Marijuana Withdrawals, Quitting Smoking

Hi Guys,

I have been a heavy weed smoker for 8 years now. I started when i was 16 smoking 3-4 joints a day (7 grams a week / 1g an evening). Its been every day since - not 1 day off - even went to Holland for my holidays as i knew it would be readily available.

Now i have tried a few times over the past 2 months to kick the habit. Never lasting any more than 3 days at a time due to loss of sleep.

Im not saying im never going to smoke weed again. I want to go to special occasions only like my birthday or new years.

A major part of the problem is i live in a small town and used to sell the stuff up until 2 years ago primarily to feed my own habit. and as a result its readily accessable everywhere for me. All my friends smoke and its hard to get away from it without giving up my friends.

I am currently using Valerian Tea to help drift me off into the land of ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ and can whole heartedly recommend it. Its better than drinking alcohol every night.

My last smoke was on the 30th of Dec so on day 6 now. Yesterday a few of my mates were driving me crazy "can you get me some, i need a smoke". I obliged and went to grab some for them - they sat in my conservatory and smoked a few Js last night while i was sat inside in line of site - i could smell the aroma, i had to test myself. I am happy to say i did not crack........

Im starting to feel its all a state of mind.

Keeping busy helps - make some projects in the evenings from instructables.com or go for a drive somewhere - its cheaper than buying the stuff lol. If you live in the same town as family - go see them often.

Spending the money you would usually spend on weed on something else like a project car or fising gear can help as you dont have the money to buy weed, and you spend the time you usually would smoking, doing something with the stuff you bought.

While its different for everyone i thought i would post here to let people know of my experiences. I may be writing this prematurely so i will keep you posted.

Hope some of you find this of some comfort.

Andy

Smoking everyday doesn't necessarily mean that your body will get physically addictive, but if you smoke a joint every half an hour for a month, trust me, your body will go through some severe withdrawals

Withdrawal from marijuana can be experienced differently for different people. Some heavy users can stop with no symptoms at all. For me, however, after two years of smoking every day, I withdrew on two different occasions and the symptoms were the same both times, and were absolutely not figments of my imagination. You cannot "make up" waking up in the morning with cold sweats and sweat-damped sheets. You cannot "make up" loss of appetite and physical nausea. You cannot make up the physical manifestations of anxiety and nervousness! Some people will never experience these symptoms when they quit, but to make a blanket statement that there is NO SUCH THING AS PHYSICAL WITHDRAWAL is foolish and absolutely uninformed.

The good news is that these symptoms do not last forever. I felt better than ever after about a week.
Also, just because someone complains of their physical withdrawal DOES NOT MEAN that they are trying to promote an anti-pot agenda! I am all for legalization. There are withdrawal symptoms for all sorts of legal substances, including caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, even sugar.

Hope this cleared things up.

Withdrawal from marijuana can be experienced differently for different people. Some heavy users can stop with no symptoms at all. For me, however, after two years of smoking every day, I withdrew on two different occasions and the symptoms were the same both times, and were absolutely not figments of my imagination. You cannot "make up" waking up in the morning with cold sweats and sweat-damped sheets. You cannot "make up" loss of appetite and physical nausea. You cannot make up the physical manifestations of anxiety and nervousness! Some people will never experience these symptoms when they quit, but to make a blanket statement that there is NO SUCH THING AS PHYSICAL WITHDRAWAL is foolish and absolutely uninformed. When thousands of people report the same above withdrawal symptoms, as they have in many medical reports, journals, forums, etc., which are all easily accessible by internet, then it must be so. Only the uneducated could deny the shared experiences of thousands of people.

The good news is that these symptoms do not last forever. I felt better than ever after about a week.
Also, just because someone complains of their physical withdrawal DOES NOT MEAN that they are trying to promote an anti-pot agenda! I am all for legalization. There are withdrawal symptoms for all sorts of legal substances, including caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, even sugar.

Hope this cleared things up.

