Weed withdrawal symptoms | what to expect

Weed withdrawal symptoms start when your body has grown used to THC and is then suddenly without it. They can be both physical and psychological, and the two often come together. The first few days are usually the hardest, and sleep is the last thing to settle. What you feel is a measure of how much cannabis had taken hold, not of how strong you are.

Use cannabis regularly and your brain adapts to the presence of THC, its main active ingredient. Your body starts doing less of the work itself, because THC is doing part of it for you. That same adaptation is what makes marijuana addiction possible. Once you stop, that balance is gone, and your brain needs time to rebuild it. The symptoms you feel in those first few days are that adjustment taking place.

Withdrawal as a sign of dependence

Withdrawal does not automatically mean you are addicted, but it does mean your body has come to rely on cannabis. Doctors also class it as one of the symptoms of cannabis addiction, alongside how often you think about using. What you have given up in order to keep using counts as well. Addiction is a brain condition, which is why willpower on its own is rarely enough to stop for good. If you have a question about your own use, call us on +27 21 541 0643 and we will give you a straight answer.

Cannabis withdrawal symptoms, or weed withdrawal symptoms, show up in two ways: in your body and in your mood. The physical side is usually the shorter of the two. The psychological side tends to last longer, and it is the part that most often sends you back to using. They rarely all arrive at once, so the first day tells you little about the week ahead.

Physical cannabis withdrawal symptoms

Physically, you may notice:

• headaches
• sweating and night sweats
• chills and shaking
• nausea or stomach pain
• changes in appetite, usually eating less
• tiredness during the day

When you mix weed with tobacco

If you mix your cannabis with tobacco, some of what you feel in the first few days is nicotine withdrawal rather than cannabis withdrawal. The two share a lot of ground: restlessness, irritability and trouble concentrating. Stopping both at once makes that first week harder going, and it helps to know which of the two you are dealing with.

Psychological withdrawal symptoms

In your mood and your thinking, you may notice:

• irritability and anger
• anxiety and restlessness
• low mood
• strong cravings for cannabis
• trouble concentrating
• vivid or unsettling dreams
• broken sleep

Suppressed feelings coming back after quitting

If you had anxiety or a depression before you started using, they can come back more strongly in the first few weeks. Cannabis was dulling them, but it never removed them and it never got near what was causing them. Once you stop, they come back, sometimes more strongly than before. It is one of the reasons the psychological side of withdrawal is harder to get through than the physical side.

The withdrawal symptoms of weed are uncomfortable rather than dangerous. Stopping cannabis is rarely a risk to your body, and you are unlikely to need medical care to get through it. The risk lies elsewhere. Weeks of broken sleep, low mood and irritability wear you down, and that is what sends most people back to using before the hardest part has passed.

Anxiety and psychotic symptoms

Heavy use of strong cannabis is associated with psychotic symptoms such as paranoia, suspiciousness and beliefs that are not true. These can continue into the first weeks after you stop.  

If the anxiety, or anything else you are feeling, is becoming too much to handle, call us on +27 21 541 0643. There may be something underlying it that we can treat at the same time as the cannabis use.

How long weed withdrawal symptoms last depends on how much cannabis you were using and for how long. Withdrawal usually starts within 1 to 2 days of your last use. Symptoms are at their strongest in the first week, and most of them settle within 2 weeks. Recovery is not a straight line, and a day that feels worse than the last does not mean you are going backwards.

What makes withdrawal last longer

How long it lasts depends on more than how much you smoked. A few things make a difference:

• how often you used cannabis
• how long you used it for
• the strength of what you used
• whether you also drink or use other substances
• how well you slept before you stopped
• any mental health problems you had while using

The timeline below sets out each stage in turn. It assumes you stop outright rather than cutting down. Cutting down spreads the same symptoms over a longer period, because every step down can set them off again. That is why we recommend stopping outright, and quitting weed covers how to prepare for it.

First 24 to 48 hours

Irritability, restlessness and cravings usually come first. Your appetite may change, and sleep may take longer to come than it used to. The physical side stays mild at this point.

Days 2 to 7

This is when the cannabis withdrawal symptoms are at their strongest. Your sleep breaks up into fragments, dreams turn vivid and unsettling, and anxiety and mood swings peak. Sweating, headaches and stomach trouble tend to fall in this period too. If you have tried to stop before and gone back to it, this is usually the week it happened.

Weeks 1 to 2

The physical symptoms fade first. Your appetite comes back, the sweating and headaches stop, and cravings come less often. Your mood is often still unsteady and your sleep is usually still broken.

After the first month

Most weed withdrawal symptoms have gone by now. What can linger is the occasional craving, along with stretches of flat mood, often tied to a place, a time of day or the people you used with. Your concentration and your energy have usually steadied by this stage.

For most people, the cannabis withdrawal symptoms timeline above ends at around a month. Sleep does not follow the same pattern as the rest. Where the other symptoms settle week by week, broken sleep and vivid dreams can stay for a month or more, and they sometimes get worse before they improve. Low mood can drag on in the same way. If your sleep or your mood is still poor a month after stopping, that is worth a proper assessment. It can point to something that was there all along, and that cannabis was masking. Call us on +27 21 541 0643 or leave your details on our contact form, and we will talk it through with you.

Most of what helps in the first few weeks is ordinary. It works because it eases the strain on sleep, mood and appetite, the very things withdrawal puts under pressure. None of it removes the symptoms, and it is not meant to.

• go to bed and get up at the same time every day
• get outside in daylight and get some exercise every day
• eat small meals even when you do not feel like eating
• go easy on caffeine, especially after midday
• stay away from the places you used in and the people you used with
• tell one person you trust what you are doing

If you have tried to stop before

If an earlier attempt broke down in the first or second week, it was probably the withdrawal that stopped you rather than a change of heart. Starting again and again wears down your confidence, and your use often creeps up after each attempt. That is when treatment for cannabis addiction can make a difference. Our team looks at what lies behind it, so you come to understand your own pattern and know what to do when cravings hit. Call us on +27 21 541 0643 to talk it through.

Once the worst is behind you, your sleep gets deeper and your concentration and memory usually sharpen over the following weeks. Your appetite steadies, and the money you were spending stays in your pocket. Your mood often stays flat for a while before it lifts. That fits the pattern, and it does not mean stopping was a mistake.

Why the reasons behind your use stay

Once the withdrawal symptoms have faded, the reasons why you used cannabis are still there. Perhaps you used it to get to sleep, to cope with stress or to avoid feelings you would rather not face. Or perhaps everything felt flat without it. All of that is still there once the symptoms have gone. That is what decides whether you stay stopped.

We treat cannabis addiction alongside whatever lies beneath it. When an addiction and a mental health problem run side by side, it is known as dual diagnosis, and our clinical team treats the two together. Treatment itself takes place at our rehabilitation centre in South Africa, and it is built around your situation and your personal needs for a successful recovery.

When to call us

You do not have to be sure you have a problem before you call. Call our cannabis rehab centre on +27 21 541 0643 if you are already trying to stop and it is proving harder than you expected. The same goes if you simply want to know what stopping might be like with help. We can talk through where you are and help you get through your weed withdrawal symptoms.