How To Quit Marijuana Addiction

What Is Marijuana Use Disorder Is It Common

Using marijuana can lead to marijuana use disorder. In severe cases, this can lead to an addiction to weed. Marijuana use disorders are closely linked to dependence. The person experiences withdrawal symptoms when not taking marijuana.

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism , marijuana use disorder is common in the U.S., but it often goes untreated. Almost 6 million people experienced the disorder in 2015.

Remove The Substance Dont Buy Cannabis

This is the most simple and obvious first step to quitting your dependency on weed. After all, if you dont buy it, you wont smoke it. If you dont buy yourself anyway, make sure you just dont get it at all anyway.

The extent of the challenge of not buying weed partly depends on your circumstances. For instance, whether youre living in a place that has legalized marijuana or not. Or, whether your friends and the social group also smoke weed.

Either way, this step certainly involves bucket loads of willpower to get through it. You are almost certainly going to experience strong temptations to go back to your old ways. The best way to counter these urges is to distract yourself by calling a friend for a chat or going out with non-smoking friends for coffee, and to remind yourself the reasons for wanting to quit.

Let us emphasize once again:

Delete your weed dealers phone number .

Change your daily route if there is a cannabis store on your way.

Your Next Steps Toward Quitting

Any kind of drug addiction can be a problem, and that includes marijuana. Marijuana Dependence is a real condition that often coincides with mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. Many people struggle with this dependency and need assistance to end their use. Inpatient treatment is an option for this type of use and, depending on your circumstances, may be covered by insurance.

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Help For Marijuana Addicts

People that require assistance in managing their use or ending use of marijuana completely have a number of effective treatment options. They include:

• Patient education.
• Family education.
• 12-step supports.

There are no approved medications that can aid in recovery from addiction to marijuana directly, however pharmaceutical management with more appropriate psychiatric medications may be helpful if marijuana use is a method of self-medication for an underlying mental health issue.

Which Approach Works Best For Quitting Marijuana

Frankly, there is no best way to give up weed.

An approach that works for someone might not work for you but there is at least one for everyone.

Since everyone develops different habitual smoking patterns, considering different methods and maybe a trial and error approach may be beneficial.

In this guide, we will cover quitting cold turkey and quitting gradually in different sections with pros and cons.

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Which Treatment Options Are Available For Marijuana Addiction

Overcoming marijuana can be a difficult journey because you are already in a rut, you are probably anxious and depressed, you may have changed your social circle to one that revolves around smoking pot, and you have likely suffered various other problems as a result of your pot abuse, which will need to be addressed. Fortunately, there are many options for help when it comes to overcoming marijuana addiction and taking back control of your life:

Recovery from marijuana addiction is not something that you should try to tackle all on your own. In addition to seeking professional treatment, it is a good idea to have a support network of people who can help you through hard times and celebrate your successes with you. This support network can be made up of family and friends, fellow patients you meet in treatment, people you interact with at 12-step meetings, and even online support groups and forums.

What Are Some Of The More Common Symptoms

The next most common symptom is depression , and next are nightmares and vivid dreams. Marijuana use tends to dampen the dreaming mechanism, so that when you do get clean the dreams come back with a crash. They can be vivid color, highly emotional dreams or nightmares, even waking up then coming back to the same dream. The very vivid, every night dreams usually dont start for a about a week or so. They last for about a month at most and then taper off.

Using dreams are very common, and although theyre not as vivid or emotional as at first, they last for years and are just considered a normal part of recovery.

The fourth most common symptom is anger. This can range from a slow burning rage to constant irritability to sudden bursts of anger when least expected: anger at the world, anger at loved ones, anger at oneself, anger at being an addict and having to get clean.

Emotional jags are very common, with emotions bouncing back and forth between depression, anger, and euphoria. Occasionally experienced is a feeling of fear or anxiety, a loss of the sense of humor, decreased sex drive, or increased sex drive. Most all of these symptoms fade to normal emotions by three months.

Loss of concentration for the first week or month is also very common and this sometimes affects the ability to learn for a very short while.

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How Long Does Marijuana Withdrawal Last

The duration of withdrawal from Marijuana is different for everyone. For most heavy Marijuana users, withdrawal symptoms begin on the first day after quitting and peak within 48 to 72 hours. Symptoms generally last two to three weeks and dissipate over time.

Stop Smoking Weed With Our Help

Our community offers a safe place to get the help you need without judgement. If you are addicted to weed, hash, dabs, wax, or any other cannabis-based substance, you can beat your addiction and get back control of your life. Quitting Pot is always easy, but it doesn’t have to be hard, and you don’t have to do it alone.

