Marijuana Withdrawal Rivals Nicotine
Kicking pot or cigarettes leads to anxiety, sleep problems.
A small study in the journal Alcohol and Drug Dependence likened withdrawal from cannabis to that of withdrawal from nicotine, in the case of smokers addicted to either or both substances. The study gave further support to the growing body of evidence supporting the existence of a clinically significant marijuana withdrawal syndrome in heavy marijuana smokers.
As one cigarette smoker in withdrawal famously put it, “I cannot think, cannot concentrate, cannot remember.” Now it appears that heavy marijuana smokers who go cold turkey might be susceptible to the same symptoms of withdrawal from addiction.
Dr. Ryan Vandrey, a professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and principle author of the study, told Amy Norton of Reuters Health that marijuana withdrawal can cause symptoms similar to nicotine withdrawal, such as anxiety, irritability, difficulty concentrating, and sleep problems. Marijuana withdrawal, which typically affects only heavy smokers, has not been well studied or characterized in the scientific community. Some marijuana advocates view the idea of marijuana withdrawal with considerable skepticism. “These new findings give some idea of its significance,” Vandrey said, and will help inform heavy pot smokers about the symptoms they may face if they abruptly stop smoking.
In the journal article, “A within-subject comparison of withdrawal symptoms during abstinence from cannabis, tobacco, and both substances,” Vandrey and his co-authors conclude: “Overall withdrawal severity associated with cannabis alone and tobacco alone was of a similar magnitude. Withdrawal during simultaneous cessation of both substances was more severe than for each substance alone, but these differences were of short duration and substantial individual differences were noted.”
The authors argue that “cannabis withdrawal is clinically important and warrants detailed description in the DSM-V and ICD-11.” The DSM-V and the ICD-11 are standardized diagnostic classification systems used in the practice of psychiatry.
Participants in the study smoked marijuana at least four times a day, and cigarette smokers consumed 20 or more cigarettes daily.
Since, as Vandrey notes, the presence of withdrawal symptoms often leads to failure when smokers are attempting to quit, it is possible that many more people are trying—and failing—to quit marijuana than researchers have previously suspected. Dr. Vandrey suggested that since difficulty sleeping is one common symptom of withdrawal, sleep medications might be indicated in the case of severe marijuana withdrawal, but cautioned that more study is needed.
Along with insomnia and anxiety, heavy marijuana smokers often report an increase in the frequency and vividness of their dreams during withdrawal as well.
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See also: Marijuana Withdrawal 
nicotine
32 comments:
having tried and failed many times to quit marijuana due to withdrawal symptoms.. nightmares (thats if i can finally get to sleep) i find it difficult to believe that there is doubt whether witdrawal symptoms exist.. i personally know many failed quitters who all report the same or similar symptoms.. anxiety.. paranoia..insomnia.. digestion problems.. sweating.. headaches.. i am 5 days into a quit again.. and it feels like shit..take it seriously.. its real.. there must be an addicted "expert" who can verify these things surely.. i am an accomplished guitarist.. i can barely play a scale due to mind fog.. let alone play a complete passage..maybe its not considered such a problem for the government as reported.. if this is so why are there literally millions of people in prison because of it...i would greatly appreciate some help with this habit..without having to involve myself with some blah blah anonymous higher power bullshit religious narconon scientology crap shoved up my asshole..
Understandable.
Most doctor's still don't get it, so there's not much formal help available. Anticraving meds are all in the early stages.
No magic bullet, but good tips can be found at my "Marijuana Withdrawal" post, where lots of people have related their experiences with pot withdrawal.
I have quit many times :> and never went through what I am feeling right now. I stopped smoking both pot and cigarettes about three weeks ago. I smoked daily for at least the past year. Now I feel like I am in the twilight zone. I not able to focus, my coordination is questionable and my face looks withdrawn with major bags under my eyes. I am tired all of the time and feel like crawling into a hole when I am around other people. It’s funny because when I smoked, it actually made me feel "normal" and now coping with everyday life is almost unbearable. Thank god my wife (who has never smoked) is supportive - it really makes a difference. I will be seeing my psych dr. (I am bi-polar)who knows of my smoking habbit. When I called her for the apt. and mentioned my symptoms, she clearly acknowledged that my having stopped cold turkey makes sense when I described my symptoms - heart palpitations, extreme exhaustion, fog head, unraveling at the seams. I will be seeing her this Tuesday - until then she prescribed Klonopin, an anti anxiety medication. No, I am not a freak, just someone who has been self-medicating (along with the Welbutrin and Depakote) for a long time.
