Can long time marijuana use make you become dependent on benzos faster?

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Hi guys. I smoked pot every day for years until I got screwed up from the benzos. I had never had a panic attack from it or anything, maybe the tiniest amount of anxiety sometimes but nothing that freaked me out. When I quit hydrocodone, the doctor gave me klonopin and within a few weeks I became dependent. I had to taper over the next 4 months and I've had it rough the entire time. I wonder if that can make withdrawals worse, if it makes the GABA way more downregulated, and if it could take longer to heal because of that?  Also, do you think marijuana use delays or prolongs healing? I only tried a few times since I've been in withdrawal and it didn't rev me up but it didn't really help in any way. Just wondering if it could be the cause for such quick dependency and how it can affect healing.

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My shrink told me if I would have smoked pot I would not have needed my benzo...The doctor was 80yrs old...He gave me a choice..I took the Ativan instead...I would not dare,for me to even add that to the healing ...We are all different...Also you are an expierenced smoker...Pot is not addicting like benzo...I feel pot is more of a life style choice...I know many,many long time pot smokers..I never heard of them having withdraws..But if you do have an addictive personality your gonna want to do it again..I dont have an addictive personality...If you are getting healthy I would stay away from the weed!Lol

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I'm really wondering if that could he why I became dependent to the klonopin so quickly, because it and the hydrocodone already had my GABA down regulated or something like that. Also, when I did smoke recently, it didn't rev me and didn't help, it really wasn't much at all just a small puff or two, but the next day I remember not being as bad as usual. I don't know if it helped me sleep and that's why I felt better or if it had some sort of numbing effect that made things easier? I don't know. And could smoking prolong or keep me from getting better?

[[WT...]]

I'm really wondering if that could he why I became dependent to the klonopin so quickly, because it and the hydrocodone already had my GABA down regulated or something like that. Also, when I did smoke recently, it didn't rev me and didn't help, it really wasn't much at all just a small puff or two, but the next day I remember not being as bad as usual. I don't know if it helped me sleep and that's why I felt better or if it had some sort of numbing effect that made things easier? I don't know. And could smoking prolong or keep me from getting better?

 

Coop, I will offer my experience with pot.  It made made things worse for me, and another person I know.

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I'm really wondering if that could he why I became dependent to the klonopin so quickly, because it and the hydrocodone already had my GABA down regulated or something like that. Also, when I did smoke recently, it didn't rev me and didn't help, it really wasn't much at all just a small puff or two, but the next day I remember not being as bad as usual. I don't know if it helped me sleep and that's why I felt better or if it had some sort of numbing effect that made things easier? I don't know. And could smoking prolong or keep me from getting better?

 

As someone who smoked pot every day for 11 years, I personally doubt it a lot.  There are a lot of people who become dependant quickly and a lot who don't, I seriously doubt that it divides evenly down pot smoking lines.  Even if it did cause it, at the end of the day, would it make any difference?

 

Best wishes.

 

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Hey sweet G,

 

I guess I'm wondering if doing it every day for over 10 years could have made it worse on me and gotten me so badly dependent so quickly and if doing it more could keep me from getting better or help the situation. If it's partly responsible for making things so bad, it seems it would prevent me from getting better but why did I feel better the next day after doing it? If I feel it helps should I try it or would that possibly keep me from getting better? I mean, a benzo would probably make me feel better but it would prevent me from getting better...same thing? If it does help then I don't see why I wouldn't want to take advantage of that but if it keeps me from getting better then I shouldn't do it. I wonder the same thing about the hydroxyzine I end up taking about once a week when I get really scared and worked up?

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All those years of daily pot use, then the months of daily hydrocodone use...I felt normal every day through all of this. Some minor withdrawals from the hydrocodone which made me want to quit but I could still live a life. Took the benzos and a couple weeks later all hell broke loose and it doesn't feel like it's ever going to stop now. Like the benzo screwed up my mind permanently and it was able to because it was capable of letting something so strong take hold. Can I still get back to normal?

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I'm soon moving to a state that  has legal medical marijuana. I'm glad to hear about the lack of interference with benzos.  My worst worry is insomnia as I cut down. Right now I still sleep but that's on 1.25 mgs of K.

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Please someone help me understand. If I use it for help, will it prevent me from healing? Did it help contribute to why I got screwed so badly by these benzos in the first place? Or can it benefit me and help me cope easier through this process and then I can quit once I'm better?

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All those years of daily pot use, then the months of daily hydrocodone use...I felt normal every day through all of this. Some minor withdrawals from the hydrocodone which made me want to quit but I could still live a life. Took the benzos and a couple weeks later all hell broke loose and it doesn't feel like it's ever going to stop now. Like the benzo screwed up my mind permanently and it was able to because it was capable of letting something so strong take hold. Can I still get back to normal?

 

Probably. The question is how.

Will it take time, and only time to recover ?

 

You may want to google cannabinoid receptors, benzodiazepine, endocannabinoids, GABAA.

Don't forget Google Scholar.

There seems to be some kind of interaction.

 

I don't know much about 'pot'. Long term use will cause accumulation of THC in fatty (brain) tissues.

