Marijuana addiction, as with many addictions, has a set of identifiable signs and symptoms. Two symptoms that hold true across the board is loss of control over the drug and an inability to stop despite efforts to do so.
In the article that follows there are 10 symptoms of pot addiction. These are not for diagnosis, but rather red flags that addiction treatment may be needed 
10 Signs You Have a Pot Addiction
By Michael Porteous
There are many signs you have a pot addiction whether it be warnings while you are smoking or perhaps things that have happened when you have tried to quit. Some people freely admit they are or were addicted while others struggle with the concept of being addicted to a drug that has no physical dependency issues like cigarettes or heroin but is instead a psychological addiction making it harder to recognize from your own view point. Some things you may want to look for in yourself or in others who might be addicted to marijuana are as follows:
Have tried to quit smoking pot and failed
Quitting any habit can be hard but those that may be addicted to a behavior or substance (or both) often realize that this is harmful to their life and have tried to stop smoking weed and have failed even though they may know it is for the best.
Lack of motivation
While many might just confuse this with a lack of direction many habitual marijuana smokers report having a sever lack of motivation to do anything that can be very harmful on relationships, work and more. This is usually found in long term users and may be linked to brain chemical changes over time that regulate mood.
Depression
Depression is a strange thing and some people can feel depressed when smoking weed or they become depressed after stopping their marijuana habit. Depression has also been linked to brain chemistry but also to environment as a result as well, this means there could be a mix of drug abuse and problems and issues that could cause this which often leads people to smoke more to get away from it. If smoking weed or quitting weed causes fluctuations in depressive symptoms something is wrong and could be linked to an addiction.
Anxiety
Much like depression anxiety and panic attacks can be found during or when stopping pot smoking. If you are trying to quit and suffer panic attacks or general anxiety this could be considered a sign of addiction if it drives you back to smoking.
Anger
As marijuana plays with your brain and alters your mood regulators some people find anger and rage an issue which drives them to smoke more which is a short term solutions to their anger problems which might be linked to marijuana or a separate issue that is covered up by excessive use making them addicted to the substance.
Relationship problems
Not only romantic relationships but friendships, family bonds and so forth. If you find yourself having difficulty interacting with anyone who is not a pothead or you feel you are drifting further away from your loved ones due to marijuana but feel powerless to stop it you may have found more signs you have a pot addiction.
Shifting Priorities
Do you find yourself spending money on pot when you should be spending it on rent, food, tuition, health or anything else that is of prime importance to yourself? When smoking marijuana becomes something you sacrifice to do it is considered an addiction.
Any Excuse
Do you find you are making excuses to smoke more weed? Putting off invitations, skipping school or work or lying so you have more time to get high?
Defensiveness
Do you find yourself becoming aggressive when people confront you about smoking pot when they are not trying to condemn you but are trying to help?
I NEED WEED!
Do you feel that you do not just want pot and want to get high but you feel you NEED to smoke and without it your life will be worse, have no meaning or be too hard to deal with? Signs you have a pot addiction like this are the core part of a psychological addiction.
If these signs sound like your life or the life of someone you know, visit http://www.kick-addiction.com to find out more about addiction and how to quit smoking pot!
One of the first challenges in getting help for yourself or a loved one, is knowing where to start. We can help with a free assessment and someone to talk with right now. Click Here For Immediate Help And AnswersLast 3 posts in Addiction Treatment
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{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
My partner smokes a lot of Marijuana and has been doing so for years. He has some classic symptoms of being addicted from what you have listed here. I just can’t seem to get him motivated to get help, but I suppose that is up to him.
I’ve always struggled too as others have to understand how you can have an addiction that is not physical. I know it’s out there though, but it is just hard to grasp. That being said, I have seen people that get angry when they can’t smoke weed, and most definitely lose motivation. I had no idea that made them dependent upon it though.
my boyfriend smokes weed. when he doesnt hes the best partner and father i could ever dream of, but when he smokes it, like tonight, he turns into an aggressive, defensive, argumentative monster. I’ve just been told off and got a lecture for something really stupid. Its like when i lived with my alcoholic ex. He says hes trying to stop, he even went to the doctor, but when temptation comes he cant resist. i know an addict of any kind wont stop untill they want to, till theyre ready but he reduces me to tears everytime he does this. i dont think i can cope anymore. i love him dearly but i dont love his addiction. am having a sorry for myself day, i just wish he could open his eyes and see what hes missing, two beautiful children and a woman who would do anything for him.
