Marijuana Addiction Treatment in Los Angeles

What Is Cannabis Use Disorder?

Cannabis is a psychoactive drug derived from the leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds of the Cannabis sativa plant. Marijuana, weed, or pot is a popular recreational drug. It’s been around for millennia as a remedy for everything from pain relief to anxiety management to simply unwinding after a long day.[1] It is also used in some spiritual ceremonies.

Now, cannabis is a popular recreational drug for its mind-altering effects. Thanks to the primary psychoactive compound, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabis can elicit a high by stimulating your brain’s reward system. Still, the substance contains hundreds of chemical compounds that negatively impact the brain and body.[2] It may be consumed in a variety of ways, including smoking, vaping, drinkables, tinctures, edibles, and capsules.

Though cannabis use is legal in some states for medical or recreational use, it’s illegal at the federal level and classified as a Schedule I controlled substance by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).[3] It has no currently accepted medical uses and potential for abuse.

Weed Addiction and Abuse

For a lot of people, cannabis seems harmless, until it isn’t. Long-term or heavy use, especially involving high-potency strains, can mess with your brain’s wiring and your mental health. That’s when you’re no longer using weed casually and may have a cannabis use disorder.

Classified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), cannabis use disorder, or marijuana use disorder, is a very real, diagnosable condition. Maybe you’ve tried to cut back and can’t. Or maybe marijuana use is tanking your motivation, straining your relationships, and ruining your ability to focus. It’s controlling your life and your potential.

According to the DSM-5, cannabis addiction is a problematic use of marijuana that interferes with everyday responsibilities, relationships, and well-being. The criteria for cannabis use disorder include:[4]

• Taking cannabis in larger amounts or over a longer period than intended
• A persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control cannabis use
• Spending a lot of time obtaining, using, or recovering from cannabis
• Craving cannabis
• Failing to fulfill major role obligations at work, school, or home because of cannabis use
• Continued cannabis use despite persistent or recurrent social or interpersonal problems
• Giving up important work or recreational activities because of cannabis use

Cannabis Use Disorder: Key Facts You Should Know

Cannabis is the most commonly used federally illegal drug in the U.S. Here is what the research shows about how common cannabis use disorder actually is:

What Causes Cannabis Use Disorder? Signs You May Need Marijuana Rehab

THC has a powerful effect on the brain, acting like a dopamine “bomb.” It feels good, so you want to do it again.[5] The more you use, the more your brain starts chasing that high. Over time, cannabis becomes a shortcut to pleasure, relief, or emotional escape, and the things you once enjoyed start to lose their spark. You crave weed more and more.

As shown in animal studies, THC changes how brain cells fire, affecting areas that influence motivation and attention. THC also changes how your brain prioritizes things.[6] That hit becomes the main focus, leaving your goals, passions, and relationships on the back burner. You build tolerance, needing more and more to feel the effects, fueling a cycle that’s hard to break once you’re deep in it.

Common Signs You May Need Marijuana Rehab

Cannabis use disorder tends to develop gradually, which makes the warning signs easy to explain away. If several of these sound familiar, a professional assessment is a reasonable next step.

iRely is not a large campus. It is an 11-bed, home-like residential setting in the San Fernando Valley, with a staff who have lived through recovery themselves and clinical leadership trained to treat cannabis use disorder alongside the conditions that often come with it.

Cannabis use disorder does not look the same for everyone, and treatment should not either. iRely tailors care for a wide range of people:

Most major PPO plans help cover some or all of the cost of marijuana addiction treatment. We accept most major PPO (Preferred Provider Organization) plans on an out-of-network basis and verify your specific benefits in about five to ten minutes, confidentially, before you commit to anything.

Cannabis withdrawal syndrome is recognized in the DSM-5. It is generally not considered medically dangerous the way alcohol or benzodiazepine withdrawal can be, but that does not make it easy, and the discomfort is a common reason people relapse without support.

Weed can take over your life – what begins as stress relief or an enjoyable pastime can turn into something that controls your mood, motivation, and choices. Our inpatient and outpatient programs help you rebuild, not just quit. Here are some of the therapies we use to get your life back on track:

Starting marijuana addiction treatment is simpler than most people expect. Here is how admission at iRely works, start to finish:

Recovery continues after you leave, and the first months back home are when support matters most. Every client leaves iRely with a written aftercare plan as part of their marijuana addiction treatment.

Cannabis use disorder rarely exists in isolation. Anxiety, depression, and other substance use are common alongside heavy or long-term marijuana use, and each can make the others harder to treat when addressed separately. iRely Recovery provides integrated dual-diagnosis treatment that addresses cannabis use disorder and any co-occurring mental health condition together, rather than in sequence, which gives clients a stronger foundation for lasting recovery.

Frequently Asked Questions About Cannabis Use Disorder and Marijuana Addiction Treatment Centers