Question: I quit smoking marijuana 9 days ago. I had been a long time heavy user but decided to quit because my wife is now pregnant and it was time to get serious about my life and get prepared for being a father and not a kid anymore. I have had this kind of stoner short term memory loss going on for a long time but I always thought it was just because I was high every day. But now that I have not smoked for more than a week my memory does not seem to be getting any better. Does marijuana cause permanent memory loss? I smoked a lot every day for almost 10 years. I am worried about this because I expected to be feeling a little sharper by now. I have blamed the weed for a long time for my brain lapses and I am scared now that it’s not just the weed but that I might have actual brain damage.

Dr. Karl Benzio Says...:

Congratulations on quitting marijuana. You have given a great gift to your wife and to your child. Most of all, you have given a gift to your BRAIN, and a lot of people, mainly you, will benefit from that. 

You are correct, marijuana does have many short term effects on our brain circuitry. Impacts on concentration, focus, memory, attention span, motivation, recall, and mood are usually felt, and less often, anxiety and paranoia or hallucinations can occur. These less frequent effects often occur more frequently with the increased strength of the marijuana that is out on the streets now. 

What most people don't know about or consider is the longer term effects of marijuana on the brain cells. All the areas mentioned above are also impacted long term as well. Sometimes it is permanent damage, but God has given us a pretty resilient brain. Allowing your brain to clear out of marijuana (it stays in your blood for 2-4 weeks, and in your hair for 90 days) will take about 6-9months, then your circuits should start to repair. Your functioning in all areas will continue to improve, but will take awhile for you to notice because the marijuana isnt even out of your system yet. 

In some cases, prolonged use does cause permanent damage. Worst case scenario, if that happens to you, again, God has given our brains an ability to develop new circuitry and brain cells to take up the slack for ones that are severly injured or killed. The way this happens is by being a good decision-maker, and the circuits you use to do that will get stronger, grow, and will positively influence the growth of other circuits.

Hope this helps and you continue on this path. Your brain is your most valuable and influential possession you have and you control whether it gets stronger through good nutrition, sleep, and decision making, or whether you will damage it with toxins and poor decision making. Life is your choice, so choose well and prosper!

Question: I take 2m Xanax everyday to help me with panic attacks (have them often) and have been on them for at least 4 years. Now, however, I am about to start taking Suboxone to help with my withdrawl symptoms from getting off of pain killers. My body is so dependent on the Xanax because I cannot sleep with out them. Is it safe to take the Suboxone and Xanax in one day? Your advice is greatly appreciated.

Dr. Karl Benzio Says...:

Mixing one dangerous drug with another dangerous drug usually just doubles the danger. Unfortunately, mixing opiates(suboxone) with benzodiazepines(xanax) actually multiplies the danger by 4.  Both of these drug classes can lead to respiratory depression meaning you can stop your breathing, emotional depression, sedation, lethargy, lightheadedness, or passing out. The extra danger is in the fact that they multiply the effects of each other.

So the ideal advice would be no, you shouldn't take either of them, let alone mix them together. But in reality, you have probably already been mixing the Xanax and the painkillers and fortunately, have been surviving. Assuming all the history you gave is true and that you have no other medical issues or problems, and your mood is relatively stable and not depressed or suicidal, a doctor guided approach to taper you off the level of pain killers that you are on now could be very helpful to your long-term survival. Again, you need to inform your doctor of all your symptoms, all your issues, and any extra bonus doses of Xanax, painkillers, Suboxone, or any other legal or illegal drug you are using to help get you by. This information is essential for your doctor to build act in your best interest to get you to a safe outcome.

Obviously, this is just advice on your biological sphere of who you are. Further advice would be to see if you can find a safer and less addictive option for your panic disorder and anxiety issue. Ideally a medication that has no interactions and can be easily used with other medications if needed.

Working on your psychological skills to help you process situations in a more healthy fashion to allow you more fulfillment, happiness, and less dependence on medications would be a fantastic gift to give to yourself.

What I have found in my professional and personal work to be the most important treatment intervention is really developing your spiritual sphere. As in the 12 step model, being able to call upon divine power to help us in areas that we can't overcome on our own, is incredibly freeing and transforming. Bringing spiritual truths and principles to mold the lenses you use and the decisions you make as you engage in life on a daily basis will allow you freedom and peace that will far surpass anything a medication will bring you. Unfortunately, it does not come overnight but like any skill, practice practice practice and you will be amazed at what you can accomplish in just 30 days.

Best wishes on your journey and remember to be open and honest with your doctor about all your activity so he can successfully manage this delicate and possibly dangerous situation.

Question: I just found out that I have hepatitis c. Is it ok for me to still smoke marijuana? I am pretty worried about my health now and I want to start living clean but I am having trouble giving up smoking, alcohol and weed all at the same time. I would like to give up alcohol and cigarettes first and then once I am Ok with that move on to give up marijuana.

Dr. Karl Benzio Says...:

I am sorry to hear about your recent Hepatitis C diagnosis. Fortunately, there has been a lot of advancement in treatment and more successes than just 10 years ago. With that being said, Hep C can be very serious as well so precaution and getting rid of aspects that will worsen Hep C is vital for your quality of life and survival. 

As you have figured out, both alcohol use and MJ use are going to worsen your Hep C. The effects of alcohol on the liver are well known as many have dies from alcoholic liver cirrhosis. Studies have shown that MJ also has several negative effects regarding hep C. First, MJ leads to fatty accumulation in the liver causing fibrosis and accelerating the hep C process. Second, MJ weakens the immune system which lessens your ability to fight the Hep C virus. Last, MJ interferes with the work of interferon, one of the main treatments for Hep C.

Obviously, the way to go is to get off all at once. That really does give you the best chance for long term sobriety and recovery. When you still have an addictive substance in your life, it is too easy to go backward and add more substances instead of cutting another one out.

If you need help finding a residential rehab that can monitor and administrate a safe detox protocol, as well as manage your liver and Hep C condition, please feel free to call our national and free addiction helpline.

I hope this was helpful and best wishes for you physically, psychologically with your decisions about substances, and spiritually.

by HIS grace, karl benzio, md

Question: If someone is hooked on heroin, do you feel a treatment time away of 30 days is enough time to heal them?

Dr. Karl Benzio Says...:

Heroin and all narcotics take considerably longer than 30 days. The brain is just starting to come out of the fog and the body is finally getting some nutrition into the brain for some healing and learning to occur in weeks 2-4. 30 days does allow someone ot go through the acute detox and start to develop some awareness that they can survive, and even live without heroin. then they can start to examine and practice better ways to cope with and enjoy life. ideally, the treatment would have medical expertise, as well as depth psychologically and spiritually.

• ideally, the residential stay is 90-180 days
• day 1-10 heroin detox
• day 11-30 acute residential heroin treatment. treatment every day
• day 31-90 subacute residential with partial hospital treatment all week, meetings daily
• day 91-180 recovery house, supervised living, meetings daily, Intensive outpatient
• depending on their skill acquisition and ability to address the core issues of their addiction, these stays can be longer or a little shorter.

877-562-2565877-562-2565  x 101 and we can field more questions with some specific options.