Cannabis addiction is real I was addicted for years, one of the problems with cannabis addiction, is that many in society refuses to accept it exists in the first place, so there are so many out there who are hooked and don’t even realize it.
I am so grateful to hear all your comments. My daughter is addicted to pot, plus she is a alcoholic, but she will admit to neither. She has 2 beautiful little children and a loving husband who also uses! Ive tried to take the kids and do things with them as often as possible, but that has all stopped now, cause I have turned out to be the bad guy somehow. Scape-goat! She has taken the kids away from me so I cant see them. The kids will suffer as a result of her constant anger and twisted attitude towards people. She blames me for most everything, so she doesn’t have to look at herself, or maybe her own guilt at her anger and rage, I don’t know… I just know I am brokenhearted at watching her go down hill and I don’t dare say anything cause she will blow her stack- its like walking on eggshells and being expected not to brake them… She is like a porcupine with Rabies- I don’t have any support for an intervention, so I am praying a lot for her and asking God to direct me in the right direction… I miss my daughter and my grandchildren. She has been using since she was 15 years old, (living with her dad then) and she is now in her mid 30’s, so over half of her life has been in smoking pot and drinking alcohol. she started 5 years after my divorce from her dad who was then drinking.
What a heart ache that never heals- as long as she is using and hurting those around her!!
I am addicted to weed. The most obvious sign is that I honestly feel I NEED it. Without weed I am very irritable it is much harder to get through the day with my two kids screaming and throwing fits all day long. I keep all of it hidden from my children they are not around when I smoke I will go outside in the garage. They are not affected whatsoever they do not know anything. Even though I know I am addicted, I do not see the problem with it. In my eyes as well as many others that I know, it is just weed no big deal. What could it hurt? I am not unfunctional AT ALL. I take care of all my responsibilities high can someone point out a real problem associated with this? I don’t see one.
My brother told me yesterday that he feels he needs to use weed in order to sleep. I had no idea that he’s felt this way since he was 16. I thought he was an occasional user. With this new knowledge and after reading this and many other articles I’ve realized that his abuse of marijuana is a serious problem that has effected his life and in effect my life in alot of negative ways. We never got along when we were teenager’s because of his mood swings and I’m sure he was either drunk or high a lot of the time, but I just thought he hated me. We have gotten close in the last few years, and most of the time he’s fun to be around. Until he runs out of money. He becomes argumentative and over sensitive and paranoid. I thought it was because he was upset about his mishandling of his money and lack of cigarettes. But yesterday when he told me about his dependence on marijuana, it hit me hard. That’s why he has no money. That’s why he is so moody.
I don’t know why its different now that I know he spends his money on marijuana instead of just cigarretes and alcohol, but it is. I guess its because I’ve been loaning him money (and so has our mom and dad), but he still didn’t have any money to buy a loaf of bread to make a sandwich. That speaks to where his priorities lay. I thought I was helping him out of a tight spot, but now it seems like I have been helping him feed his addiction and buy an illegal drug. I feel taken advantage of and I couldn’t sleep last night because of the situation.
I don’t have a problem with the use of marijuana in general, but the abuse of anything is unhealthy. He has a great job now and in the past things have fallen apart because of his abuse of alcohol, and I guess weed. I’m just scared that it will happen again… or even something worse.
I have been married for seven years without realising my husband is a cannabis addict. We have 3 beautiful boys and he recently admitted his addiction. I loved him regardless of the mood swings, anger, paranoia, laziness, getting overweight and lack of emotion towards me and his kids.
The shock of finding out was worsened as he started to smoke at home. I then watched for 5 months as the weed took over all of the past 7 seven years I had spent with him. I felt sick that I had accepted his behaviour for so long without realising the cause.
It took alot of courage and heartache to tell him it was going to be ‘me and the kids or the drugs’. he replied ‘get me help’. I didnt know wether to cry or be grateful.I was at breaking point and tried to end my own life, because I could’nt take the betrayal of 7 years.He seeems to be a different person already, but I can only hope it lasts.