Withdrawal from marijuana can be experienced differently for different people. Some heavy users can stop with no symptoms at all. For me, however, after two years of smoking every day, I withdrew on two different occasions and the symptoms were the same both times, and were absolutely not figments of my imagination. You cannot "make up" waking up in the morning with cold sweats and sweat-damped sheets. You cannot "make up" loss of appetite and physical nausea. You cannot make up the physical manifestations of anxiety and nervousness! Some people will never experience these symptoms when they quit, but to make a blanket statement that there is NO SUCH THING AS PHYSICAL WITHDRAWAL is foolish and absolutely uninformed. When thousands of people report the same above withdrawal symptoms, as they have in many medical reports, journals, forums, etc., which are all easily accessible by internet, then it must be so. Only the uneducated could deny the shared experiences of thousands of people.

The good news is that these symptoms do not last forever. I felt better than ever after about a week.
Also, just because someone complains of their physical withdrawal DOES NOT MEAN that they are trying to promote an anti-pot agenda! I am all for legalization. There are withdrawal symptoms for all sorts of legal substances, including caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, even sugar.

Hope this cleared things up. No more ignorance please. Your personal experience does not constitute the experiences of others.

Withdrawal from marijuana can be experienced differently for different people. Some heavy users can stop with no symptoms at all. For me, however, after two years of smoking every day, I withdrew on two different occasions and the symptoms were the same both times, and were absolutely not figments of my imagination. You cannot "make up" waking up in the morning with cold sweats and sweat-damped sheets. You cannot "make up" loss of appetite and physical nausea. You cannot make up the physical manifestations of anxiety and nervousness! Some people will never experience these symptoms when they quit, but to make a blanket statement that there is NO SUCH THING AS PHYSICAL WITHDRAWAL is foolish and absolutely uninformed. When thousands of people report the same above withdrawal symptoms, as they have in many medical reports, journals, forums, etc., which are all easily accessible by internet, then it must be so. Only the uneducated could deny the shared experiences of thousands of people.



The good news is that these symptoms do not last forever. I felt better than ever after about a week.

Also, just because someone complains of their physical withdrawal DOES NOT MEAN that they are trying to promote an anti-pot agenda! I am all for legalization. There are withdrawal symptoms for all sorts of legal substances, including caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, even sugar.



Hope this cleared things up.



No more ignorance please. Your personal experience does not constitute the experience of others.

There really is no such thing as a physical dependence on marijuana. It is all in your head. Subconsciously you believe you cannot sleep or eat without marijuana because you are not used to doing these things without it. A good metaphor is some people when getting blood drawn see the needle go into their arm and their blood being drawn out. This causes a nervous system reaction and they may feel faint, nauseous, and short of breath when really there is nothing wrong with them and it is all in their head. There is also a nervous system reaction when quitting marijuana causing these apparent physical withdrawal symptoms but this is really only psychological. Just focus on something else. Mind over matter. I've smoked marijuana off and on for over a year sometime over an eighth of headies a day and can stop no problem as I have been clean for about two weeks. Mind over matter folks.

Im quiting smoking cigs right now, and let me just say that if you think your having real withdrawls from marijuana then you dont know what REAL withdrawls are. I have smoked weed for 14 years now, able to put it down for a week, a day, a month....no problem. Some days I can smoke all day others only once and other not at all. It is true however when you quit that your sleeping habits will change. I did notice I couldnt sleep as well for the first couple of weeks, but this passes with time and isnt really as horrible as it sounds. Next I want to explain what REAL addictive drugs do and why REAL withdrawls are not common to weed smokers. I was sadly hooked on Meth for 5 months at one time in my life years ago, and I must say that quiting smoking cigs was harder then giving that up...that is once your past the first week. Meth has no physical withdrawls, its all mental. Same as marijuana....its all in your head. Nicotine on the other hand is simular to heroine.
Mental withdrawls can be unpleasant too though. Cranky, hard to focus and lose desire for sex, social activites and having a hard time relaxing. Deal with these in healthy ways. Go to the gym, listen to soothing music and take lots of HOT showers. Relax your body then your mind will follow.
I think the moodiness with marijuana has more to do with the regulation of blood sugars too, because marijuana increases the brains need for sugars, you then eat sugars and fats, then crash from it later like a sugar high or caffiene overload. Just something to think about.

