Despite what initiatives to legalize and popular culture would lead you to believe, it is a proven and scientific fact that marijuana is definitely an addictive drug which can bring about both short and long-term physical and mental injury to users. Like other substances, a person who has used marijuana for an extended period of time can become addicted to its effects and may encounter withdrawal symptoms when they abruptly quit using marijuana. Individuals today have extremely high grade marijuana available which wasn't the situation twenty years ago, which makes it a much bigger problem.

Someone who uses marijuana on a regular basis is really changing how the brain functions, hence the brain can't just instantly readjust to normal function once the individual stops using marijuana, this could take time. Individuals actually detox from marijuana, like every other drug, as the drug is eliminated from the body and the body readjusts to function without marijuana. So marijuana detox could be a challenge for long-term users, because individuals will experience withdrawal symptoms which can be challenging to endure. These symptoms might not be as physical in nature as heroin withdrawal as an example, but marijuana detox and withdrawal can cause severe depression as well as other mental symptoms for chronic users. For this reason relapse is so common for individuals who try and cease using marijuana by themselves. Marijuana detox services are offered at alcohol and drug detoxification and alcohol and drug rehabilitation programs in Gateway to help individuals through this course of action so that they don't relapse and can receive further rehab services following detox.