why post if you dont want to read the thread? I dont trust you. There are links to scientific studies in this thread done on cannabis and physical addiction and withdrawl that verify the presence of both. You post just came at the end of many posts from people who all claim to have experienced both addiction and physical withdrawl, on top of the links to studies. Seems sort of silly.

The end of your post comes off as extremely arrogant as well. If you cant at least have some compassion for someone when they are asking for help in a thread and offer something constuctive then just dont post at all.

First off you are wrong. Second off I hope no one trusts you.

I personally had full on night sweats for 3 day's from marijuana withdrawal. I didn't sleep more than 4 hours a night for over 10 day's.

Don't get me wrong. I love pot and I think it should be legal. But I don't think we need to peddle your BS propaganda any more than we need to peddle refer madness.

Smoke pot, but do it responsible. Treat it with the same respect you would any other drug. To think otherwise is flat out backwards thinking.

Honestly, you need to quit parroting what others have told you and start questioning shit yourself.

I openly challenge you right now to wake up tomorrow and not touch weed again for 30 day's. I want to you to keep an open dialog journal for all to see. I suspect you will be quite enlightened at how addicted you actually are. Can you quit? probably so. Will it be easy? Probably not.

Peace.

I just recently quit smoking marijuana for 4 months straight. I have been smoking for 8 years steadily as well as heavily. Let me give my subjective perspective on this subject. When I quit smoking I had ABSOLUTELY NO withdrawals or other problems that came as a result of stopping. Mentally, it was an easy thing to deal with. Cannabinoids are present in our bodies for a reason, and that is to regulate our bodies systems and bring them into homeostasis. We produce these compounds (Endocannabinoids), by in-taking essential fatty acids (Omegas 3,6,& 9). Many people today who eat westernized diets, have unbalanced levels of Omega fatty acids. This is one of the main reasons that the Phytocannabinoids (Cannabis Resins) are being used in supplementing millions of peoples endogenous Cannabinoid production.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7Qv8wmAlpc - Watch all 5 parts to become familiar with what Cannabis ACTUALLY does.

Quitting is rediculously easy with Cannabis, moderation can be diffucult for some, but not all.

Anything can be overused, and used incorrectly.

Smoking Cannabis is NOT and efficient way to deliver Phytoconnabinoids to our bodies. Eating, topically, and vaporizing are better choices.

I have just recently began smoking/eating Cannabis again, and now have a greater respect for what the plant is capable of.

Some people NEED copious amounts of Cannabis to regulate their systems, others don't need any. Some like me need a moderate amount. The simple facts that are indisputable are that Cannabis has EXTREMELY LOW toxicity, as well as having no PHYSICAL withdrawals.

If you are having willpower, or mental issues with quitting, you have to keep focus on your goal, and like was mentioned above, replace it with something different (Prefferably not another drug unless its Aya, Peyote, Iboga, etc.)

Peace, hope you achieve your goals.

I am a vegetarian and I have a great intake of good fats. Yes I still experienced very defined withdrawal symptoms from pot. Yes walking away and not using again was easy...It's not a huge dopamine based drug like say cocaine...however the withdrawal symptoms were undeniable. My wife experienced similar. Quiting mairjuana is about like quitting coffee. Coffee is hard because you need that boost in the morning. Marijuana is hard because you need the shut down at night....for me at least.

I don't believe everybody is the same and I also believe age plays a huge role in it. The older you are the slower your body rebounds. I doubt seriously I would have noticed withdrawals when I was 18-25. Now that I'm close to 40, you bet I notice them.

I'm not trying to suggest that everyone will have them...it is a drug after all and we all responde differently to them. I'm just saying it's beyond time to start being real about the fact that marijuana is a DRUG...just like cocaine...just like DMT...just like alcohol. It can be, and is, addictive for a lot of people. Yes many people use it responsible...just like alcohol. I also know a few people that can responsible use cocaine...but they have to limit to the rare occasion.

You're right, cos it hits serotonin, vasopressin, noradrenaline, deoxyribonucleic acid, keratin, the list goes on.

At least cocaine is in your face about being two faced.

Dependency runs through our blood, and only fresh air will remove it.

And I must agree about the increased withdrawal symptoms with age. A combination of increased dependency over time aka neural adaptations to a continuous ganja presence and a weakening body that is losing its plasticity.

"The simple facts that are indisputable are that Cannabis has EXTREMELY LOW toxicity, as well as having no PHYSICAL withdrawals. "

Bullshit..where are these indisputable facts then? All the studies I can find seem to point to the fact that there are physical withdrawls..and I experienced them myself..as well as many others. So why are you saying it is "indisputable"? I agree cannabis is a benign substance that has rediculousily low toxicity and that it is a benifical herb with many medical uses and I find my use of it medicinal..but that does not mean that the idea of cannabis withdrawls are indisputable.

Can peopel please just come here without all this uninformed bias? Cant we just smoke weed and enjoy it while at the samne time being real about it? Noone is saying cannabis is bad or not to do it..but to think that there cant be any negative side effects like physical withdrawl is naive at best.

