In spite of what initiatives to legalize and popular culture would lead you to believe, it is a proven and conclusive fact that marijuana is an addictive drug which can bring about both short and long-term physical and psychological injury to users. Similar to other substances, somebody who has used marijuana for a prolonged period of time can become dependent on its effects and will experience withdrawal symptoms when they initially stop using marijuana. Users today have extremely high grade marijuana at their disposal which wasn't true twenty years ago, making it a much bigger issue.

Someone that uses marijuana frequently is significantly altering the way the brain functions, hence the brain can't just instantly return to normal function once the individual ceases using marijuana, this could take some time. People actually detox from marijuana, like every other drug, as the drug is eliminated from the body and the body readjusts to function without marijuana. So marijuana detox could be a challenge for long-term users, because individuals will encounter withdrawal symptoms that may be difficult to endure. These symptoms might not be as physical in nature as heroin withdrawal for example, but marijuana detox and withdrawal may cause severe depression along with other psychological symptoms for chronic users. For this reason relapse is so prevalent for many who try to stop using marijuana on their own. Marijuana detox solutions are offered at alcohol and drug detox and alcohol and drug treatment programs in Lowell to help people through this process so that they don't relapse and can receive further rehab services after detox.