These symptoms aren’t dangerous and typically don’t require medical care. But withdrawal is a sign of cannabis (marijuana) use disorder, which does require professional care. Marijuana withdrawal syndrome often does not result in serious physical symptoms as is the case when withdrawing from other drugs and substances. Instead, marijuana withdrawal is mostly characterized by several different psychological symptoms. Medical detox is designed to help people slowly ease off of a substance until it’s completely cleared from their system. This helps to reduce the intensity of any withdrawal symptoms they might have.
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While marijuana withdrawal isn’t as dangerous as harder drugs like cocaine or heroin, many users still face withdrawal symptoms when trying to quit. Some people have related marijuana withdrawal to the experience of quitting caffeine; feeling edgy, irritable, or otherwise “off,” with occasional headaches and nausea. In many cases, the symptoms of weed withdrawal will dissipate with time and can be treated without medical attention. However, if your symptoms last for more than a couple of weeks, you should see your healthcare provider or mental health professional. Due to the constantly evolving social landscape surrounding marijuana, it can be difficult to determine if you have a problem and even more challenging to stop using.
How to Prevent Marijuana Withdrawal
There are currently no medications available to treat marijuana withdrawal syndrome. If symptoms are severe, hospitalization or inpatient rehabilitation may be necessary. The length of time someone experiences these symptoms and how severe the symptoms might become are dependent on many different factors including how long and how often they used weed. Symptoms of marijuana withdrawal typically begin less than 24 hours after someone stops using weed and can persist for about seven to 10 days, peaking in intensity around days two to four.
- If you’re smoking lots of cannabis, life can feel a bit all over the place.
- This means the tester could assume that you attempted to cheat on your drug test.
- The information we provide is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
- “One of the best predictors of how successful people are at quitting smoking is how many times they’ve tried before,” Dr. Streem says.
- People who have a long history of using marijuana are, unfortunately, more likely to relapse during a detox.
Motivational enhancement therapy (MET)
The benefits of quitting are different for everyone, but one benefit is common to everyone. Quitting is the only way to know for sure how your cannabis use is impacting your life. Headaches, like most other symptoms of withdrawing from marijuana use, will usually begin one to three days after quitting and peak two to six days after stopping.
Once withdrawal symptoms improve, a medical team will walk patients through any additional treatments they might need. Many people opt to continue recovering at a rehab center so they’ll have the highest chance of staying sober and avoiding relapse. Also, if you experience excessive vomiting, dehydration or lightheadedness, or your withdrawal symptoms interfere with your ability to function, seek medical help, advises Dr. Weaver. If you have decided to quit smoking weed after regular use, chances are you will experience some kind of withdrawal symptoms. Depending on how much and how often you have been smoking, these symptoms could become intense enough to drive you to relapse to find relief.
What Is Marijuana Withdrawal?
Insomnia, for example, is the longest-lasting withdrawal symptom and can last a full six weeks. When an underlying anxiety or sleep disorder does in fact exist, symptoms will persist and need thorough medical evaluation to recommend their proper treatment. In some cases, marijuana users have experienced several weeks or months of withdrawal symptoms. This is known as post-acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS) and can also be effectively treated with professional intervention. Anxiety can be a sign of cannabis intoxication, but it is also a symptom of cannabis withdrawal.
Search your experience honestly and note any of these five signs of using too frequently. Your brain’s cannabinoid receptors can take up to six weeks to return to their normal number. It is premature to assume any anxiety or insomnia during the first few weeks of abstinence is necessarily a sign of an underlying anxiety or sleep disorder.
- In some cases, your provider may order other tests (like blood tests) to make sure your symptoms aren’t due to another condition.
- It can be especially helpful if you know you want to quit smoking but aren’t quite sure why.
- Call and speak with a representative to learn more about which program could work for you.
- Some research also suggests that exercise may help complement other treatments for cannabis use disorder.
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Research suggests that about 30% of people who use marijuana might have marijuana use disorder, the severity of which can vary. When you smoke or consume marijuana, you can feel profound and immediate effects. But even once those effects are gone, marijuana metabolites remain. This means that chemical remnants of the plant are still present within your body. As laws change, talking about marijuana use is slowly becoming more common. Some people are assessing its medicinal value, while others are looking for ways to flush it out of their system because of drug testing or a simple desire to get toxins out of their systems.
Deciding to Quit Smoking Weed
Notably, the researchers found no significant association between getting high and increased suspicion or paranoia—contrary to popular depictions and even some medical symptom lists. However, it’s worth mentioning that people who get high very frequently tend to experience more negative emotions overall than those who smoke less often—but, this had no impact on their motivation. It’s akin to the lingering effects of alcohol—except, in this case, the supposed hangover is more about emotional and cognitive dullness. In the April 2024 study, researchers Michael Inzlicht, Taylor Bridget Sparrow-Mungal and Gregory John Depow set out to examine the effects of marijuana on self-regulation. Naturally, they found that when participants were high, they indeed exhibited slight declines in self-regulation.
Be sure to tell them that marijuana withdrawal is playing a role in how you are feeling. If you say you are depressed or anxious without mentioning you’re going through weed withdrawal, you may be prescribed medication that can present its own set marijuana addiction of dependence issues. Insomnia symptoms after you stop using weed can last a few days or a couple of weeks.