We are based out of Vancouver, Canada, but our members come from all over the world with the United States, Canada, Australia, and Great Britain making up the majority of our members.

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Do I Need Health Insurance To Receive This Service

The referral service is free of charge. If you have no insurance or are underinsured, we will refer you to your state office, which is responsible for state-funded treatment programs. In addition, we can often refer you to facilities that charge on a sliding fee scale or accept Medicare or Medicaid. If you have health insurance, you are encouraged to contact your insurer for a list of participating health care providers and facilities.

Understand Your Triggers And Remove Or Replace Them

Every marijuana user has an action, object, environment, or person that sets them off to start using the substance. For young people, marijuana triggers may include hanging around people who smoke or being lonely. Figure out a way to deal with these triggers if you want to have a good idea of how to quit marijuana.

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Reconsider Certain Relationships And Environments If Necessary

If most of your social encounters revolve around marijuana use, deciding to quit may lead you to evaluate the people, places, and things that used to take up your time, Egel explains.

You may find you need to limit your exposure to certain environments or relationships to honor your boundaries or create a healthier way of being, Egel says.

Lifestyle changes often result from the decision to stop using substances, though this can be difficult to accept. Keep in mind, however, that these changes might not have to be permanent.

After picking up some new coping techniques or getting through the withdrawal period, you might find it easier to revisit certain friendships or places.

Plus, supportive friends will respect your decision to quit and avoid encouraging you to start smoking again. If your friends respond differently, you may want to reconsider spending time with them.

Maybe you decide to go cold turkey but end up smoking again. Or youve been making great progress but after one terrible, sleepless night, decide to smoke a joint just to get some rest.

Dont get down on yourself. This happens to most people trying to quit. suggests it often takes multiple attempts to quit successfully, so take heart. Youre absolutely not alone, and you havent failed.

Breaking habits can be challenging, but resolving to try again keeps you on the right track.

How To Help Someone Overcome Marijuana Addiction

This article was co-authored by Trudi Griffin, LPC, MS. Trudi Griffin is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Wisconsin specializing in Addictions and Mental Health. She provides therapy to people who struggle with addictions, mental health, and trauma in community health settings and private practice. She received her MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Marquette University in 2011.There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. In this case, 85% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 671,501 times.

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What Are The Risks Of Marijuana Addiction

These prolonged symptoms of marijuana abuse will require professional treatment and a lot of time and patience to overcome:

Mental Effects of Marijuana use include:

• An anxiety that does not go away or gets worse as a result of smoking pot
• Depression or a depressed state
• Social intolerance or a lack of desire to be social
• Paranoia or feeling like everyone is out to get you
• Acute psychotic reactions

Effects of Marijuana on the Heart:

• Increased heart rate by 20-100%
• Increased risk of heart attack
• Increased risk of cardiovascular vulnerabilities

Effects of Marijuana on the Lungs:

• Carcinogenic toxins create lung cancer
• Increased exposure to disease

• A productive cough
• Depression

Paranoia is also a common symptom of marijuana use, although friends and family members of the individual suffering from marijuana addiction are more likely to notice this effect than the user. Only after they are in recovery do most individuals realize the degree to which marijuana-induced paranoia has been negatively impacting their lives.

No longer using marijuana after a prolonged phase of marijuana use can lead to the following withdrawal symptoms:

• Irritability
• Mood swings

What Are The Signs Of Marijuana Use Disorder

The American Psychiatric Association has combined marijuana dependency and marijuana addiction into one category: cannabis use disorder.

According to the APA’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – Fifth Edition , marijuana use disorder is determined by the user’s behavior patterns. These include:

• Taking cannabis in larger amounts over a longer period than originally intended
• Wanting and trying to cut down or control marijuana use but not being able to do so
• Craving marijuana

• Sleep-related problems such as insomnia
• Stomach problems
• Sweating or cold sweats

These withdrawal symptoms can sometimes range from mild to severe. They also differ from person to person. While these symptoms may not be life-threatening, they can be uncomfortable.

For long-time users, quitting weed isnt easy. The longer the person has used marijuana, the higher the chance of developing withdrawal symptoms.

Is it Safe to Quit Marijuana Cold Turkey?

Quitting cold turkey means that a regular user, who uses a substance every day, decides to stop suddenly. There is no transition period in between. This method of quitting produces negative effects, with severe withdrawal symptoms that make quitting cannabis very difficult or close to impossible.

