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SourceNational Institute on Drug Abuse Back To the Table of Contents ForumsHealth, Safety, Nutrition and KidsRelated ArticlesGrowing Up Drug Free: A Parent's Guide To Prevention
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 Q: Do marijuana users lose their motivation?A: Some frequent, long-term marijuana users show signs of a lack of motivation (amotivational syndrome). Their problems include not caring about what happens in their lives; no desire to work regularly; fatigue; and lack of concern about how they look. As a result of these symptoms, most users tend to perform poorly in school or at work. Scientists are still studying these problems.
Q: Can a person become addicted to marijuana?A: Yes. While not everyone who uses marijuana becomes addicted, when a user begins to feel that he or she needs to take the drug to feel well, that person is said to be dependent on the drug or addicted to it. In 1993, over 100,000 people entering drug treatment programs reported marijuana as their primary drug of abuse, showing they need help to stop using.Some heavy users of marijuana show signs of dependence because when they do not use the drug, they develop withdrawal symptoms. Some subjects in an experiment on marijuana withdrawal had such symptoms as restlessness, loss of appetite, trouble with sleeping, weight loss, and shaky hands.
Q: What is "tolerance" for marijuana?A: "Tolerance" means that the user needs increasingly larger doses of the drug to get the same desired results that he or she previously got from smaller amounts. Some frequent, heavy users of marijuana may develop tolerance for it.
Q: Are there treatments to help marijuana users?A: Up until a few years ago, it was hard to find treatment programs specifically for marijuana users. Treatments for marijuana dependence were much the same as therapies for other drug abuse problems. These include detoxification, behavioral therapies, and regular attendance at meetings of support groups, such as Narcotics Anonymous.Recently, researchers have been testing different ways to attract marijuana users to treatment and help them abstain from drug use. There are currently no medications for treating marijuana dependence. Treatment programs focus on counseling and group support systems. From these studies, drug treatment professionals are learning what characteristics of users are predictors of success in treatment and which approaches to treatment can be most helpful. Further progress in treatment to help marijuana users includes a number of programs set up to help adolescents in particular. Some of these programs are in university research centers, where most of the young clients report marijuana as their drug of choice. Others are in independent adolescent treatment facilities. Family physicians are also a good source for information and help in dealing with adolescent marijuana problems.
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