on occasion, it doesn't seem too appealing to me. I'm insanely addicted to pot, opiates yeah I love them, but when shit gets out of hand (usually meaning exhaustion of monetary resources), I just man up and stop. Keep in mind, these withdrawals have been off of doses of 45-120mg oxycodone or 60-100mg hydrocodone daily. I just eat a lot of xanax and usually binge drink the first two days and of course smoke my brains out, and by day three I'm just pretty much normal, and opiate free. If I were to stop smoking, three days from now I would still have weed constantly on my mind (based on how I was the last time I quit, which was over three years ago, so I can only assume it would be harder now). Yes, heroin withdrawal is probably horrible, but I think opiates are way easier to rid of your life. Pot is just so ingrained into culture, everyone I know is blazing up. Opiates have a lot more of a stigma, so you're not going to have as many people to op' up with as to smoke up with lol.
 
"You ever suck dick for weed"

Had to put that in here since someone is wondering if quitting pot is like quitting heroin.
 
"You ever suck dick for weed"

Had to put that in here since someone is wondering if quitting pot is like quitting heroin.
 
yeah..ive never been addicted to opiates, which seems hellish and just something i would not want but it's not at all...
if i was denied access to marijuana, i would be grouchy and bored but it wouldn't consume my mind and body.
i don't understand the question is posed by op
 
Ive kicked weed and heroin multiple times and there is just no comparison. I would not wish opiate withdrawls on my worst enemy it is a truely awful experience. Before heroin I had smoked weed everyday for 4 years had to quit for probation now dont get me wrong it sucked from a mental im bored and wanna get high/ I dont know what to do sober perspective. Now when I quit heroin I was laying in bed rolling around masterbating evey 30 minutes just to feel better for 30 seconds from the endorphine release. All you guys who think weed withdrawl is awful I really hope you never experience heroin withdrawl. IMO there really is no comparison.
 
These threads piss me off because nobody every presents any evidence to back up their claims. You just end up with a bunch of junkies incensed by the very notion of cannabis withdrawal, and they go on to loudly voice their opinion that cannabis withdrawal is a phantom condition or massive exaggeration, despite the fact that their opinions are based only on a very small body of anecdotal evidence.

Additionally, threads like this will inevitably culminate in someone throwing out the age-old cliche that cannabis addiction is "psychological, not physical", despite the fact that negative feedback and receptor internalization accounting for tolerance and dependence in the endocannabinoid system is an issue that has been thoroughly explored by pharmacologists. But, c'mon, you don't have to be a damn scientist to understand that when you ingest a substance that substitutes for endogenous ligands, your body will produce less of those endogenous ligands as a result! This is a physical change that happens to induce tolerance and withdrawal, there's nothing "psychological" about it. (Really, I could go on to critique the entire notion that there is somehow a fundamental difference between the physical body and the psyche: the psyche being a direct product of physical, neurochemical processes).

In contrast to these uneducated opinions, the medical literature has described the cannabis withdrawal syndrome in depth, and there have even been several papers published recently that explore pharmacotherapy for cannabis withdrawal. The medical community recognizes the problem as a legitimate one. The bottom line is that in some individuals, cannabis withdrawal is a medically significant problem. To all those who disagree: who gives a crap about your opinion? The unbiased, peer-reviewed literature has already explored the issue and you are just plain wrong.

The real issue here is the most people will never consume enough cannabis to induce a medically significant withdrawal event, most cases of significant withdrawal are present in people who have consumed multiple grams of high-quality cannabis daily for years at a time. I think one of the main reason that so many people doubt the existence of cannabis withdrawal is that they haven't actually smoked a lot of weed, they just think they have: an eighth ounce of nugs per week, or even an eighth ounce every few days, is not enough to induce withdrawal. You need to smoke about that much every day for withdrawal to become a really obvious problem.

Here is a highly abridged list of the current literature, for all those who doubt me on this issue:

The cannabis withdrawal syndrome
By Budney Alan J; Hughes John R
From Current opinion in psychiatry(2006),19(3),233-8.

