The Exit Ramp: How to Treat Cannabis Use Disorder and Manage Cravings

You planned not to use cannabis tonight. Then evening comes. You cannot sleep. Your back hurts. A hard talk keeps replaying in your head. A friend texts. The vape is on the table. The plan that felt clear at noon now feels much smaller.

That moment does not prove you lack character. Cannabis may have become tied to relief, sleep, reward, routine, or belonging. The brain learns that a certain time, place, feeling, person, or body state comes before use. After enough repeats, a craving can feel urgent even when part of you wants to change.

Think of it as a well-worn route with exit ramps. A cue starts the familiar drive. Treatment builds earlier exits: motivation, coping skills, changes to your setting, support, and new rewards. Like any comparison, this one has limits. You are not trapped on one road, and a craving may come back or stay strong for a while. The picture explains learned habits. It does not explain every medical, emotional, or social reason people use cannabis.

Cravings are real, but they are not commands. Good treatment works on two things at once: what you do during an urge, and the routines, cues, symptoms, and rewards that keep bringing the urge back.

Key takeaways

• Cannabis use disorder (CUD) is treatable. The best-supported start is a structured course of motivational enhancement therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, or both.
• As of September 2026, no medicine is FDA approved for CUD or cannabis withdrawal. Medicine studies so far show only weak or uncertain signals.
• Withdrawal often starts within 1 to 2 days and is often worst around days 2 to 6. Anger and low mood can peak later, and sleep trouble can last for weeks.
• Cannabis withdrawal is usually uncomfortable, not dangerous. Stopping alcohol or benzodiazepines can be dangerous, so get medical advice before you stop those.
• No study shows that every craving ends after a set number of minutes. A plan made ahead of time helps you make the next safe choice.

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Use, dependence, withdrawal, and CUD are not the same

These words often get mixed together. That can lead to shame, missed risk, or the wrong plan.

In the DSM-5-TR, the diagnostic manual used by U.S. mental health clinicians, CUD is diagnosed from a list of 11 possible symptoms over 12 months. Two or three symptoms count as mild. Four or five count as moderate. Six or more count as severe. Craving is just one symptom on the list, so craving alone does not mean you have CUD.1

The World Health Organization’s ICD-11 uses different labels. It lists harmful use, cannabis dependence, cannabis intoxication, and cannabis withdrawal as separate diagnoses. In ICD-11, “cannabis dependence” means trouble controlling use, not just a body that has adapted.2

You can have withdrawal and CUD at the same time, but having one does not prove the other. A clinician also asks how often you use, which products you use and how, how strong they are, and whether you have lost control or tried to cut back. They ask whether use has been risky and how it affects sleep, memory, work, school, parenting, money, mood, and relationships.

Start with a map, not a promise

A short screening quiz can flag risk. It cannot diagnose you by itself. A 2026 review found that several cannabis screening tools can be useful, but the best cutoff score changed with age, setting, and the group being tested.3 A urine drug test can show that you used cannabis at some point before the test. It cannot show why you used or whether you have CUD. A THC level also cannot reliably show whether you were impaired at a certain time.4

Before you stop or cut down, map your pattern for one week:

• Count the days you use and how many times you use on those days.
• Name the products: flower, vape, concentrate or dab, edible, drink, tincture, delta-8 or another intoxicating hemp product, or a synthetic cannabinoid.
• Write down what you know about THC and CBD content. Labels may not be accurate, and grams do not show how much THC your body took in.
• Describe what usually happens right before you use.
• Name the feeling or symptom you are trying to change.
• Note what happens right away and what happens later.
• Note tolerance, withdrawal, strong cravings, failed attempts to cut back, or use that kept going after harm.
• Review driving, work, school, caregiving, memory, motivation, sleep, relationships, and money.
• List nicotine, alcohol, benzodiazepines, opioids, stimulants, kratom, and other substances.
• Include pregnancy, medicines, pain, vomiting, heart or lung disease, depression, anxiety, trauma, ADHD, bipolar symptoms, psychosis, or suicidal thoughts when they apply.

The symptom question matters most. If cannabis has been your main answer to pain, poor sleep, trauma symptoms, nausea, poor appetite, or anxiety, simply removing it can leave a big gap. A safer plan treats the symptom and the cannabis pattern together. If sleep is the main reason you use, The Nightcap, the Gummy, and the Sleep You Think You’re Getting shows how to track your nights. Less Time in Bed, More Consolidated Sleep explains cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia.

