Despite what initiatives to legalize and today's culture wants you to believe, it is a verified and conclusive undeniable fact that marijuana can be an addictive substance that may cause both short and long-term physical and mental harm to users. Similar to other drugs, somebody who has used marijuana for an extended time period will become dependent on its effects and can encounter withdrawal symptoms should they initially stop using marijuana. Individuals today have extremely high grade marijuana at their disposal which wasn't the case 10-20 years ago, which makes it a much bigger problem.

Somebody who uses marijuana frequently is significantly altering the way the brain functions, therefore the brain can't just instantly return to normal operation once the individual ceases using marijuana, this will take time. People actually detox from marijuana, like every other drug, as marijuana is eliminated from the body and the body readjusts to normal operation without marijuana. So marijuana detox could be a challenge for habitual users, because users will experience withdrawal symptoms which may be difficult to endure. These symptoms may not be as physical in nature as heroin withdrawal for example, but marijuana detox and withdrawal can cause severe depression along with other mental symptoms for long-term users. That is why relapse is so prevalent for many who attempt to stop using marijuana on their own. Marijuana detox services are offered at alcohol and drug detoxification and alcohol and drug rehabilitation programs in Hilo to help people through this process so they don't relapse and may receive further treatment services following detoxification.