If you’re finding it hard to quit smoking weed, you’re far from alone. Marijuana is a psychoactive and potentially addictive substance that many people struggle to stop using without help. You might be wondering—does that mean you need rehab for weed dependency? While the idea of rehab can sound intimidating at first, understanding what treatment at Puget Sound Recovery looks like can help you decide if it’s the right step for you.

What Is Marijuana?

Marijuana comes from the cannabis plant and contains THC, a psychoactive compound that alters mood, perception, and behavior. Because of its mind-altering effects, marijuana’s legal status varies across the world and even between U.S. states. In North America, it’s commonly used and widely accepted, especially since it’s legalized or decriminalized in many areas. As a result, recreational marijuana use often escapes the stigma associated with other drugs. However, this societal perception can be misleading—many people don’t realize that marijuana can be addictive, much like other substances.

How Many People Use Marijuana?

As noted, there are a great number of people who use marijuana. In 2023, it was estimated that 61.8 million people in the United States used marijuana. This statistic doesn’t account for how many people are chronic users with marijuana dependency, which is an estimated 3 in 10 people. Additionally, people of all ages use weed, particularly young adults. With marijuana vapes a popular entrance to drugs, many teens and young adults try marijuana and can easily get hooked.

Other than inhaling marijuana (like through a vape), it can be smoked, used as a droppable liquid, or eaten (edibles).

Marijuana Nicknames and Street Names

Because they all originate from the same plant, there are many different terms for cannabis products. Additionally, marijuana has various nicknames and street names. In order to understand the terminology, here is a bit of a breakdown:

Cannabis (refers to the whole cannabis sativa plant)
Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC (the psychoactive compound in some parts of cannabis)
Marijuana (contains THC)
Weed (another name for marijuana)
Hemp (a plant in the cannabis family with minimal traces of THC)

Further, here are some street names for marijuana:

Pot
Hash
Grass
Dope
Ganja
Bud
Kush
Blunt
Mary Jane
Doobie

Any of these terms can be interchanged for the psychoactive substance, marijuana. Notably, cannabis-based products (without psychoactive properties) have different rules and regulations around them.

Is Marijuana Addictive?

Yes, marijuana is a substance with addictive properties. Because it alters your brain’s pleasure response, marijuana can be habit-forming. People who regularly use marijuana will increase their tolerance, so they’ll need more to keep feeling the same results. This puts them on the road towards dependency. What seems like harmless weed use can spiral into cannabis use disorder (CUD). At that point, you will struggle to stop using weed on your own. The best way to overcome marijuana addiction is through professional drug rehab.

What Is Marijuana Dependence?

As noted, weed is an addictive substance due to the psychoactive ingredient THC. Being dependent on marijuana is when your brain needs you to keep smoking weed because it’s used to the effects. You have built up a tolerance so your body “requires” weed to function. However, the truth is weed is altering your normal state of functioning. If you quit weed, your brain and body can begin to repair and reset.

Signs Someone Is Dependent on Marijuana

These signs can help you determine whether you or someone you love may be dependent on marijuana.

Cravings for weed
High tolerance
Chronic weed use
Worsening physical health
Using unregulated weed or sourcing it from unsafe channels
Loss of interest in hobbies or events that don’t involve marijuana
Paranoia
Anxiety

Long-Term Risks of Marijuana Use

If you use marijuana long-term, such as chronic marijuana use, you put yourself at risk of particular health issues. For one thing, the longer you use weed the higher your likeliness of developing an addiction. At this point, stopping on your own will be a great challenge. Additionally, some of the other potential dangers you expose yourself to are:

Schizophrenia
Insomnia
Heart disease
Cannabis hyperemesis syndrome
Lung damage
Bronchitis
Stroke

Reach Out For Help With Addiction

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Do I Really Need Rehab for Weed?

It can be easy to downplay the impact weed has on your life. For one thing, you likely know many people who use marijuana, and maybe they use a lot more than you. You might tell yourself your dependency isn’t that bad and you can quit when you’re ready. However, many people underestimate the pull marijuana has on them. Inarguably, marijuana is an addictive substance. One symptom of addiction is believing you can quit on your own but finding you can’t. There’s no shame in needing professional rehab for your marijuana use disorder. It doesn’t indicate a weakness in you. Rather, marijuana is addictive because of the response it creates in your brain and body, which is what keeps you dependent on it. If you have tried to quit unsuccessfully, or want to quit but cannot, it’s time to accept outside help.

What are the Benefits of Quitting Weed?

Marijuana creates pleasurable feelings in your system, which is why it feels good to keep using it. Thus, many people don’t want to quit because they won’t experience the same effects. However, the reality is that weed messes with your natural mental and physiological responses. The longer you take weed, the more likely the effects will come with negative side effects. For example, you may experience poor sleep, anxiety, nightmares, and panic attacks with frequent weed use.