Choose the goal: stopping or cutting down

Stopping completely and cutting down are different goals. They should not be judged as if they mean the same thing.

Stopping is usually the safer goal in these situations:

• During pregnancy or breastfeeding.5
• If you have had psychosis. Continued use after psychosis is linked to more relapses and longer hospital stays.67
• If you have cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, a condition that causes repeated bouts of severe vomiting in some people who use cannabis often.8
• When any use keeps leading to dangerous behavior or loss of control.

A break can also be the clearest way to learn which symptoms cannabis causes or makes worse.

Cutting down can help some adults start care when they are not ready to stop. Make the goal specific. Track days used, times per day, the product and its strength when known, cravings, withdrawal, sleep, mood, daily function, and safety. Set a date to review the goal with a clinician. Using less can lower some risks, but it does not remove them.

Withdrawal can start after stopping suddenly or after cutting down a lot.9 Researchers have not set a standard taper schedule for cannabis, and studies have not shown whether cutting down slowly makes withdrawal easier. Do not copy a schedule from the internet. Get a clinician’s help if your use is heavy, past attempts were hard, you have a mental or physical health condition, or you use other substances.

If your body depends on alcohol or benzodiazepines, get medical advice before you stop either one. Withdrawal from them can be dangerous. A cannabis plan is not a safe detox plan for them. No Rock Bottom Required explains alcohol withdrawal safety.

What treatment has the best support

The best-supported care is a structured course, not a single tip. A Cochrane review of 23 trials with 4,045 adults compared talk-based treatments with minimal or no treatment. People who got treatment used cannabis on fewer days. They were also more likely to report not using in the short term. The most consistent support was for motivational enhancement therapy (MET), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and especially the two together. Programs averaged about 7 sessions over about 12 weeks. Programs with more than 4 sessions over more than a month did better in the short term. No single approach stayed clearly effective at 9 months or later.10

A 2025 review of 22 trials found that MET plus CBT increased abstinence by the end of treatment, compared with inactive or basic comparison care. The evidence was low to very low certainty, and fewer people finished the combined treatment.11 That review and a 2026 analysis also found early, low-certainty signals for dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).1112

The 2021 VA/DoD guideline for substance use disorders suggests CBT, MET, or both combined as a first treatment for CUD. It also suggests against using a brief intervention, meaning 60 minutes or less, as the treatment for CUD.13

Treatment at a glance

MET helps you look at what cannabis gives you, what it costs you, and what you want next. CBT maps the situations that lead to use and builds skills for thoughts, feelings, cues, and high-risk moments. Contingency management adds a clear reward for a measurable step. Care for teens often includes family, school, peers, and healthy rewards. For a plain-language tour of CBT skills, see What CBT Actually Teaches.

Ask any program what it actually provides. How many sessions are typical? Is the therapy structured? How is progress measured? Can the program also treat pain, sleep, anxiety, trauma, mood, or another substance problem? What happens after a lapse?

What withdrawal can feel like

About half of people who use cannabis regularly have withdrawal symptoms when they stop.19 Common symptoms include irritability, anger, anxiety, low mood, poor appetite, trouble sleeping, and strange or vivid dreams. Some people also feel restless or shaky. Less common body symptoms include chills, headache, sweating, and stomach pain.92 Cravings often come along with withdrawal, and standard withdrawal care includes practice coping with them.9

Typical withdrawal course

This is a common pattern, not a promise. Insomnia, anxiety, depression, mania, psychosis, nicotine or alcohol withdrawal, sedative withdrawal, medicine side effects, and medical illness can look similar.9 If symptoms are severe, unusual, or not getting better, get checked.

Supportive counseling and education are the first-line care for cannabis withdrawal. Standard care also includes regular meals, fluids, exercise, good sleep habits, relaxation skills, and planning activities you enjoy. These steps have limited research behind them.9 They are supports, not cures. Do not swap cannabis for alcohol, benzodiazepines, or another intoxicant. Retail CBD products are not an approved treatment for withdrawal either.20

Cannabis withdrawal without other problems is usually uncomfortable rather than medically dangerous. Hospital care is rarely needed, but it may be needed when other substances or serious mental health conditions are involved.9 Psychosis soon after stopping has also been reported, almost always in people who used cannabis daily and stopped suddenly. These reports cannot tell us how often it happens. Hallucinations, paranoia, severe confusion, or losing touch with reality need urgent care.7

Build the exits before the craving arrives

Coping in the moment is easier when the plan already exists. Start with the patterns from your week of tracking.

