6 ms·

I spoke with a rehab specialist and he mentioned that since cannabis is oil based, there is no physical withdrawal symptoms as there are with other opioid produ

I spoke with a rehab specialist and he mentioned that since cannabis is oil based, there is no physical withdrawal symptoms as there are with other opioid products. This is due to taking weeks to get cannabis out of your system. Thus, it is often argued that it is not physically addictive but rather psychologically addictive.

metadat 3y ago
Abruptly stopping after prolonged heavy use can wreak havoc on the person's sleep patterns. Seems like a notable withdrawal symptom of you ask me.
- CodeWriter23 3y ago
  "rehab specialist" typically means someone who was previously a client of a treatment center, perhaps with or perhaps without a certificate in counseling. Source: my observations routinely interacting with numerous clients and employees (never a client nor employee myself) of more than a few treatment centers. An Addictionologist is an M.D. with a specialty in addiction who can speak to the matter on a scientific basis.
- conkeisterdoor 3y ago
  Indeed, and so can smoking shortly before bed. Regular daily use can also suppress your ability to dream (or at least your ability to remember those dreams). I've gone through periods where I smoke a relatively small amount of flower on a daily basis for months at a time, and then stop cold turkey, over a dozen or so times in my life. One thing I really enjoy about stopping cold turkey to take a tolerance break is that my dreams become profoundly vivid during the first week or so of withdrawal. I can often remember dreams vividly as if they occurred in waking life, for as long as two days after the night I dreamt, and with enough clarity to write them out in detail. I usually look forward to the experience. Maybe I'm just a weirdo, but I actually enjoy the "come down" from individual smoke "sessions", and the "reset" I experience when stopping cold turkey. It feels refreshing in a way, not really sure how to describe it.
  - iceflinger 3y ago
    In my experience with this I call it "addicted to being sober"
- ribosometronome 3y ago
  For sure. Head over to /r/leaves and you'll see others complaining about pretty gnarly symptoms when they quit. Cold sweats, loss of appetite, nausea, irritability, etc.
- petsfed 3y ago
  I know of plenty of people who have to fall asleep with the TV on, and if they turn off the TV before attempting to sleep, its massively disruptive to their sleep patterns. I doubt anyone would argue that that's indicative of a physical addiction to the television, even as there are obviously "withdrawal" symptoms. Thus the grandparent's distinction between physical and psychological addiction.
- coffeebeqn 3y ago
  Doesn’t help That it’s very often taken to self medicate for insomnia. Underlying cause is still there after you quit
omginternets 3y ago
Forgive my ignorance, but I’ve never been clear on the distinction between “psychologically addictive” and “physiologically addictive”. Surely anything that produces a measurable dependency and withdrawal is just addictive? This distinction seems rooted in mind-body dualism, further driving my skepticism.
- Sahbak 3y ago
  You can and will die if you quit cold turkey from certain drugs. That is the difference.
  - lbourdages 3y ago
    Like alcohol. Heroin, however, will not kill you, but I doubt anyone argues that it is not addictive.
  - arp242 3y ago
    I don't think anyone has ever died because they stopped smoking tobacco. Is tobacco not "physically addictive"? If it's not, this only underscores the point that physically/psychologically addictive distinction is not all that useful. And if it is, that only underscores your explanation isn't a very good explanation of the differences.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
  - omginternets 3y ago
    I don’t think that is the difference, since a fair few drugs we universally agree are addictive don’t do that.
    - shrimpx 3y ago
      It's not that you will die but your body will react adversely. Like with alcohol if you quit cold turkey you can get tremors and seizures. Even with caffeine you get brain fog and hardcore headaches. Basically with hard chemical dependence there will be some kind of adverse body reaction. With marijuana that doesn't exist or is so vanishingly small that you don't feel anything.
bigbillheck 3y ago
What's that 'other' doing there?
HDThoreaun 3y ago
Stopping after smoking a lot can lead to trouble sleeping and nightmares. Certainly feels like a withdrawal when I wake up in a cold sweat.
- gvedem 3y ago
  yep. this is part of the skepticism mentioned in the article--I have anxiety, depression, hot/cold flashes, appetite loss, sleep issues, and disgusting night sweats for a few days after I stop heavy use, but am often told it's all in my head. the reality is that our own cannabinoids do all kinds of things for our homeostasis that are not well understood. so asserting categorically that there is no physical withdrawal when you stop flooding your body with external cannabinoids is naive.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
petsfed 3y ago
I think this distinction really confuses the issue because the actual physiological changes that can make quitting cold turkey actually fatal for certain drugs at certain intensities can appear to be on a continuum if you're not looking at actual cells and organs. I think a lot of what we understand as "psychological" addictions to drugs are just drugs where the addictive changes are limited to higher functioning portions of the brain. And our obsession with mind-body duality means we understand those differently.
JPws_Prntr_Fngr 3y ago
> cannabis > other opioid products Not even close > This is due to taking weeks to get cannabis out of your system. I doubt it. It's not psychoactive weeks later. I agree with the "psychologically addictive" vs "physically" though. (I think it's even simpler than that though - you're just addicted to the quick dopamine surge, same as another round of Counter Strike, sex, cupcake, whatever)
dragonwriter 3y ago
> I spoke with a rehab specialist and he mentioned that since cannabis is oil based, there is no physical withdrawal symptoms as there are with other opioid products. Cannabis is not an opioid, and I don't think there is any indication that being oil-based has any impact on whether a substance has withdrawal symptoms. Also, while the substances of interest in cannabis may be in oils naturally and in the easiest extractions, they aren’t actually “oil-based”, anyway. So, whether it came from a rehab specialist or not, this seems to be multilayered misinformation.

metadat 3y ago

Abruptly stopping after prolonged heavy use can wreak havoc on the person's sleep patterns. Seems like a notable withdrawal symptom of you ask me.