I then recieved support from family when they realised the terrible secret my husband had made me keep for past 5 months.They helped us work through things for the sake of the children. He admitted his problem and has now been of the cannabis for 3 weeks. I can only hope it lasts.
Finally some proof that Im not crazy. My ex boyfriend is my ex for one reason and that reason is his addiction to pot. I had experienced so many times when he was very rude and would snap at me for some really minor thing and sometimes for no reason at all. He smokes on a daily basis and most often than not many times in one day. At first I let it go but then I realized how it was affecting how he treated me. He claimed to love me but was too high most of the time to know how or be able to express it. His addiction is very sad. He is convinced that smoking weed is no worse than having a few beers. He is high when he drives, he now sells it from his home and quit his day job. It has truly become everything he lives for. He lied to me over and over that he stopped. Im so sad for him because he seems just lost in this unrealistic world. Im glad to have no part of that life any longer but still miss his seldom moments of sobriety. when he was high, I wasn’t really there. I felt alone because the drug took his mind away. I now pray that he finds his way out but I don’t have much hope. He just got arrested the other day and that just seemed to embolden his beliefs that pot should be free to smoke any where and any time. Its his choice and now I can find someone who isn’t buried in a false cloud of joy and peace. Someone who knows that Im present and can see the concerns I have in my life. Someone addicted to pot doesn’t have that ability. I learned that firsthand.
what i need is perspective~i have allowed pot addiction/prescription drug abuse by my boyfriend of 7 years, take me beyond my reasoning; i love him, his using has always been a conflict, now i am at my end of tolerating or believing in him~he says he needs me, and he really is willing to seek help as not to lose me. i know he has to stop for himself! he has had affairs and lied to me, now he is broke, unemployed, homeless~i am lost with him, yet i care for him! i am sick of the same patterns repeating~i will not be intimate with him anymore due to his numerous betrayals~i was devastated when i found out about this in 2008/it had been going on since we decided to live in seperate households (2007) due to my conflict with his usage and his constant lying about wanting to change, we were still in a relationship (one-sidedly)! now he claims he is ready for a new life~i feel he is just going to use and abuse me for his needs~i feel wrong to break up with him for i love him and love never fails, yet we only have a one-sided relationship, what is wrong with me, i am overwhelmed~~my tough love only revealed its ugly back on me, i am 50, in menopause, have never engaged myself in drugs, my life with him has been unpredictable since he has been on/off ~ in/out of treatment, jail, probation, over our 7 years, why should i believe in him anymore, (or at all) why can’t i just walk away? THIS IS THE HARDEST OF ANYTHING TO DECIDE WHAT TO DO/MY LIFE IS SAD! i am responsible for myself i know, as he is responsible for himself, the issue is i love him so i live with the harm of his irresponsibilities, choices, repeated patterns i do not know my strengths anymore! am i failing us, me, or him if i decide to just focus on me? i always held onto hope~now i feel i am useless, by being used! i need time to focus, he is ready to change, i do not trust him anymore~what am i doing/being? HELP?
My ex used to snap at me, then call me 30 minutes later and apologize. I never new why he would always do this, but I think he might be addicted to marijuana. It didn’t make sense at the time, however it seemed when he was low on the drug is when it would come out the most.
It’s as silly to say anyone can be addicted to marijuana any more than you can be addicted to, say, ice cream. Repeatedly returning to something that brings you pleasure is called a habit, not an addiction, simply because you can walk away from it should you desire to strongly enough. You NEED medical AND psychological assistance to overcome a true chemical addiction.
I have had a marijuana habit for about 20 years and will never look back because I’ve found something I enjoy in moderation that hasn’t caused any adverse effects at all. I’m a 47 year old lacto-vegetarian in a healthy weight range and have always enjoyed excellent health. I noticed most of these posts are by people in relationships with smokers and I think you are simply misinterpreting their behavior as being a result of the drug. So, what I’ve decided to do is rebuke the categories on this site to show you how meaningless they are:
1. Have tried to quit smoking pot and failed: You miss the euphoria.
2. Lack of motivation: Yes, you are less motivated to keep your crappy job, stay in your miserable relationship …
3. Depression: If you feel depressed when you are high, you need counseling because it has the opposite effect on healthy people.
