Marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug in the United States. As a result, ever year, U.S. taxpayers pay roughly $10 billion on marijuana prohibition in order to arrest more than 853,000 individuals. Because of that, a cannabis addiction can have lots of legal ramifications. Although there might be some debate and many will have different answers to the question, “is marijuana addictive?” there is no denying the fact that there can be repercussions to using marijuana. In order to avoid them, a cannabis addict might want to try to find ways to quit using the drug altogether.
In 2011, data collected reported that 22.6 percent of high school seniors in the United States had used marijuana in the previous 30 days, which is higher than the 18.7 percent who said that they had smoked cigarettes. Although these individuals are unlikely to be cannabis addicts, there are significant consequences to getting caught with an illegal drug in high school. For example, at least 200,000 students in the United States who have drug convictions on their records have been denied financial aid for college as a result. Therefore, a cannabis addiction can be costly in both the short and long term.
There are several reasons that those with a cannabis addiction might struggle when trying to quit. The cannabis withdrawal symptoms can be pretty harsh, and quitting can have some unhealthy side effects. On of the worst might be the effect on sleep that quitting has. Nearly 47 percent of former marijuana smokers report sleep disruption problems that might be more intense than insomnia and can include vivid, disturbing dreams or nightmares that disrupt sleep. In order to overcome some of the withdrawal symptoms, cannabis addicts might want to find a program, plan, or treatment that makes quitting easier.
The average cannabis addict who seeks treatment for their abuse or dependence on marijuana have used the drug almost every day for a decade and have tried to quit at least six times. This just goes to show how difficult it can be to overcome a cannabis addiction. Because everyone has different needs, there is not one strategy for quitting that will work for everyone. However, spending the time to research and get familiar with many different treatments and options can prove to be vastly beneficial to anyone looking to overcome their cannabis addiction.