And why can't you sleep?...Because you're PSYCHOLOGICALLY dependent on marijuana. And your brain can make you do anything. Women can show all the signs of being pregnant, morning sickness, weight gains, lactation, even stomach growth without actually being pregnant. Once you're addicted, your body feels that it always needs the drug, so once you quit, your body goes crazy! Eventually you'll return to your normal state. Yes it is hard i'm also on day 3 and it's killing me lol, hanging strong though, i smelled it on my jacket the other day and liked to went CRAZY!

I have been a heavy dope smoker for twenty years and recently quit. I suffered all the SAME symptoms of withrawal as those mentioned above.

I too, was one of those people who used to get all defensive about weed and it's qualities. It's harmless, it's not addictive yada yada yada.

Now let me make this clear to any defenders-of-the-herb out there.....

Nobody is telling you to quit weed. Nobody is saying that, as drugs go, marijuana is bad. I had a lot of great times but also watched a whole lot of talented and educated people (who are now in their forties) who did nothing with their lives except gather around them a crew of other weed smokers.

I even had people who didn't want to hang with me anymore because my quitting made them feel bad about their own habits but I have NEVER told anyone to quit - it is purely a personal choice.....

As Matt Stone said: "The only problem with weed is that it makes you okay with being bored"

The benefits of quitting weed.... I have more money. I do more with my time. I remember the good times I have. I'm a much nicer and more talkative person now....and....

After struggling through 3 weeks of sleepless nights, I now sleep better than ever.

Okay, first of all I have recently quit smoking marijuana and one it is NOT physically addictive no matter what anyone says, the truth is, a doctor knows best. Two, you WILL suffer side effects. You can't wean yourself off of marijuana, that's basically saying I'm just gonna do it again...aye f**k it. You have to quit and not look back. Trust me the end results will be worth it. It is a psychological addiction. Cannabis is very addicting to the brain. People that disagree are simply put...idiots. o.O

Unless one of you "ex-addicts" provide a single shred of actual SCIENTIFIC evidence that says anything to the contrary, then please stop providing your personal experiences as such. The fact is, there has never been any scientific evidence which states THC is physically addictive. There seems to be a severe lack of understanding of the scientific method in this thread.

I've been smoking weed for about 4 years off and on, and HEAVILY for the past year from being depressed (Break up with gf, family member die, losing a really good friend, issues at home etc. I just toked my problems away.)
I've decided to join the Canadian Armed Forces so I am on my mission to quit smoking weed. I quit cigarettes with almost no problem at all, due to the fact I had the H1N1. I was so sick that I couldn't smoke a cig without wanting to puke and it lasted for a few weeks, so I think that helped because once I felt better, I still never smoked. It has been 2 months and I don't have any urge to do it again.

ON THE OTHER HAND,

I am having a hell of a time quitting weed. I feel depressed again, loss of appetite, wanting to punch people in the face, no sleep blah blah blah. I already feel like killing myself and it's been 3 days. The worst part about quitting weed is the loss of appetite and weight loss. I am a pretty small guy (5'10 , maybe 150 lbs) but I feel like I'm just going to wither away to nothing before my appetite ever comes back. I have my mind set on joining the army though so I am determined to kick this habit. I hate the way I feel mentally and physically but hopefully I can return to being the same independent drug free person that I was when I was 14 and didn't smoke the ganj.
I hope I can make it through this without breaking.