"until then she prescribed Klonopin, an anti anxiety medication."
I think that in extreme cases, this is a reasonable short-term treatment option. But of course you have to watch yourself with the addictive meds....
I'm 23. I'm sober. Have been for 2 1/2 years. Went to rehab. Believe in a Higher Power and my drug of choice is Marijuana. There is hope my friend's... Honesty, Open-Mindedness and Willingness.
I've smoked pot daily for over 35 yrs, and when I could get it a few yrs more than that. So lets say 40 yrs. Anyone that doesn't believe lack of sleep and vivid dreams aren't the big part of quitting needs to have their own head examined. I knew that when I was in my 20s.
It's not comparable to quitting cigarettes, totally opposite problems. Cigarettes are a problem when your awake, pot when you want to sleep.
It's 4:13 A.M, and the only reason I found this page is I'm desperate to sleep and looking for help. I'm 29 days clean, and the only reason is I need a job. Everyone's testing these days. Which means more and more people will be trying to stop. Medical science needs to take this more seriously.
I maintain that, as with alcohol addiction, sometimes the short-term use of prescription sleep aids or anti-anxiety meds is justified in cases like yours.
As an ex-tobacco addict, I find it kind of stunning that cannabis and tobacco withdrawal are said to be in the same ballpark.
From personal experience, I find that I have few difficulties regulating my cannabis usage while it was virtually impossible to regulate my tobacco usage. I would still crave nicotine even when smoking another cigarette would just make me feel sick.
http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/?q=node/28
I actually managed to quit tobacco (10 years ago) by substituting cannabis for it and I think a fair number of people who claim to be cannabis addicts might actually be confused by government propaganda that has exaggerated the addictive properties of cannabis.
Sure, you may feel somewhat groggy when you quit cold turkey from months or years of daily usage, but this is not on par with nicotine withdrawal.
Accurate statistics on cannabis addiction are not even available because in fascist countries like the USA people are actually forced into treatment when cannabis use is detected. With such bogus cannabis addiction statistics, how can we even have a sensible discussion about the subject?
Kind regards, Niek
" With such bogus cannabis addiction statistics, how can we even have a sensible discussion about the subject?"
--------
Good point, but maybe we could start by agreeing from the start that there is such a thing as cannabis addiction for the unlucky few? Pot, like ever other psychoactive drug, is neither a wholly good thing, nor a wholly bad thing. We've gone through an extended adolescence with regard to pot, extolling its virtues and claiming there are no negatives, in part as a result of absurd anti-drug propaganda we have all had to wade through over the years. Now maybe it's time for the straight science of the matter--which includes an extended period of detox, withdrawal and craving for some. No point trying to wish it away or explain it as some kind of ephemeral rebound effect.
I guess it is different with each person I have smoked for near 40yrs I have not smoked in 8 days I have the crazy dreams and an uneasy feeling,something like hot flashes and my hands sweat alot but it is all bearable. I'm glad I found this site at least now I know it could be worse but I'm still quitting mostly because of lying ass drug dealers who always say they have the fire.I want control back of my life and I will have it I don't blame the bud I blame myself. good luck to all the heads who have had enough
Now there's a good reason to quit that nobody has touched on yet: The incredible, unbelievable unreliability and general slackness of pot dealers. What is it about dealing weed that attracts the most irrresponsible, least dependable people in the known universe?
I am contemplating a respite from 10 years of daily light (1-3 hits/day) use of "kind bud" from Amsterdam and LA.
My tolerance is very low and have no problem with controlling my intake of cannabis. It takes _very little_ to satisfy me. I use it as a prelude to exercise and meditation, and as a general tonic for the spirit.
When I was working I could only sleep about 5 hrs a night, now that I've got some time off my sleep is increasing again to 8 hrs. The great majority of my life has been 6 hrs or less per night. (I have never had a problem not feeling rested.)
