“Stressing out”: defining severity of cannabis withdrawal symptoms in Australian indigenous inmates

Abstract

Background: No previous studies have investigated cannabis withdrawal severity in indigenous or incarcerated populations. Aims: We sought to quantify life-time cannabis use, report cannabis withdrawal symptoms and severity, and define the holistic experience of cannabis withdrawal. Methods: Seventy consenting males (18–40 years) from an Australian correctional center were interviewed about lifetime cannabis use and experience of withdrawal upon incarceration. Results: Findings indicate that participants smoked on average 12.3 cones or joints/day (95%CI: 9.5–15.2) for 9.4 years (95%CI: 7.6–11.1). Cannabis withdrawal symptoms most frequently reported were; physical symptoms (52.9%), insomnia (52.9%) and depressed mood (47.1%). The most severe symptoms were insomnia (22.9%), nervousness/anxiety (17.1%) and aggression (14.3%). Analysis further revealed the construct of “stressing out”, defined as a highly anxious state with increased aggression. Conclusions: Insomnia and physical symptoms were the most commonly reported symptoms with insomnia and nervousness/anxiety the most severe. Psychological symptoms were also voiced by this population sample; however, they were less frequent than the combined aggregated physical symptoms of “stressing out”. Implications: The identification of severe withdrawal symptoms, especially aggression, will facilitate identification and treatment to new inmates upon incarceration. The recognition of “stressing out” will enable safety measures and treatments to be prescribed in this setting.

• Cannabis
• offending
• substance-abuse
• symptoms

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Queensland Corrective Service (QCS), Lotus Glen Correctional Center (LGCC) for supporting this study.

We also thank Soheil Ahmed for reviewing earlier drafts of this manuscript and we thank the inmates who participated in this study.

Declaration of interest

QCS and LGCC had no role in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data in the writing of the manuscript. The views in this article do not represent those of QCS.