Question: I am a long time marijuana smoker. 14 years to be exact. My live revolved around getting high with friends and just getting by at work. I realized eventually that I was sleepwalking through my life and that the way I thought of weed as a fun and social activity was mostly now a not very fun thing I needed to do to feel like myself (it was still sometimes fun but not most of the time) and rarely a social thing. It had more become a thing that kept me from socializing with other people since as I aged into my 30s it became less Ok to be high in front of more and more people. It became something that had kept me from social events so I could stay home and play video games by myself or with one other friend. A few months ago I decided to quit but I failed. Fast forward a few months and a few more failed attempts and I realize that stopping is much harder than I ever thought it would be. I don’t really have any withdrawal but after 2 days I just crave it so strong and I can’t get it out of my head. I have never made it past 4 days. If I went away for 1 week of rehab would that be enough to get past the cravings? I feel ridiculous for even asking about rehab for marijuana but I do not know what to do.

Zelik Mintz Says...:

Only a very small percentage of people develop a physical dependence to marijuana.  Psychological dependence is quite frequent with long term heavy use.  What you describe sounds like you’ve become dependent on functioning in your life being high.  Even after using becomes an impediment to socializing – often one starts to feel some paranoia with long time use – it is very difficult to stop.  Because you have been smoking for 14 years, life sober might feel bland and empty or bring on anxiety.  A week in rehab will not be sufficient to deal with the feelings that led to heavy use for so long or whatever anxiety – social or otherwise – marijuana helped mask.  A week in rehab might give you a start but you will need a lot of daily support in order to prevent using and sustain sobriety.  Seeing a psychotherapist would also be very advantageous to deal with what led to such long heavy use.  Addiction to marijuana is common and there are groups such as Marijuana Anonymous that you could find and would be very helpful.  Addiction issues are not only for substances that are physically addictive. Psychological addiction is actually harder to deal with because of the problems or issues that smoking marijuana masked.  It is very difficult to quit after being so much a part of your life but I commend you for recognizing your problem and wanting to deal with it.  Rehab for marijuana is not ridiculous and is common.  I hope you can find the support you need and achieve your goal of dealing with your dependency.   

Question: I have a family member that is addicted to IV meth. She has decided to try and sober up. She has agreed to stay with me for a week. She was in jail for the last 3 weeks. And arrived a few days ago her speech is kind of slurred at times and every once in a while she kind of seems a little off balance. When I visited her in jail her speech wasn't slurred she seemed to speak more clearly. I think she might be on something. Because she is only trying this for a week or so I assume whatever it could be will run out. I don't want to scare her off so I haven't asked her. Should I ask her? What should I do.

Zelik Mintz Says...:

Asking a family member if they are using while professing to be sober is a very difficult decision.  Since shame and avoidance of admitting to using are part of addiction, the answer you get if asked may not be satisfying. Considering the family member is only staying for a week or so it may not be advantageous to ask unless you find that she is putting herself in immediate danger or may hurt others.  If you need to confront the issue, ask or address with her your concern without judgement?  You can preface asking by stating that whatever she is doing will not affect her being able to stay for the short period.  Also if asking, it is important to accept whatever answer she gives and show concern.  Trying to get her to admit to her use will be fruitless if she is indeed using.  Above all, show your care and concern so not to alienate her.  It is also important that you feel comfortable with or without her using.  Your comfort is as important as hers.  If it is too awkward to ask, offer whatever assistance you can give her that she needs to stay sober while she is in your home and after she leaves.  Staying sober is a day to day endeavor.   

Question: I stopped smoking weed about 5 weeks ago and now I am fine except for one lingering problem that I have with my eyesight. My eyes are not able to focus and adjust to light changes very well and when I go from a dark room to sunlight I am almost blinded for a second. I think my pupils are not responding as quickly as they should. I s there anything I can do to make this go away faster?

Zelik Mintz Says...:

The first thing that needs to be assessed is whether there is something happening with your eyes regardless of whether smoking marijuana is the cause.  If you can, find an opthamologist in your area and make an appointment.  If money is a problem, there is possibly a low fee eye clinic you can go to.  I have not heard or come across eyesight or sensitivity to light being necessarily associated with marijuana use.  Depending on the frequency and circumstances of your use, your body might need more time in recovery to function optimally.  I also would not rule out a psychological cause to your sensitivity.  Five weeks is a good amount of time so that a eye doctor appointment is indicated as soon as possible. 

Question: Out of all of the users of marijuana why don't more people seek treatment if they believe they're addicted?

Zelik Mintz Says...:

Because marijuana is so widely used and most often not physically addictive, many people do not take addiction to the substance seriously.  Only about 10-15% of marijuana users acquire a physically addiction to the drug - attempting to stop causes a physical craving and withdrawal symptoms.  Marijuana is also not generally thought of as causing a physical deterioration with heavy use or associated with causing a physical illness.  Because marijuana is thought of as fun and difficult to quantify as a problem ("pothead" is not thought of as analogous to alcoholic or junkie), the seriousness of being addicted to marijuana is greatly minimized.   But with marijuana the same questions can be asked that are asked to assess any other addiction - whether with physical and/or emotional dependency:  Can one stop using when one wants to?  Does one need it to function (e.g. social settings)?  Does using affect optimal functioning?  Does using affect relationships?  Marijuana addiction can indeed seriously limit motivation and contribute to the avoidance of problems (self-medicating).  Treatment is vital to address what can be marijuana addiction's substantial adverse effect on one's life.

