Risk factors for dependency on marijuana include frequent and long-term use.
Signs of marijuana dependence include irritability and trouble sleeping when you’re not on the drug. Some frequent marijuana users develop cannabis use disorder, which is characterized by high tolerance, cravings, and withdrawal symptoms during cessation.
Work with a licensed medical provider to explore promising pharmacological options in treating cannabis withdrawal symptoms and in preventing relapse as well as behavioral therapies that aid in recovery.
You might use marijuana occasionally and not feel adverse effects. However, if you’re a regular consumer of cannabis, and especially if you’ve used marijuana for a long time, you may experience harmful physical, social, and mental effects; become dependent; and exhibit withdrawal symptoms after you stop using.
Marijuana — referred to in slang terms as chronic, pot, or weed — is among the most commonly used drugs in the United States and around the world. If you smoke or vape marijuana or take drinkable or edible marijuana products to alter your mental state — to get “high” or “baked” — you’re consuming a byproduct of the plant Cannabis sativa. When activated, the parts of the plant that contain a significant amount of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) can induce feelings of exhilaration, relaxation, and happiness. THC can also stimulate hunger.
Depictions on TV and in movies of the short-term effects of being high on marijuana are close to what the research shows: Your memory is less sharp, your ability to absorb facts is diminished, and your coordination is off. If you’re an adult who uses marijuana occasionally, your mental and motor skills mostly bounce back within a few days of stopping. But if you’re an adolescent user of cannabis, you may actually be altering your brain’s development.
If you develop into a regular pot user, you may find that not being at your attentive, functional best leads to deeper consequences: You might take longer to finish school or obtain a credential, function less well at work, and struggle to accomplish daily tasks and achieve life goals. Some studies also link people’s heavy use of marijuana to involvement in the criminal-legal system, although experts say more study is needed on whether pot is a direct cause.
Marijuana use could affect your mental well-being: One study showed if you’re in the age range of 18 and 34, marijuana consumption puts you at higher risk of thinking about, planning for, or attempting suicide. This is especially true among women.
Chronic pot consumption increases your risk of dependency. Signs of dependence include irritability and trouble sleeping when you’re not on the drug. A sizable percentage of frequent marijuana users develop what medical experts call cannabis use disorder, which is characterized by high tolerance, cravings, and withdrawal symptoms during cessation.
Even though properties of cannabis are associated with the alleviation of nausea, use of marijuana over a prolonged period — that is, daily consumption over years or decades — could lead to a rare condition called cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome. This condition may involve stomach pain and cyclical, intensive vomiting. It can cause severe dehydration and even land you in the emergency room.
If you’re an adult who uses cannabis three times a week or more, and then you stop using, you could experience what experts call cannabis withdrawal syndrome, a condition that shares symptoms with depression and anxiety disorders.
Common symptoms of withdrawal from marijuana include anxiety or nervousness, decreased appetite or weight loss, irritability or hostility, restlessness or sleep difficulty, and depressed mood. Less common side effects from stopping chronic use of pot include shakiness or tremors, sweating, fevers, chills, and headaches.
Withdrawal symptoms tend to start one to two days after stopping heavy use and can persist for seven to 14 days.
Marijuana and the brain. Neuroimaging studies have shown that chronic marijuana use can alter parts of the brain involved in reward processing, which is associated with addictive behavior. (Reward processing involves someone’s choosing an action to take based on what causes pleasure.) These and other findings about marijuana’s long-term effects on the brain are under extensive study. Learn more.
Recovery from marijuana dependency or cannabis use disorder is possible. A licensed medical professional may recommend therapies to lessen your withdrawal symptoms and potential for relapse and counseling that can further your recovery. Being around family members and friends who do not consume marijuana may also benefit your recovery.
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