Quitting marijuana has many proven benefits for your mind and body. Once you end marijuana use by detoxing the substance from your system, your body can begin to reset. Instead of altering your moods and behaviors, you will return to a natural state where you can experience these benefits.

Physical Benefits of Quitting Weed

You may experience any or all of these physical improvements after quitting weed:

Increased energy levels
Quality sleep
Natural hunger cycles
Less fatigue
Enhanced physical stamina
Reduced risk of certain health issues
Greater physical wellness

Mental and Emotional Benefits of Quitting Weed

Additionally, you can enjoy these mental and emotional improvements in your life once you are marijuana-free:

Normal brain functioning
Improved memory
Natural highs and lows
Wider range of emotions
Increased ability to enjoy pleasure
Boosted confidence
Increased creativity
Relief from weed-induced anxiety and paranoia

Tips for Quitting Weed Long-Term

It can be challenging to stop using weed, and not only temporarily but long-term. Trying to quit weed cold turkey is less likely to be effective than if you go through a professional detox center. Thus, we recommend undergoing medical detoxification to rid weed from your system. Afterwards, therapy can help you heal from your addictive patterns and the destruction they caused. Once you are sober and have explored why you turned to weed in the first place, it’s time to independently manage your sobriety.

If you’re wondering how to quit smoking weed, here are a few tips to help you manage your drug-free state. It’s best to implement them after receiving support in medical detox, as you will be in the best frame of health to begin making lasting changes.

Lifestyle Changes

It’s no secret that to make a change in your behaviors, it helps immensely to change temptations. If you truly want to become sober, you should first remove from your life any factors that will hinder your goal. For example, if hanging out with the same people in the same places will put you in environments where weed is used, make a change. You may need to avoid certain marijuana-centric plans. But be honest with the people in your life that you need to make changes due to your sobriety goals. Instead, you can work together to make social plans that work for everyone.

Another example of a lifestyle change is filling your schedule with healthy habits that distract from the desire to smoke. If you would usually wind down after work with a joint, find an alternate plan. Instead, you might join a workout class or find a new hobby.

Avoiding Triggers

As mentioned, you’ll need to avoid people and places that will trigger your desire to use marijuana. And of course, keep yourself away from vape shops, as the temptation will be too strong. While avoiding triggers, it’s wise to replace the desire with a healthy alternative. For instance, if you used to take an edible as a post-dinner snack, why not try baking something instead? Avoiding weed doesn’t mean your life needs to be full of absences and holes. A lot of preventing relapse is about coming up with new rituals.

Setting a Routine

Speaking of rituals, routines go a long way in the process of independent recovery. Having a daily routine provides stability and consistency. Additionally, by penciling in positive and necessary activities, like work, exercise, social time, and hobbies, you leave little room to deviate. As such, many people find that setting a routine helps keep them on-track with their sobriety goals. You may need to experiment a bit when creating a routine. If you’re someone who requires a lot of rest time to recharge, that’s fine! Just monitor whether the rest is serving you or opens up the temptation to fill the space with weed. And if you like lots of busyness, you might need to think outside the box when it comes to hobbies and activities to fill your time.

Marijuana Detox Programs

Going through a marijuana detox program can truly change the path of your addiction. Professional help for marijuana use disorder shows you you can’t do it on your own, and you don’t have to! Since returning to “normal” life after rehab for an addiction can be challenging, our detox program takes a future-focus. Our goal with treatment is to give you the tools and resources you need to independently manage your sobriety. Thus, treatment is a temporary process that provides you with lasting skills. During medical detox for weed, you will safely remove the substance from your body to remove its hold over you. Through therapy and counseling, you will unpack the reasons behind your marijuana addiction. Additionally, you will work on replacing weed with better coping mechanisms. Once you know how to live with your feelings instead of trying to drown them out, you’ll have so much more control over your life.

Recovery Support Groups

One part of our marijuana detox programming is ensuring you have positive channels of support. Once you graduate from treatment, we don’t want you to feel alone. Realistically, you will see challenges and triggers arise when you return you normal life. Although you can always turn to Puget Sound Recovery, we’d like to connect you to peer support. Recovery support groups are peer-led meetings for specific addictions, such as weed dependency. Groups provide you with a network of peers who understand what you’re experiencing as a newly sober person. Weekly meetings help hold you accountable and make an excellent addition to your healthy routine.

Drug Abuse Treatment Near Me

If you recognize your need for marijuana addiction help, that’s an important first step! Although you might have managed your symptoms up until now, you don’t have to be alone any longer. To stop smoking weed, turn to professional treatment for addictions. At Puget Sound Recovery in Washington, we offer comprehensive programming that includes marijuana detox, therapy and counseling, and life skills training.

Don’t worry about paying for rehab for weed, because we can accept most insurance providers! In fact, our admissions team will gladly verify your insurance for you so you understand your estimated costs upfront. There’s nothing holding you back from prioritizing your health. Take the necessary steps of healing at Puget Sound Recovery.

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