Here in California, marijuana is medicine. Yes. And we know it might be good for what ails you. A new study out of UC Irvine even suggests that marijuana-like chemicals could help behavioral issues related to autism. Wow.

Even so, good old Mary Jane, she's not without her demons.

A recent study from the University of New South Wales says people who try to quit this very potent weed can experience …

… withdrawal.

Not just any withdrawal, but withdrawal “associated with functional impairment to normal daily activities, as well as relapse to cannabis use,” according to the research.

The study, “Quantifying the Clinical Significance of Cannabis Withdrawal,” was published recently in the journal PLOS ONE.

Credit: Dank Depot / Flickr

Credit: Dank Depot / Flickr

It makes some of y'all stoners sound like straight-up junkies.

Researchers recruited 46 daily pot smokers from the Sydney, Australia area and had them quit for two weeks. Nearly one-fourth — 10 of the subjects, to be exact — “used cannabis during the attempted abstinence phase after an average of five days in abstinence,” according to the study.

Holy smokes.

Many, especially those 10, also experienced withdrawal symptoms, described by the researchers:

I had trouble getting to sleep, I had no appetite, I felt anxious, Life felt like an uphill struggle, I felt physically tense, I had mood swings and I felt depressed …

In fact, the academics compared marijuana withdrawal to that experienced by cigarette smokers:

… Cannabis withdrawal is of a similar magnitude and has similar consequences to nicotine withdrawal …

Really.

The solution? Oh, come on, L.A., you know it already: Don't stop now.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

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