Pot withdrawal similar to quitting cigarettes: study reuters

[IceCreamKidd]

http://www.reuters.com/article/lifes...63804920080125

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Withdrawal from heavy use of marijuana is like quitting smoking and produces similar symptoms including anger, irritability and restlessness, according to a new study.

But problems sleeping are more frequent for people cutting out pot, while mood swings are worse for those trying to kick the cigarette habit.

"These results indicate that some marijuana users experience withdrawal effects when they try to quit, and that these effects should be considered by clinicians treating people with problems related to heavy marijuana use," Ryan Vandrey, of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said in a statement.

He and his team compared the impact of quitting on 12 heavy users of both marijuana and cigarettes during a six-week study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

The six men and six women who took part in the research

were randomly chosen to stop smoking cigarettes, marijuana or both. They reported their symptoms on a daily basis.

All of the participants had used pot at least 25 days a month and smoked at least 10 cigarettes a day. Daily toxicology tests were also done to confirm abstinence.

Half of participants said they found it easier to abstain from both substances than it was to give up either one.

Vandrey said the findings have important implications because of the lack of data on marijuana withdrawal. Until recently, this has led to these symptoms not being included in medical reference literature.

"Since tobacco withdrawal symptoms are well documented ... we can infer from the results of this comparison that marijuana withdrawal is also clinically significant and should be included in these reference materials and considered as a target for improving treatment outcomes," Vandrey added.

Marijuana is the most widely used illegal drug in the Unites States, according to Vandrey. Admissions in substance abuse centers for pot have more than doubled since the early 1990s.

(Reporting by Stefanie Kranjec; Editing by Patricia Reaney)


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No one had to tell me this

[CoughDrop]

meh, withdrawal isn't shit for weed (or cigarettes for that matter). If you use any substance regularly your body is going to flip shit when you stop using it. I would say abstaining from coffee after using it everyday is way worse than weed withdrawal.

It might exist, but you need scale it to any other withdrawal from more dangerous drugs (alcohol, heroin, etc). So you can't sleep and might get mood swings? Suck it up.

Also, that little sentence at the end of the article pisses me off, and removes any credibility the writers might have had: "Admissions in substance abuse centers for pot have more than doubled since the early 1990s." That situation exists because more judges are sentencing marijuana-offenders to mandatory substance-abuse counseling. It doesn't somehow mean more people are "addicted" to marijuana.

[noonecares]

www.abovetheignorance.org has a nice chart comparing legal and illicit drugs with various things like intoxication and withdrawl. seems like tobacco is more comparable to cocaine.

[bigorange2]

Originally Posted by noonecares

www.abovetheignorance.org has a nice chart comparing legal and illicit drugs with various things like intoxication and withdrawl. seems like tobacco is more comparable to cocaine.

QFT my man.

[Codone]

You dont see cig smokers taking tolerance breaks every year.

[indicablue]

i get very irritable without dope. i also have problems sleeping. maybe its more in my mind, i love the ritual of smoking before bed.

[*SPC*]

damn weed is like the only thing u can like quit on and not be havin withdrawal symptoms.I do it like every month.I jus quit smokin for a couple days and i dont experience anything.I just cant sleep and i already couldnt really sleep.Weed helps me sleep and clears my mind, but im not dependent on it.It's like my version of a glass of wine or a beer after a hard day at school & work.I'd rather have a blunt or a bowl tho much more enjoyable

[thrice54]

They only studied 12 people man that's a real accurate representation of the population. (sarcasm) and in reading that short poorly organized studied I get teh impression that all the people smoked marijuana and cigarettes how is that accurate at all in comparing withdrawal from just marijuana and from just tobacco when people were using both.

[baganja]

Any dick head that becomes a weed addict is just making it worse for the rest of us. And the people who say they can't stop smoking cigs need to stand up and not let something so week take over there life.

[Bubba_Kush]

i actually just quit two weeks ago for a drug test did not think once about it.Mj is not addictive.Its the pussy sitting there bitching about being hooked on it when its really all in his mind.

[dwfblitz]

This is sort of a weird topic because the report isn't really asserting anything spectacular. For starters, the sample size is 12 PEOPLE?! All of whom smoke both pot and cigs. I wonder whether the sujects volunteered for the study, or if they had some preexisting medical condition in common... Plus, the article doesn't even give any information about the results, other than 1/2 of the subjects found it easier to quit both, than just one.

And so what? Is our government now merely trying to EQUATE cannabis with tobacco? I can get a hell of a withdrawal from caffeine alone, and I know what to expect with everyone else. This test is actually good because it legitimizes cannabis as something to be considered alongside tobacco.

[shiftedreality]