Is Marijuana Addictive?
“Is Marijuana addictive?” It is a common question because most people automatically assume that it is not an addictive substance based on their knowledge of the drug and the culture that surrounds it. On the other hand, more and more people these days are seeking treatment for dependency on the drug, and some people definitely seem to show real signs of marijuana addiction. So what is the right answer? Is it addictive?
Let’s take a look and find out. Take a quick glance at the chart down below that is based on a mountain of government data. It is indicating that for all of the people who have ever tried marijuana, 4 percent of them are currently meeting criteria for dependency on the drug. You can also see the numbers for some other drugs there.
Now I know that when I was smoking weed every day and trying to justify my using, I would have seized on these numbers and said “Ha! See? Marijuana is the least addictive of these drugs!” This is a typical attempt to justify my addiction.
But you see, 4 percent is actually pretty scary. Do you have any idea how many people try using Marijuana at some point? LOTS. So it is pretty significant that 4 percent develop dependence.
Plus, what does it really matter if it is 1 percent or 90 percent? Some people do get addicted. Flat out. And that can have a huge impact on their lives.
Traditional wisdom
The traditional wisdom regarding Marijuana use is that very few people even become habitual users of the drug. Many people try it at least once but most people do not turn into what we call “pot heads.” On the other hand, the same is true of alcohol. Again, check the chart. Pretty much everyone is exposed to alcohol at some point but very few people actually become alcoholics. So a low percentage of addiction is not really noteworthy, as this is the case with other addictive drugs as well.
Now does habitual use mean that a person is addicted? Not necessarily. But in practical terms, this difference really does not matter much. If someone wants to change their life then the fine line between “bad habit” and “full blown addiction” really does not matter. Many people who become heavy users of Marijuana would like to quit for a variety of reasons, including some of the following:
1) It is illegal and therefore risky behavior.
2) Smoking it daily affects the health negatively (harsh cough, obvious damage to the lungs, etc.)
3) The drug begins to dominate your lifestyle. It influences how you spend your time, the people you hang around with, etc. It thus limits your freedom.
4) Smoking it daily stunts your personal and emotional growth. You use it to medicate your feelings instead of learning and growing through new situations.
And so on. So there are a number of reasons that people would like to stop using Marijuana in order to improve their lives. The fact that some people experience these negative consequences but continue to use Marijuana points to the idea of addiction as well.
But in addition to all this, consider the following points about Marijuana:
* There is evidence that it activates reward centers in the brain.
* Heavy users seem to develop tolerance (it takes more and more of the drug for them to reach the same level of “high”).
* Withdrawal might be really mild, but people do report cravings, and others say they feel sluggish and “down” if they go without it.
* Physical addiction in the body is beside the point, people get wrapped up in a lifestyle of smoking marijuana every day
* There is evidence that Marijuana is indeed a gateway drug, and can lead users to other substances that are also harmful to them (though in reality, Marijuana addiction is bad enough, when you consider all of the negative ways in which it can and does impact a person’s life).
All of these points seem to reinforce the idea that Marijuana is addictive, so let’s look at them in greater detail.
Marijuana seems to be addictive in a physical sense for heavy users
A certain percentage of people who smoke Marijuana end up becoming very heavy users of it. These are people who smoke a lot of Marijuana every single day. For people in this class of user, it seems that they actually do experience some signs of physical addiction.
For example, if they go through a day or two where they can not get any of the drug, they complain that they feel lethargic and depressed. These are difficult withdrawal symptoms to measure but they are definitely real symptoms nonetheless.
Marijuana is clearly addictive in terms of psychological dependence
The biggest point here is not really physical addiction regarding Marijuana, but rather the idea of psychological addiction is what is important. This is because Marijuana is very addictive to some people in a psychological sense because the person uses the drug to basically escape reality and to medicate their feelings.
For example, consider someone who has been smoking Marijuana for most of their life. They use the drug almost every day, and they justify the use of it for almost any situation. They get high to celebrate. They get high to compensate for a bad day at work. They get high when they feel sick in order to feel better. They get high when they have to deal with a bunch of drama in their life. Getting high became their default response to almost everything in their life, and so they developed this pattern of managing their entire life through getting high with Marijuana. This is addiction. They might not be physically hooked on the drug, but they rely on Marijuana as a crutch to get them through almost every event in their life. They are psychologically addicted.
It is worth noting that anyone who is psychologically addicted to Marijuana like this is also cross addicted with other drug, whether they realize it or not. In other words, people who are self medicating in this manner could very easily switch to another drug or substance and find that it works just as well for them. In other words, they are in greater danger of experiencing cross addiction. This is due to the fact that they are not really hooked on Marijuana, instead they are addicted to medicating their emotions and using a chemical to escape from reality.
Everyone who smokes Marijuana is not going to become psychologically addicted like this. But many people who smoke it every day for long periods of time are in danger of becoming psychologically addicted.
Marijuana is clearly addictive in terms of a social dependency
The other way in which Marijuana is deeply addictive is in the social sense of the drug. This is what people are referring to when they say that someone is “addicted to the lifestyle.” People who smoke Marijuana together will naturally develop some level of social bond with each other. To give up smoking Marijuana is to give up this bond. Depending on the person, and also on how old they are, this can be a really big deal.
This also points to how Marijuana use can become a self esteem issue for young people. They might try using Marijuana for the first time and realize suddenly that doing so has earned them “automatic friendship” among others who are also smoking. This is an instant ego boost for any young person who suffers from low self esteem. It is also easy to see why someone can become trapped in the cycle of addiction this way because they are not willing to walk away from their new friends.
