MY 17 year old and cannabis

[NeedToHelpMySon]

Hello

I am hoping someone might have some knowledge on this.

My 17 year old son has been smoking cannabis very heavily for 6 months. I was unaware until he told me he had stopped and subsequently was having anxiety attacks/couldn't sleep. I knew occasionally at parties him and his friends were doing it which has caused problems between us, but I had no idea it was so bad to result in withdrawals. I didn't even realise cannabis resulted in anything like this.

This has been for a week and nothing is changing on how he is feeling. He hadn't wanted to go to to the doctor through embarrassment and because Dr Google said the worst would be over in a week. Now this has passed I have insisted it will be GP first thing Monday morning (chance will be a fine thing but as it's MH related and given his age I am hopeful to speak to someone) and I'm hopeful they will be able to help him.

He has been hiding the worst of it from me and I'm so worried about him and worried he might try to get some more to stop how he is feeling (although he has barely left the house and I'm not giving him money).

Does anyone know what the GP is likely to offer, if anything?

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Or @mnhq can you please move to a topic area more relevant? Wasn't sure if better here. Thank you.

This sounds very tough. Maybe he's now suffering from an anxiety disorder rather than cannabis withdrawal. I think the teenage brain is very sensitive. Suffering with unpleasant withdrawal symptoms may have caused feelings of anxiety and panic to develop which are now lingering after the withdrawal symptoms have finished.
I had something similar at that age. I basically had a bad LSD trip but it triggered anxiety which lasted many weeks and months. It was my first ever experience of any sort of mental health problems. I'd had no idea that your mind could turn against you and I found it terrifying. My symptoms were nothing to do with the LSD - there were no after effects of that. It was simply that I was in a downward spiral of anxiety and I couldn't see any way out. The LSD had triggered an anxiety disorder but my anxiety was quite separate. It was actually anxiety about being anxious! What was wrong with me? Was I going mad etc? As an adult my brain would now be equipped to deal with this but as a teenager it freaked me out. I wonder if your son is suffering something similar?
I did go to the doctor. I ended up having counselling and taking an antidepressant that's effective against anxiety (this helped me more than I can say). I also read a lot about anxiety disorders and panic so I could understand what was happening to me. I found the books by Claire Weeks were very helpful.
I hope your son gets better soon.

Hi, my 17yr old daughter was in a similar position a couple of months ago, the withdrawal was tough, she's been with CAMHS for other issues and they referred her to a substance abuse support advisor who's been really helpful.

You will be able to get an emergency appointment for him if you call first thing and stay on the line.

I had a really bad reaction to a few times of drug use in my 20s.

Most people might try it in their teens a few times but using pot heavily isn't good at that age. It can also be that people try and self-medicate with drugs or alcohol if they're already not 100% with their mental health (this is a bad idea.)

Your GP will chat to him and see how he's feeling, and proceed based on that.

Thinking of you @NeedToHelpMySon , please let us know how it goes.

If you think it needs it, you could take him to A&E and he can see a consultant or be quickly given a consultant's appointment. A psychiatric emergency is still an emergency.

You dont get cannabis withdrawals. Chances are he was just sleeping better with the cannabis and calmed by it.

Firstly don't panic

I live in a country where it's legal so many people smoke it without stigma

It's not nearly as harmful as you think but if he is smoking large quantities then that is problematic.

Can he cut down ? Maybe pre roll a couple to have at night only ?

You dont get cannabis withdrawals. Chances are he was just sleeping better with the cannabis and calmed by it.

A lot of people do find it difficult to stop and some do experience symptoms. It's actually recognized as Cannabis Withdrawl Syndrome www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5414724/ or some people have a cannabis use disorder where they feel they can't stop and it effects their lives in a lot of ways.

And pot can be very mentally destabilizing. If he's been self medicating with it then there are actual medications (and/or therapy) which are safer.

You absolutely can have cannabis withdrawal. Not sleeping and feeling stressed IS the withdrawal. I stopped just before my finals at uni. I was a mess. Sooo much anxiety!

