- A break is a good test of how much cannabis is part of your everyday life.
- The first few days can be unpleasant: restlessness, poor sleep, irritability. It is strongest in the first week, and most symptoms are over after two to three weeks.
- Members enter a break in the next quarterly survey. Their membership is not affected.
Why take a break
People who use regularly often only notice without cannabis how much it has become part of everyday life: for switching off, for falling asleep, against a bad mood. drugcom warns that cannabis can easily become a crutch this way. A break shows whether you can manage without. Memory and concentration, which suffer with regular use, recover when use stops, as far as is known.
You can use the self-test to assess whether your use is already problematic.
What can happen in the first few days
Anyone who has used regularly for a long time may get withdrawal symptoms. They usually begin one to three days after last use and are strongest in the first week. Most subside after two to three weeks; sleep problems and low mood can last longer. Common symptoms are:
- nervousness and restlessness
- sleep problems and strange dreams
- little appetite
- irritability, anxiety, low mood
- sweating, trembling, headache, stomach ache
This is unpleasant, but according to drugcom it is usually not a serious risk to health. Sleep often takes the longest: in one study, people who had used almost daily for years slept worse on the first night without cannabis and even worse on the second.
Medication: smoke speeds up the breakdown of some medicines, for example clozapine, olanzapine or theophylline. If someone who smokes regularly suddenly stops, these can become too strong. If you take such medication, discuss the break with your doctor beforehand.
What helps
- A clear goal: decide what you are aiming for and how long the break should last.
- Know your difficult moments: write down when and why you usually use, and plan in advance what you will do instead.
- The people around you: according to drugcom, people who keep spending a lot of time with others who use relapse considerably more often. Tell your friends what you are planning.
- Exercise: daily exercise can reduce cravings, and hobbies are a distraction too.
- Evenings: a new evening routine without cannabis can make it easier to fall asleep.
- Setbacks: relapses are normal and no reason to give up your goal. Think about what made the situation difficult, then you will be better prepared next time.
Support
Quit the Shit is a free and anonymous online programme run by the BIÖG (in German). You keep a use diary there for four weeks, get feedback from a counsellor every week and decide for yourself whether you want to cut down or stop. You can find personal counselling near you under Finding help. You can reach our prevention officers at praevention@csc-dortmund.de.
For members: a break through the quarterly survey
Before each quarter, you state in the quarterly survey in the members’ portal how much you would like to receive per month over the three months. The club then plans its cultivation accordingly.
You enter a break in the next quarterly survey: less or nothing at all for individual months, or you skip the whole quarter. A break that you enter this way is protected. You do not have to give a reason, and there is no time limit. Ending a membership is only considered if two quarterly surveys in a row go unanswered.
An order you have already submitted remains binding and is paid for. You do not have to collect it.
Sources
- drugcom.de (BIÖG): withdrawal symptoms from cannabis use
- drugcom.de (BIÖG): taking a break from smoking weed
- Bonnet, Preuss (2017): The cannabis withdrawal syndrome: current insights. Substance Abuse and Rehabilitation 8
- drugcom.de (BIÖG, 2023): quitting cannabis, which withdrawal symptoms can occur and what helps
- drugcom.de (BIÖG): going about quitting cannabis the right way
- drugcom.de (BIÖG, 2009): sleep problems during cannabis abstinence (Bolla et al. 2008)
- Federal Ministry of Health (2017): summary report CaPRis
- drugcom.de (BIÖG): drug glossary, entry on cannabis, as of January 2026
- Pharmazeutische Zeitung (2022): cannabis as an interaction partner, page 2
- BIÖG (2026): 20 years of the regional “Quit the Shit” network
- Quit the Shit: useful information
- The club’s members’ portal: quarterly survey (as of 28 September 2026); rule on breaks as decided by the board on 28 September 2026