Marijuana Addiction & Recovery Support Group

Get some brisk exercise, that's always helped me through rough spots.

keep yourself real busy. make plans and keep them. you will have less time to think about if u fill the time u would have been smoking. hang in there!!! try going to marijuana meetings online, they are full of great advise n support!

i would suggest doing sometihng to get ur mind off thsoe thoughts while they are occuring. like running outside while listening to some of ur fav music. or takin a ride. seein a movie. someting active ya know.

personally i like the idea of running with music. i still havnt quit smoking weed but i keep coming back to the thought that its a problem for me. i have been smokin for about 4-5 yrs...and the past year has been A LOT. i feel so confused and cloudy about thoughts..i cant even express myself cuz i dont even know what i feel....i uno sorry i didnt mean to detour to talking about me. but yea id suggest being active and doin sometihn to take ur mind off it.

the truth is hard to handle. check it out (i stole this from an ehealth forum):

I've had these withdrawal symptoms time and time again in quitting pot. Yet, I still find myself going back to it eventually for whatever reason. I believe I'm quite experienced in dealing with these symptoms now, but this next time quitting is going to be really hell... I've been smoking daily for 6 months now, and am probably going to attempt quitting soon again.

Here's some helpful things you can take to alleviate some of the symptoms. Please look these up yourself and research the benefits/risks of each, as some people may have certain health conditions to prevent taking them.


5-HTP - If you're feeling depressed, this helps to give your brain more building blocks for seratonin. It also can help alleviate insomnia.

Melatonin - This hormone can also help you get to sleep (for me the insomnia is the worst part, because the less sleep I get the worse all the other withdrawal symptoms seem). Make sure you don't take it for too long, as your brain may stop making its own melatonin after some length of time.

Kava - This helps to alleviate the anxiety (and boy does it work!). It even has an interesting reverse tolerance curve, so the more you take, the less you need to get the same effect. If you drink daily or have liver problems though, this can also be hard on the liver, so I'd recommend quitting drinking, or not taking it if your liver isn't up to par. (I get mine from nakamalathome.com ) The instant kava is good for portability, and the actual root powder is very effective (but yucky tasting). Gotta have a stomach for this one, or mix the powder with apple juice or something. I highly recommend this, but be careful about the health warnings.


D/L Phenylalanine - Haven't tried this one myself yet, but have read that it helps your brain to replenish dopamine, and norepinephrine in the brain. (Might help, gonna try it this next quitting time)

Theanine - This one also helps with anxiety and can calm your brain if you get rapid thoughts that prevent you from sleeping like I do. It's basically tea extract without the caffiene. "Suntheanine" brand is clinically proven to work. Very safe, highly recommended.

Vitamins!!! - Vitamins C, B2, B12, Zinc, etc... Vitamins also help your body and mind to replenish brain chemicals and have many other benefits.

Cranberry juice - Helps to cleanse your body of toxins.

NAC (N-acetyl Cysteine) - Super antioxidant. Helps to cleanse your body (and lungs!) of toxins. Look for little juice bottles by a company called "function". The ones you want are "Urban Detox
" or "House Call". They both have NAC in them, among other helpful supplements. Plus, if you're sick, the second one also helps with that.

do you smoke cigs? some people make the mistake of quitting both at the same time, therefore associating the cravings with each other and making it extremely hard to quit....

This is a test about posting in groups who haven't joined the group.

http://www.marijuana-anonymous.org... Here's the detox pamphlet from MA

Detoxing from Marijuana
What is Detoxing?
Detoxing is the way in which your body gets rid of the toxins accumulated from years of using. It happens the first few days or weeks after getting clean and/or sober. It is also the very beginning of getting used to dealing with reality and real feelings with no numbing agent.

Can there be physical effects from quitting marijuana?
In spite of numerous years of being told that there are no physiological effects from marijuana addiction, many of our recovering members have had definite withdrawal symptoms. Whether the causes are physical or psychological, the results are physical. Others have just had emotional and mental changes as they stop using their drug of choice. There is no way of telling before quitting who will be physically uncomfortable and who will not. Most members have only minor physical discomfort if any at all. This pamphlet is for those who are having trouble and wonder what's happening to them.

