How I Developed an Addiction to Marijuana

The idea of addiction to marijuana has created quite a bit of controversy on this website.  Many people have written in to tell me that marijuana is not addictive, and that I am spreading lies by saying that it can be.

Let me tell you my experience.  I was about 19 years old and I had never used a drink or a drug in my entire life.  I had never had a buzz, never been drunk, never been high in any way.  I had never tried any alcohol or any recreational drugs, period.  Never.

I decided to try marijuana.  I have no idea why.  It just came to me one day and I thought: “I should really try this stuff.  See what it is like.  See what the big deal is.  I want to get high.”

So I made an effort to buy some of the drug.  I found a friend who wanted to try it as well.  We went over to my sister’s apartment and we locked ourselves in the bathroom and we smoked up a whole dime bag of the stuff.

Well, needless to say, I got high.  So did my friend.  We were higher than kites and it was like a transcendental experience just about.  You would have thought we were tripping the best acid ever made.  And I stated to my sister that “I will never stop doing this.  I have found my calling.”

photo credit: robertdanay

I mean, seriously….I was absolutely hooked from that moment on.  Head over heals in love with marijuana.  I did not try drinking alcohol or other drugs for at least another year.

So following that day when I first got high, I was definitely addicted to marijuana.  I bought larger quantities of it, and my obsession was to be able to always have some and never run out.

Now I am not saying here that marijuana is a physically addicting substance necessarily.  But I was definitely addicted to it.  No doubt about it.  I was thoroughly hooked.

People can get addicted to just about anything.  Video games.  Gambling.  Eating.  Sex.  And so on.

I think the more important question is: “What is the prevalence for a drug to become addicting?” With cigarettes it is probably super high.  With heroin it is pretty up there as well.  With alcohol it is a bit lower.  And of course, with marijuana it is lower still.

But it is still there. People can and do get addicted.

Recommended Reading

• Overcoming Addiction
• Holistic Addiction Treatment Center