How can we get help for a cannabis addiction?

Question

My partners 23 year old son has a cannabis addiction which is threatening to take over his life. To further complicate this he suffers from depression and the combination means he suffers from massive mood swings. At his worst he can be violent, such as smashing furniture and fighting, he threatens his father and insults his mother even though they are doing everything to help him overcome this problem. At other times he can be great.

I need to know if there is any organisation that can really help him? I don't want answers telling me he has to help himself, we know that but he needs assistance. We have tried Frank but it hasn't been much help. We have also tried a psychiatrist but they say there is nothing wrong with him.

Is there anyone out there who has experienced this problem and has found a solution and/or an organisation that can help?

Answer 1

His problems is not centrally cannabis. I smoked it for 8 years constantly and was not anything you describe your son. I think he had ["maybe"] mental illness/immaturity to begin with.
I quit cannabis and it was way absolutely far easier to do then when I quit smoking tobacco cigarettes.
He needs to grow up fast or seek mental help. He seems extremely immature if at 23 years old he is smashing furniture and insulting his mother because of only smoking joints.

Stop mollycoddling him and tell the boy to grow up or the ultimatum to get out. He is probably just like a little boy in the mind playing on your sympathy for attention. Tell him to be a man for goodness sake and face the world.
Not being disrespectful but the joints are not his problem he has other issues.

Answer 2

just want to post to "away with the fairies." Why would they called social services or child services?? They can't do anything as the "child" is 23 years old. And if they still feel they need to step in, they will probably blame the parents and take the "child" into their own custody and make matters ten times worse. Please....think about all the options before bringing child protection services into this. They are a good service, but they have no mercy when they see a child in danger, and some of the tactics they use could make the original matter much much worse in the long tun. Just my opinion based on having dealt with social services in the past They try to do right, but b/c they see everything as black and white and want a simple way to blame something, they can ruin families. this is an issue that should remain with the family, as the son has so many people that care about him. They can talk to doctors, addiction specialists, and psychiatrists, but not social services. You don't want to make a bad situation even worse.

Answer 3

First off, there is no such thing as a "cannabis addiction". Marijuana is NOT an addictive drug in any form, and this has been medically proven!! This person you mention may be "addicted" to the feelings he gets when smoking pot, but not to the pot itself. As for the rest, he has some anger issue that have nothing to do with his smoking habits, rather his habits are just augmenting his conditions of anger, rage, and self worth (or lack of self worth perhaps). I smoked marijuana for over 30 years (about 20 joints a day on the average) and decided one day to stop, and just stopped. Yes, for the first couple days I really missed the feelings of being stoned, but had no actual physical withdrawls. It was the habit itself, and the feelings, that I missed at first but those quickly went away. I think that this person does have a problem, and should be given some medical help for his anger and violence issues. If you still think he needs help with his "drug addiction" then try an NA (narcotics anonymous) group in your area. They should be able to assist you. Good luck.

Answer 4

Cannabis aka marijuana is not physically addicting. You can have a psychological addiction to it in the sense that you want it because it produces a positive effect on your mood...

It sounds like your partner's son has a serious mental health issue completely separate from using marijuana. If anything he's using the marijuana to deal with his depression/mood swings.

He really does need to acknowledge he has a problem in order for treatment to be effective. If he isn't in the right frame of mind he may not be able to do that unfortunately. I think he is really too old at this point for you guys to be able to force him into a mental health facility. He's an adult. I think you need to get him re-evaluated by another psychiatrist if he is willing to participate in an evaluation. It sounds like you just didn't find the right therapist which isn't uncommon.

Good luck...

Answer 5

If you stop giving him hassle, adding to his problems by adopting the government's entirely negative stance re: a natural herb,
you might find you will be able to communicate with him better

I personally think his chosen "poison" is better than turning to alcohol or other hard drugs which do have very harmful affects

If his moods change, that is actually quite healthy
if he was fixated in one detrimental emotion, I would be worried.
He sounds like any other ordinary kid- he's just trying to find his way, get a bit of head space, try to acquire some independence but he doesn't know how to achieve that, so he's getting cross...

he don't need reporting to the authorities for God's sake!
He just needs to understand the ideal is not to need any mind altering drugs because he can attain peace of mind without those.
That said, he probably likes the stimulation i.e. seeing another viewpoint cos that helps him to understand what's going on & helps him find answers he's looking for...
(that's why the government has banned the herb).

Of course, I understand you want to keep him legal - on the right side of the law... so all in all, the poor guy's probably feeling paranoid... all very bizarre for you to get your heads around... but all you can do is advise him of the risks...

Answer 6

1. There is no such thing as a cannabis addiction. He may be psychologically addicted to getting high, but cannabis is not addicting (honest)
2. The drug use is a symptom of a different type of problem, I would guess it's mental- it's either bipolarism (used to be Manic Depression) or clinical depression. It is just as likely to be sugar or caffeine or a combination. The description you gave is practically a text book diagnosis of bipolarism
3. If he is taking ANY medications, get the doctor to stop the meds.

I have dealt with this in my family, the problem is often misdiagnosed or missed altogether.

Here are some links to check out:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?objectid=B2138CDB-0C42-4B6F-8AF50CA8903055A7&dsection=1

http://www.clevelandclinic.org/health/health-info/docs/0000/0017.asp?index=3975

http://familydoctor.org/625.xml

Answer 7

sorry i wrote this as if i am talking to his parents. it took a lot of thinking to type this and i did not want to do it over. your son may be suffering from mental illness, or just plain bad behavior. massive mood swings are usually a sign he may be bi polar, but that is for a doctor to diagnose. not a g p but a psychiatrist. i know lots of people young and old that smoke pot and do not act like that. i don't think the pot is the only problem. simply quiting i do not think will change his behavior that much mood swings usually go from being depressed, lethargic, no ambition, to bouts of being euphoric, happy, and having poor judgment, like spending all kinds of money he may not have. i could be wrong, but if you feel he has not mental illness, then talking to him, and setting down the rules for his behavior may be the answer. he is probably unhappy being at home after he sees his friends go on, get their own girlfriends, or apartments etc, and he may be taking it out on you. you have done nothing wrong except provide for him in a loving home, or he would have left quitting pot i think is not your only answer to this problem.

Answer 8

FRANK is the best organisation that helps with drug addictions in the UK. I personally know many people who have cannabis addictions but regret starting taking this drug in the first place. As for the mood swings you must try and keep him calm at all times as he can be very lethal. This may sound harsh but you should maybe phone the police if he carries on, as he is obviously dangerous.

Answer 9

Try a different psychologist or psychiatrist. Cannabis is not really physically addictive (if someone quits, they aren't going to go through a lot of physical sickness from withdrawls or anything). However, it CAN be mentally addictive, if he is unhappy, and it helps him lose his troubles.
The problem lies in his mind, not in the marijuana (not that I'm saying it's okay for him to be using it).
Find him a different therapist, and try very hard to have him go. Maybe your partner and you even, might want to go to some sessions with him, so you can talk about his problems as YOU and your PARTNER see them.

Answer 10

first off cannabis is not addictive like you think, now heroin is addictive. what is going on here is this young man is sick not from the cannabis but from life,and he is trying to self medicate him self,but the cannabis is not working for him. some people can use cannabis to treat them self's, and it works well, and some cant. i would say he should go back to the doctor.he has mental problems other wise he would not be acting the way he is with are with out the cannabis. i am all so curies how much cannabis people like this are taking because that plays a big factor on how people react.