Why do some effects last so long?
Unlike most other drugs, including alcohol, THC (the active chemical in marijuana) is stored in the fat cells and therefore takes longer to fully clear the body than with any other common drug. This means that some parts of the body still retain THC even after a couple of months, rather than just the couple of days or weeks for water soluble drugs.

Can this affect a drug test?
The experiences of some members have shown that if you quit marijuana and expect to take a drug test you should not go on a crash diet at the same time. Fasting, or a crash diet, can release the THC into the bloodstream very rapidly and can give a positive reading. This has happened to several of our members, but each time only with crash diets and major weight loss, not with just eating less than usual.

What are some of the more common symptoms?
By far the most common symptom of withdrawal is insomnia. This can last from a few nights of practically no sleep at all, up to a few months of occasional sleeplessness. The next most common symptom is depression (that is, if you're not euphoric), and next are nightmares and vivid dreams. Marijuana use tends to dampen the dreaming mechanism, so that when you do get clean the dreams come back with a crash. They can be vivid color, highly emotional dreams or nightmares, even waking up then coming back to the same dream. The very vivid, every-night dreams usually don't start for about a week or so. They last for about a month at most and then taper off. "Using" dreams (dreams involving the use of marijuana) are very common, and although they're not as vivid or emotional as at first, they last for years and are just considered a normal part of recovery.

The fourth most common symptom is anger. This can range from a slow burning rage to constant irritability to sudden bursts of anger when least expected: anger at the world, anger at loved ones, anger at oneself, anger at being an addict and having to get clean. Emotional jags are very common, with emotions bouncing back and forth between depression, anger, and euphoria. Occasionally experienced is a feeling of fear or anxiety, a loss of the sense of humor, decreased sex drive, or increased sex drive. Most all of these symptoms fade to normal emotions by three months. Loss of concentration for the first week or month is also very common and this sometimes affects the ability to learn for a very short while.

What about physical symptoms?
The most common physical symptom is headaches. For those who have them, they can last for a few weeks up to a couple of months, with the first few days being very intense. The next most common physical symptom is night sweats, sometimes to the point of having to change night clothes. They can last from a few nights to a month or so. Sweating is one of the body's natural ways of getting rid of toxins. Hand sweats are very common and are often accompanied by an unpleasant smell from the hands. Body odor is enough in many instances to require extra showers or baths. Coughing up phlegm is another way the body cleans itself. This can last for a few weeks to well over six months.

One third of the addicts who responded to a questionnaire on detoxing said they had eating problems for the first few days and some for up to six weeks. Their main symptoms were loss of appetite, sometimes enough to lose weight temporarily, digestion problems or cramps after eating, and nausea, occasionally enough to vomit (only for a day or two). Most of the eating problems were totally gone before the end of a month.

The next most common physical symptoms experienced were tremors or shaking and dizziness. Less frequently experienced were kidney pains, impotency, hormone changes or imbalances, low immunity or chronic fatigue, and some minor eye problems that resolved at around two months. There have been cases of addicts having more severe detox symptoms, however this is rare. For intense discomfort, see a doctor, preferably one who is experienced with detoxing.

How can I reduce discomfort?
For some of the milder detoxing symptoms, a few home remedies have proven to be useful:

Hot soaking baths can help the emotions as well as the body.
Drink plenty of water and clear liquids, just like for the flu.
Cranberry juice has been used effectively for years by recovery houses to help purify and cleanse the body.
Really excessive sweating can deplete the body of potassium, a necessary mineral. A few foods high in potassium are: melons, bananas, citrus fruits, green leafy vegetables, and tomatoes
Eliminate fat from the diet until digestion is better.
Greatly reduce or eliminate caffeine until the sleep pattern is more normal or the shakes are gone.
The old fashioned remedy for insomnia, a glass of warm milk before bedtime, helps some people.
Exercise not only helps depression and other unpleasant emotions, it helps the body speed up the healing process.
Conference Approved Literature

©1992 Marijuana Anonymous

My doctor prescribed me to Ativan for my anxiety and panic attacks but I've also found it really works great for mj withdrawal....also cig withdrawal...

had over to NA...they can help..and with the withrawls...lots and lots of excercise will help..when you get an urge to use, eat something sweet sounds silly but it works, hot showers help, find things yyou like to do like hobbies...concentrate on your homework...need more help..email me