Individuals addicted to marijuana or who have been abusing the drug for long periods of time may experience cravings and other withdrawal symptoms when trying to quit. These withdrawal symptoms may include difficulty sleeping, irritability, anxiety and an increase in any feelings of aggression.

Treatment

There is no medication that is used to treat Marijuana addiction. When a person is experiencing withdrawal from marijuana they will usually experience mood swings, insomnia, agitation, aggressiveness, as well as, a craving for the drug. Medication can be prescribed to reduce these symptoms, but rest and talk therapy is usually the best treatment. After about 3 to 5 days the actual cravings for the Marijuana will diminish, although the person will still experience thoughts about using the Marijuana. Generally speaking, a person should enroll themselves in an outpatient program to assist them in developing more effective coping skills rather than turning to marijuana use. If the individual continues to return to the use of marijuana or other drugs, they should seek admission to an inpatient addiction program.

Research has shown that infants exposed to marijuana in uterus display altered responses to visual stimuli and increased tremulousness, which may indicate problems with neurological development. Other studies have shown that during infancy and preschool years, marijuana-exposed children have more behavioral problems than non-exposed children. Research also shows that marijuana-exposed children perform visual perception, sustained attention, language comprehension, and memory tasks more poorly when compared with unexposed children.

Acute (present during intoxication)

• Impairs short-term memory.
• Impairs attention, judgment, and other cognitive functions.
• Impairs coordination, balance, and reaction time.
• Increases heart rate.

Persistent (lasting longer than intoxication, but may not be permanent)

• Impairs memory.
• Impairs learning skills.
• Increases risk of chronic cough, bronchitis, and emphysema.
• Long-term (cumulative, potentially permanent effects of chronic abuse)
• Can lead to addiction.
• Increases risk of cancer of the head, neck, and lungs.

Because marijuana contains irritants and carcinogens, it promotes cancer of the lungs and other parts of the respiratory tract. Marijuana also produces high levels of an enzyme that converts some hydrocarbons into their carcinogenic form. These levels may accelerate the changes that ultimately produce malignant cells. Additionally, marijuana users typically inhale more deeply and hold their breath longer than tobacco smokers, increasing the lungs exposure to carcinogenic smoke.

Users who smoke marijuana regularly may experience the same respiratory problems as tobacco smokers, including daily cough and phlegm, symptoms of chronic bronchitis, and frequent chest colds. Continued marijuana use can result in abnormal functioning of lung tissue injured or destroyed by marijuana smoke.

Within a few minutes after smoking marijuana, the user's heart begins to beat more rapidly and may increase by 20 to 50 beats per minute or double. Results of a study released in 2001 indicate that a person's risk of heart attack within the 1st hour of smoking marijuana is four times the usual risk.

Marijuana use is associated with numerous detrimental health effects, including frequent respiratory infections, increased heart rate, impaired memory and learning, anxiety, and panic attacks.

Effects on the Brain

Marijuana's effects begin as soon as the drug enters the brain and can last from 1 to 3 hours. As THC enters the brain, it causes the user to feel high by stimulating brain cells to release the chemical dopamine. When the euphoria passes, the user may feel sleepy or depressed and may also get feelings of panic, anxiety, paranoia or distrust.

Marijuana can cause short-term memory damage because of how THC alters the way information is processed by the hippocampus. THC disrupts coordination and balance by binding to parts of the brain that regulates balance, coordination of movement, posture, and reaction time.

Street terms for marijuana: grass, pot, weed, bud, Mary Jane, dope, indo, hydro.

Marijuana is a mixture of the dried, shredded leaves, seeds, stems, and flowers of the hemp plant, cannabis sativa. It is typically smoked in joints (hand-rolled cigarettes), blunts (cigars), pipes, or bongs (water pipes). The active ingredient in marijuana is THC, which is responsible for the potency and effects of marijuana. Over the past two decades, THC levels of marijuana in the United States have increased.

Commercial-grade marijuana contains parts of the marijuana plant such as stems and seeds that are not of high quality. "Sinsemilla", higher potency marijuana, contains only the leaves and buds of the cannabis plant, where THC is most concentrated.