Is it true that 25% of people who use Medical Cannabis suffers from “severe withdrawal”?

A recent article on Neuroscience News claims that 1 in 4 Medical marijuana consumers suffer from “Severe Withdrawal” when abstaining from the medicine. They also claim that 10% experience “worsening of symptoms” over 2-years as they continued to use cannabis.

Now – if you’ve been reading my articles for some time now you’ll know what I’m about to do – OPEN UP A CAN OF STFU! On some bias science. Hell – I just wrote a bit about how the government funds “anti-cannabis” studies simply to push the narrative that cannabis is bad.

As such – this particular study that was funded by N.I.D.A or the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and was conducted in the University of Michigan Addiction Center. That should already tell you something about what they were looking for.

To top it off, in “Neuro Science News” – the article had no links to any of the sources of which I can only assume, they didn’t want people like me prying around and finding out the weakness in their methodology.

The sample size of the studied group was only 527 and the testing only expanded to 2-years. In other words, an insignificant sample size and an insignificant period to study the phenomenon.

It seems like we’re off to a great start. Shall we continue with the slaying of researchers getting paid by the government to desperately find anything to deter people from smoking weed. If they could only be this dedicated to finding the cure for Covid we would be back to our regular activities by now. But I digress

Dispelling the Bullshit

Here’s a snippet from the article itself which will be linked below.

“The researchers used an analytic method to empirically group the patients into those who had no symptoms or mild symptoms at the start of the study, those who had moderate symptoms (meaning they experienced multiple withdrawal symptoms) and those who had severe withdrawal issues that included most or all of the symptoms.

They then looked at how things changed over time, surveying the patients one year and two years after their first survey.

At baseline, 41% of the study participants fell into the mild symptoms group, 34% were in the moderate group and 25% were classed as severe.” - SOURCE

See – it wasn’t difficult linking back to the source.

Anyway, according to the researches that do not disclose their “analytical method”, they “asked people” to reflect back on a time when they abstained to imagine how they felt in those moments to determine whether there were “mild, moderate or severe” withdrawal affects.

According to them, 1 in 4 of those questioned came out to saying, “they had terrible withdrawal”. Note that according to the math – 41 + 34 + 25 = 100 - that no one had “no withdrawal” when abstaining. In other words, people like me and millions of other cannabis consumers that do not experience withdrawal are freaks of nature since according to the study – everyone had some form of withdrawal.

Now – I don’t know what they consider “mild” or “moderate” or “severe” but according to the researchers – you who smoke cannabis is a junkie because you’re addicted – PERIOD!

Where I agree with them…SHOCKER!

There is one part I did agree with;

“…She notes that people who experience issues related to their cannabis use for pain should talk with their health care providers about receiving other pain treatments including psychosocial treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy.

The perception of cannabis as “harmless” is not correct, she says. It contains substances called cannabinoids that act on the brain – and that over time can lead the brain to react when those substances are absent.”

I agree that people should try to find other means of dealing with pain before reaching for an external solution. I used to suffer from chronic upper back pain and migraines until I started doing Yoga and realized that I was tensing my muscles in the shoulder non-stop. I was also biting down on my teeth due to heightened anxiety.

This wasn’t because of cannabis consumption – it was because I had some crazy bills to pay and stress was constantly on me. Cannabis was one of the few things that gave me some relief – but it wasn’t until the yoga that I was able to relinquish the pain entirely.

I also agree that cannabis isn’t “Harmless” – but I disagree with her understanding of cannabinoids. She completely failed to mention that “the acting on the brain” is actually part of the Endocannabinoid system, which exists for the sole purpose of regulating important bodily functions and keeping the body in homeostasis.

So what are the “symptoms”?

In addition to a general craving to use cannabis, withdrawal symptoms can include anxiety, sleep difficulties, decreased appetite, restlessness, depressed mood, aggression, irritability, nausea, sweating, headache, stomach pain, strange dreams, increased anger and shakiness.

If “craving to use cannabis” means you’re addicted – then the next time you crave some dark chocolate watch out you dope fiend!

Is the research a lost cause?

It’s not “bad” to explore withdrawal symptoms – what’s bad is concluding that it definitely means that someone is addicted. If you’re asking addiction specialists to find anything other than what they expect to find – you’ll probably be disappointed.