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coop

, I once read somewhere and I believe it, that weed does not bind with the same receptors as benzos.  Also read that it will not hurt ur recovery.  I can not smoke because it revs my w/d.  As far as smoking daily.....I dont think it physically set u up for being addicted quicker (receptors).  BUT u have been addicted in the past so that makes u more likely to get addicted quicker (like me).  The benzos come with a warning that "if u have ever been addicted to any substance do not take."  I didnt pay attention either.  Didnt look at the long run.................Candy

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Please someone help me understand. If I use it for help, will it prevent me from healing? Did it help contribute to why I got screwed so badly by these benzos in the first place? Or can it benefit me and help me cope easier through this process and then I can quit once I'm better?

 

You may want to do your research, but long term use of pot, especially daily and with lots of THC tends to cause long-term adverse effects.

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But I never had adverse effects from weed. After years of smoking I could smoke and feel fine or not smoke and be fine (just maybe a little bored). Never felt anything like this until the benzo. What can that mean?

 

I just wish I knew if it would prolong or prevent recovery because I obviously wouldn't want to do it if so. But it seems to make things better for me so if I cope better that seems good, but not if it keeps me from getting better.

 

Liberty,

I've tried to read a lot about it but my dumbed down brain from this has a hard time putting it all together and as much as I read I feel like I can't find a definitive answer.

[[Be...]]

i doubt you will find an answer because I doubt there has ever been a study on the subject.

 

I personally do not believe smoking Pot afects Benzo recovery.  I have smoked every day for years before ever touching a benzo.  I smoked pot every day throughout my taper and post jump.  I am 2.5 months off and am 90% recovered.  Yes, still smoking daily.  Smoke up if you enjoy it. Life is short, make it as pleasurable as possible.

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Hey sweet G,

 

I guess I'm wondering if doing it every day for over 10 years could have made it worse on me and gotten me so badly dependent so quickly and if doing it more could keep me from getting better or help the situation. If it's partly responsible for making things so bad, it seems it would prevent me from getting better but why did I feel better the next day after doing it? If I feel it helps should I try it or would that possibly keep me from getting better? I mean, a benzo would probably make me feel better but it would prevent me from getting better...same thing? If it does help then I don't see why I wouldn't want to take advantage of that but if it keeps me from getting better then I shouldn't do it. I wonder the same thing about the hydroxyzine I end up taking about once a week when I get really scared and worked up?

 

Well, I've smoked plenty of pot to mitigate my withdrawal symptoms during the course of my taper and post-benzo period and I seem to have recovered on pretty much the same timeline as everyone else and, if anything, seem to have one of the more positive outlooks on things. 

 

I'm not saying any of this because I am pro-pot.  I am very dedicated to my recovery and have thought about this very long and hard.  So far as I have ever been able to tell, for the people who don't like what pot did for them during withdrawal, in almost all cases it's a temporary revving up of anxiety that wears of when the pot wears off.  I have thought about it long and hard and have not found any reason to associate it with any of the typical problems of withdrawal.

 

My thoughts would be, if you did anything else and it helped you a lot, would you question it so much?  Questioning things is a very healthy exercise, and should always be encouraged, but I guess I wouldn't want you to talk yourself out of a good thing if it's working for you.

 

Best wishes.

 

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All those years of daily pot use, then the months of daily hydrocodone use...I felt normal every day through all of this. Some minor withdrawals from the hydrocodone which made me want to quit but I could still live a life. Took the benzos and a couple weeks later all hell broke loose and it doesn't feel like it's ever going to stop now. Like the benzo screwed up my mind permanently and it was able to because it was capable of letting something so strong take hold. Can I still get back to normal?

 

Many others have, including the ones who became dependant so quickly.

 

[[sw...]]

I'm soon moving to a state that  has legal medical marijuana. I'm glad to hear about the lack of interference with benzos.  My worst worry is insomnia as I cut down. Right now I still sleep but that's on 1.25 mgs of K.

 

Man, that is the one thing it has helped me with beyond all else.  It's obviously not a knock out drug, but it has consistently helped increase the odds in my favor dramatically.  I'd say just try some, first, and see how it works for you to kind of stick your pinky toe in the water.  If it doesn't, then it was worth a try, and if it does then so much the better.  A lot of people, here, don't like it while in withdrawal, but for those of us it does help we're deeply grateful for it.

 

Best wishes.

 

[[Ho...]]

I doubt the weed would have any effect at all as far as making you more dependent on benzos faster. It would be more likely to temporarily exacerbate withdrawal symptoms like anxiety until it wears off.

[[On...]]

I don't believe that cannibis would have made you more susceptible to benzo addiction. however i know first hand that cannibis can make benzo withdrawals "feel' worse than they might ordinarily, if that is possible. If you decide to use cannibis, my advice would be to use "very little", since it can now exacerbate the anxiety that benzo withdrawal so famously exhorts. When in the benzo withdrawal stage cannibis does not seem to be the old familiar "warm and fuzzy" relaxant drug it used to be.

