Withdrawal Symptoms From Smoking Pot?

Study Shows Heavy Marijuana Users Suffer Anxiety, Irritability When They Try To Quit

(WebMD)  Heavy pot users who quit cold turkey may find themselves lighting up again to quell withdrawal symptoms, researchers say.

In a study of nearly 500 marijuana smokers who tried to kick the habit, about one-third resumed use to relieve or avoid withdrawal symptoms such as irritability and anxiety .

There's long been a debate over whether pot smokers actually become addicted to the drug and whether withdrawal symptoms are real. They do and they are, says researcher David Gorelick, MD, PhD, of the National Institute on Drug Abuse in Baltimore.

He predicts cannabis withdrawal syndrome will be recognized as a psychiatric disorder in the next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), considered the bible of mental disorders. It's due out in 2012.

Gorelick presented the findings at the American Psychiatric Association annual meeting.


Heavy Pot Smokers and Withdrawal Symptoms

The study involved 469 pot smokers, ages 18 to 64, who were recruited using word of mouth and advertisements. None of the participants suffered from recognized psychiatric disorders.

About one in four reported smoking pot more than 10,000 times in their lives -- the equivalent of daily use for 27 years. More than half smoked more than 2,000 times.

"These were heavy users," Gorelick says.

A total of 42.4 percent experienced at least one withdrawal symptom -- most commonly, cravings, irritability, boredom, anxiety, and sleep disturbances -- when they tried to quit.

Of those who reported withdrawal symptoms, 78.4 percent said they started smoking pot again to reduce them.

Overall, 33.3 percent of participants resumed cannabis use to reduce or avoid withdrawal symptoms.

"Heavy pot users should be aware that they may experience a withdrawal syndrome that will make them uncomfortable when they try to quit," Gorelick tells WebMD.

The problem, says the University of Pennsylvania's Kyle Kampman, MD, is that doctors don't have much to offer pot users to relieve their symptoms.

Kampman is involved in a study testing oral delta-tetrahydrocannabinol, the main active ingredient in marijuana, as a potential treatment for marijuana withdrawal.

But other than to try to get patients enrolled in the trial, "the only other thing I can offer is inpatient care. Sometimes just keeping them away from marijuana will help prevent relapse," he tells WebMD.

Kampman says there is no doubt that cannabis withdrawal "is a real syndrome."

[mandylou4u]

oh, come on, yall afraid to comment, lol! They can''t put you in jail for commenting on a pot forum, haha. This is so funny to me. When is there going to be something for people who need to quit cigarettes? They have the patch and the commit things but none of those work for me. I would have a easier time quitting the pot verses the smokes. No withdrawls for me, haha.

[trillion1]

What a crock! I''ve smoked since the 60s. When there wasn''t any there was never any withdrawal. Just another bogus smoke screen to try to make pot look dangerous.

[shanev137]

Geez....of course you''re going to experience "withdrawal symptoms" if you did -anything- every single day for 30 years straight.

It''s not normal to be addicted to -anything- where you need it 24/7/365.

[rushman71]

Man, I sure don''t smell cannabis. I smell BullShiit!!! And this article is absolutely, possitively, 100% all natural BullShiit!!!
"A total of 42.4 percent experienced at least one withdrawal symptom -- most commonly, cravings, irritability, boredom, anxiety, and sleep disturbances -- when they tried to quit." Oooooh, that''s bad, really bad!!!! Give me a ******* break!!! The FDA allows drugs to be sold LEGALLY that causes people to commit suicide!!! Uhh, HELLO!!!
Let''s look back, shall we.
They said cravings--so, I got the ******* munchies, ok!!!
They said irratibility--well, hello, y''all make the Bullshiit laws, of course I''m pisssed!!!
Boredom--Hey, there''s nothing on the *******'' t.v., ok.
Anxiety--no comment.
Sleep disturbances--this shiit is what helps me go to sleep.

[rushman71]

I''m going to check my post tommorow to see if it is still there. If it isn''t, that''s CBS for ya!!!

[element51]

I smoked pot back in the day, every day for a long time. I used it to relax and sometimes to help me sleep. When I moved to a state where possession of even a seed will cause you to lose everything you have, car, house, bank account, I decided it would be best to quit. So I threw away my stash and quit. I had no withdrawl of any kind. I just quit and that was that. But cigarettes are another matter. I have tried everything out there and can''t get off those dam cigarettes. I agree...this article and so called study are bogus. I''m 63 years old and if pot were legal I''d still probably smoke a little once in a while. I might add that alcohol is truly a dangerous drug. I never saw anybody get high and want to fight or get in their car and weave all over the road at 90 miles per hour. Mostly we laughed a lot and ate cookies.

[scottyusa]

So what? People get addicted to alcohol too. Pot is harmless compared to other drugs out there. It should be legal with the same restrictions as alcohol. The tax revenue alone would probably pay for the wars. Wouldn''t that be a twist? The media says drugs are financing terror. So make them legal, tax them and fight back. I like it.