4. Anxiety: You are uncomfortable in your surroundings and/or in your own skin. See “depression”.
5. Anger: See “depression”.
6. Relationship problems: See “lack of motivation”.
6. Shifting priorities: See “lack of motivation”.
7. Any excuse: See “lack of motivation”.
8. Defensiveness: See “tried … and failed”. How can you possibly explain the euphoria to a non-smoker?
9. I NEED WEED: All of the above!
See how easy that was?
Since marijuana is so widespread and so many people smoke it, this site and those like it promoting marijuana addiction treatment programs are just a means to make money off of something popular. Um, sort of like a pot dealer!
I wonder if they’ll let me post this ….
No, the typos on my previous post aren’t because I was high while I was typing it! I’ve been sober for about 10 days, just taking a little cleansing break. I just had to post it (and did it quickly because it’s so late) because these sites are so IGNORANT!
Of course ‘we’ll’ let you post this and also thank you for the time you took to make such a detailed comment. Let say this addiction to mood altering substances is real. Read up on the science of addiction and what it does to the brain. THC the active ingredient in weed is a mood altering substance and poison. Read up on the chemicals and carcinogens produced by smoking weed, much worse than cigarettes. Your comment:
“Since marijuana is so widespread and so many people smoke it, this site and those like it promoting marijuana addiction treatment programs are just a means to make money off of something popular. Um, sort of like a pot dealer!”
Dang those cancer treatment centers making money off of something so popular, smoking cigarettes. Just because it is legal does not mean it is smart or healthy.
Also looking at the title – of this blog Addiction Treatment Challenges. It is written for people with addiction, for them smoking pot is not an option. Not all who drink have alcohol addiction, not all who drug have drug addiction. We are striving to help and inform about addiction.
In response to cookie. Your opinion is probably just a little biased seeing as you have a 20 year marijuana ‘habit.
sorry everyone, i have to say something. marijuana is the safest stuff you can smoke, it has no pests, and its one of the cleanest things you can smoke, saying its worse than cigarettes, which has hundreds of chemicals, including rat carcinogens, is totally ignorant, and as for the addiction, most people who quit can do it in a day, without a second thought, and it looks like most of you guys have a problem with another kind of addiction, if you want to blame it on pot while your doing coke and heroin and shit, go ahead, but make sure you tell everyone that.
Hi, all. Long post, but worth the read, I think:
Suffering from true clinical depression and anxiety is extremely difficult. It rendered me unable to feel calm and relaxed, and unable to FEEL ENJOYMENT– even from things that are normally enjoyable like sex or films or accomplishing a goal. Beginning in my teens at my parents’ urging, and continuing throughout my twenties, I met weekly with a therapist , sometimes with support/therapy groups, and regularly with psychiatrists as well.
For 14 years I did that, taking medications as directed– never using illegal drugs, believing it was simply not an option as I wanted to be as healthy as possible (and I believed using something like marijuana would NOT be part of my path to health and happiness). 14 years later, I have worked with 3 different therapists, 7 psychiatrists, and more than 10 different medications as directed (some in combination with each other). I have also engaged in various forms of exercise, group therapy, social organizations, healthy eating, meditation, aromatherapy, you name it. I was determined and earned a respectable university education, have maintained healthy relationships, and currently have held a stable professional job for 5 years.
However, the depression worsened over the past few years and pharmaceuticals and therapy and everything else just were not helping enough to keep me afloat. Finally, after reading stories of cannabis helping with anxiety, depression, and insomnia, I decided to try it at age 30. I felt more comfortable doing it legally, so I went to a doctor, got a recommendation, went to a dispensary, and begin sampling strains of cannabis. I do not like the harshness of smoking, nor do I want the carcinogens/tars that come with combustion, so I vaporize. Now I have been vaporizing cannabis daily (small amounts only, not getting ‘wasted’ or anything) for a few months.
