UNDERSTANDING MARIJUANA
There has been argument after argument as to what marijuana is.
There’s the medicinal argument, which for the time being the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has squelched, as the DEA refuses to remove marijuana from its Schedule II listing, which compares pot to cocaine and heroin.
Then there’s the argument of addiction to marijuana, which is where, as a rehab center, our concerns lie.
To be honest, depending upon what circles your drug interests fall, with whom you speak, and with whose opinion you side, marijuana is and is not an addictive drug.
The argument, in fact, is so intense, some pot supporters, both for medicinal and recreational uses, have created an entire lifestyle around cannabis.
The naysayers say otherwise as they flat out determine pot to be a drug like any other listed as illegal.
In their eyes, marijuana, no matter what type, what purpose, what strain, etc., is an addictive gateway drug which needs as much attention as do other more powerful substances such as alcohol, cocaine and opioid drugs.
HOW CAN MARIJUANA REHAB HELP?
Quitting marijuana can be difficult. But, with dedication, hard work, and a refusal to give up, you can begin to enjoy a life without marijuana. As part of our recovery and support program, we’ll help you develop a network of supportive friends to keep you on the road to sobriety.
Along with helping you recover from marijuana dependence, our qualified healthcare professionals will also help you identify your emotional triggers. When taking the first crucial steps in recovery from marijuana abuse, a full support staff can make a huge difference.
Most alcohol and drug treatment facilities fall under two categories: inpatient and outpatient.
MARIJUANA INPATIENT REHAB
Inpatient care is for patients with severe substance use disorders that require around-the-clock monitoring from qualified treatment professionals. Marijuana has fallen into inpatient services but only during the most severe cases.
INPATIENT VISITATIONS: DURING REHAB/DETOX
Visiting a loved one during inpatient recovery can be helpful for the person receiving treatment. When you visit someone in rehab, you let them know they are not alone and you still care about them.
That said, there will be times in the rehab process when visitation will be restricted. More likely than not, visitations will not be allowed in the very initial stages of one’s recovery, such as during marijuana detox because this is such a critical step toward a person’s rehabilitation.
The emotional stability of the person in recovery will also affect your ability to visit. When the person in recovery is positive and doing well, a visit is more likely to be allowed. Conversely, if your loved one is having a rough time during their rehab, you might want to postpone your visit until things get better for them.
Always check with the healthcare professional helping your loved one through their marijuana recovery before showing up for a visit.
MARIJUANA OUTPATIENT REHAB
Outpatient care works well for patients who don’t need constant monitoring as part of their detox process. Because of the drug’s mildness, we suggest in almost every case that you or a loved one need to end an addiction.
THE PROCESS FOR MARIJUANA REHAB
Addiction can destroy your mental and emotional wellbeing, but it can also cause physical damage to your body, including fluctuations in weight, illness, and increased likelihood of injury.
Part of the rehabilitation process will include developing and maintaining positive physical health practices. Many of our programs offer exercise activities, including stretching and yoga.
Along with the physical aspect of recovery, our programs also address the mental toll addiction can take on a patient. Part of our treatment involves learning how to maintain sobriety as life’s stressful situations, like birthdays and holidays come at you.
We also help you understand which triggers cause you to seek marijuana so you can avoid them. This includes analyzing when you first started using and your usage patterns to find the cause of your substance dependence.
Because marijuana use has spread across all strata of society; our recovery programs are designed to fit the needs of each individual patient’s situation.
THE LENGTH OF MARIJUANA TREATMENT
Every person deals with addiction differently, therefore, treatment programs will vary in length to accommodate the needs of the individual.
Depending on the degree of your marijuana use, treatment could last anywhere from a few days, to months, or possibly longer.
Also keep in mind that marijuana treatment doesn’t just involve detox and a week or two of recovery. Extended counseling is needed to fortify one’s sobriety as well as continual maintenance.
It isn’t just about not using marijuana, it’s also about building up your physical, mental and emotional tolerance to the point that when you leave, having a relapse has less likelihood of occurring.
THE THC FACTOR
Maybe if pot didn’t have THC, this conversation would never occur. But marijuana does have THC, which chemically alters the brain to experience higher levels of bliss and relaxation.
The brain, on the other hand, reacts to THC by turning off or shutting down the receptors once the THC seeps inside the brain.
Experts state that if this interaction of pot and the brain chemicals happen often enough, the brain will soon decide it can’t operate optimally unless marijuana is introduced into its system.
MORE ADDICTION PROOF
Further proof claims that users of marijuana literally eat, drink and think about the drug on a continual basis. It’s what they strive for once they get up in the morning, or before they go to bed.
And then, when those same users try to cut back on their marijuana use, or stop it entirely, the withdrawals are very similar to other addictive substances in which some individuals experience irritability and restlessness.
