According to a February 4 Reuters News Wire headline, “Marijuana withdrawal rivals that of nicotine.”   Oh really?  

Not according to a two-year, multi-million dollar review conducted by the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, which reported, “[U]nder normal cannabis use, the long half-life and slow elimination from the body of THC … prevent[s] substantial abstinence symptoms.” [page 58]  Authors go on to state that a distinctive ‘marijuana withdrawal syndrome,’ when identified, “is mild and short-lived.” [page 6]  

Ultimately, the proof is in the pudding.  According to the IOM, a whopping 32 percent of tobacco smokers eventually become dependent on the drug versus only nine percent of marijuana smokers.  Notably, 15 percent of alcohol users become dependent on booze — meaning that when it comes to ‘kicking the habit,’ it’s clearly the legal drugs that leave America hooked.

Share this Article

Tags: Institute of Medicine, marijuana, nicotine, tobacco, withdrawal

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 5th, 2008 at 1:45 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.