After a few months, I don’t claim the cannabis is a 100% cure, but I can say with conviction that it helps more than anything else I have ever tried. I do not take any meds now aside from the medical cannabis. Occasional Benadryl is about it, since cannabis doesn’t help much with springtime allergies
My family, friend, work, and romantic relationships all feel more connected and satisfying. My girlfriend is supportive and observes that I am happier, more engaged in life, and closer with her. My relationship with myself is more fulfilling, too, as I am more in touch with how I feel. I feel more motivated to do things that matter, and less motivated to do things that don’t matter. Do get a little bit high every day? Yes. And do I want to stop?… Are you kidding? Why would I? My experience of life is so much improved with this medication. I have become more aware that some aspects of my life are not working for me, I am not happy with them, though I have been holding onto those parts of my life for a long time. So pot definitely makes me less motivated to put energy into those things in life that are either not working for me or really aren’t that important. But it also ‘highlights’ the things in life that ARE good or enjoyable or important to me, and I find myself pursuing and maintaining those things more passionately and with much more enjoyment.
For me, I don’t care if someone thinks I have an addiction. I don’t care if mental health professionals have establish general guidelines for diagnosing an addiction. Guidelines are just that. Now, let’s just look at the facts in a very very simple way– I have tried a LOT of things to make my life less of a miserable struggle over the past 14 years, and with pot my life is more enjoyble and fulfilling with this medication than without. The pros, in my case, clearly outweigh the cons. How could that be a bad thing for me?
Look, my case is not the case for most people. I’m not an advocate of everyone getting high on pot every day. I have many years of academic and independent research experience with psychotherapy, depression, anxiety, and addiction. But from personal experience, I would advise others to do the following: If you’re unhappy, put the marijuana away and first try– I mean for years– to get better. Evaluate and address your relationships, your “ways of thinking.” GO TO COUNSELING. Try medications if professionals agree it’s a good option to combine with psychotherapy. If the cause of your unhappiness is the type of job you’re in, the type of relationship you’re in, the way you negatively evaluate situations, a neurotransmitter imbalance, holding onto grudges or hurts, etc. then EXPLORE AND ADDRESS THOSE THINGS. In many cases, life can get much much better if you fix those areas of your life.
I have been smoking Marijuana daily for almost 8 years. I started when I was 14 years old. I am currently 22. I started smoking because all my friends where doing it; it was the “cool thing” to do. Prior to smoking I was always on the honor roll I was the class president, and captain of the girl’s varsity track and cross-country team. As I began smoking more and more I started to notice that my grades starting slipping and I was never on time for class. I started to bunk school and got into a lot more trouble. My parents did not know what to think of me. I would never go home I was always late for curfew. I remember at one point I did not go home for a week. I was starting to think about dropping out of school but then I got pregnant and decided to finish. My daughter will be 5 in just a few weeks. Five months ago I decided that enough was enough. I noticed that I started to have anxiety attacks, became depressed and I was really nausea. I began to have cold sweats and just felt really weak. I knew that I could not quit “cold turkey” so I started to look on the internet to figure out what I could do. I came across a website Maritox.com and it completely changed my life. I now have a great job, I have more energy to play with my daughter and I am going back to school. If I can give any advice to the people out there that struggle trying to quit on there own or trying to find a good job, it would be to check out Maritox. Thank you for listening to my story. I would like to wish best of luck to everyone.
I have a son who takes dagga daily. I do not agree with this. As far as I am concerned it is a health hazard. I have known of some people who have developed throat cancer after years of abuse. Maybe for some it works and other – it does not.
Can someone tell me that it really is not a health hazard????
I can’t believe all of this BS. I have been smoking weed everyday for the last year now. I smoked before that to, but I took a two month break before I started smoking again, and let me tell you I had no signs of addiction. Everything the government says about weed is a lie. How can they say that weed is more harmful than ciggarettes if ciggarettes have killed hundreds of thousands of people, and yet somehow weed has never caused a single death on this earth. People are so ignorant towards weed when the only people who are against it are the ones in the world who have never smoked it. And all the people who have wrote their stories saying they are addicted are fake.
Hi
A very close friend has an addiction to marijuana. How can I step in this personal issue?
Hi great article thanks for sharing. Mom has an addiction to marijuana. How can I help in this dilemma? I live in Poquonock Bridge.?
Frank
my personal opinion on weed is that i believe its not harmful 2 the body n will not kill u like others addictions but i do know from experience w/my husband who smokes everyday that when he dont have it he just lays on the couch n does nothing n the kids n i have 2 walk round the house like we r walkin on egg shells. it seems like he hates me when he dont have it n when he does have it he absolutly adores me n tells me he loves me all the time,so i hate weed cuz it does change ppl in a very bad way!