I smoked an ounce a week from the time I was 19-25 and I got shakes, could not eat, sleep and was irritable and anxious for the first week that I quit. The idea of cannabis rehab is sort of rediculous at the same time becasue cannabis is easy to stop smoking..the withdrawl is there but it is mild in comparison to other things and it does not run the body down in the same way heroin or cocaine etc will..In reality I think moderate consumption of cannabis is a good thing and very healthy..for me moderate means like once a week maybe more on occasions..sometimes less than that.

For the unbelievers perhaps it would do you well to spend a little time at this forum....unless of course you think all these people are just making it up...

http://www.forummatters....bbc09038638f3b97b00c75f


Peace.

I am speaking from my own experience here. I have smoked heavily for 8 years, and when I quit I had no physical withdrawals. I will restate my point by saying that it may be possible for someone to have withdrawals, but in my case they were non-existant. Having smoked nearly everyday heavily for 8 years and then stopping cold turkey, I experienced no withdrawals or discomfort.

I think someone said it earlier in the post. Mind over Matter

Fractal - I have to ask why you say "Bullshit." I have no reason to spread disinformation or lie here. I was simply stating my experience and what I know about the subject. Uninformed bias is not where I am coming from, I have much experience on the subject, I had NO WITHDRAWALS.......for me to state that Cannabis ( Heavy Use, Years+ ) has no withdrawals is stating a fact in my experience. I understand you are reassured by "studies" or "experiments", but in my experience, they should generally be taken with a grain of salt.

I know tons of people who have quit heavy Cannabis smoking, and not one has ever told me about or shown signs of having withdrawals. Studies < Experience

In regards to this whole physical addiction debate :

Substances affect everyone differently.

"The simple facts that are indisputable are that Cannabis has EXTREMELY LOW toxicity, as well as having no PHYSICAL withdrawals. "

Really? you are stating your experience? Since when is your personal experience indisputable evidence of anything? ..I mean, come on...dont come back to me asking why I said it was bullshit with some explaination that is not really relevant to what you said. I still say that your quote above is a bunch of crap. First you say something is indisputable, then when I call bullshit you come back in defence saying that you are just stating your opinion. The FACT is that your opinion is not supported by scientific studies at all so I dont get what about your opinion is indisputable?

It is fine if you are saying that that is your personal experience..that is far from something being indisputable though.

It can be. It's not a lie that the experience occured. We may gleam from that what we will.

I really don't see how scientific studies prove much of anything. I'm actually pretty amused by how much faith you have in them, and how aggressively defensive you get towards people who feel differently about them than you. You're not the only one though. I'd be interested in hearing your reasoning for why you trust them so much.

I don't really want to get into the whole withdrawal debate, but from personal experience, there sure was a pretty unpleasant withdrawal. I was a heavy toker for years, couldn't go a day without hitting the bong, but I think if you smoke it regularly for long enough, your body will become accustomed to it. My withdrawal symptoms included insomnia, loss of appetite, irritability, and being much more emotional than when I did toke. I would cry over something stupid, whereas before I hardly shed a tear unless it was something really deeply emotional.

Cannabis does affect everyone differently, but I think those who say they have no withdrawal symptoms whatsoever after years of heavy use might simply be fooling themselves to some degree. I used to be the same, I used to have the utmost love and veneration for Cannabis. But once faced with the reality of it, it really isn't as harmless as a lot of people claim, if you abuse it the way I did.

I have used THC basically every day (and often all day) for 10 years, and then for the last 3-4 years it has been changing from every day, to weekends-only. Now im currently on the 3rd week of a month break I set myself to follow (to test my own will power, to save some money, to clear the mind from the 'fog', to gain some more energy in daily life and to improve my sleep patterns). The first days of this break have been pretty hard, as polytrip said before the mind works its tricks to justify using again, so I just had to toughen up my will and not do it. Its much easier to take a break if you go travelling somewhere, change environment, keep active, but if your whole routine is exactly the same and you have some good stuff laying around, it makes it more of a challenge. I noticed some physical changes in appetite during the first days. The fact that I do regular exercise, eat very healthy and keep myself busy definitely helps a lot, and I can definitely do this, but I understand that for some people it may be harder, both due to their psychological aspects and due to their context and general way of dealing with the interruption of use, but as well because of possible differences in metabolism/biological aspects.

