Marijuana Addiction

Marijuana Addiction

How to Help Someone with a Marijuana Addiction

You’re likely familiar with marijuana (also commonly known as pot or weed). Marijuana comes from cannabis plants that produce THC. Though marijuana is safely used for both recreational and medicinal purposes. However, given its addictive properties, it’s also easy to become dependent on, especially if someone is predisposed to addictive behaviors. If you think someone in your life may be struggling with marijuana addiction, here are the tips you need to know to help them get support.

What is Marijuana Addiction?

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, marijuana is the most commonly used addictive drug after alcohol and tobacco. People spoke, vape, and marijuana to get a high from it. Though it’s possible to use marijuana for medical and recreational purposes safely, sometimes people become addicted to the THC in marijuana. Studies show that one in every 11 marijuana users will become addicted to the drug.

Marijuana use transitions from a safe, recreational substance to an addiction when it becomes difficult for someone to cope without the drug or stop using it for any length of time.

What are the Signs of Marijuana Addiction?

Marijuana use can produce many long and short term effects. In the short term, people who are using marijuana may experience changes in mood, difficulty thinking, impared memory, and hallucinations. Longer term, people may experience longer-lasting brain development challenges, especially if they began using marijuana consistently as a teenager.

Marijuana use can sometimes lead to addiction. The National Institute on Drug Abuse defines addiction as the medical condition in which the person is unable to stop using even though it's causing health and social problems in their life. If you think someone in your life may be using marijuana and struggling with addiction, here are a few things you may notice:

• Irritability
• Anxiety
• Inconsistent performance at work or school
• Difficulty maintaining relationships
• The need to use marijuana in order to relax or in order to feel comfortable in social situations

If someone is addicted to marijuana, they’ll experience withdrawal symptoms such as tremors, nausea, anxiety, and restlessness when they try to stop using for a period of time.

How Can I Help Someone who is Addicted to Marijuana?

In part because marijuana is so widely used, It can be hard to know where to start if you think someone in your life may be addicted. While there are safe ways to use marijuana, it’s important to have open conversations and check-in consistently if you think that someone’s marijana use has transitioned from recreational to substance use. Here are a few tips for having open, honest dialogues and connecting your friends and family to support.

1. Make a plan. It will likely be easier to have a hard conversation if you make a plan for what you want to say and map out when you are going to approach the topic. In conversations like this, it’s important to reiterate for the person that you’re bringing up the topic because you care about them and you’ve noticed a change. You can try “I care about you, so I want to check in on how you’re doing. I’ve noticed that you’ve been using marijuana more consistently lately and I want to make sure you’re okay.”

2. Have an honest, open conversation. These conversations are bound to bring up a lot of big feelings for both of you. So, make sure you’re listening too. Practice active listening by recapping what you’re hearing them share and summarizing what you talked about together. Showing that you’re listening will go a long way to build trust and demonstrate that you care about them.

3. Connect them to a resource. In conversations like this, it can be hard to know how to move forward together. One of the most important things you can do before ending the conversation is help them find a resource. If you think that one-on-one support and coaching would be helpful, DynamiCare Health can help match them with individual support tailored to their needs all on their smartphone.

4. Keep the door open. This conversation likely won’t lead to a path to recovery the first time. It may take some time for you to collaborate to find the right support for the person in your life who is struggling. Try not to get discouraged if things don’t seem to be changing right away. Having consistent open, honest conversations can help gradually point them in the right direction.