On the plus side I never touched it again! If ever I needed proof that it does indeed affect your body and brain that was it!

I smoked every evening until I fell asleep/passed out. Definitely reliant on it.

I live in a country where it's legal so many people smoke it without stigma.

I also live in a country where weed is ‘legal’ and the impact that it’s use has on the mental health of the young, has been largely swept under the carpet.

He's probably not used to feeling and working through his emotions and uncomfortable feelings. I guess he needs to find other ways of distracting himself.
Baths
Films
Books
Walking or jogging
He has to find a routine that works for him to distract himself, I found cannabis quite addictive and didn't know what to do with myself without the routine of rolling a joint.

Normal life can be boring and uncomfortable

It may depend on the GP but hope there is something offered. Glad to read you are being supportive.

Meh. Cannabis is psychoactive and can be really destabilising for growing brains in particular. It is just as likely to amplify anxiety and depression as not.
Be there for your son and support him through this unsettling time.
Then, when he's better, have a serious chat with him about what a bad decision 'recreational' cannabis use is, on so many levels.

www.nicswell.co.uk/health-news/high-strength-skunk-now-dominates-uk-cannabis-market

"It's not nearly as harmful as you think" - it may be, depending on what exactly is being used.

I don't think it's helpful to compare UK cannabis use with that used in other countries as this may not be comparing like with like.

There has been a change in the kind of cannabis used in the UK in recent years ( higher concentration of THC) and it does seem to increase the risk of harm compared to cannabis that has more CBD in it

OP I hope the GP can help. There's also lots of info on the talk to Frank website:
www.talktofrank.com/

You absolutely do and they can be terrible. Sweats especially at night, unable to sleep, nausea, anxiety and no appetite. It'll pass but takes time. Not sure what the doctor can do but worth speaking with them. Hope he feels better soon.

Well done to your son for making the decision to give up weed OP. He's a sensible young man, recognises weed isnt good for him and is aiming to do something about it

Skunk weed is an epidemic messing up the minds of young people. Paranoia, listless lack of motivation, mood swings and more. + its a drain on the pocket.

It isnt harmless at all. I know lots of people who smoke weed and although they see themselves as chilled out - they're actually bores who drone on about how good their particular weed was today, how great it makes them feel/gives them the munchies😴. & of course, going anywhere with them is annoying if they've no access to weed as cant smoke there or they've not been able to meet up with their shady dealer beforehand.

Or worse still, late because they simply cant move anywhere without having a spliff first

It's good youre understanding and stepping up to help, he knows you're looking out for him. You've had some great advice on here.

Wishing you both the best

I struggled with cannabis addiction for about 3 years, occasionally quitting then going back to it when I had a problem I couldn’t quite deal with. Smoked 1-3 joints a night so not loads compared to many but our bodies are all different.
Each time I stopped I had about 2 weeks of extreme insomnia and no appetite, then it would calm down. Probably took a month or so to not be craving it each evening, being anxious and irritable.

There are definitely physical withdrawal symptoms but the hardest thing is having to face uncomfortable feelings, when you know there’s this other easy option of just totally disconnecting and retreating to a sort of dream world. The problem is that the next day you’re so lethargic and down that problem seems even more insurmountable than it did before you smoked to distract yourself, so it’s a vicious circle. Speaking to friends who’ve been addicted to alcohol and other drugs, I think this is probably the same for all.

I’m not sure what a GP could do except refer your son for therapy. As his mum maybe you can help him to work out what feelings or challenge he is trying to escape from when he smokes. If he can find a way to address that it will be easier to stop smoking. If he’s hanging around with people who are smoking it’s going to be really hard though, so might be a good idea to try and find another friendship group who don’t smoke. He doesn’t need to dump old friends, just try not to be with them e.g. in the evenings if that’s when they’re all getting stoned.

The withdrawal symptoms and addiction will be from the tobacco rather than the cannabis. Find out how much tobacco he's been smoking with the weed and buy the appropriate nicotine patches.