marijuana addiction | Drug Addiction Recovery

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Contrary to popular opinion, marijuana addiction is real, and a lot of people get addicted to marijuana because they think it’s not a “hard” drug, therefore they don’t think that they need marijuana addiction treatment. Although marijuana may not be as physically addictive as some other drugs, it can ruin lives just like they can.

Marijuana is a gateway drug, meaning that most people who are abusers of other illegal drugs started out with marijuana use. Furthermore, the younger a person is when they first use marijuana, the more likely they are to develop an addiction to it, or another drug like cocaine or alcohol.

Those that use marijuana normally do it in order to have some form of escape from reality. However, continued use leads to addiction. Even if marijuana were legal, many people would still use it to self-medicate. Prolonged use creates problems that can only be solved through marijuana addiction treatment, and recovery.

There aren’t that many official marijuana addiction treatment programs, and that’s at least partly due to the fact that many marijuana users use the drug along with other, harder drugs like alcohol and cocaine. With the number of people that are looking for marijuana addiction treatment, science is coming up with new ways to overcome the problem.

A recent study of adults who use marijuana (most of the participants were men, in their thirties, who had used marijuana for at least ten years) found the greatest benefit from both group behavioral therapy and individual, motivational counseling. Counselors give the addict new strategies for remaining abstinent from marijuana.

Marijuana addiction treatment works by making the patient aware of the things that induce them to use marijuana, which makes it a lot easier to avoid the temptation. With proper treatment the psychological need for the drug, and other problems can be reduced or even eliminated. Yet another study says that rewarding patients for not using marijuana (with vouchers for movie tickets, food, and other things) motivates them even further.

Currently, there are no medications on the market for the treatment of marijuana addiction. But, discoveries about how THC works in the brain will lead to the development of a medicine that will block the “high” that can be obtained from marijuana. This will help to prevent a relapse by making marijuana use less appealing.

Marijuana addiction treatment is necessary to get a pot problem under control. To beat a marijuana addiction, a patient has to stay totally clean, and find different ways to cope with stress (exercise is a great stress reliever). A person in treatment for marijuana addiction can’t just light a joint to deal with their problems, so they have to find an alternative.

Drug Enforcement Agnecy (DEA) – http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/index.htm
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHSA) – http://www.samhsa.gov/
National Institue of Health (NIH) – http://www.nih.gov/

Marijuana Addiction

Around the country, marijuana is still the most often used illegal drug. The majority of marijuana addicts are younger people- over forty percent of high-schoolers have tried it. Marijuana is truly a “gateway drug”, it beign the first illegal drug that most people try. As of 2007, the most recent year for which data is available, there were almost three million illegal drug users in this country- and more than half of them started with using marijuana.

There’s a common misconception that marijuana is a safe drug, and that it’s not addictive. Nothing could be further from the truth- marijuana abuse and addiction are almost as prevalent as the abuse of opiates and alcohol. Of all admissions to drug rehab centers in 2007, sixteen percent were for marijuana addiction.

Abuse and marijuana addiction aren’t the same thing. Marijuana abuse is smoking for a non-medical reason, and addiction happens when the user needs THC (marijuana’s active ingredient) to function normally. Marijuana addicts need more and more of the drug to get the same high. A marijuana “buzz” can last up to eight hours, during which time the addict can’t drive or operate machinery safely, and their thought processes are impaired.

Studies show that there’s a connection between marijuana addiction and depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. It’s not really known whether continued marijuana use causes mental problems, or simply makes an existing mental problem worse. Especially in younger marijuana addicts, constant use can lead to a severe psychotic reaction.

Research shows that marijuana addiction and use cause changes within the brain, similar to those seen in users of other drugs. Withdrawal from marijuana can cause a stress response, and decreased dopamine production, which can lead to irritability. While detoxing from marijuana use doesn’t usually produce the painful withdrawal symptoms seen with other, harder drugs, that doesn’t mean that the symptoms are any less real or treatable.

According to NIDA, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, studies show that very few drug addicts start out without trying alcohol, tobacco, or marijuana first. Marijuana addiction can lead to other addictions, possibly because the THC alters the brain’s chemistry.

The abuse of, and addiction to marijuana are getting worse in the United States. Studies by SAMHSA show that both marijuana abuse and addiction have risen steadily over the last decade. First time users are on average, almost eighteen years old- very bad news for parents of older kids. The younger a child is the first time they use, the greater the likelihood is that they will end up with a marijuana addiction. Marijuana abuse and addiction are a serious matter- rather than treating it like it’s not that big of a deal, the addict and their family needs to get help as soon as possible. Don’t try to treat a marijuana addiction on your own. Go to a doctor for an evaluation, and they will be able to determine what treatment program suits your needs best.