What my first post was getting at is that all drugs cause physical dependence one way or the other. Drugs affect systems that have varying importance for physical regulation, hence the various relative difficulties of withdrawal.
Any drug mimics the function of the normally occurring endogenous chemical, in marijuana’s case so-called endogenous cannabinoids (although their structure is not like cannabinoids, but is more akin to the “synthetic THC” one hears about).
All physiological systems have some form of feedback to maintain a homeostasis. Psychoactive drugs provide an artificial increase neuronal activity when introduced in to the system at higher concentrations than are normally active in the brain at the synaptic cleft - this the psychological effect, the high.
In response to the high level of the mimic and activity that it activates, the body responds by down-regulating the response in a number of ways, ultimately, with continued use, at a functional genomic or epigenetic level.
The body becomes accustomed to the excess of the foreign drug which serves the role of the natural compounds. As described above, the body down regulates various aspects of the normal activity, e.g. decreases number of receptors expressed, decreases production of the natural compound in the brain that the drug is mimicking, etc...
When the drug is then not administered, withdrawal occurs. The body has modified itself in expectation of the drug, and when not available, the body must re-compensate and re-regulate expression of appropriate genes back to the natural level.
That is the cause of the “jones”, the craving for the drug, the withdrawal and the period of withdrawal until addiction is over.
Below are some references to articles about THC addiction, the third being a molecular study relating to the epigenetic changes associated with addiction that use of THC engenders.
Budney AJ, Hughes JR. The cannabis withdrawal syndrome. Curr Opin Psychiatry. 2006;19(3):233-238. doi:10.1097/01.yco.0000218592.00689.e5.
Gorelick DA, Levin KH, Copersino ML, et al. Diagnostic Criteria for Cannabis Withdrawal Syndrome. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2012;123(1-3):141-147. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2011.11.007.
Rotter A, Bayerlein K, Hansbauer M, et al. CB1 and CB2 receptor expression and promoter methylation in patients with cannabis dependence. Eur Addict Res. 2013;19(1):13-20. doi:10.1159/000338642.
This is a pretty low standard, which even would include sugar.
Gorelick DA, Levin KH, Copersino ML, et al. Diagnostic Criteria for Cannabis Withdrawal Syndrome. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2012;123(1-3):141-147. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2011.11.007.
...This study has several limitations. Data were obtained by retrospective self-report with no external corroboration, which is true of most studies of cannabis withdrawal.
End of discussion.
I smoked almost 15 years hourly
I never experienced any of that and I quit iced turkey many times for many reasons
Access to weed being the main one
Have you ever smoked any
If so how’d it feel to you?
I’m not in favor of full rec fwiw
Medical does restrict it ...I know this from a lot of experience
I deal with people who are potheads and also with alcoholics and have hired opiate afflicts ignorantly
Potheads....chronics.....can be lazy and procrastinate and I wouldn’t want them manitowoc draglines.....no worse for stealing ....my straw box is a just smoker and is great and loyal
Opiate addicts will steal and nod out.... a non starter
Drunks are ok if they just drink and night and you never need them then. Dealing with them when they are drunk is a challenge at best and an infuriating dangerous tar pit at worse. Obviously no driving or equipment but theft is not any higher risk
Personal relationships I prefer to avoid all three but the weed head is least harmful relatively speaking
Sometimes I miss herb
Where’s his royal Osness?
I know he’ll be here soon enough to scold we neer do wells
I should add that it's not just drugs. Many people complain of sex addiction, body modification addiction, gambling addiction, video game addiction, food addiction, exercise addiction, etc.
The problem is the addictive personality, not the external source of the addiction.
Use is not the problem. It's the abuse that causes problems.
“What my first post was getting at is that all drugs cause physical dependence one way or the other.”
Shame you didn’t just post this to start this but then you couldn’t have been such a snarky ass, right?
But with that statement I will agree. For 23 years I was prescribed a myriad of anti-depressants. The anti-depressants all worked for a period of time before they would crap out after a year or 2 & then I would be put on another one. It would follow the same pattern but the time the medicine would work would decrease. Then I was on combinations of anti-depressants with prozac always being one of the medicines. Over those 25 years I would have periods of time where I was doing ok only to be followed with worsening depression. After doctors ran out of anti-depressants to try they started me on atypical antipsychotics. The cycle work/not work accelerated on those. By the end of 2014 I was close to going into a facility & not coming home for a very long time.
In the middle of all that I had some doctors do some seriously terrible things to me. One took me off prozac cold turkey & assured me I would be fine. I got to experience the “joy” of anti-depressant withdrawal. It was like someone was taking a warm wash cloth & rubbing my brain...fun fun stuff. Curling up on a couch holding your head begging for this terrible sensation to stop...”fun” times indeed.
January 2015 a friend asked me if I had considered using cannabis as medicine. Prior to that I did not use cannabis at all save for a few times in my late teens. It just wasn’t for me. I did some research & found a lot of anecdotal evidence that some folks were being helped, their symptoms would go away if they used cannabis to treat it.
At age 54 I was desperate for something that would keep me out of the crazy farm. My wife was hardcore anti-cannabis but she agreed it was worth a shot because she was every bit as miserable as I was because living with someone who has mental illness is a hard thing. My wife was hardcore anti-cannabis but she agreed it was worth a shot because she was every bit as miserable as I was because living with someone who has mental illness is a hard thing.
In February 2015 I started using cannabis via homemade oatmeal cookies in very small amounts. Thanks be to God in Heaven, I got better. The damningly destructive depression is thankfully gone while I use cannabis. I am also free of the easy side effects of anti-depressants & the atypical antipsychotics which were numerous & unpleasant. I lost 70 pounds. I sleep 6+ hours a night 5 nights out of 7 vs the 2-3 prior to using cannabis. My energy level increased significantly. I love to laugh again. My wife is no longer living on eggshells because her husband no doesn’t freak out over absolutely nothing anymore.
Will cannabis follow the same cycle as the anti-depressants did? Who knows? It’s possible. I doubt it will though because what I am experiencing now is nothing at all like when I was taking the anti-depressants. My wife & I haven’t noticed any negative side effects up to this point.
Hope you have a nice weekend. Peace :)