i have smoked for around two years and recently had a month off work and smoked every single day from the moment i woke till the moment i slept and then returned to work and not being able to smoke weed at work i came crashing down, the first day back at work i could not put down any food or fluids, any attempt was followed by throwing up, even water would come straight back up, any thought or the smell of food made me feel sick, i had anxiety and feelings of depression, hot and cold sweats in my sleep, nausea and vomiting, social withdrawal, and on top of everything i didnt know what was going on as i had never experienced withdrawals from weed before, and i had stopped for periods of time in the passed and experienced nothing, and i was away from all my normal friends and family in a hotel room by myself due to work. As i didnt know what was going on i started thinking i was going crazy and had some sort of eating disorder, the effects wore off over the week, and as soon as i returned home i felt better because i had my gf there my friends and it eased the psychological side of things. I continued to smoke the day after returning home and all symptoms disappeared after smoking i ate a massive bacon and egg sandwich and felt better than ever by the evening.
The thing everyone needs to remember is when your quitting marijuana, every withdrawal symptom is psychological but makes its presence known in a physical way, eg. your brain is going to make you hate food and not want food UNTILL you get that hit, so even in some circumstances you might want to eat, your brain is not going to let you, and will make you feel sick and so on.
You also have to remember that just like your brain gets its doses or serotonin when your happy on a daily basis, its also been getting its daily dose of thc for how ever many years you have been smoking, so when this halts your brain does go a bit nuts because it has become used to the chemicals going into it day in day out 365 days a year for how ever long you have been smoking.
In regards to quitting and the symptoms, i say put your self in the best environment possible, a holiday with some friends that dont smoke is really helpful but pack it full of things to do to take your mind off things, DO not worry yourself about not eating and not sleeping, you will not die from not eating lol, just make sure you keep the fluids up to flush your body and stop dehydration (which also wont help), to help you sleep do exercise during the day to really tire you out and it will also help you sweat out the thc, drinking beer helps ease nausea and the stomach pains and hollowness and can help with sleep, the two meals i ate that week were after a glass of beer.
If you have a partner tell them everything, make sure they know exactly how you feel, and make sure they know what you could go through, because if anxiety sets in or you feel strange your partner will know whats wrong and will be able to help you control it, cause remember all this is in your head.
I hope this helps some people, and remember big decreases in use can trigger symptoms aswell. All the people saying there are no effects are the lucky people that just dont experience the symptoms that others may, and it is ridiculous to say there are no withdrawals from quitting marijuana.
I have also spoken to a doctor about quitting and i was prescribed tablets to ease the nausea and stop me throwing up and they helped a lot, not eating can cause anxiety, nausea, can make you very moody and make you feel light headed and drained, if you can eat while quitting then eat good food to help keep your head straight, but dont stress guys if you try and fail then you will get there one day.
unless you want to quit for your self then it wont happen, try to make yourself as comfortable and content as possible while quitting, and try to plan it, because with no sleep and no food you start to lose yourself a little, you will be bored but wont know what to do and so on, so if you have a plan and lists of things you can do it will help a lot.

hope it helps.......

Though I have heard that weed isn't physically addictive from many different sources, I know from experience that quitting weed can result in harsh withdrawal symptoms. I have been smoking heavily for about two and a half years, and have managed to quite twice for a month at a time. The issue is that I just feel like going back!! my friends and roomates smoke and most importantly, I really like it!! I feel like psychological addiction is big part of too, though. I mean, my mind just wanders and I want to get high... Neways, if you smoke with batch (cigarette tobbacco mixed w/ your weed), try keeping fewer around, or buying smaller packs. To help fix your appetite, it's a good idea to try and get up a bit early and eat something (even if you go back to bed) eating early starts your metabolism and increases your appetite throughout the day. Don't eat late at night! These options help a bit...but really...I can't deny that I am irritable, demotivated and generally down when I don't smoke for a while...I could use some more tips too though!!

Oh, and btw, to those who were patronizing other users by telling them that their physical symptoms were all in their head:

How can you say that? Someone else is hurting, somewhere...and you basically brush them aside and tell them it's all in their head.
Maybe the physical symptoms result from changes in lifestyle associated with quitting weed rather than actual withdrawal...but at the root, we still have these truly destabilizing aches and emotions....lack of sleep sucks...so, basically, I don't think it's fair to make that assertion based on your personal experience.