CodeWriter23 3y ago
"rehab specialist" typically means someone who was previously a client of a treatment center, perhaps with or perhaps without a certificate in counseling. Source: my observations routinely interacting with numerous clients and employees (never a client nor employee myself) of more than a few treatment centers. An Addictionologist is an M.D. with a specialty in addiction who can speak to the matter on a scientific basis.
conkeisterdoor 3y ago
Indeed, and so can smoking shortly before bed. Regular daily use can also suppress your ability to dream (or at least your ability to remember those dreams). I've gone through periods where I smoke a relatively small amount of flower on a daily basis for months at a time, and then stop cold turkey, over a dozen or so times in my life. One thing I really enjoy about stopping cold turkey to take a tolerance break is that my dreams become profoundly vivid during the first week or so of withdrawal. I can often remember dreams vividly as if they occurred in waking life, for as long as two days after the night I dreamt, and with enough clarity to write them out in detail. I usually look forward to the experience. Maybe I'm just a weirdo, but I actually enjoy the "come down" from individual smoke "sessions", and the "reset" I experience when stopping cold turkey. It feels refreshing in a way, not really sure how to describe it.
- iceflinger 3y ago
  In my experience with this I call it "addicted to being sober"
ribosometronome 3y ago
For sure. Head over to /r/leaves and you'll see others complaining about pretty gnarly symptoms when they quit. Cold sweats, loss of appetite, nausea, irritability, etc.
petsfed 3y ago
I know of plenty of people who have to fall asleep with the TV on, and if they turn off the TV before attempting to sleep, its massively disruptive to their sleep patterns. I doubt anyone would argue that that's indicative of a physical addiction to the television, even as there are obviously "withdrawal" symptoms. Thus the grandparent's distinction between physical and psychological addiction.
coffeebeqn 3y ago
Doesn’t help That it’s very often taken to self medicate for insomnia. Underlying cause is still there after you quit

omginternets 3y ago

Forgive my ignorance, but I’ve never been clear on the distinction between “psychologically addictive” and “physiologically addictive”. Surely anything that produces a measurable dependency and withdrawal is just addictive? This distinction seems rooted in mind-body dualism, further driving my skepticism.

Sahbak 3y ago
You can and will die if you quit cold turkey from certain drugs. That is the difference.
- lbourdages 3y ago
  Like alcohol. Heroin, however, will not kill you, but I doubt anyone argues that it is not addictive.
- arp242 3y ago
  I don't think anyone has ever died because they stopped smoking tobacco. Is tobacco not "physically addictive"? If it's not, this only underscores the point that physically/psychologically addictive distinction is not all that useful. And if it is, that only underscores your explanation isn't a very good explanation of the differences.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
- omginternets 3y ago
  I don’t think that is the difference, since a fair few drugs we universally agree are addictive don’t do that.
  - shrimpx 3y ago
    It's not that you will die but your body will react adversely. Like with alcohol if you quit cold turkey you can get tremors and seizures. Even with caffeine you get brain fog and hardcore headaches. Basically with hard chemical dependence there will be some kind of adverse body reaction. With marijuana that doesn't exist or is so vanishingly small that you don't feel anything.

bigbillheck 3y ago

What's that 'other' doing there?

HDThoreaun 3y ago

Stopping after smoking a lot can lead to trouble sleeping and nightmares. Certainly feels like a withdrawal when I wake up in a cold sweat.

gvedem 3y ago
yep. this is part of the skepticism mentioned in the article--I have anxiety, depression, hot/cold flashes, appetite loss, sleep issues, and disgusting night sweats for a few days after I stop heavy use, but am often told it's all in my head. the reality is that our own cannabinoids do all kinds of things for our homeostasis that are not well understood. so asserting categorically that there is no physical withdrawal when you stop flooding your body with external cannabinoids is naive.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

petsfed 3y ago

I think this distinction really confuses the issue because the actual physiological changes that can make quitting cold turkey actually fatal for certain drugs at certain intensities can appear to be on a continuum if you're not looking at actual cells and organs. I think a lot of what we understand as "psychological" addictions to drugs are just drugs where the addictive changes are limited to higher functioning portions of the brain. And our obsession with mind-body duality means we understand those differently.

JPws_Prntr_Fngr 3y ago

> cannabis > other opioid products Not even close > This is due to taking weeks to get cannabis out of your system. I doubt it. It's not psychoactive weeks later. I agree with the "psychologically addictive" vs "physically" though. (I think it's even simpler than that though - you're just addicted to the quick dopamine surge, same as another round of Counter Strike, sex, cupcake, whatever)

dragonwriter 3y ago

> I spoke with a rehab specialist and he mentioned that since cannabis is oil based, there is no physical withdrawal symptoms as there are with other opioid products. Cannabis is not an opioid, and I don't think there is any indication that being oil-based has any impact on whether a substance has withdrawal symptoms. Also, while the substances of interest in cannabis may be in oils naturally and in the easiest extractions, they aren’t actually “oil-based”, anyway. So, whether it came from a rehab specialist or not, this seems to be multilayered misinformation.