Marijuana Abuse & Addiction: Withdrawal Symptoms & Treatment Options

This includes is alcoholism a choice whether they or their immediate family members have a history of substance abuse or mental health issues and also includes their medical history and exposure to environmental stress. People in mid-to-late adolescence are most likely to begin using cannabis. Some genetic studies suggest that developing cannabis addiction is hereditary. A Yale Medicine-led study identified several gene variants that increase risk of cannabis dependence. However, more research is needed in order to confirm the findings and understand how these genetic factors might contribute to marijuana dependence. Substance use disorders don’t have one specific cause that fits all people diagnosed with the condition.

1. In an attempt to return to baseline, it will compensate for the difference, raising a function that the drug lowered, like heart rate, or reducing a function that the drug boosted, like mood.
2. If you or someone you love may be experiencing marijuana abuse or addiction, talk with a trusted healthcare professional.
3. This could cause you to rely more on opioids to ease the pain.
4. Drug abuse and addiction can be scary and uncertain, but it’s treatable, and there’s help out there.

Withdrawal Symptoms

Having these risk factors doesn’t mean you definitely will develop a substance abuse problem, but you may be more at risk. There are a couple of different treatment options for people with cannabis use disorder. It’s important to note that if there is a co-occurring condition, treating both conditions at the same time can provide the most favorable treatment outcome. Cannabis use disorder affects roughly 10% of the 193 million cannabis users in the world. The diagnosis captures the possibility that people can be negatively impacted by marijuana use without necessarily being addicted.

What Is Marijuana Misuse?

More research about the short-term and long-term effects of marijuana is needed. If you think you may be addicted to marijuana, talk to your doctor about your symptoms. Treatment works best when conditions that may be linked to marijuana use are discovered early. Mothers who smoke pot while pregnant face a higher risk of giving birth to underweight or premature babies. But researchers don’t know enough to say if those infants are more likely to grow up to struggle in school, how long does cymbalta withdrawal last use drugs, or have other problems in life. Like the possible risk of chronic conditions like schizophrenia, the chances of cannabis use disorder are greater the younger you start marijuana and the more heavily you use it.

Lifestyle Quizzes

Or a drug can cause no withdrawal at all, as in the case of cocaine, but still pose a high likelihood that a person will develop an addiction when using it. The drug’s pain-relieving properties make it a potential replacement for pain medication. In 2014, states that had legalized medical marijuana reported a 25 percent drop in deaths resulting from an overdose of pain medication.

More than 1 in 10 drinkers say they have used marijuana in the past year. Combining alcohol and marijuana at the same time roughly doubled the odds of drunk driving or legal, professional, or personal problems, compared to drinking alone. But that can jump to 70 to 120 beats or more per minute for 3 hours after the effects kick in. The added strain plus tar and other chemicals in pot may raise your chance of having a heart attack or stroke.

Yale Medicine psychiatrists treat patients for all addictions, including cannabis use disorder. Yale Medicine doctors are conducting exciting research in the fields of marijuana and other addiction treatments. Preliminary results for clinical trials testing a drug that increases the brain’s cannabis-like proteins are promising — especially in terms of reducing drug use and withdrawal symptoms. To diagnose cannabis use disorder, a healthcare provider assesses the person’s history.

The American Psychiatric Association’s most recent criteria for substance use disorders include tools to identify cannabis addiction. For group activities for substance abuse someone to be considered addicted, he or she must meet at least two of the 11 criteria, which include an inability to reduce consumption, constant cravings, and relationship and social problems. Regular or heavy use of cannabis can result in the development of tolerance and dependence. A person will need more and more marijuana to achieve the same effects. About 10% of people who begin smoking cannabis will become addicted, and 30% of current users meet the criteria for addiction. Marijuana can be used in a variety of ways and for many reasons.

Marijuana misuse can have dire consequences if left untreated. Changes in state laws mean marijuana is available to more people, for both medical and recreational use. But whether you use it legally or illegally, it’s possible to misuse it and get addicted to it.

They have higher rates of an addiction co-occurring, which means that if one of them develops an addiction, the other is at greater risk for developing one, than fraternal twins raised apart. Genes are one strong predictor of developing an addiction, said Dr. Alex Stalcup, medical director of the New Leaf Treatment Center in Lafayette, California. If you think you might have a problem, there’s help out there. Cannabis—which can also be called marijuana —is the most commonly used federally illegal drug in the United States.

Keep reading to learn more about the symptoms of cannabis use disorder and how the condition is diagnosed. It also covers what causes cannabis use disorder and the treatment that can help. This could cause you to rely more on opioids to ease the pain. If you use these drugs more, you’re at risk for opioid use disorder. If you smoke pot regularly, it can lead to coughing, wheezing, phlegm, and a higher risk of respiratory infections.