I tried 5 mg of melatonin several weeks ago and it put me down quite well. A few subsequent experiments with smaller amounts were not successful in inducing copious sleep. Dr Weil says that for daily use, .25 to .33 mg is recommended, and for occasional use about 2.3 mg was effacious.
Note, I do not use melatonin on a regular basis since my sleep is fine at present, but may use it in the future to ease the after-withdrawal discomfort should it arise.
This is an appropriate blog for me and I will be checking in again with updates or to answer any questions. Hopefully I can be of assistance or offer encouragement based on my experience with marijuana (since 1970).
Thanks, "Tom"
Hi Tom:
Yes, melatonin works as an effective natural sleep aid for some people, as does Valerian. I also hear that Chamomile works for some.
Hope you will check in from time to time and answer any questions you can.
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thats a great idea lets get addicted to xanax instead of marijuana..retard
This is just plain false. I smoked cigarettes for a number of years, less than 1/2 pack a day. Here's what withdrawal is like from nicotine:
* Irritability (naturally)
* Chest pain, SCARY chest pain
* Sore throat
* Lump in throat
* lots of coughing
* flu/cold like symptoms
* tightness of chest
* phlegm and lots of it.
* Insomnia
* rapid heart beat
* waking up in the middle of the night
* light headedness
* constipation
* cold sweats
My biggest aggravation from the IDIOTS that keep saying marijuana is bad for you, is that they exaggerate the problems of the drug. Yeah, sure, it's bad for you, but not anywhere NEARLY as bad as it's made out to be. HEROIN is bad for you, and it will kill you - you can't exaggerate it's risks. Nicotine takes MONTHS to get truly addicted to, but once you're there it's hard to leave it. Crystal meth will KILL you.
Never do crystal or heroin. You can experiment with lots of other drugs, but not those. If you do either of those 2 drugs, even if you quit, for the REST OF YOUR LIFE, you'll want to do them. They are very hard to quit.
I am tired of these fuckers overplaying the risks of marijuana. It undermines all the credibility of truly dangerous drugs. There are some really dangerous drugs.
And nicotine may be technically (I mean by a literal definition of what addiction is - meaning that you need more of the substance to get the same high, addiction isn't a measure of how hard it is to leave a particular drug) more addictive than heroin, but you can smoke a cigarette once and forget about it. Heroin you do once and for the REST OF YOUR LIFE, you can NEVER reach the same high you got from the first time. It's called chasing the dragon and you'll never get back to that high. Best not to know.
I am so fucking sick and tired of well meaning, but CLUELESS BASTARDS, giving advice about drug use. Drugs to absolutely stay away from - any goddamned opiate or derivative. The rest you can break, but it can take effort. Read about what constitutes addiction before you try any drug, and be strict with yourself to prevent addiction. If you can't do this, fuck you, you deserve to be a fucking junkie. You have a higher level of reasoning than animals, use it.
Some drugs are REALLY dangerous. If you smoked pot, realized it was no big deal to quit, don't think the same thing of heroin, or crack. Cigarettes are insidious, it takes months to get truly addicted, and it's just hell to stop. You basically have to be on guard against smoking for weeks on end. It sucks and unlike marijuana, you don't get any high off nicotine, and it's not enjoyable after just a few weeks. The only reason you "enjoy" cigarettes is that you're addicted. After just 2 weeks, all you're doing it getting rid of withdrawal symptoms when you smoke - you get no high at all.
So to this author, he needs to get stuffed. He doesn't have the first clue what he's talking about and this study was probably sponsored by the mafia.
Every side effect you listed above for quitting cigarettes has been mentioned by responders to my post on Marijuana Withdrawal as a common symptom of withdrawal from heavy pot smoking. You should be thankful you don't suffer from this, rather than trashing the people who do.