Cannabis and dependence
By Swift, Wendy; Hall, Wayne
Edited by Grotenhermen, Franjo; Russo, Ethan
From Cannabis and Cannabinoids(2002),257-268.

Review of the validity and significance of cannabis withdrawal syndrome
By Budney Alan J; Hughes John R; Moore Brent A; Vandrey Ryan
From The American journal of psychiatry(2004),161(11),1967-77.

A review of the published literature into cannabis withdrawal symptoms in human users
By Smith Neil T
From Addiction (Abingdon, England)(2002),97(6),621-32.

Withdrawal sequelae to cannabis use
By Rohr J M; Skowlund S W; Martin T E
From The International journal of the addictions(1989),24(7),627-31.

Oral delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol suppresses cannabis withdrawal symptoms
By Budney Alan J; Vandrey Ryan G; Hughes John R; Moore Brent A; Bahrenburg Betsy
From Drug and alcohol dependence(2007),86(1),22-9.

Pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy in cannabis withdrawal and dependence
By Benyamina, Amine; Lecacheux, Marie; Blecha, Lisa; Reynaud, Michel; Lukasiewcz, Michael
From Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics(2008 ),8 (3),479-491.

Increasing treatment options for cannabis dependence: A review of potential pharmacotherapies
By Hart, Carl L.
From Drug and Alcohol Dependence(2005),80(2),147-159.
 
^----- That should about do it..... thank you.

The real issue here is the most people will never consume enough cannabis to induce a medically significant withdrawal event, most cases of significant withdrawal are present in people who have consumed multiple grams of high-quality cannabis daily for years at a time. I think one of the main reason that so many people doubt the existence of cannabis withdrawal is that they haven't actually smoked a lot of weed, they just think they have: an eighth ounce of nugs per week, or even an eighth ounce every few days, is not enough to induce withdrawal. You need to smoke about that much every day for withdrawal to become a really obvious problem.
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Or, people start using synthetic cannabinoids that are many, many, times more potent than natural THC....
Just the ugliness I've experienced from shortly after stopping regular daily use of JWH and RCS chems, was plenty to convince me well enough that there is a hard physical component to the felt symptoms of cannabinoid withdrawal.... and it was *very* similar to opiate withdrawal. Insane sweating, chills, and the very familiar nausea were front & center.
 
Ixchellian said:
^----- That should about do it..... thank you.



Or, people start using synthetic cannabinoids that are many, many, times more potent than natural THC....
Just the ugliness I've experienced from shortly after stopping regular daily use of JWH and RCS chems, was plenty to convince me well enough that there is a hard physical component to the felt symptoms of cannabinoid withdrawal.... and it was *very* similar to opiate withdrawal. Insane sweating, chills, and the very familiar nausea were front & center.
Click to expand...

Yeah same here, I was shaking and sweating couldn't sleep, I had vivid dreams that I was smoking. RCS chems are very messed up. I still haven't recovered 100% from them, and it's been a long time.
 
I can say that weed WD is REAL, REAL BAD! My GF and i smoke about a quarter of dank medical bud every week and ran out 2 days ago, we were sick as dogs. Puking violently, no appetite, sweats, nausea, it was fucking terrible. It was almost like the first time i have experienced opiate WD. I am going on ten years of opiate addiction (heroin, dilaudid, fent, bupe, now im on 110mg methadone) so i have run the gambit of puking my guts out, sweating, chills ect...the whole 9 yards you can say.

But for anyone that thinks weed WD isnt real or its just mental, smoke a bunch and stop cold turkey and you will be in a world of hurt. I was luckily able to call my cousin and pick up a gram of some GDP, soon as i took a bong hit i could feel my stomach contract and almost settle back down. My GF has never done much in the way of drugs, so she doesnt know what any kind of WD feels like....she does now sadly....So yea, marijuana WD is def real.
 
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