If you or someone you know uses synthetic marijuana, it’s time to get help. Synthetic cannabinoids aren’t safe and could kill you. What is it? Most importantly, how can you quit using it?

Why Synthetic Marijuana is a Misnomer

Synthetic marijuana sounds like a laboratory-concocted drug that mimics the real thing. That’s not exactly true. You find these products with names such as K2, fake weed, Spice, or Krypton. What real and synthetic marijuana have in common is a way to connect to the same specific brain cell receptors.

Synthetic cannabinoids contain a broad range of mind-altering substances. There’s no actual recipe or formula. Ingredients typically include various psychoactive herbs as well as some opioids. Therefore, your reaction to the drug varies from batch to batch.

How the Drug Works

Labs cook up the drugs and spray it on dried plan matter. Manufacturers may also make products for vaping. They’re careful to label the products as herbal incense or unfit for human consumption. Lists of ingredients are often arbitrary.

Therapists at Steps to Recovery recognize that marijuana weed addiction is, in fact, a real thing. A marijuana use disorder requires specialized counseling and care. That said, a chemical dependency on synthetic cannabinoids is different. People deal with unknown chemicals that present with a broad range of effects and withdrawal symptoms.

Frequently, they eclipse the effects of THC on the brain. You may be struggling with anxiety, depression, and bouts of paranoia. Some users report hallucinations. Physiological side effects include heart palpitations, seizures, and kidney damage.

Stop the Abuse of the Drug

Ending an addiction to synthetic marijuana can be difficult. You frequently don’t know what you’re up against. Unlike a marijuana addiction, which limits the list of addictive chemicals to THC, here the sky’s the limit. However, Steps to Recovery has found a two-phase process to help you.

During the first phase, you undergo a partial hospitalization. You spend six days a week at the facility working with therapists. A significant aspect is a psychiatric assessment. Many times, program participants have underlying mental health conditions.

Examples include depression or anxiety. These may have been the catalysts for trying a drug that promises relaxation. By treating this co-occurring condition and providing you alternatives to drug abuse, recovery becomes possible. After the initial phase, which lasts about 35 days, it’s time for the second part of the treatment.

You step down to an intensive outpatient program. Here, modalities include:

• Individual talk therapy sessions with addiction treatment specialists
• Group therapy that lets you interact with peers who’re also in recovery and undergo alcohol drug education
• Family counseling that helps loved ones to assist you to become and stay sober
• Aftercare planning that includes community referrals to continue psychiatric care
• Life skills training and coping skills development

Meditation therapy shows a lot of promise at this juncture. You learn how to slow down and focus inward. As a result, you don’t need the artificial substances any longer. Therapists teach you how to breathe in times of stress and focus on handling stressors in healthy ways.

Get Help from Steps to Recovery

Don’t let the bright packaging and peer group pressure persuade you that synthetic marijuana are somehow safe. Misery loves company, and people will always try to have others join them when doing something dangerous. These drugs are unsafe and could kill you.

Getting help for a synthetic marijuana habit isn’t difficult. Connect with the therapists at Steps to Recovery. They routinely help people just like you to kick the habit. Call 267.719.8528 now.