Quote Originally Posted by birdgirl73
You guys who're so sure there aren't any withdrawal symptoms haven't done enough reading. Even though it's not a traditional drug of addiction like a narrcotic, cannabis still binds to nerve receptors and causes a chain of cellular reactions that create a high and other responses. Any substance that changes our neurochemistry, especially when it's been taken regularly, can cause some withdrawal effects when people stop taking it. It's not the same violent, craving-filled withdrawal that happens with drugs like poppy-based narcotics or stimulants, but it's type of withdrawal just the same. You see the same effect with Paxil, other SSRI antidepressants, and various other heart and neurological drugs that work by changing neurochemistry or neurotransmitters in other parts of the body. While the cessation of those drugs won't cause withdrawal in the same way that would happen with traditional drugs of dependence, people certainly can have withdrawal effects when stopping them. Headaches, lack of appetite and trouble sleeping are classic cannabis withdrawal symptoms that people report all the time.

Erowid, one one of the best sources available for unbiased information about cannabis, has a heading on the page I'm linking below called "Withdrawal Symptoms."
Erowid Cannabis (Marijuana) Vault : Effects
But some of what they list are not really true withdrawal symptoms, they have "finding non-stoned life a bit dull, increased boredom" as a withdrawal symptom, but come on, if you use that as a withdrawal symptom then you could say Soda has withdrawal symptoms such as: "dry mouth, less alert" relating to the fact that someone is simply not drinking it anymore, and not getting the caffeine high. But is that really a true withdrawal symptom?

I have a hard time believing something like "difficulty sleeping" is really a true withdrawal symptom of marijuana use. Rather, I'd say the user was most likely dependent on marijuana as a sleep aid, and without that sleep aid he/she had to adjust and get use to sleeping without it. So I don't really see the marijuana being the cause behind the difficulty sleeping. Or maybe my definition of withdrawal is incorrect, but I always assumed a true withdrawal symptom was something caused by not using the drug, not just a users adjustment to dealing with things such as difficulty sleeping, anxiety, headaches, etc., without that drug. Does that make any sense?