 

Of course do as you please, but after just recently spending $150 for medical cannibis "recommendation" card and $80 purchase of various sample strains of cannibis, I had to put it all away into dresser drawer after having a couple extremely high anxiety experiences with respiratory distress and severe shaking, hypothermia-like states. I have had better success with the supplementation of, theanine, 5-HTP, Vitamin B6(pyridoxine), GABA, Glycine, xiao yao wan(shao yao wan), Valerian root and 1-2 mg. melatonin.

 

BTW, years ago I use to be an experienced at cannibis use.

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Well here's the thing: since I've been in withdrawal it hasn't exacerbated my symptoms at all. It probably would if i smoked too much but I just take a couple hits of stuff that's not very strong. I don't see it helping me much, but maybe in a tiny way it does to at least not feel the torture in the exact same way I have been at the time.

 

What I worry about, is I've been doing a tad more lately (a few times a week) and I've been feeling a little better lately too. Better meaning the torture can become tolerable for a good part of the day and then come and go that day or get worse the next. I guess I'm worrying that the marijuana is somehow acting on the GABA to make me feel better in some way, not right when I smoke, but maybe because it helps me sleep deeper or something like that. Maybe ive just been trying it again more because I'm feeling better or because I'm bored out of my mind with nothing to do and I figure why not. I guess I just want to believe that somehow this feeling better is bad for me and preventing me from healing and not being able to just think I'm getting stronger windows and somehow getting better.

 

I mean, I've had it really hard for months, and still get it hard today and yesterday for example, but I'm having stronger windows in the last two weeks since to I jumped from my taper and I've been smoking a little more to help cope or pass time.

 

I just don't know what to believe. When I'm having those windows I don't question this but now I really wonder and I just want to do what helps deal with this easier and get better at the same time. Then I can slowly stop smoking later at a time when it wouldn't be as difficult because I could actually go out and do other things for fun and to pass time.

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But I never had adverse effects from weed. After years of smoking I could smoke and feel fine or not smoke and be fine (just maybe a little bored). Never felt anything like this until the benzo. What can that mean?

 

I just wish I knew if it would prolong or prevent recovery because I obviously wouldn't want to do it if so. But it seems to make things better for me so if I cope better that seems good, but not if it keeps me from getting better.

 

Liberty,

I've tried to read a lot about it but my dumbed down brain from this has a hard time putting it all together and as much as I read I feel like I can't find a definitive answer.

 

I'm soon moving to a state that  has legal medical marijuana. I'm glad to hear about the lack of interference with benzos.  My worst worry is insomnia as I cut down. Right now I still sleep but that's on 1.25 mgs of K.

 

Man, that is the one thing it has helped me with beyond all else.  It's obviously not a knock out drug, but it has consistently helped increase the odds in my favor dramatically.  I'd say just try some, first, and see how it works for you to kind of stick your pinky toe in the water.  If it doesn't, then it was worth a try, and if it does then so much the better.  A lot of people, here, don't like it while in withdrawal, but for those of us it does help we're deeply grateful for it.

 

Best wishes.

 

 

Promotion of illegal drugs is not allowed on the forum. There's no problem with members sharing information about drug use and how it affects benzo withdrawal but, we don't want to glorify the drug use itself. This is located in the Forum User Manuel (FUM) and, I've left a link to it, below.

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=25835.0

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But it's medicinal and I did not promote it's use. Just asked others that used it the same way how it helped their recovery.

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Marijuana binds to endocannabinnoid receptors and exerts dramatic action on acetylcholine. I remember reading how it ultimately ends up firing the limbic system and affecting dopamine, serotonin and gaba as well - but those are not primary effects. More or less it ends up affecting almost everything, but indirectly.

 

In pot you have a whole bunch of different active chemicals, primary THC and active THC analogs, CBD, CBN. None of these drugs are considered neurotoxic or to create a dependence in the same way benzos do. It is likely that other drug use has complicated your withdrawal; it is unlikely that other drug use has affected your long term prognosis. It's just a matter of how long "long term" is, and no one can tell you that.

 

Anecdotally, I was able to smoke pot all the way through my first benzo taper and it did not seem to complicate it or prevent me from healing, but in all fairness I did end up back on benzos and so this time I have revoked my "license" to mess with anything else because I definitely don't want to do this a third time. I'm now 7 weeks clean of everything except for the benzos, and things are starting to even out for me.

 

Opioids are known to create a post-acute withdrawal all their own; on top of benzo withdrawal it is insidious. The bottom line for you (coop) is that you're going to be fine if you get off and stay off the drugs but you may need to stay off all of them for some significant period of time before you really feel 'fine'.

[[Re...]]

I live in California where medical marijuana is legal. I went to my pot doc and he recommended that I try a nice indica for sleep, pain, and anxiety. I really don't know how I would have ever gotten through the worst part of the benzo withdrawal. The thing about using marijuana is you have to know what to smoke because if you get a heavy sativa you will find that it will not help with the anxiety, however it will work for mood problems during the witdrawal phase. I am by no means advocating pot use for you, but for me it worked incredibly well and I have had positive results because of medical pot.