Many people mistakenly believe that marijuana is completely harmless and non-addictive. Like any drug, including those like alcohol or prescription medications that are legal and socially acceptable, cannabis can be abused. Marijuana abuse can have negative effects on emotional and physical health. Though less habit-forming than other substances, smoking weed can lead to dependence and addiction. To quit smoking weed, a marijuana addiction treatment program is an excellent choice.
Pennsylvania Adult & Teen Challenge (PAATC) has helped many people leave cannabis behind. To learn more about how our programs and evidence-based therapies can help you understand why you abuse weed and how to live without it, call us at 844.442.8673 or use this online form.
Marijuana Abuse and Addiction
Drugs that are sought after for their psychoactive effects—and this includes marijuana and alcohol—interact in the brain and thus inevitably impact mood, thinking, emotions, behavior, and perceptions. Regular use of such drugs leads to tolerance, which results in increased dosages. Ultimately, physical dependence results.
If you’re a regular consumer of THC via smoking, edibles, or vaping, you may notice that when you don’t indulge, you lose your appetite or cannot sleep. Your body has become dependent on the drug so that certain functions become more difficult without it.
Marijuana abuse can be recognized by a number of signs, including those below:
- Feelings of euphoria and increased awareness
- Increased appetite
- Weight gain
- Shifts in mood
- Lower energy levels
- Slower reflexes and reduced coordination
- Loss of concentration
- Memory issues
- Sleep complications
Persistent use of cannabis leads to several million cases of emotional and physical addiction annually. Some warning signs of weed addiction include:
- Binging
- Tolerance
- Inability to stop even when you want to
- Financial struggles
- Loss of empathy
- Disinterest
- Cravings
These symptoms are all reversible. You can regain your sense of empathy and your interest in things you once loved. Cravings will cease and you can regain financial footing by saving money once spent on weed. With help, you can stop. Fortunately, there are tips to help with that.
Tips to Quit Smoking Weed
If you wish to eliminate weed from your body and life, below are a few suggestions to help you do so. Also, consider an outpatient marijuana addiction treatment program to support you and your mental health so you can live freely and fully without cannabis.
- Take a close inventory of exactly how much THC you are consuming every day by keeping a diary of usage. Include your triggers—what you are doing and with whom when you typically smoke or consume weed. This knowledge helps you avoid those triggers in the future.
- Increase the structure of your daily life, which will make it easier to get through each part of your day without using cannabis.
- Decide what healthy new habits you will replace weed with, for example, exercise, connecting with family, or a hobby that once gave you satisfaction.
- Use delay and distraction strategies when you want to indulge. This can take any form, from trying out a new recipe to going for a walk to cleaning the house.
- Find things to lift you up when you feel the depressive interlude that follows the cessation of cannabis use. While you wait for your brain to start producing dopamine again, you may feel down. This can last for one to two weeks. Savor things you love in these moments, like time with a loved one or close friend (who does not smoke), your favorite movie, nature, or anything that sparks joy.
- Get support from a marijuana rehab program, a 12-step program, or compassionate friends. Better yet, all of the above.
You can quit smoking weed if you practice self-care, stop judging yourself, and accept the help that is out there for you.
PAATC’s Marijuana Addiction Treatment Program Can Help
Reach out to us at PAATC so we can help you get started. We can answer your questions and assuage your anxiety about this big but important, step toward sobriety and health. Call us any time at 844.442.8673 or fill out this online form to connect to someone.