Im a 32yr old pot smoker.I began smoking when i was 13 and growing large amounts of VERY POTENT weed>I smoked 50 to 75 bongs of jack herrer a day.I have stopprd smoking for 4days now and am suffering enormously.My symptons include not being able to even close my eyes until 6 in the morning then only sleeping a hour or 2, cant eat(im a bodybuilder)at all ,feel like im on meth 22/7,erratic heartbeat,cant stay still,feel nausious.To the guy that said cannabis isnt addictive your just retarded.I tryed meth a few times sure its VERY addictive but i didnt get hooked on it(felt like havind 10 cups of coffee)SO if your gonna talk crap FUCK OFF.I was like smack addict the only time i left the couch was to sleep eat shit ang goto gym>
So 4us REAL LIVE people who have and recognise we have an addiction,lets be strong minded,and stay clean and clear headed,and take control of our lives again.
I have tried many times to quit MJ for different reasons. I quit smoking cigarettes in 2001 and promptly started smoking pot in less than a month. I tried to quit numerous times. I had some horrible withdrawal symptoms in the past, emesis, extreme insomnia, fatigue, lack of concentration (mostly from the lack of sleep). Most of these were cold turkey and directly tied with the fact that my dealer was a shady type (surprise). I noticed that once I stopped MJ, I would start drinking alcohol much more, or using all different types of over the counter drugs to put me to sleep and reduce anxiety level. I have always been pretty type A person so stopping pot was not really great. However, with many attempts it only got easier for me to quit, the side effects were less, but I never did actually quit.
For the past three years I have had a steady source of some amazing MJ, from a solid dude. I realized I was smoking ½ oz a month. I was stunned when I discovered that. So now I am ready to quit. I did not go cold turkey, but I reduced the usage by at least 85% and I am hurting. I have daily headaches, stomach aches, feeling of depression, dullness, but on the other hand I am taking a 300 level class on college and scoring 99 out of a 100. For some reason I was always able to do incredibly great in school while smoking pot every night even while I was working full time, and taking anatomy and two other classes. MJ never stopped me from achieving my dreams, educations or travels, but I really dislike the fact that I was addicted to it- I would go and travel for several weeks knowing that I will have no access to it and those first few days would be hell, but in two weeks I was back to normal and did great, but once at home, old habits would sneak in me and I was back to being a daily user.
For me the way to success is based on finding something else to do with the time I had no my hands. If I had nothing to do I was much more likely to smoke if it was available and with this dude it was always available. The reason I am posting is that I just realized that I might be having side effects of the reduced use and using the old ways to deal with it. Despite all the reducing I am not smoke free. I HAVE to have at least one hit to reduce the tension of the day. I really want to move past even that one hit, but I do not want to take any drugs, start drinking or other. I am feeling it today for sure.
One of the things recovering addicts discover, regardless of the drug, is that in most cases they suddenly have a lot of extra time on their hands--time formerly spent seeking, preparing, and consuming drugs.
AA always highlights this, telling its members not to just sit in a chair and stair at the wall--a prescription for relapse. Same can be said for weed.
I too have been down this path. Its a bad path. I was diagnosed with adhd as a kid and put on Ritalin but taken off when my dad didnt like what it was doing. I then was on other medications. I didnt touch even alcohol until my last year of high school and pot not until I graduated. However I did not do it a lot my freshman year, I slowly turned it into a habit my sophomore year and in summers would do it only on weekends but sometimes more often. I really got bad into it my last year of college and now I have to quit and have been clean for a few weeks but will have a drug test coming up soon. I also let my finances get bad and now that reality has hit I am scared to death of the future, as the job market does not look good as it is, I don't need failing a test hair or piss to get in my way of a job but it will. I smashed up my pieces and threw them out and do not plan to do the stuff again. It has been done before, not to this extreme but I always end up going back to it. Now three weeks cold turkey i dont really want to do it but the sleeplessness is so hard to deal with. Please let me know if anyone else knows a good way to get back to sleeping normal. Pot made me so lazy, unmotivated, uncaring for the future. I was trying to cover up my fears of everything but instead of dealing with my problems I just wasted countless dollars on a fricken plant and it all went up in smoke. I still have a 3.0 but one more term to go so we shall see how it turns out.
