Wrong, Ol Dan.
Old wives tales from the 60’s druggies don’t hold up.
Receptors, up-regulation, down-regulation, homeostasis, feed-back, re-uptake, degradatory enzymes, foreign mimic introduced.
Look in to it.
Or just stay stoned. It’s easier that way.
“Heavy Pot Use Can Cause Physical Dependence: Heavy marijuana users who stop cold turkey experience a host of withdrawal symptoms, including irritability, anxiety, and depression, but most symptoms begin to lessen after 10 days or so” - http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/news/20001127/heavy-pot-use-can-cause-physical-dependence
By contrast, alcohol withdrawal can be fatal: “Alcohol withdrawal symptoms can begin as early as two hours after the last drink, persist for weeks, and range from mild anxiety and shakiness to severe complications, such as seizures and delirium tremens (also called DTs). The death rate from DTs — which are characterized by confusion, rapid heartbeat, and fever — is estimated to range from 1% to 5%.” - http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/alcohol-withdrawal-symptoms-treatments
“Receptors, up-regulation, down-regulation, homeostasis, feed-back, re-uptake, degradatory enzymes, foreign mimic introduced.”
I looked it up. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1261530/
Current Federally Approved Medical Marijuana Uses:
“In order to better assess arguments for and against the medical use of marijuana, the scientific evidence for the health benefits of cannabis will be reviewed below. It should be noted that the federally supplied cannabis users have been receiving and using cannabis for 11 to 27 years with clinically demonstrated effectiveness in the treatment of glaucoma, chronic musculoskeletal pain, spasm and nausea, and spasticity of multiple sclerosis [4]. Furthermore, there is no evidence that these patients have suffered any negative side effects from their cannabis use.”
Conclusion:
“While this review is far from complete, it attempts to provide a conceptual overview that supports the endocannabinoid system as being nature’s method of harm reduction. There is a pattern to all the cannabinoid-mediated activities described. Many of the biochemical imbalances that cannabinoids protect against are associated with aging. Aging itself is a system-wide movement towards chemical equilibrium (away from the highly regulated far-from-equilibrium state) and as such is an imbalance from which all living organisms suffer. In contrast, the harmful consequences of cannabis use, however exaggerated they often appear to be, are likely to represent significant potential risk for a minority of the population for whom reduced cannabinoid levels might promote mental stability, fertility or more regulated food consumption.”
Very interesting. Seems cannabis isn’t as bad as prohibitionists have been telling us.
Real physical withdrawal produces real physical symptoms. (See: Alcohol or Drug Withdrawal)
Alcohol or Drug Withdrawal
Withdrawal refers to the physical problems and emotions you experience if you are dependent on a substance (such as alcohol, prescription medicines, or illegal drugs) and then suddenly stop or drastically reduce your intake of the substance.
Symptoms of withdrawal are caused by decreased amounts of alcohol or drugs in the blood or tissues of a person who has grown accustomed to prolonged heavy use and who then suddenly stops. Withdrawal syndrome is a set of symptoms that occur when you decrease or stop drinking or using drugs after using alcohol or drugs for a long time.
Alcohol
Symptoms of alcohol withdrawal may begin from 4 to 12 hours after you cut down or stop drinking, or as long as several days after the last drink, and can last a few days. They can range from mild to life-threatening.
Mild withdrawal symptoms may include:
Intense worry.
Nausea or vomiting.
Shakiness.
Sweating.
Feeling a little tense or edgy.
Severe withdrawal symptoms may include:
Being extremely confused, jumpy, or upset.
Feeling things on your body that are not there.
Seeing or hearing things that are not there.
Severe trembling.
Life-threatening symptoms of withdrawal are called delirium tremens (DTs). Symptoms of DTs include all of the symptoms listed above plus seizures. Untreated DTs can lead to death.
Prescription medicines or illegal drugs
Symptoms of withdrawal from either illegal drugs or prescription medicines depend on the drug or combination of drugs. Common withdrawal symptoms include:
Abdominal pain.
Nausea and vomiting.
Drenching sweats.
Nervousness and shaking.
Seizures.
Death
Now, let's compare the list above to those posted by NobleFree: "irritability, anxiety, and depression"
Hmmm... I don't see abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, sweats, shaking, seizures, DTs or death on that list.
But, since you're the medical genius and I'm just a dumb stoner, perhaps you could point out why those who stop smoking pot cold-turkey don't experience the same physical symptoms as those who are going through withdrawal of alcohol or opiates.