While marijuana is not chemically addictive, it can become a behavioral addiction that can seriously interfere with daily life, responsibilities, and productivity. Weed addiction is often symptomatic of other issues.
The drug, like any other drug, is used as an escape and coping mechanism, so a developed dependency may be indicative of other, deeply rooted problems. Most importantly, the pleasure and ease of escape from one’s problems with marijuana can lead to chemically more dangerous additions, like drug and alcohol dependencies. These more serious substance abuse issues are much harder to shake, and much more harmful — indeed, 47,000 Canadian deaths are to linked to substance abuse annually.
The First Step: Recognition
Recognizing and acknowledging a dependence to marijuana is the first step to overcoming it. Some signs of weed dependency include: changes in eating and sleeping habits, increased distractedness, and short term memory loss. Spotting someone while high may mean they have bloodshot eyes, seem dazed or have distorted perception.
Like all drug addiction, changes in lifestyle, friends, or character could mean that someone is abusing a substance. It is especially important to keep an eye on adolescents, as young people between the ages of 15- 24 are more likely to experience mental illness, or substance abuse disorders, than any other group.
The Second Step: Confrontation
If someone you know is abusing marijuana, confront them. Expressing how the use of the drug is changing them or affecting some aspects of their life may convince them that it would be in their best interest to stop.
Having someone you care about express concern can make an issue that may have been being avoided or selectively disregarded more real. Don’t underestimate the power of the expression of love when it comes to the people you care about.
The Third Step: Finding the Best Rehab
If appealing directly to the person suffering a weed substance abuse problem doesn’t work, it may mean that there are deeper problems at hand that need solving. More than 15% of people with a substance abuse issue also suffer from mental illness, and should depression or anxiety be the culprit in an addict’s case, private rehab facilities have more than adequate mental health care.
Dealing with the reason for the use of the coping mechanism in the first place treats the cause — not just the symptoms — of marijuana abuse. Also, the best rehab facilities offer a chance for addicts to compartmentalize their issues and figure out what is actually going on.
Weed addiction treatment must first and foremost address the reason for the addiction. Removal from the direct environment in which a person became addicted by finding the best rehab facility could be the answer to overcoming both the addition, and the lifestyle.