Which term describes the physiological withdrawal symptoms that occur when drug use is reduced or stopped?

• A. Tolerance
• B. Withdrawal
• C. Craving
• D. Dependence

Answer: (B)

Withdrawal is the term for the physiological symptoms that occur when drug use is reduced or stopped. When someone uses a drug regularly, the body adapts to its presence; removing the drug disrupts that balance and produces physical symptoms such as shakiness, sweating, nausea, and anxiety. This set of symptoms is distinct from tolerance, which is needing more of the drug to achieve the same effect, and from craving, which is the psychological urge to use. Dependence is a broader state of having adapted to and relying on the drug, which underlies withdrawal, but the withdrawal symptoms themselves are the specific physiological responses that occur when stopping or reducing use.