Look for setting triggers, like a vape on the nightstand. Look for social triggers, like a certain group chat. Look for emotional triggers, like conflict or boredom. Look for body triggers, like pain, hunger, tiredness, or withdrawal. Then write a specific if-then plan:

If it is 10 p.m. and I start thinking I cannot sleep without cannabis, then I will move the vape out of reach, start my wind-down routine, and text my support person if my urge reaches 8 out of 10 or I feel unsafe.

Make plans for evenings, weekends, payday, social events, conflict, boredom, pain, and poor sleep when they apply. If it is safe, make cannabis harder to reach before the high-risk time. Delete saved delivery links. Change a route that passes the store. Choose a different room. Tell one person what kind of support would actually help.

Build a new reward too. Formal contingency management programs reward a clearly measured behavior and have been tested in CUD trials.14 A small personal reward is not the same treatment, but it can make a new routine worth repeating.

No single action works for every craving. In one study of 198 adults in CUD treatment, people who used coping skills when tempted were less likely to use cannabis in the hours that followed. The skills were taught as part of a full treatment program, so the study cannot show that any one skill works alone.21

What to do while a craving is happening

No reliable study shows that every cannabis craving ends after a set number of seconds or minutes. An urge can rise, fall, come back, or stay strong. Use your plan to make the next safe choice, then check again.

Craving plan

1. Name it and rate it. Say, “This is a craving,” and rate it from 0 to 10.
2. Pause and make distance. Put space between you and cannabis, the device, cash, or instant delivery, when it is safe.
3. Change the cue. Leave the room, stop scrolling, take another route, or move away from the person or place, if it is safe.
4. Use one practiced body or attention skill. Try slow breathing, grounding through your senses, or noticing the urge without acting on it.
5. Choose one competing action or contact. Start the short activity you picked ahead of time, or call a support person.
6. Re-rate, repeat, or get more help. Check your number again. Repeat a safe step, reach out to more support, or get urgent help if risk is rising.

Steps 1 to 3 help you notice the urge and block easy access. Step 4 may make the discomfort easier to ride out, but breathing, grounding, and urge-watching have not each been proven as stand-alone CUD treatments. Step 5 uses the coping and support skills taught in structured treatment. Step 6 avoids the false promise that the craving has to be gone.

If the plan keeps failing, that is useful information. Ask for more structure, more contact, a safer setting, or a higher level of care. It is not a reason to disappear from treatment.

Where medicines fit, and where they do not

As of September 2026, no medicine is FDA approved to treat CUD or cannabis withdrawal.18 The FDA has approved one purified CBD medicine for certain seizure disorders. It has also approved three medicines that contain synthetic THC or a similar compound for other uses. None of them is approved to treat CUD.20

Researchers have tested THC-based medicines, pharmaceutical CBD, N-acetylcysteine, seizure medicines, antidepressants, anxiety medicines, and other drugs.12 A 2025 Cochrane review of 37 trials with 3,201 people found that none of the medicines with enough data made abstinence more likely by the end of treatment. The authors said these medicines should still be considered experimental for CUD.18

Newer results have not changed that bottom line. In a 2025 trial of 192 people ages 14 to 21, N-acetylcysteine did not lead to more negative urine tests for cannabis when it was given without contingency management.22 In a 2026 trial of 174 adults, varenicline did not reduce cannabis use overall. It did reduce use in men but not in women, a finding that needs to be repeated before it can guide care.23 A 2026 analysis that pooled many trials found only weak, low-certainty signals that cannabidiol (CBD), N-acetylcysteine, or varenicline might help, and it urged caution.12

A clinician may still treat depression, ADHD, pain, nausea, or insomnia with a medicine that fits that condition. That is different from treating CUD. Do not use retail CBD, dispensary products, supplements, or someone else’s prescription as a do-it-yourself withdrawal plan. CBD for Anxiety and Sleep covers what CBD research does and does not show.

A lapse is information, not permission to disappear

A lapse can be harmful, so protect safety first. Do not drive. Do not mix substances. Move away from more cannabis if you can do that safely. Contact your support person.

Then write down five things:

1. What was the cue?
2. What relief or reward did you expect?
3. Which planned exit was missing, late, or too hard?
4. What happened right away, and what happened later?
5. What one change will you make before the same situation comes back?

