Table 2.

Marijuana Withdrawal Checklist (MWC)

Symptoms	None	Mild	Moderate	Severe
Cannabis craving
Irritability*
Nervousness/anxiety*
Increased aggression*
Restlessness*
Increased anger*
Sleep difficulty*
Strange/wild dreams*
Depressed mood*
Decreased appetite*
Sweating*
Shakiness/tremulousness*
Headaches*
Stomach pains*
Nausea
Other

Notes: A total MWC score is obtained by summing the severity ratings, mild = 1, moderate = 2, severe = 3 points;

^*symptoms listed in DSM-5. There is no valid definition available for assigning a cannabis withdrawal syndrome to be mild, moderate, or severe. An MWC score of 10 points was found to be comparable with 5 points on the Clinical Global Impression – Severity scale (CGI-S), which is a 7-point scale. Four or more withdrawal symptoms were shown to predict the severity of cannabis-related problems at 1-year follow-up among treated adolescents (N=214, 92% retention). Data from previous studies.18,24,26,31,36,37,80

Abbreviation: DSM-5, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – Fifth Edition.