How Marijuana Addiction Affects You
Marijuana is addictive, officially and unofficially. Officially, highly regarded medical manuals now include “marijuana use disorder” in which a user might become mentally and physically dependent upon marijuana to function. More importantly, there are behavioral signs which create a loss of control when using marijuana, inability to properly function under the influence of marijuana, and generally feeling as though life becomes unmanageable as soon as marijuana is used.
Those who become addicted to marijuana cannot use marijuana recreationally. Once they have marijuana and the active ingredients in their system, they are unable to continue functioning normally. They will keep consuming marijuana in higher and higher quantities until their life becomes somehow unmanageable, time and time again.
Though marijuana addiction is not considered fatal as it might be compared to opioid addiction which is known for fatal overdose, it can still greatly impair the quality of someone’s life. Marijuana addiction includes the symptoms of withdrawal which make quitting the substance hard to do. It can also cause many physical symptoms of addiction like lung and brain damage.
Marijuana Use
Most people who develop marijuana use disorder start developing their addiction at young ages. Marijuana has been proven to halt critical cognitive development, permanently putting the brain at a functional disadvantage.
Marijuana use disorder is not as rare as it once was. While one of every couple of hundred marijuana users might have been prone to developing a problem some time ago, today the statistics indicate that about one out of every nine marijuana users will develop symptoms which would meet the criteria for marijuana use disorder.
Focus on medical marijuana movements have created a subculture of botany engineers who specifically work on making highly potent strains of marijuana available in many forms from candy to pastries and beyond.
Consequently, the addition users are developing to marijuana are significantly greater. Both mentally and physically, users become entirely reliant on the presence of marijuana in their system.
Recovering from marijuana addiction takes time and support. At Lakehouse Recovery Center, our private residential treatment programs offer the privacy and luxury comfort clients need to heal mind, body, and spirit. Providing recovery and non-recovery focused therapies, clients learn how to have fun again without the use of mind-altering substances. For more information, call us today at 877.762.3707.