Similarly, anxiety and depression have been linked to an increase in suicide risk. This can result in fatal consequences.

Quitting weed cold turkey may work for some people it could pose a serious health problem for others.

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Addiction To Smoking Weed

It is possible to get addicted to weed. About 30 percent of people who have used marijuana have some degree of a marijuana use disorder, and 1 in 10 of those people will become addicted, according to NIDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Addiction to weed is especially likely when it is used often over an extended period.

Addiction is more likely to happen if someone starts smoking marijuana as a teenager. NIDA concluded that people who start using marijuana before the age of 18 are four to seven times more likely than adults to develop a marijuana use disorder. And the CDC estimated that approximately one in six people who smoke marijuana that begin using the drug before the age of 18 would become addicted.

Addiction is a chronic disease that causes a person to seek out and use drugs compulsively. People who have difficulty controlling these urges regardless of outcomes or harmful consequences. While 2015 data from NIDA showed that in 2015 about 4 million people in the United States fit the diagnostic criteria of a marijuana use disorder, only 138,000 voluntarily sought treatment for it.

Signs that someone might be addicted to weed include:

• Unsuccessful attempts to quit using the drug
• Giving up activities or hobbies that one used to enjoy in exchange for using weed
• Continuing to use weed when it is known that it is causing problems with home, school and work

Quitting Cold Turkey: Tips To Quitting

If you must stop smoking marijuana immediately at home, remember to surround yourself with a wide support network. In times of withdrawal and craving, having safe and healthy people around you can serve as a way to protect you against relapse. Here are some of our suggestions:

Though our tips for quitting marijuana cold turkey may help, your best option may be to reach out to a treatment provider that specializes in cannabis abuse treatment for professional guidance on how to quit. With the recovery expertise of a treatment provider, one can determine their best course of action when trying to stop using this drug.

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New Research Highlights The Problems Of Withdrawal But Provides An Incomplete Picture

A recent meta-analysis published in JAMA cites the overall prevalence of cannabis withdrawal syndrome as 47% among individuals with regular or dependent use of cannabinoids. The authors of the study raise the alarm that many professionals and members of the general public may not be aware of cannabis withdrawal, potentially leading to confusion about the benefits of cannabis to treat or self-medicate symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorders. In other words, many patients using medical cannabis to treat their symptoms are merely caught up in a cycle of self-treating their cannabis withdrawal. Is it possible that almost half of cannabis consumers are actually experiencing a severe cannabis withdrawal syndrome to the point that it is successfully masquerading as medicinal use of marijuana and they dont know it?

Be Flexible And Patient During Your Schedule

Be flexible and patient with yourself.

For example: If it turns out that cutting 0.5 grams is not realistic, instead of beating yourself up, adjust your goal to cut back to 0.75 grams.

It is okay to go more slowly than you set out.

The hard part is giving yourself the necessary time to adapt to the changes.

5) Coping Skills

Introduce yourself to new ways of regulating your emotions.

You may not realize how much weed may be acting as a coping mechanism until you cut it out.

Look at new ways of coping with stress, feelings of anxiety or depression before reducing use.

Prepare yourself for the reduction by looking into what might work for you. We will elaborate on this more in the following sections.

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What Should You Quit First

So, having separated the use of nicotine and the use of marijuana/cannabis, which should quit first?

If youre thoroughly fed up of smoking both and desperate to be free from both then in all likelihood, stopping smoking using Allen Carrs Easyway method is likely to set you completely free from both. Thousands of clients who have attended our stop smoking clinics have stopped smoking both easily, permanently, without feeling deprived, and found it to be an enjoyable, liberating process. Far from feeling deprived or miserable theyre left better able to relax, better able to cope with stress, better able to enjoy social occasions, and enjoy life free from the drugs.

Those that fail to stop smoking marijuana/cannabis after stopping smoking tobacco using Allen Carrs Easyway method, or those who subsequently decide that they also want to stop smoking marijuana/cannabis, can do so by using the method applied to that specific drug.

Take Up New Activities And Hobbies

While are trying to quit smoking weeds, it is important to devote your time to new hobbies and leisure activities. They help to deviate your mind from the thoughts of smoking.

These new activities can be like swimming, cycling, cooking, jogging or reading.

Make sure that the time you used spent at smoking joints or the pot is fully occupied with new or other regular activities.

Lack of activities will make you bored and depressed this leads to an urge to return to the old ways of weeds smoking once again.

Remember the adage, an idle mind is a devils workshop.

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