Marijuana Addiction

Weed. Mary Jane. Pot. Everybody knows the slang for marijuana, and too many people consider it a minor problem, a baby in the family of dangerous drugs. In fact, marijuana addiction is far more dangerous than most people think, and treatment for it should be considered as important as for heroin abuse. In fact, treating a marijuana addiction might just prevent having to treat a far more difficult addiction down the road. Like heroin.

Addiction Recovery

Over 150,000 people every year enter treatment for marijuana addiction. Far from being a harmless pastime, getting stoned can lead to a lifestyle consumed by the need for another hit. Marijuana addicts, just like people addicted to cocaine or heroin or meth, are fixated on the pleasure received from the drug, and become more and more dependent over time. In fact, a Dutch study of marijuana use found that the effects of one joint will still be present eight hours later in slowed cognitive response and reduced motor control. Imagine what happens to a person smoking several joints a day.

Marijuana has a profound effect on the brain which was not well understood until recently. When marijuana is smoked, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), its major active chemical, travels rapidly through the bloodstream to the brain, where it connects with receptors on nerve cells, most specifically in the areas of the brain that control pleasure, thought, memory, sensory awareness, concentration, time perception, and coordination. Thus, the slurred speech and vacant expression of the classic “stoner.”

Help for marijuana addiction can be found through qualified treatment centers for drug abuse. A drug treatment program focused on marijuana will need to address the psychological dependency as well as the high risk factors for cancer, heart disease, lung disease, and psychosis caused by the highly toxic smoke. As with any drug treatment program, treating marijuana addiction involves detoxification to clear the residual traces and THC buildup from the addict’s body as well as extended counseling to break the emotional dependency on cannabis. Marijuana treatment should be sought as early as possible, because smoking “weed” is several times as dangerous as smoking tobacco, with the additional problem of mental impairment.

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Studies have proven that marijuana often serves as a “gateway drug” to even more addictive “hard” drugs like cocaine, meth, and heroin. Marijuana addiction, therefore, is neither amusing nor harmless and should be treated with the same urgency and priority as if you had discovered someone close to you smoking crack. Seek treatment from medical professionals trained in drug treatment. Find a drug abuse program or drug treatment center that specifically addresses marijuana addiction. Understand that any drug program should meet the needs of the individual, not offer a shotgun approach to everything. Marijuana addiction has specific risk factors other drugs do not, so seek out a rehab center or clinic that is equipped to offer the full range of medical and psychological treatment required to break an addiction to marijuana and treat any health problems incurred as a result of it.