AND THEN THERE’S THE MATH AND SCIENCE ASPECT
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reveals that about nine percent of people who abuse marijuana will develop an addiction to the drug at some time or the other.
And that risk rises to 17% if users begin their marijuana use in their teen years. The addiction exponentially rises to 25-50% with those who use the drug every day.
The end result is a person who become a social outcast. They want to hang out in their own place, smoking weed, rather than going out with family and friends.
Or, according to NIDA, there are others who need to get high before going out with family and friends.
In short, frequent users struggle, or shun in total, any social interactions until they’ve first gotten high. These individuals feel they need marijuana in order to handle day-to-day life.
This alone qualifies them for being an addict.
THEN THERE’S THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ARGUMENT
Those who feel marijuana is less harmful than what is reported in news outlets and medical journals, point to a medicinal property in pot that has a multitude of health benefits including an ability to replace prescription painkillers as a pain management tool.
Marijuana can also eliminate the dangers of opioid addictions which supporters of pot believe can lead to worse dependencies such as street heroin or the need for stronger opioids than what they are now using.
There is no argument that with any controlled substance, one addiction can lead to another. But according to marijuana advocates, some of that onus should be on the user themselves, and not necessarily the substance, particularly when it comes to marijuana.
At worst, pot purveyors believe marijuana creates a psychological dependency, not a physical dependency.
No matter the politics or beliefs, even the science that stands tall, waiting to be debunked, the debate will go on with pot as to what is addictive about it and what is not.
Just realize that with any abusive trait, there still may come a time with the marijuana user in which intervention is needed. Even inside the states where pot is legal, that legality can actually mean addiction to a stronger substance could be on the horizon.
According to the Mayo Clinic, here are some telltale signs a marijuana addiction is happening to a friend or family member, possibly right in front of you:
- Cravings for the drug
- Tolerance for the drug, which leads to higher doses
- Hoarding the drug
- Spending money that should go to household expenses on drugs
- Cutting back on work, hobbies, or social activities in order to use
- Taking risks while under the influence
- Failed attempts to stop use
- A need to use the drug regularly, either daily or several times per day
WILL LEGALIZATION CAUSE EVEN MORE FOLKS TO BECOME “POTHEADS?”
Of course none of this mitigates the ongoing debate to legalize marijuana. And as that debate continues between those in the medical field who regard marijuana as medicinal, and others who contradict that notion, the main concern eventually falls upon the user of cannabis.
It might be harder, in some cases, to get people with marijuana addictions into treatment programs that can help. That’s because some states are moving to legalize marijuana, and proponents of legalization are shifting the conversation on addiction.
As the Office of National Drug Control Policy explains, proponents of marijuana maintain that the harmlessness of pot is a notion republished throughout the mainstream press. At the same time, users think their families and friends don’t understand marijuana’s benefits; benefits that they believe validates legalizing pot.
And even as those states which have legalized marijuana don’t allow minors to purchase or use the drug, there still is the factor that teens who are exposed to marijuana, even in pot-legal states, are at the highest risk to develop an addiction.
At that point, experts maintain that states where pot is legal are growing more and larger crops of cannabis. They are also growing great masses of future users whose attraction to marijuana may one day become adults who will need to enter a recovery program.
Thankfully, our drug treatment program can help.
PATIENT PRIVACY
Your Patient Health Information (PHI) will always remain safe and secure with our sobriety specialists.
While you focus on your recovery, you can take peace of mind in knowing your PHI will remain confidential.
HOW ARE PAYMENTS HANDLED
If you stay with us for longer than a month, we bill on a bi-weekly basis, otherwise it will be on a monthly basis.
Just like keep your Patient Health Information safe and secure, we do the same for your payment information. We don’t save your credit card information or any other financial records.
GOING AWAY FOR TREATMENT
No matter where you live, we have a treatment facility for your needs. Sometime what you really need is to get away.
Going away to get treatment can be more effective because it can leave you free of distractions. It can help you strip away the layers of familiarity to find a new way to function.
Redefining your life of sobriety in a new environment can set you up for long-term success.
POST-REHABILITATION SUPPORT
Having a strong support group can greatly contribute to your long-term sobriety. We try to help you establish a support group as part of our treatment programs.
The relationships you develop while in recovery can be part of that support network. This social aspect of the rehab process can’t be overstated.
Loneliness is a big contributing factor for why people develop substance use disorders in the first place and can also contribute to relapse. This makes a stay in a rehabilitation facility not just crucial for the detox phase of recovery, but also for improving social connections.
If you or a loved one have an addiction to a, contact BLVD Treatment Centers. At BLVD Treatment Centers we custom tailor our recovery programs within the safe and nurturing confines of our rehab treatment centers. Located throughout California, in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego and in Portland, OR, our mission is to assess the severity of your addiction to help you achieve true recovery within 30 days.