Symptoms of cannabis dependence
Cannabis dependence is the older term. The current diagnosis is cannabis use disorder. It appears in the DSM-5, the manual US clinicians use. Signs include tolerance, withdrawal, cravings, and use that continues after it causes problems at work, school, or home.
The DSM-5 lists 11 criteria. A person meets the diagnosis if 2 or more occur within 12 months. Meeting 2 or 3 criteria is mild. Meeting 4 or 5 is moderate. Meeting 6 or more is severe.
The 11 DSM-5 criteria
- Using more cannabis, or for longer, than intended.
- Wanting to cut down or stop and not managing to.
- Spending a lot of time getting, using, or recovering from cannabis.
- Craving cannabis.
- Failing to meet duties at work, school, or home.
- Keeping up use despite relationship problems it causes.
- Giving up hobbies, sports, or time with people.
- Using in situations that put the person in danger.
- Using despite knowing it makes a physical or mental health problem worse.
- Tolerance: needing more to get the same effect, or getting less effect from the same amount.
- Withdrawal: the symptoms listed below when use stops or drops.
Withdrawal symptoms
Withdrawal is its own criterion in the DSM-5. It needs 3 or more of these: irritability or anger, nervousness or anxiety, trouble sleeping, appetite loss or weight loss, restlessness, low mood. At least one physical symptom must also be present: stomach pain, shakiness, sweating, fever, chills, or headache.
Cannabis Addiction Symptoms: DSM-5 Criteria and Withdrawal Signs
Timeline: symptoms start 24 to 72 hours after the last use. They peak around day 3 to day 7. Most physical symptoms fade in 1 to 2 weeks. Sleep problems and low mood can last longer.
How common it is
NIDA reports that close to 3 in 10 people who use cannabis have cannabis use disorder. People who start before age 18 are 4 to 7 times more likely to develop it than people who start as adults. Higher THC content in a product raises the risk. The disorder is more common in men than in women.
CBD and cannabis use disorder
The FDA has approved no cannabis or CBD product to treat cannabis use disorder. Hemp-derived CBD sold online may contain no more than 0.3% THC by dry weight under US law. That limit does not make a product a treatment for dependence. Anyone who wants to stop using cannabis should talk to a doctor.
Where to get help
SAMHSA runs a free, confidential helpline at 1-800-662-4357, open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It gives referrals in English and Spanish. Other options include a primary care doctor, a licensed addiction counselor, or a state health department program.