This is not an excuse. It is a way to keep one slip from turning into a full return to the old pattern. Bring your notes to treatment and review the goal, support, setting, and symptom plan. A Bad Week May Not Mean It’s Back shows how to build an early-warning plan.

When self-help is not enough

Get a clinician involved early if you are a teen or young adult, pregnant or breastfeeding, or an older adult with falls or memory concerns. Do the same if you have bipolar disorder, psychosis, suicidal thoughts, major depression, PTSD, ADHD, chronic pain, severe insomnia, heart or lung disease, repeated vomiting, or another substance problem.

Higher-potency THC products are linked to a higher risk of CUD and psychosis. Much of this research is observational or has a high risk of bias, so it cannot predict what will happen to one person.2425 A history of hallucinations, paranoia, mania, or psychosis linked to cannabis makes prompt psychiatric care important. If you live with bipolar disorder, Borrowed Sleep explains how cannabis, alcohol, and sleep can affect relapse.

Pregnancy experts advise stopping cannabis during pregnancy and breastfeeding. They also say that using cannabis is not, by itself, a reason to stop breastfeeding. Your prenatal care team and your baby’s doctor can help you plan.5

Repeated bouts of severe nausea and vomiting in someone who uses cannabis often may be cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS). Hot showers can bring short-term relief, but they do not treat the cause, and very hot water can burn your skin. CHS needs a medical checkup. Long-term care centers on stopping cannabis, and a doctor may also suggest a medicine to help prevent episodes.8

If you are not ready to stop, lower the immediate harm. Do not drive or do safety-sensitive work while high. Cannabis can slow reaction time and decisions, weaken coordination, and distort perception. Using it with alcohol can increase impairment.4 Avoid high-potency products and concentrates. Do not mix intoxicants. Lock all products away from children. Lower risk is not no risk.

Get urgent help now

• Call 911 or go to an emergency department for immediate danger, severe confusion, hallucinations or losing touch with reality, extreme agitation, chest pain, a seizure, fainting, not being able to stay awake, or repeated vomiting with signs of dehydration.
• Call or text 988 in the United States for suicidal thoughts or a mental health crisis. The 988 Lifeline is free, confidential, and available 24/7.26
• Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 if someone may have been poisoned or accidentally swallowed a cannabis product, especially a child. It is free, confidential, and available 24/7.27
• Get medical advice before stopping alcohol, benzodiazepines, or another substance that can cause dangerous withdrawal.

Finding treatment in California

Anywhere in the United States, FindTreatment.gov lists treatment programs.28 Ask whether a program treats cannabis use disorder, offers structured therapy over several sessions, and treats mental health or pain problems at the same time. Also ask whether it serves your age group and takes your insurance or Medi-Cal.

In the Inland Empire, county lines answer 24 hours a day to connect residents with substance use services:

• Riverside County CARES Line: 800-499-300829
• San Bernardino County Substance Use Disorder Helpline: 800-968-263630

Eligibility, cost, and wait times vary.

SMART Recovery and Marijuana Anonymous both have meeting finders.3132 Peer support can add connection and practice. It should not replace urgent care or professional treatment when you need them.

The next useful step

Track your pattern for seven days using the list above. Then bring it to a licensed clinician or treatment program. If you already know that safety, withdrawal, or control is slipping, skip the perfect plan and make the call today.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if I have cannabis use disorder?

CUD is not diagnosed from how often you use or from cravings alone. A clinician looks for a pattern of symptoms over 12 months. These include loss of control, failed attempts to cut back, use that continues after harm, risky use, tolerance, withdrawal, and effects on daily life. A screening quiz can flag risk, but it cannot diagnose you by itself.

How long does cannabis withdrawal last?

Symptoms often start within 24 to 48 hours and are often worst around days 2 to 6. Anger and low mood can peak after about two weeks. Sleep trouble can last several weeks or longer, especially after heavy use. Severe, unusual, or worsening symptoms need a medical check.

How long does a cannabis craving last?

There is no reliable countdown. A craving can rise, fall, come back, or stay strong. Rate it, put distance between you and cannabis, and change the cue. Use a practiced coping skill, choose another action or call someone, then re-rate and get more help if you need it.

Is there a medicine for cannabis use disorder?

Not yet. As of September 2026, no medicine is FDA approved for CUD or cannabis withdrawal. Several medicines have been studied, but the results are weak or uncertain. Treating sleep, pain, depression, or ADHD is a separate decision and does not mean the medicine treats CUD.

