Cannabis Marijuana Use Disorder > Fact Sheets > Yale Medicine

With the ongoing legalization of marijuana in the United States and around the world, it can be hard to say how this will impact marijuana use and abuse. More research needs to be done on potential treatments for marijuana abuse and how to increase support and accessibility for existing treatments. Accurate diagnosis of mental health disorders and appropriate treatment, including medication, may help to reduce attempts to self-medicate with marijuana. Although anyone who uses marijuana has the potential to abuse it, there are risk factors that can make marijuana abuse more likely.

You May Have Complications When You Have Surgery

The danger is even greater if you’re older or if you already have heart problems. Many people who use marijuana regularly notice that it boosts their appetite. They call this “the munchies.” Some research suggests that might help people with AIDS, cancer, or other illnesses regain weight.

1. Substance abuse occurs when an individual regularly uses drugs or alcohol and experiences negative consequences as a result.
2. Using pot heavily, especially in your teen years, may leave more permanent effects.
3. But that can jump to 70 to 120 beats or more per minute for 3 hours after the effects kick in.
4. Whether you use it recreationally or medically, it can affect how your anesthesia works.
5. Things like extended family support, language-based discipline from parents, and a supportive peer group can help counteract some risk factors.

While many people use marijuana (it’s the third most commonly used addictive drug, after tobacco and alcohol) most won’t become addicted. About 1 in 10 people who use marijuana will become addicted; when they start using before the age of 18, the number increases to 1 in 6. People who have cannabis use disorder may also be at a higher risk of other negative consequences, such as problems with attention, memory, and learning.

This can include missing work or school, getting in trouble with the law or school authorities, or putting oneself in dangerous situations. At this time, there is no medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat cannabis use disorder, though some medicines are currently under investigation. Until such options exist, cannabis use disorder is best treated through counseling and therapy.

It May Harm Your Heart

However, it also has room to recognize cannabis addiction if it occurs. Dr. D’Souza and others at Yale Medicine are hard at work developing the most promising behavioral, pharmacological, and combined treatments for cannabis use disorder. Adolescence, a period during which the brain is undergoing major changes, is an extremely poor time period for young people to try the effects of marijuana. Cannabis use in adolescence has been reported to increase the risk for schizophrenia. About 90 percent of the people who used drugs and their primary drug of choice wasn’t marijuana met the criteria for abuse, compared to 47 percent of primary marijuana users.

Marijuana Abuse in Pregnancy

Your body could go into withdrawal, leaving you cranky, restless, unable to sleep, and uninterested in eating when you don’t use it. Stalcup recommends this simple test for determining if a person has an addiction. They look at the immediate post covid alcohol intolerance benefits and immediate costs to a greater extent than they do at the long-term costs and benefits of using alcohol,” Galloway added. Some are even dependent on the drug, using it daily and going through withdrawal if they try to quit, but they still remain functional. Welch described his first week without marijuana after about a decade of daily use as one filled with sleepless nights and irritable days.

It makes the world more interesting to counteract the loss of pleasure in depression. For those with PTSD who experience nightmares, it shuts down the process by which dreams form in the brain. Studies of identical twins tom arnold weight loss raised in different families support this theory.

If you drink or eat pot, it may take many hours for you to fully sober up. You may not always know how potent your recreational marijuana might be. The main psychoactive ingredient, THC, stimulates the part of your brain that responds to mary jane drug meaning pleasure, like food and sex. That unleashes a chemical called dopamine, which gives you a euphoric, relaxed feeling. For many, it’s difficult to imagine a life in which using drugs is more important than spending time with friends or doing favorite hobbies.