If you or someone you love wants to quit using cannabis but is unsure of how or has failed in the past due to withdrawal symptoms, you can contact a healthcare provider for support. Sustained cannabis abstinence is the most effective treatment goal for patients who have a CUD and who have completed MAW 77. However, many patients enter treatment with moderation goals and clinicians must adapt their approaches to work effectively with these patients. Reduced use is a common outcome in outpatient studies, but how long these reductions are maintained and whether reduced use improves psychosocial functioning remains unclear.
What Causes Drug Withdrawal?
Without the psychoactive ingredient, bodily systems may have to recalibrate, leading to flu-like symptoms and headaches in rare cases. In some cases, your provider may order other tests (like blood tests) to make sure your symptoms aren’t due to another condition. These symptoms aren’t life-threatening, but they can be very uncomfortable.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a structured, goal-oriented therapy that focuses on identifying and changing negative thought patterns and behaviors related to marijuana use. It helps individuals develop coping skills to manage cravings and avoid relapse, according to a study by Guven FM. Behavioral abnormalities arise from disrupted endocannabinoid signaling, leading to changes in social behavior and emotional regulation. Additionally, chronic use of marijuana triggers or exacerbates psychiatric conditions like depression, anxiety, and psychosis, leading to severe mental health disorders. Overall, marijuana’s effects on the brain encompass a range of impairments and changes that significantly impact an individual’s cognitive abilities, emotional stability, and overall mental health. Rehab treatment for substance use disorders often starts with drug detoxification, whereby patients go through substance cessation and withdrawal under careful medical supervision and additional medication where necessary.
- Depending on the severity of the CUD, a healthcare provider may recommend tapering it off to lessen the effects of withdrawal.
- Up to 50% of between‐individual differences in cannabis withdrawal can be attributed to genetic variation 36.
- Complicated withdrawal may occur in people with concurrent mental health and polysubstance use.
- Scientists are currently studying medication for the detoxification of cannabis.
- Using more to get the same effect, giving up once-loved activities in order to use, and withdrawal symptoms like irritability, mood changes, and disruptions to sleep and/or appetite can all signal that someone might be experiencing marijuana abuse.
Withdrawal symptoms occur when someone with a substance use disorder attempts to stop taking them. They are often physical in nature, with nausea, muscle aches, and headaches being common; but may also include psychological issues. Most withdrawal symptoms are uncomfortable but manageable, however, there are those that can be dangerous without medical treatment. To treat drug withdrawal in Nevada, individuals should seek licensed and accredited addiction centers that offer cannabis withdrawal: definition, symptoms, treatment medical detox, inpatient rehab, outpatient rehab, and therapy. The Nestled Recovery in Las Vegas offers comprehensive support, including medical detox and MAT programs, for those seeking safe and effective drug withdrawal services in Nevada. Physical effects are uncomfortable but usually subside within a few days to weeks as the body adjusts to not having THC.
There are a lot of people, including us, who promise to be there each step of the way. The Cannabis sativa L plant also contains non-intoxicating cannabinoid compounds like cannabidiol (CBD). Cannabis sativa L plants containing very small, non-intoxicating amounts of delta-9 THC, which are also called hemp, are mainly used for textile fiber and for their edible seed oils. Unless mentioned otherwise, the information on this webpage is only about cannabis products containing intoxicating amounts of delta-9 THC. Overcome addiction with our family support system, and regain control of your life! These programs, modeled after Alcoholics Anonymous, offer a structured approach to recovery through peer support and accountability.
Symptoms, including anxiety, seizures, and insomnia, can persist for weeks or even months. A slow tapering process under medical guidance is essential to reduce the risk of severe withdrawal effects. The good news is that marijuana withdrawal symptoms are not deadly, nor do they usually lead to any severe health complications as long as the patient is otherwise healthy. Due to this reason, medical supervision is merely there to ensure that patients are more comfortable while on the road to recovery. Management and TreatmentManagement of cannabis withdrawal includes supportive care and, in some cases, pharmacotherapy. Treatment options may involve cognitive-behavioral therapy, motivational enhancement therapy, and, when necessary, medications to address specific symptoms.
