In spite of what efforts to legalize and popular culture would lead you to think, it's a proven and scientific fact that marijuana is an addictive drug which can cause both acute and long-term physical and psychological injury to users. Like other drugs, somebody who has used marijuana for a prolonged time period will become dependent on its effects and can encounter withdrawal symptoms if they abruptly quit using marijuana. Users today have very high grade marijuana at their disposal which wasn't the case two decades ago, making it a much bigger problem.

Somebody that uses marijuana on a regular basis is significantly changing how the brain functions, and so the brain can't just automatically return to normal function once the individual ceases using marijuana, this can take time. Individuals actually detox from marijuana, like any other drug, as marijuana is eliminated from your body and the body readjusts to normal operation without marijuana. So marijuana detox could be a challenge for long-term users, because users will experience withdrawal symptoms which may be tough to endure. These symptoms might not be as physical in nature as heroin withdrawal for instance, but marijuana detox and withdrawal could cause extreme depression along with other mental symptoms for chronic users. For this reason relapse is so common for individuals who make an attempt to cease using marijuana by themselves. Marijuana detox services are offered at drug and alcohol detoxification and drug and alcohol treatment centers in Clearlake to help people through this process so they don't relapse and may receive further rehab services after detox.