Do I have to stop completely, or can I cut down?

Stopping and cutting down are different goals. Stopping is usually safer during pregnancy, if you have had psychosis, if you have cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, or when any use keeps causing serious harm. For other adults, cutting down may be a way to start. It needs clear safety limits, honest tracking, and a date to review the plan.

This article is education, not a diagnosis or a withdrawal plan. Decisions about treatment, medicines, and level of care need a clinician who knows your health, your cannabis use, other substances, and your goals. Evidence, FDA status, and phone numbers were checked September 9, 2026.

Related reading on NP FADY

• Cannabis and Mental Health
• The Nightcap, the Gummy, and the Sleep You Think You’re Getting
• CBD for Anxiety and Sleep: What We Know, What We Don’t
• No Rock Bottom Required: Every Proven Way Out of Alcohol Use Disorder, and How to Pick Yours
• Rave New World: What Molly, Acid, DMT, and Edibles Actually Do Inside Your Brain
• Urgent Mental Health Care: Finding the Support You Need Right Away

References

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2. World Health Organization. ICD-11 for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics, 2026-01 release. 6C41 Disorders due to use of cannabis. Accessed September 9, 2026. https://icd.who.int/browse/2026-01/mms/en

3. Leung J, Stjepanovic D, Fong S, et al. The psychometric properties of validated tools to assess cannabis use disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Addiction. Published online April 28, 2026. doi:10.1111/add.70438. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42046882/

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5. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ Committee on Clinical Consensus-Obstetrics. ACOG Clinical Consensus No. 10: Cannabis Use During Pregnancy and Lactation. Obstetrics & Gynecology. 2025;146(4):600-611. doi:10.1097/AOG.0000000000006053. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40966737/

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8. Rubio-Tapia A, McCallum R, Camilleri M. AGA Clinical Practice Update on Diagnosis and Management of Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome: Commentary. Gastroenterology. 2024;166(5):930-934.e1. doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2024.01.040. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38456869/

9. Connor JP, Stjepanović D, Budney AJ, Le Foll B, Hall WD. Clinical management of cannabis withdrawal. Addiction. 2022;117(7):2075-2095. doi:10.1111/add.15743. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9110555/

10. Gates PJ, Sabioni P, Copeland J, Le Foll B, Gowing L. Psychosocial interventions for cannabis use disorder. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2016;2016(5):CD005336. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD005336.pub4. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4914383/

11. Halicka M, Parkhouse TL, Webster K, et al. Effectiveness and safety of psychosocial interventions for the treatment of cannabis use disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Addiction. 2025;120(11):2181-2201. doi:10.1111/add.70084. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12529236/

12. Halicka M, Spiga F, Freeman TP, et al. Comparative effectiveness, safety and acceptability of pharmacological and psychosocial interventions for the treatment of cannabis use disorder: a network meta-analysis. Addiction. Published online April 2, 2026. doi:10.1111/add.70399. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41924869/

13. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and U.S. Department of Defense. VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Substance Use Disorders. Version 4.0. 2021. https://www.healthquality.va.gov/guidelines/mh/sud/

14. Lima MG, Tardelli VS, Fidalgo TM. Contingency Management for Cannabis Use Disorder Treatment. European Addiction Research. 2024;30(5):321-338. doi:10.1159/000540193. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39374591/

15. Rockhill CM, Ramtekkar U, Becker TD, et al. Clinical Practice Guideline: Assessment and Treatment of Adolescents and Young Adults With Substance Use Disorders and Problematic Substance Use (Excluding Tobacco). Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 2026;65(2):105-138. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2025.08.006. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40819708/

16. Olthof MIA, Goudriaan AE, van Laar MW, Blankers M. A guided digital intervention to reduce cannabis use: the ICan randomized controlled trial. Addiction. 2023;118(9):1775-1786. doi:10.1111/add.16217. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37128762/

17. Mason MJ, Coatsworth JD, Riggs NR, et al. Text message-delivered cannabis use disorder treatment with young adults: a large randomized clinical trial. Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment. 2025;170:209611. doi:10.1016/j.josat.2024.209611. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11885044/

18. Spiga F, Parkhouse T, Tang VM, Savović J, Le Foll B, Nielsen S. Pharmacotherapies for cannabis use disorder. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2025;9(9):CD008940. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD008940.pub4. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12481667/