[jen773]

After years of dealing with people from many walks of life with many different addictions I''d have to say give me a pot smoker over an alcoholic, meth addict or prescription pill popper any day. I have smoked it occassionally for years and would much rather do that then go to a bar and deal with a bunch of loud obnoxious drunks any day. And the added bonus is no hang over. If it wasn''t illegal I''m sure there would be more of us partaking more often. Every day in our courts someone''s reason for why something bad happened is because they were drunk or high on meth or pills. Not very often, if ever, do you hear that someone smoked too much weed and ran someone over at a high rate of speed or beat someone up or left their kid by themselves somewhere while they are out partying. Biggest problem you got is remembering where you put stuff and running out of munchie food. In my opinion this study was a waste of time and money.

[jsilver2th]

Known hazards of quiting smoking marijuana:

(1) Chocolate tastes funny.
(2) Your old Grateful Dead tapes sound flat.
(3) Steven Colbert isn''t absolutely hillarious.

That''s about it.

[minter9]

The Study was conducted by the biased NIDA. SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN article "Marijuana Research" sites the case of a scientist who requested a research grant to study marijuana''s potential medical benefit''s. NIDA turned it down. That scientist rewrote the grant request to emphasise finding marijuana''s negative effects. The study was funded. Research should not be politically controlled or bias. The Federal government has a history of scare tactics, propaganda, racism, & outright lies dating back to the 1937 Marijuana Tax Stamp Act. It has lied about marijuana ever since. Just look up the White House ONDCP Reports. Surveys. Distortions. One Federal study in 1974 went terribly wrong. Instead of proving that marijauna caused cancer. It actually showed that marijuana has anti-cancer properties. The study was shutdown & covered up. The FDA says that Marijuana is safer than many of the foods that we eat. Recent scientific studies show that marijuana does indeed have anti-cancer properties. Two recent federal studies show that true marijuana addiction is rare. And, that withdrawal is mild & short-lived. Maybe that''s why the NIDA hand picked the rare, very heavy user''s of marijuana to bias their research. Marijuana studies actually show that marijuana shrinks tumors, even incurable ones in the brain.

[minter9]

The NIDA/DEA/ONDCP/FDA & an army of goverment agencies have been created to keep marijuan illegal. The U.S. Congress & the President are the parties responsible for creating prohibition. They use these incredibly expensive & useless organizations to justify it''s continued prohibition. But, all parties are guilty of complicity in perpetrating this hoax against the American people. The masses have been brainwashed for 70 years. But, they are researching the truth. The voters are turning on the hard-liners & want marijuana prohibition to end. Savvy politians are getting with it. We will see the hard-liners either change, like Bob Barr. Or, they know that they will be voted out. So, I suggest that every voter pick their politicians carefully & that the politicains change their tune before they''re out of a job. End drug crime. Regain control of marijuana from criminals. Keep it out of our kids hands. Legalize it, control it, tax it. card for it.

[vermaleethom]

***!!! i''ve never heard of aperson who smoked pot that woke up in a jail cell the next morning just to find out they were drunk the night before and killed a bunch of people in a car crash. I''ve never heard of people smoking ajoint and going out to rob someone, or you never hear of someone saying i smoked a doob and killed my wife cause she pissed me off, whereasyou alwayshear about these situations, and worse with the use of alcohol, and alcohol is LEGAL!!! Go figure that one out. Tell you what, if you got ahostage situation, and you offer the guy a joint, he definitely won''t want to hurt anybody. Instead, they''ll be asking "where''s the munchies?"

[incog-nito]

I tried quitting coffee a few times. Each I got a massive headache and can barely function for nearly a week. It worked for a while, and then after one night staying up too late, and I was back on the mug again.

Does this mean coffee should be banned also?

[incog-nito]

Why so much anti-marijuana research? It''s not like we are having a huge pot epidemic right now, at least compared to crack, heroin, cocaine, alcohol, prescription drugs, and energy drinks. Seems like ever other week they come out with another study demonstrating the deleterious effects of mj. Why was there never a study directly comparing both the short-term and long-term effects of pot vs. alcohol? Is it maybe because they''re afraid of the obvious results such a study would show?

[brianbwb-2009]

"A total of 42.4 percent experienced at least one withdrawal symptom -- most commonly, cravings, irritability, boredom, anxiety, and sleep disturbances."

Boredom is a withdrawal symptom? That is patently ridiculous.

That would also imply that living in a neocon fascist paradise like say, San Diego also causes withdrawal symptoms, because that is one of the most boring places on Earth. Watching the FOX channel would also qualify, as would most high school history classes.

As for the others, are the researchers sure that those conditions were not present before the smoker started, and the pot was being used to alleviate those ailments? Pot has been shown to effectively treat all of the above, when present in non users, so this sounds like they are saying that pot causes symptoms that it has been known for centuries to alleviate.

