Quitting Marijuana: Not All Treatment Programs Are Equal

One of the problems with finding an effective program for quitting marijuana is that most of these programs are based on old data and outdated recovery methods. The face of marijuana as a drug has changed immensely even in the last 10 years, and it is not the same drug now that the Hippies were smoking in the Sixties. This article will help you in choosing a quitting marijuana program that works.

Most of the quitting marijuana programs available today are based on the recovery model of Alcoholic's Anonymous. The organization that brought us this recovery model is also the one who brought us Prohibition, The Christian Temperance Movement of the early 20th Century.

A recovery model based on the work of a 20th Century religious group that favored Prohibition may not be the best recovery model for a pot smoker in the 21st Century.

Another problem with the AA recovery model is that 45% of 1st time members never make it to their second meeting. 95% of AA members do not make it past their 1st year. If you are serious about quitting marijuana, you may want to choose a recovery model with a better track record.

Bottom line is that while the AA recovery method works for some people, it may not be the best model for folks interested interested in quitting marijuana use.

Another problem with most methods of quitting marijuana is that they are based on research that is very outdated. Marijuana today is twice as potent as what the Hippies were smoking in the Sixties and Seventies. And marijuana grown in 2010 is 10 times as strong as it was just ten years earlier.

Advanced growing methods like hydroponics are creating new strains of marijuana that are literally dripping or crystalized with THC content, but most quitting marijuana treatment programs are still treating the drug like the same relatively harmless non addictive substance it was 40 or 50 years ago. It is not the same drug. It is much more potent and can lead to addiction.

A final thing that makes it hard to find an effective marijuana treatment program is the nature of the drug itself. THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, and its metabolites are fat soluble compounds that stay in your fat tissue for long periods of time.

As they build up in your system they create the long term effects of marijuana use like short term memory loss, lack of focus, mood swings ,and paranoia. They also increase your tolerance to the drug to the point where you are craving and smoking large amounts without feeling any effects.

The ironic thing is that none of the traditional methods of quitting marijuana offer any kind of a detox program to help remove these toxins from your system and aid you in quitting marijuana. The ideal recovery program would be created for pot smokers by a former pot smoker and would include a proven method for detox.

Once you have made a commitment to stop smoking it, quitting marijuana does not have to be painful or difficult.