Serious pot users who give up cold turkey may discover themselves lighting up again to suppress withdrawal symptoms. In a study of nearly 500 marijuana smokers who tried toward kick the habit, about one-third resumed use to relieve or avoid withdrawal symptoms such as irritability and anxiety.

There is long been a debate over whether pot smokers actually become addicted to the , and whether withdrawal symptoms are real.
The study concerned 469 pot smokers, ages 18 to 64, which were recruited using word of mouth and advertisements. None of the participants suffered from recognized psychiatric disorders.

About one in four reported smoking pot more than 10,000 times in their lives — the equivalent of daily use for 27 years. More than half smoked more than 2,000 times.

“Heavy pot users should be aware that they may experience a withdrawal syndrome that will make them uncomfortable when they try to quit.
But other than to try to get patients enrolled in the trial, “the only other thing I can offer is inpatient care. Sometimes just keeping them away from marijuana will help prevent relapse.