[horse3farm]

I am really beginning to believe that WebMD is run by the government. Give me a break. I''m with you trillion1...never any withdrawals for me either when it wasn''t around....also smoked since the 60s. In fact, I believe that is why I am never sick. Legalize the stuff and go on to something that has real meaning.

[luvwknd69]

LEGALIZE IS THE ONLY ANSWER!

[carlylaine]

This is pure BS.....but you start calling my love of POT a mental disorder and watch me go bullistic. F*ing monkeys.

[jjp735i]

Web MD is starting to sound more like Fox news, state run news.

incog-nito, you are correct in so many ways. BUt when I run out, I do have some of the symptoms they are talking about. I think its more of a "bummed" out feeling than anything else. If I were to have been drinking every day for thirty years, well, I would be a superman, because it would have killed me long before that. I too am hardley ever sick, never go to the doctor for anything. Been firing up since 1976, have a BSEE, Masters in Applied Mathematics and a PhD in Quantum mathematics. Work in the computer industry and tutor math pro bono. Have an excellant attendance record where I work, and am able to learn new things and retain them. So the studies they are doing I believe are tainted. Probably because they were drunk while running the studies, who knows?

[rushman71]

jmcgilvray: I concur!!! LOL

[rushman71]

mitchoncbs: I have read some bs articles that say that mj causes memory loss. Uhhh, just for the moment, ehh!!! What were we talking about? Oh yeah......Brownies!!!

[rushman71]

Question to everyone: If Obama wins, what are the chances of him to:
a. soften the punishment of smoking/possesion of cannabis,
b. reduce the Federal regulations over cannabis for medical reasons,
c. reduce the Federal regulations for recreational use, or
d. completely legalize marijuana.

Sadley enough rushman71, chances are slim to none. Too many old farts in congress still. Gonna be another twenty years before our generation (born in 1960) can have any effect on that.

[mandylou4u]

Hey cbs, if you''re still listening, we aren''t scared of the government over this. I don''t want to get "caught" because then me, pleasant, sweet, and kind, will have to go sit in a jail cell with murderers, rapists, and meth heads. Doesn''t seem right does it? There is too much money the government will loose if they legalize it. Think about it, every time they do a drug bust, they get all the money from that bust too. They only tell us how much they want us to know about how much money they got from the bust.

[bigtblues]

I agree completely with all the above posted comments.
Try spending the hard-earned taxpayers''money on things that REALLY kill people & trash lives:
domestic violence
alcohol
tobacco
terrorists......
Leave the rest of us alone.......legalize & have a GREAT day.........

[bigtblues]

I agree completely with all the above posted comments.
Try spending the hard-earned taxpayers''money on things that REALLY kill people & trash lives:
domestic violence
alcohol
tobacco
terrorists......
Leave the rest of us alone.......legalize & have a GREAT day.........

horse3farm said: "I am really beginning to believe that WebMD is run by the government." Sounds like mid-stage symptom. I am so very grateful that I will get a chance to vote for someone whose brain has been enveloped by dope and who denies any damage. Probably enabled him to sit in that pew for 20 years and not be affected. Second-hand effects protected Michelle and the kids, too. Next thing he''ll be quoting Garrison Keillor, "I believe in looking reality straight in the eye and denying it." Speaking of looking Obama straight in the eye, "sometimes when you look in his eyes you get the feeling that someone else is driving." (Thanks David.) And horse3farm, good luck with that river you are on.

[kaitka]

Lol! I love how "boredom" is a withdrawal symptom. What a joke that study is!

[kaitka]

Lol! I love how "boredom" is a withdrawal symptom. What a joke that study is!

[kaitka]

"boredom" is a withdrawal symptom? riiiight. real legit study.

[rushman71]

kaitka: Be careful of being "bored" at work. Your boss may end up giving you a drug test!!!

[randaids]

It''''s not normal to be addicted to -anything- where you need it 24/7/365.

Posted by shanev137 at 04:36 PM : May 08, 2008

Oh goodie, so by your definition I am quite normal since I only need to smoke pot 2/7/365

[rushman71]

Man, I''m bushed. After a long day at work, I missed my moment at 4:20. But all of us pot smokers know that anytime, day or night, it''s 4:20 time!!!

Roll it up,
Light it up,
Smoke it up,
Inhale....Exhale.....

[gorph001]

I used to smoke alot of pot my junior year in high school. It got me all f*@^#%$d-up, & I was lethargic, wanted munchies, & never really accomplished anything!!!...It amazes me how I passed the courses that i passed while primarily being "stoned", most of the time!!!

[mjpenterprises]

MONUMENTAL JOKE THIS "SO CALLED SURVEY" i have been smoking 40 years and raised 3 children that are respectively 33/29 /20 and all have graduated and also have productive life and so have i ! quit being the carrier of the White House agenda Its so clear they don''t want competition they are the Biggest drug importers!!Lets talk about Mercury in children vaccines and fluoride in water etc.... why are those things still allowed and legal???As the recent studies prove that those are harmful but being pushed by the same peoples that are doing studies to try to prove that pot is bad !!!