Cannabis

[loxicom]

Hi our son appears to be going through some kind of withdrawal while we are on holiday.

It could be straightforward nicotine withdrawal, also compounded by loss of weed use.

His anger is however still off the scale and we are ten days in. He seems to have access to a vape now so I guess nicotine is off the list.

He would have been exposed to weed in the womb. I thought there was no withdrawal from weed (old time user) but it could be a big psychological crutch. I guess I’m wondering - could he actually be having weed withdrawal because he would have had it in utero - could it be having a bigger than expected impact because of this?

Or is weed addictive now it is stronger?

Or is this more likely to be caused by a different substance that we are unable to detect him using?

Sorry I feel completely useless and clueless. If it helps at all he is 17.

Thank you.

Well you’re a bit late to be worrying about what happened to him when he was in the womb (and btw how on earth did you let that happen??). If he’s vaping then it’s not nicotine withdrawal, so yes could be cannabis or even something else.
I don’t think you’re focusing on the right things here - are you freely allowing your son to use drugs, and if so what did you think would happen on holiday? Or is this totally unexpected? Either way some tough questions need to be addressed, both by you in terms of parenting, and your son.

Hi thanks for your reply

I wasn’t there for the conception nor the first five years of his life otherwise I would have done something about it believe me. I’m just trying to deal with the situation I’ve been handed and arming myself with as much info as I can so I can help him the best I can.

Is anyone else able to help at all please?

Thanks again
L

So sorry for my judgemental post - it wasn’t clear from your op that you weren’t his birth mother. Sounds like you need professional medical help here. I’m not sure anyone here will be of help. Are his symptoms mainly emotional rather than physical? And is this behaviour completely out of character for him?
It sounds like an incredibly difficult situation and I would be seeking external medical support, or cutting short holiday and heading home.

Ok thanks Kitty

Is anyone else able to give me some insight at all please?

I would particularly like to know

Is it possible he is suffering a strong withdrawal from cannabis because he was also exposed to it in utero?

Is weed more addictive now it is stronger and this is why we are seeing this reaction?

Is this more likely to be caused by withdrawal from another substance?

Thank you
L

Have you asked him what drugs he takes and does he think he is withdrawing from something? I know that's a tough conversation to have but tell him you aren't judging but it is clear something is wrong. I'd focus on that rather than in utero. Even if he was exposed prebirth surely he cant have had access to cannabis his whole life?

Edit: if I had to guess I'd say he has moved on to something stronger than cannabis by now.

Why would a 17 year old be having withdrawal symptoms from his mother smoking weed during pregnancy? I don't think that's even possible.

If they are withdrawal symptoms then it will be from something he's been taking recently. I don't think cannabis is a drug known to have withdrawal symptoms (I could be wrong) so I'd be concerned about something stronger

I wouldn't have thought you would have withdrawal with canabis can't be that. Nicotine yes but would just make you irritable not off the scale. Ask him does he think is in withdrawal. Must be something pretty strong to have that reaction

Don't think it's anything to do with what he was exposed to in the womb, or even the strength of the cannabis today. So I'd discount that.

Do you know how much cannabis he usually uses? What exactly are his withdrawal symptoms? I'm not against cannabis per se, but I have noticed that when people who use cannabis a lot, like at minimum daily or constantly throughout the day - when they stop then yes, the moods, depressive type symptoms and anger can be quite severe. Shouldn't have physical symptoms apart from maybe not being able to sleep.

A bit late I know but vapes laced with Spice could have been the problem
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj3l231xz5ko