IMPORTANT: We don’t agree with the information in this article, but we were asked by a hemp abuse group to publish this. We are allowing this in the spirit of free speech, as everyone has the right to free speech and if we shut down their ability to speak (no matter how wrong they are) we are allowing for our community to be treated the same.
Marijuana, the most commonly used illegal drug in the U.S., is made up of dried parts of the Cannabis sativa hemp plant. The drug is usually smoked as a cigarette (joint) or in a pipe and often smoked in blunts that are cigars emptied of tobacco and refilled with marijuana.
In this piece of information, we will be accessing marijuana addiction facts and advice on people addicted to marijuana and suffering from marijuana dependence.
Marijuana Addiction Facts
- The United States alone pay $50 million annually to fight against Marijuana abuse and Marijuana addiction and this hefty sum includes healthcare costs, lost job wages, traffic accidents, crime, and the associated criminal justice system costs.
- Approximately 0.1 to 0.2 percent of car crashes involved drivers who have been using drugs such as marijuana, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- Child abuse is a major contributing factor in marijuana addiction.
- Marijuana addicts are unable to slow down or discontinue their use of the drug.
- Heavy marijuana use could lead to permanent physical changes to the brain and its functions in the long term.
- Marijuana dependence can lead to poor performance at work or slipping grades at school.
- Anxiety and depression are closely linked with heavy, prolonged use of marijuana.
- Pregnant women who smoke marijuana are at risk of delivering babies with neurological disorders and problems with visual stimuli and attention span.
- In the year 2010, 21.4 percent of high school seniors in the United States alone used marijuana in the past 30 days, while 19.2 percent smoked cigarettes.
- Daily Marijuana use increased among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders from 2009 to 2010 in the United States alone.
Marijuana Addiction Treatment
Most marijuana addiction treatment plans include education, monitoring, social support strengthening, treatment of possible disorders, and referral to specialists prior to any intervention. It is worthwhile to note that supportive therapy is used for managing withdrawal and acute panic reactions and flashbacks during marijuana intoxication. Marijuana withdrawal symptoms are generally mild and do not require any drug therapy.
In order to inhibit marijuana dependence, patients are referred to a comprehensive substance abuse treatment program at a marijuana rehab center. These programs help patients addicted to marijuana stay away from the drug and avoid relapse by focusing on psychiatric evaluations, laboratory testing, group therapy, education, social services, individual counseling, and treatment of any co-morbid psychiatric illness.
In addition to this, marijuana rehab centers help in curbing marijuana addiction by advising on how problems with substance abuse develop the direct and indirect costs of substance abuse, bio-psychosocial triggers for substance use, and effective ways for enhancing coping skills and spiritual issues.
References:
Losken A, Maviglia S, Friedman LS. Marijuana. In: Friedman LS, et al., eds. Source book of substance abuse and addiction. Baltimore, Md.: Williams & Wilkins, 1996:179-87.
Cohen G, Fleming NF, Glatter KA, Haghigi DB, Halberstadt J, McHugh KB, et al. Epidemiology of substance use. In: Friedman LS, et al., eds. Source book of substance abuse and addiction. Baltimore, Md.: Williams & Wilkins, 1996:23-46.
Schuckit MA. Cannabinols. In: Drug and alcohol abuse: a clinical guide to diagnosis and treatment. 3d ed. New York: Plenum Medical, 1989:143-57.
disorder characterized by frequent interruptions in breathing of up to ten seconds or more during sleep, sleep apnea, is associated with many physiological disorders, including fatigue, headaches, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, heart attack, and stroke.