Mental Health Effects
The emergency and referral resources listed above are available to individuals located in the United States and are not operated by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). NIDA is a biomedical research organization and does not provide personalized medical advice, treatment, counseling, or legal consultation. Information provided by NIDA is not a substitute for professional medical care or legal consultation. The NIDA-funded Monitoring the Future survey measures drug and alcohol use and related attitudes among adolescent students nationwide. NIDA supports the Adolescent Brain Cognitive DevelopmentSM Study (ABCD Study®), which follows nearly 12,000 children ages 9 and 10—before substance use typically begins—into young adulthood.
Treating and preventing marijuana relapse and cannabis use disorder
The commonly used treatments for cannabis withdrawal are either cognitive behavioral therapy or medication therapy, neither of which has been shown to be particularly effective. Some researchers are looking at CBD, the nonintoxicating component of cannabis, as a treatment for cannabis withdrawal. We know little about interactions between the effects of cannabis and other drugs 28, but polysubstance use may increase the severity of withdrawal. Cannabinoid receptors are major targets, directly or indirectly, for many drugs of abuse including prescription analgesics, but interactions between these drugs are poorly understood. Additive intoxication and withdrawal effects may occur when cannabis is combined with central nervous system (CNS) depressants such as alcohol and opioids (e.g. drowsiness, ataxia) and some benzodiazepines or new psychoactive substances (NPS) 29.
What Are the Effects of Marijuana Addiction?
Cannabis withdrawal symptoms can be difficult to deal with, but they don’t last forever.Be kind and patient with yourself as your body recovers. Treatment depends on the severity of the disorder and is highly individualized — you may need different types of treatment at different times. According to the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), you must have at least two signs in the symptoms section for over 12 months to be diagnosed with cannabis use disorder.
Less commonly reported physical symptoms include chills, headaches, physical tension, sweating and stomach pain 1, 2. Cessation of short‐term cannabidiol (CBD), a non‐psychoactive cannabinoid, does not appear to result in withdrawal 3. Knowing how likely alcohol withdrawal symptoms are to occur in those who stop drinking is not always easy to predict. Those who have a history of polysubstance abuse, co-occurring mental health disorders, and those who have experienced alcohol withdrawal before may be at additional risk of severe symptoms.
- Before an individual can fully recover from dependence on marijuana, their bodies must first process and remove all traces of THC naturally, and this can vary significantly depending on the user’s metabolism.
- Marijuana addiction rehabilitation involves a structured approach that includes detoxification, therapy, and ongoing support.
- Persistent cognitive deficits, such as memory problems and impaired decision-making, continue even after ceasing marijuana use, affecting daily functioning and quality of life.
- The clinical significance of cannabis withdrawal is that its symptoms may precipitate relapse to cannabis use.
- The ABCD Study® explores the effects of environmental, social, genetic, and other biological factors on the developing adolescent brain.
Regular use alters the way THC is absorbed and metabolized, leading to increased tolerance, where users require larger doses to achieve the same effects. Marijuana addiction manifests when individuals develop a cannabis dependence, leading to compulsive use despite adverse consequences. Roughly 78 million Americans, or half of the population, reported having smoked marijuana at some point in their lives.
Physical comorbidities
Anger and aggression and depressed mood may occur as early as 1 week into cannabis withdrawal but typically peak after 2 weeks of abstinence 33, 34 (Figure 1). Cannabis withdrawal does not carry a high risk of severe adverse outcomes. The presence of medical or psychiatric comorbidities such as polysubstance use and dependence may result in more severe complications and symptoms of cannabis withdrawal, necessitating additional management. The clinical significance of cannabis withdrawal is that it may undermine abstinence by precipitating a relapse to cannabis use which immediately relieves these symptoms 5. Irritability and mood effects can also negatively impact personal relationships and work productivity.
When you stop, your brain struggles to adjust, leading to both physical and emotional symptoms. Synthetic cannabinoids (SCBs) are classed as new psychoactive substances (NPS) and are made in clandestine laboratories. Unlike cannabis, SCBs are a heterogeneous group that may contain multiple, typically synthetic compounds with broad structural diversity and are therefore not reviewed in this paper. SCBs can be 2–100 times more potent than THC 6, are more likely to result in problematic use and faster development of tolerance and potentially result in more severe withdrawal than natural cannabis 7. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hasn’t approved any medications for marijuana withdrawal, specifically.
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