Marijuana Users Experience Withdrawal Symptoms, Typical of Drug Addiction

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, a study shows.

“Marijuana is generally not considered an addictive drug,” comments Mary Rieser, Executive Director for Atlanta Recovery Center, Narconon Drug Rehab GA. “Studies and interviews with people going through drug rehab have shown all the signs of withdrawal: irritability, restlessness, headaches, depression, and cravings for the drug.”

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.

"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. "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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