19. Bahji A, Stephenson C, Tyo R, Hawken ER, Seitz DP. Prevalence of Cannabis Withdrawal Symptoms Among People With Regular or Dependent Use of Cannabinoids: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Network Open. 2020;3(4):e202370. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.2370. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7146100/

20. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Regulation of Cannabis and Cannabis-Derived Products, Including Cannabidiol (CBD). Content current as of July 16, 2024. Accessed September 9, 2026. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/public-health-focus/fda-regulation-cannabis-and-cannabis-derived-products-including-cannabidiol-cbd

21. Litt MD, Kadden RM, Tennen H, Dunn HK. Momentary coping and marijuana use in treated adults: exploring mechanisms of treatment. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 2021;89(4):264-276. doi:10.1037/ccp0000633. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8211388/

22. Gray KM, Tomko RL, Baker NL, McClure EA, McRae-Clark AL, Squeglia LM. N-acetylcysteine for youth cannabis use disorder: randomized controlled trial main findings. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2025;50(5):731-738. doi:10.1038/s41386-025-02061-y. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11914066/

23. McRae-Clark AL, Gray KM, Baker NL, et al. Varenicline for cannabis use disorder: a randomized controlled trial. Addiction. Published online January 14, 2026. doi:10.1111/add.70296. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41536001/

24. Petrilli K, Ofori S, Hines L, Taylor G, Adams S, Freeman TP. Association of cannabis potency with mental ill health and addiction: a systematic review. Lancet Psychiatry. 2022;9(9):736-750. doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(22)00161-4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35901795/

25. Rittiphairoj T, Leslie L, Oberste JP, et al. High-Concentration Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Cannabis Products and Mental Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2025;178(10):1429-1440. doi:10.7326/ANNALS-24-03819. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40854216/

26. 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Accessed September 9, 2026. https://988lifeline.org/

27. Poison Control, National Capital Poison Center. Contact Us. Accessed September 9, 2026. https://www.poison.org/contact-us

28. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. FindTreatment.gov. Accessed September 9, 2026. https://findtreatment.gov/

29. Riverside University Health System, Behavioral Health. Substance Use Prevention and Treatment Locations. Accessed September 9, 2026. https://www.ruhealth.org/behavioral-health/sapt/locations

30. San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health. Substance Use Disorder and Recovery Services. Accessed September 9, 2026. https://wp.sbcounty.gov/dbh/sudrs/

31. SMART Recovery. Meeting finder. Accessed September 9, 2026. https://meetings.smartrecovery.org/meetings/

32. Marijuana Anonymous. Find a Meeting. Accessed September 9, 2026. https://marijuana-anonymous.org/find-a-meeting/

If you or someone you know is in crisis

• Call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room for any life-threatening emergency.
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org, available 24/7, free and confidential. En español: marque 988 y oprima 2, o envíe AYUDA al 988. Deaf or hard of hearing: 988 videophone (ASL) or TTY 711 then 988. Veterans: 988 and press 1, or text 838255.
• Crisis Text Line — text HOME to 741741.
• The Trevor Project (crisis support for LGBTQ+ young people) — call 1-866-488-7386, or text START to 678-678.
• National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN) — call 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or text HOPE to 64673; free, confidential, 24/7. Online chat at RAINN.org/hotline.
• National Domestic Violence Hotline — call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or text START to 88788; 24/7, help in 200+ languages. Online chat at TheHotline.org. If your phone or computer may be monitored, calling from a safer device is an option.
• Riverside County — Inland SoCal Crisis Helpline 951-686-HELP (4357), 24/7 (Inland SoCal United Way / 211+, in partnership with RUHS-BH); Community Access, Referral, Evaluation and Support (CARES) Line 800-499-3008, 24/7.
• San Bernardino County — Access Unit (Behavioral Health Helpline) 888-743-1478, 24/7; Mobile Crisis/CCRT 800-398-0018 (24/7, all ages) or text 909-420-0560. Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC) has a dedicated walk-in adolescent psychiatric ER (ages 13–17).
• Children under 13 — call 911 for immediate danger, contact your county's mobile crisis team (they respond to all ages), or go to the nearest pediatric emergency room.
• California Peer-Run Warm Line (non-crisis — someone to talk to) — call or text 1-855-600-WARM (9276); daytime and evening hours, not a 24/7 line.
• NP Fady (non-emergency) — for routine scheduling or questions, call (909) 707-6261. This line is not monitored for emergencies.