Im no expert, but from what Ive been reading, it seems the whole cannabis addiction theme is not as simple partly because of the lipid-soluble aspect of THC. The fact it stores in fat and releases slowly makes the withdrawal symptoms not be as pronounced as with other drugs, but there seem to be changes in neurotransmitters and different aspects of metabolism that point out to more than just psychological aspects. There are some publications regarding it. If it was only psychological, why is it there in rats too?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21559804

If some people here feel they have no withdrawal symptoms or addiction and can easily quit/take breaks, thats great for you! but notice that there is enough data that this is not the same for all others so dont be so quick to generalize and call it 'psychological' when data points out that its more than just psychological (at least thats what my non-expert research shows, but please feel free to point out otherwise )

Now with that being said, I would ask all of those present here to keep the discussion civil and respectful. Regardless which opinion one has, we need to consider each other's opinion and if we dont agree, we need to calmly reason out why so. Also, one liner posts about how "cannabis is (or isnt) addictive because I feel so" do not really add to the discussion, so if you want to participate, please make sure to at least extend your arguments and reason why you think one thing or another (or bring up some scientific facts regarding it if possible).

oh, comon, just quit the fkn weed if you don't like it. There is no point in discussing this, imo. Either you dislike your addiction to an unbearable degree, so you can not stand smolking anylonger OR you accept the things how they are.

If theres no point in discussing this, why are you posting here in the first place?

This is an ongoing discussion about a topic plenty of people here find very interesting (taken by the fact its a 3 page thread). Also the fact that the OP specifically asks for other's opinions make it very valid that people post their own opinions on it because it can help someone directly with something that is bothering them.

Also, things arent so black and white as you post. Its not like "smoke all day or dont smoke at all", like all different drugs, depending on how you use it can be productive and constructive, or it can be a negative aspect in one's life. If you feel like contributing to the discussion, please go ahead. If you dont like the discussion, feel free to ignore it. As long as this keeps being respectful and its about a substance that interests us, it has all the relevance in the world to be here

The endless debate.
Someone is seriously seeking advice to cope with addiction and get the response that this addiction does not exist, and when people point out that cannabis addiction DOES exist and is even backed with science, these people are being accused of imposing their beliefs onto others .

Addiction is like many things, a thing for wich vulnerability varies in each person. Some people are capable of quitting opiates after having used them for quite some time, without very dramatic withdrawal symptoms while others can have heavy withdrawal symptoms after having used only for a few months. No-one would deny that opiates are addictive though.
The fact that a single person somewhere has smoked a lot and claims not to have had withdrawal does proof as much that cannabis isn't addictive as the fact that my grandpa has smoked tobacco for more than 70 years and didn't get cancer proves that tobacco doesn't cause cancer.

Cannabis has powerfull effects on the brain and the brain clearly shows withdrawals, manifesting in mostly psychological symptoms but also some slight physical withdrawal symptoms to some. Some symptoms are somewhere in between physical and psychological, like insomnia.

Toxicity has nothing to do with it. Gambling aint toxic either, yet some loose everything they have, including friends and family, because of it.

This ain't the republican party's website: we don't spread anti-cannabis propaganda, we just don't like to stick our heads in the sand.

I have worked with people who have been addicted both physically and psychologically to cannabis and I agree with Polytrips last post completely.

It seems to be more common with the stronger weeds we have these days and also grabs those who start at a younger age.Many can smoke this in a controlled fashion without problems but some do get into pretty big trouble with it.

Here in the UK drug treatment services are finding that the prevalence of this is definitely growing.

Whilst easier to kick than opiates, it can still leave one feeling pretty off for up to 3 weeks....but the re-emergence of incredibly vivid dreaming is a definite plus of coming off it.

Here at the Nexus we're pretty measured in our outlooks but I sometimes despair a little when some refuse to accept hard verifiable data about certain issues (RIMAs and benzos springs to mind here, pertaining to a thread that ran a few days ago).

I like your thinking endless, altough I don't think anyone who really wants to quit his addiction can be told otherwise. The other side of the coin: Someone who wants to be victim of his addiction will stay with it and can not be told otherwise.

The only way breaking addiction is: To JUST stop taking the drug. I don't know what part of that is unclear! If he needs advice to cope the sideeffects, well.. i don't think there is a way besides other medication or supplements! Feel free to ask for clarification..

I dont see how what you say is related with either the original post or the ongoing discussion. The first post wasnt about quitting or not quitting, was about someone who wants to control his use without actually stopping, since he had trouble because he used to revert to all-day use.

Then the discussion went about 'is there marijuana addiction or not?', plus personal testimonials regarding one's experience with quitting or controlling use. Nobody here is trying to convince others to quit when they dont want, and nobody is saying people who want to quit should keep using.

But I agree, if that was the case, to break addicton one needs to stop using it instead of just talking about it! But of course, there are many techniques to help breaking because of withdrawal symptoms and the tendency to fall back into use.

Marijuana debate seems to polarize some people into "this is a non toxic medicine!", which is also part of the truth, but this doesnt mean there arent issues with it depending on the person using and how one is using. Addiction is certainly one of the issues that seems to come up, which is clearly different than, say, opiates addicton, as corpus callosum said, but its there in its own way, as scientific data as well as personal experiences point.. I think it nice that Nexians share their perspective because very often the level of arguments here and personal experience are much more elaborated than elsewhere, so its good that people can get feedback on these topics with a quality of posting that is rarely seen elsewhere.