I have a friend who was smoking hash for 10 years. In the last 3 years his dose went up to 20 joints per day until one day he stopped having any good effects after a joint. He quit smoking up 3 months ago and is suffering from extreme paranoia... He hates people and thinks people hate him... he has terrible insomnia and is always depressed... He tried zoloft but it only made his paranoia worse... He has lost a lot of weight and he lost all his self confidence... I have heard that it usually take 3 months for the toxins to get out of the fat cells... He started going to the gym and is really trying to get better but with no effect... he is just going down... Can you please tell me how long can these symptoms last and how can he speed up the process of recovery... please help and his mental state is really at risk.

Maybe he needs to admit himself to a clinic, seek counseling or spiritual advice if he is a believer.
My bil smoked it like it was cigs along with other drugs and alcohol and he went through hell when he stopped. That was about 8 years ago and he made it through. Stilll clean and sober today.

Join NA, Families Victorious or Celebrate Recovery. One of these support groups can help with the mental stuff. He should also see a doctor that is well versed in recovery for the physical stuff.

Unfortunately we are in Kuwait... a country with not one good psycologist... If that was in the states it would be easy... my question is to people who have experienced similar symptoms... how long can they last... apparently it only stays in your system up to 3 months so why is it that it has been almost 4 months for him and the symptoms have just increased?

Zoloft is not the only medication on the market to help with depression and paranoia. It is possible he did some damage to some brain cells due to his lengthy use, as hash crosses the blood-brain barrier.

Individuals who become addicted to chemical substances such as alcohol and/or drugs stop growing mentally and emotionally, they stagnate while others around them continue to mature.

In addition, the reason an individual originally started taking drugs, perhaps self-medicating emotional stress will emerge stronger when the drugs are out of his system.

What I am saying is that this fellow is in trouble, and he needs to be treated with anti-psychotics as well as anti-depressants. The correct dose of anti-psychotics will help him sleep among other things... sleeping alone will improve his mental condition.

Do you have a physician who can prescribe the new anti-psychotics properly? He needs that now, in my opinion.