Marijuana | Users Experience Addiction Withdrawal Symptoms

A study by Dr. Alan Budney and colleagues at the University of Vermont in Burlington found that marijuana smokers who stop using the drug while in their home environment suffer withdrawal symptoms that appear as severe as those associated with tobacco-smoking.

“Marijuana is generally not considered an addictive drug,” comments Mary Rieser, Executive Director for Narconon Drug Rehab. “Studies and interviews with people who are habitual pot smokers and have come to our drug rehab have shown all the signs of withdrawal: irritability, restlessness, headaches, depression, and cravings for the drug.”

Marijuana use is often described by users as ‘recreational’ and ‘non-addictive’.

These same users will, however, experience withdrawal symptoms when they stop using marijuana, this study shows.

“These findings represent a significant step toward general acceptance of withdrawal as a key aspect of chronic marijuana use,” says Dr. Jag Khalsa of NIDA’s Center on AIDS and Other Medical Consequences of Drug Abuse. Treatment providers may not address the problem of marijuana withdrawal because the condition is not currently included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), the standard reference published by the American Psychiatric Association.

Dr. Budney and his colleagues evaluated withdrawal symptoms in 12 adult marijuana smokers (7 male, 5 female, average age 30 years) over 3-day abstinence periods that followed 5-day periods when participants could smoke marijuana at will.

During the study, participants lived at home and made daily records rating the intensity of withdrawal symptoms (on a scale from 0, “not at all,” to 3, “severe”) over the preceding 24 hours. In addition, each participant designated an observer — a friend or family member who spent at least 2 hours each day with the participant — to provide an independent rating of the participant’s withdrawal symptoms. The participants made daily laboratory visits during which their abstinence was confirmed by urine tests.

During the abstinence periods, participants reported increases in the severity of craving and sleep difficulty, decreased appetite, and increased aggression, anger, and irritability. In addition, participants reported an increase in “strange dreams” during the second abstinence period. Observers reported increased irritability and restlessness among the participants during abstinence.

“We found consistent emotional and behavioral symptoms that increased during abstinence and dramatically decreased when marijuana smoking resumed, suggesting that these types of symptoms are the hallmark of acute marijuana withdrawal,” Dr. Budney says. “The symptoms most closely resembled many of those observed during nicotine withdrawal.”

“Someone suffering from marijuana addiction needs as much help as someone suffering from any other drug addiction,” comments Ms. Rieser. “Get them the help they need.”

*Source: NIDA

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