Question: I am a binge drinker and alcoholic. I am unique because I do not have trouble maintaining sobriety for long stretches of time but then sometimes out of the blue I get whammed with feelings that I cannot resist and this leads to me drinking that might last for a few days or it might last for a few weeks or even months and then I dry out and I can stay dry for months or even years. I have been repeating this pattern for 30 years. I have been to rehab, AA, hospitalized 3 times, medical detox…the works. I am so tired of this. My life feels so hopeless and if I ever think about trying to do something bigger I realize that I will just screw it up for sure when I have my next binge so there is no point in even trying so I just keep working my deadend job and living by myself in a cheap room I rent.

Zelik Mintz Says...:

You sound very knowledgeable about the options to achieve sobriety and stated frustration about staying clean and getting your life to where you want it to be.  Without knowing anything about you, it is difficult to address why, after so many attempts at recovery (rehab, AA, detox), you repeatedly pick up.  I wonder how strong and dependable your support system is and whether you have people available around you to use to prevent you from drinking and support talking through your feelings and pain.  You've mentioned AA and rehab - I would recommend you see a psychotherapist who can help you work through the feelings that trigger you to start drinking again.  Working through your emotional issues will help you with the knowledge and tools to accomplish ongoing sobriety and having the life you want.

Question: Are you familiar with the idea of a wet house? Where alcoholics that are never going to quit get a reasonable daily dose of alcohol so they don’t have to live on the street and they don’t take too much and they get some basic services? Is it wrong to give up on people like this or is it just realistic? I am asking because my brother is a severe long time alcoholic and my brothers want to set him up with this basic arrangement in a guest cottage. He is homeless now. I am resistant to the idea but I am not sure if I should be or not. He is 43 and he has been an alcoholic for 20 years. He is very brain damaged and he has liver damage. The wet house is a death sentence but what he is doing right now is going to get him killed even faster…so what is the right answer?

Zelik Mintz Says...:

I have not heard of the idea of a wet house so I don't feel educated enough about the concept to judge whether such an arrangement will work for what you described as a tragic situation for you, your brother and your family. Without constant monitoring, I am not confident that an alcoholic in your brother's circumstances - with substantial brain/cognitive damage and liver damage - will be able to live in a secure safe environment successfully while feeding his addiction.  I wonder whether a first step might be to get your brother detoxed and then explore an appropriate setting (inpatient rehab, hospitalization) to deal with his mental and physical condition.  Supplying alcohol to your brother in a controlled setting - a guest cottage - would not be addressing the substantial underlying issues of his alcoholism, nor his liver disease and psychiatric impairment.  

Question: How long will psychotic episodes last after a person stop using meth if that person has been using for 6 years. She is 11 days clean and she is still very delusional. Her sister says this happened before and she was OK eventually. Is this within the realm of normal or does she need psychiatric help? She doesn’t want to go and they don’t really have the money to pay for anything so this is why we have been watching her hallucinate for almost 2 weeks now.

Zelik Mintz Says...:

Every person dealing with addiction will have a response particular to them in dealing with using and stopping. Six years of meth addition is a long time and I wonder if that long use has had neurological affects that will not necessarily resolve in the same way as in the past.  I understand the limited resources but I would urge the woman dealing with these episodes to get psychiatric help to assess what effect long term meth addiction may have on her physiologically and psychological state of mind.  Eleven days of psychosis is to long of a time to wait out to see if it resolves.  I strongly suggest exploring, possibly through a substance abuse program, a very low fee clinic where she can be evaluated by a psychiatrist that specializes in addiction.

Question: How important is it to find an addictions counselor that has a history of personal addiction? Does this make that person more able to understand what I am going through? Can a person who has not experienced addiction or alcoholism really understand just by reading about and talking to other people about what it is like? Wouldn’t it be like trying to explain the color green to a blind person?

Zelik Mintz Says...:

I certainly understand your question and concern.  It is not important that an addiction counselor have a personal history of addiction or alcoholism him or herself in order to best help and understand the person dealing with addiction or alcoholism.  Instead of the analogy given of trying to explain the color green to a blind person, I would offer the analogy of a doctor treating a patient with a physical illness without having had the illness him or herself. That said, in my experience working with addiction and alcoholism counselors, I have found that many addiction and alcoholism counselors have dealt with addiction issues personally.

Question: Is it a good idea to do a juice cleanse or detox fast as a part of early recovery from coke and meth. I feel like I have put so much chemicals in my body for the past 2 years I just want to clean my body out as fast as I can. Will I stop being addicted one all the drugs are physically out of my body and fat cells?

Zelik Mintz Says...:

Recovery from cocaine and meth addiction is very difficult both physiologically and psychologically.  Detoxing the body from the drugs  is the first step in recovery.  Once the body ceases to crave the drugs after a number of days, the long recovery process from the psychological addiction begins. Physical detox needs to happen first before dealing with the painful process of addressing the underlying causes of the self-medicating that led to the drug use.  Whether doing a juice cleanse or other regiments, the body will go through it's painful withdrawal from the drugs. How long the use is and the amounts of the drugs taken will impact the severity of the detox process.

Question: I have a meth addiction. I am thinking about getting ready to stop. I have tried before but I am really serious this time. I want to know how many days does it take until the worst is over? If I can make it for a week will It get easier?

Zelik Mintz Says...:

There is not a set amount of time when recovery is easier - everyone is different.  Recovery from meth physically takes a few days and depends on the amounts and frequency one is using.  The psychic dependence is a long process.  I strongly suggest some kind of rehab program and possibly individual therapy to support you in your recovery.  Because meth is used to escape uncomfortable emotional states, even when the body is not dependent on the drug, the psyche craves using to avoid dealing with the feelings that let to the use in the first place.  It takes work and commitment.  Good luck and I applaud your desire and, hopefully, your commitment to stop.