I have been smooking marijuana for five years or so, on a regular basis.decided to quit after a couple of not so pleasant experiences with it. what I wanna say is that I have been clean for 6days now and I can honestly say its killing me. the withdrawal symptoms I have are numerous e.g pain in spinal cord and most frequent in the shoulder/neck region, weird headach. like pressure walking around the head. rapid heartbeating from time to time. sometimes a bit scary probebly due to paranoia. itches and pain in muscles throughout the body; some chestpain. sensitive to sounds. insomnia, anxiety. but this will not keep from quiting. i will succeed but i never thought it was gonna be this hard. Withdrawal symptoms definetly exist and they are not to be taken lightly. Its like the worst long lasting hungover you can emagine. payback for all the good times
I have been smooking marijuana for five years or so, on a regular basis.decided to quit after a couple of not so pleasant experiences with it. what I wanna say is that I have been clean for 6days now and I can honestly say its killing me. the withdrawal symptoms I have are numerous e.g pain in spinal cord and most frequent in the shoulder/neck region, weird headach. like pressure walking around the head. rapid heartbeating from time to time. sometimes a bit scary probebly due to paranoia. itches and pain in muscles throughout the body; some chestpain. sensitive to sounds. insomnia, anxiety. but this will not keep from quiting. i will succeed but i never thought it was gonna be this hard. Withdrawal symptoms definetly exist and they are not to be taken lightly. Its like the worst long lasting hungover you can emagine. payback for all the good times
I don't blame the bud I blame myself. this quote signifies the real fact because marijuana addict people who have some kind of problem of which he is kept thinking about all the time. then these addicts perceive some sounds and think that someone are playing game with him. but in reality all these things are wrong and this is only due to to anxiety, depression, hallucination. all such images, sounds become live for these kind of addicts because they are fully concentrated or stressed only due to some particular difficulty. it may be relation to breakup with girlfriend, fighting with friends and many more. so the treatment for marijuana addiction is necessary in early stage of its compulsion. so this is totally your fault to indulge in such addiction.
usually all these paranoid things happens to only those addict who is mentally depressed and want to resolve their issues by kept thinking all the time.then they perceive some sounds and what is going on in that sound is completely comes comes from his own mind.
I am going to be 22 next month.
I have been around marijuana my entire life. As a child no younger than 7 I was fed the stems of the plant to relax my ADHD. I first smoked the stuff when I was 14, stopped because of family and state issues and started back up again once I readjusted when I was 16, I would say that I have a total of 6 years of usage. I do get irritable, exhausted, sleepless, upset stomach, aching eyes and/or head, 'head fog', unclear thought processes, overly sweaty palms, paranoia, not too much anxiety, palpitations, those are the most frightening to me, and all of this after a few days of not using the plant. My thoughts are disorganized and I have trouble concentrating on one task at a time and I rarely finish a task unless I write down what I'm supposed to be doing and set it where I know I will see it or someone is there to guide me. When I am high, I write poetry better, am more physically active, am less emotionally charged when it comes to an intense situation that requires quick thinking and action; I just instinctually do what I feel is right at said moment. I am better at articulation and cognitive reasoning and logic when high, and can talk up a storm on multiple subjects. When I'm high I can multitask easier, and think about or process 3 or more things or subjects at one time. My main problem with the plant is it's inacessability and the palpitations. I want to be able to enjoy all of the benefits, but I am having trouble finding a balance. And it really doesn't take much for me to obtain the high. I can take one drag off of a shwag joint and be stoned for up to 6 hours.
Any ideas, suggestions, comments?
undyingpoetictruth@gmail.com
Greetings From Hell on Earth - My Prison Cell
I used drugs and alcohol for twenty years. From the time I was fourteen in 1984 until I was thirty-four in 2004. I tried to quit many times. In fact, I did quit many times, but I always eventually started back. I never could seem to accept the fact that pot and beer were harmful to me. They seemed like such innocuous substances. The drugs that always got me in trouble were the ones I knew were dangerous - cocaine, opiates, crack, and pills. But I'm an addict. It wasn't the highly addictive nature of the drugs I was using that caused problems for me. It was the highly addictive nature of me.
There's a beast that lives inside me. I don't know how he got there or where he came from or if I was born with him. I do know he has an insatiable appetite for ANY mood altering chemical. The more he is fed, the more he wants. If I feed this beast with pot or alcohol, he's going to gain enough strength to get what he really wants.
If also discovered that if I'm craving any high at all, then something is not right anyway. Relapse happens a long time before I actually use. Why to I want, so badly, to escape from feeling normal? What feeling am I trying to escape from or replace with a better feeling? Why do I feel the need to get high in the first place? It's just for a feeling. Is it that important? What am I willing to sacrifice in order to feel good? Why can't I feel good without a chemical?
I've sacrificed everything for that feeling. I traded everything away. I reached a point where life was not worth living without that feeling. And I've suffered the most horrendous consequences for it. I literally gave my life away. Sold my soul to the devil. For a feeling. Read my book "Running Away From Me" when it is released later this summer.
I am now in the process of quiting mj.I have smoked most of the past 28 years. I am not going cold turkey this time because the withdrawal sucks. I have spent a week weening myself from about 20 bong hits a day to 4-5. I still have withdrawal symptoms, but it is tolerable. Starting with the dreams now. Last night I dreampt I was cutting my legs off at mid-thigh. Today my teeth and face are aching. What has helped me with sleep and anxiety is taking high amounts of B vitamins (B50 with PABA) along with ionic calcium with magnesium and vit. D. All drugs deplete the body of vitamins and minerals. One of the withdrawal symptoms I have is no appitite. If I do not eat how can I replenish the nutrients my body needs to rebalance itself? Chlorella and spirulina are good natural sources of B vitamins and many other nutrients. Now that I have dealt with the reasons I started at age 15, I am left with this horrible addiction. It has been so long I do not remember what it is like to think without my brain fogged by thc. I am going to take a couple hits before I go to bed so I can sleep.I will quit cold turkey in a few days. I hope I can sleep. I only drink 1 cup of coffee a day, much more causes anxiety and sleeplessness. I am not letting myself take naps this time to throw of my sleep schedule. I do not expect to feel good for the next couple weeks. oh well... too bad for me...LOL I'll be feeling much better soon.
hey guys, I'm 24 and in the same boat as all of you. Marijuana helped me out of a tough time, it honestly was a godsend. Today is day 5. I have a WAY harder time quitting marijuana then cigs. I get cold chills, anxiety, insomnia and loss of appetite, not to mention dp which I HATE. It's all personal preference. I haven't smoked nicotine for over 2 months.
I just want to make a point that if you are on medication, using other recreational drugs or aren't eating you are going to feel like bad. I noticed that caffeine and nicotine, made me crazy anxious and unhappy when I was trying to quit the first time. So, I quit both of those, sugar as well. It has been a lot easier. My point being that whatever substances you are using might have different effect on you once you eliminate the marijuana. I smoked pot before I began using nicotine and caffeine, so I know how I react on marijuana alone but not in the absence of it while still abusing stimulants.
Also, marijuana depletes neurotransmitters, from what I've heard most of em. Amino acids are the building blocks of them. I would drink protein shakes(throw some fruit and/or milk in there) if you have appetite problems and supplement certain amino acids.
D-Phenylalanine, GABA, L-Tryptophan are all great for anxiety/depression. If you are sluggish, L-tyrosine is good. Fish oil and a multi are a must IMHO. Good luck all, honestly just keep your mind of quitting and I think you'll be fine.
sorry I meant in the beginning, if you are on medication, using recreational drugs or not eating, that might be part of why you are feeling bad.
After smoking 4 or 5 times a day, everyday for the last 4 years, I decided to quit last month. After a few relapses, I now have 6 days behind me, and I can definitely say I have the following withdrawal symptoms:
1. Heart Palpitations
2. Insomnia/restless sleep
3. Chest discomfort
4. Throat discomfort
5. Vivid dreams that wake me up.
6. Anxiety/Irritability
The anxiety and some of the physical symptoms have also turned me into a hypochondriac. At first I was sure I had throat cancer, then a heart condition. It was so bad last night that I went to the ER this morning. Thank goodness, both of those fears were put to rest by the doctor. Now after reading some of your posts, Im going to try and relax with the knowledge that if I make it through the next few weeks, I will have a long and healthy life to look forward to. Thank you all for sharing and my best wishes for all of you who are trying to make a positive change in your lifestyle.
Thanks for the concise list of symptoms. Your trip to the emergency room because of unidentified symptoms is one of the reasons for the existence of this site--so that people will see these withdrawal effects and recognize them for what they are.
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