People who become heavy users of Marijuana will, over time, end up having a social network built up in their life of almost exclusively other Marijuana users. This is the lifestyle part of drug addiction that gives their life meaning. Part of staying hooked on Marijuana is in not wanting to abandon this network of friends.
Marijuana really is a gateway drug in some cases
The idea that Marijuana is a gateway drug has been thrown around a lot, but I believe that there is some truth to the theory based on my own experience. I started with Marijuana and the use of it made me curious enough to try alcohol and other drugs as well. It’s not real clear to me that Marijuana is actually the cause of experimenting with other drugs, as I think in most cases it is actually the result of that interest in exploring different “highs.” Nevertheless, smoking weed can definitely lead to trying other drugs, simply due to the social nature of the drug and the culture that surrounds it. If you smoke Marijuana long enough with a large variety of people then eventually you will be introduced to other substances as well. Whether or not you choose to use those other substances is up to you, but most people who are immersed into this drug culture are eventually going to explore a bit.
In the end I don’t think this point matters much though, because marijuana addiction is bad enough all by itself, and it doesn’t much matter if it leads the user to “harder” drugs. To suggest that this is the main problem with Marijuana addiction is to belittle the fact that Marijuana use by itself is really quite harmful and damaging to a person on a number of different levels.
Let’s look at it another way….addiction = loss of freedom
Regardless of whether or not you buy into the idea that Marijuana is addictive physically, socially, or psychologically, being caught up in the lifestyle of smoking weed on a regular basis is still going to ultimately mean the same thing: a loss of freedom.
What more is addiction, really, then when you have to do something? You have lost your choice in the matter and now you have to smoke Marijuana in order to get by. If this is the case with you or someone you know, then it matters little if we label it as addiction or not. The fact of the matter is that they are trapped in a cycle and they have to smoke Marijuana in order to feel normal and to deal with their everyday life.
In this way, it has become an emotional crutch for the user and they are using the drug to medicate their feelings. If something bad happens in their life, then they definitely need to smoke that day. If they become stressed out over events that have occurred in their life, they have to smoke then as well. Using a substance as an emotional crutch like this qualifies as an addiction in my book.
Is Marijuana addictive? Only to the extent that it dominates someone’s life and removes their freedom. If you take a look at heavy marijuana users or people who smoke regularly, you will see that they are making great sacrifices and taking big risks in order to continue to self medicate with the drug.
Check out the video:
Recommended Reading
- Overcoming Addiction
- How to Medicate Your Mood Every Day – Weed Addiction
- Holistic Addiction Treatment Center
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Wow, I love how people buy into this propaganda. One thing is who the hell cares whoever smokes pot. I think we can all agree that empirical evidence shows that tobacco and alcohol have destroyed more lives than any substance on the planet.
Pot is no more addicting than porn is addicting. Yes it can be mentally addicting to smoke pot, however, so can masturbation or as noted porn, come on we have rehab for sex addicts now. Come on America how mentally weak are we? Look I smoke pot all day everyday, I go to school full time, and I work full time and have been on the deans list the last 2 years and will graduate this semester with a 3.8. I have smoked for over 4 years now! I stopped drinking because when I would get drunk i would black out and could not remember a thing that i did. When i get high every day I remember it, I am coherent through it all. So lets stop driving the nation to drink when marijuana is a lot healthier. You do not have to smoke it either, you can make it into edables which will get rid of the affects it will have one the lungs.
It is not this mind altering substance like some think, we just get a bad rap because you look at the stupid stoners but you dont realize that it is that they CHOOSE to be stupid and lazy.
When I smoke my friends and I are not watching stupid shit we are debating about the issues of the day the past, religion, politics, philosophy and etc… If we watch anything it is usually a documentary.
Dont give me this bullshit that pot makes you stupid. I was never into academia until I learned the truth about the history of the war on drugs. Why did it become illegal? A substance that has never killed anyone…and its illegal! Stop controlling me and give me my pursuit of happiness and tax the hell out of it and make some money as we did back in 1933 when we ended the prohibition on alcohol and brought in some tax revenue.
I have a Federal licence in Canada for medical marijuana.
Im 56 and trying to cut down. I have been using marijuana for 43 years now.
I would say im dependent on the medical effects as i have just cleared the hep-c virus
through medication, but i could not have done it without marijuana.
There are much more serious things in this world other than marijuana.
Heres the catch.
If i could do it all over again…
i would never have done any drugs when i was younger, including marijuana!
Its not about me.
Its about Christ!
Why don’t you google Harry J. Anslinger. He was the first drug czar in the united states. Here are some of his quotes he said in front of congress, newpapers, radio ect, to get Cannibus/Hemp illegal (he also gave it a mexican name, Marijuana).
“There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana usage. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others.”
“Colored students at the Univ. of Minn. partying with (white) female students, smoking [marijuana] and getting their sympathy with stories of racial persecution. Result: pregnancy”
“Two Negros took a girl fourteen years old and kept her for two days under the influence of hemp. Upon recovery she was found to be suffering from syphilis.
I copied these quotes from Wikipedia, go look for yourself. This is the most hateful law in the history of our country. Some may have a beer or two after work, why can’t a person smoke a little weed instead if they want? I get a headache about 30 mins after drinking one beer.
Marijuana for should be legalized in the United States, but no in my home country Mexico.
We come from a liberal progessive family and I have to brothers who smoke pot for many years now.
Their lives are a disaster and under the current political, social arena in Mexico in relation to the war on drugs we fear for the lives.
Is clear to us that sustance abuse has not helped my brothers. At one point the smoke pot 3 times a day. The even start selling in the streets.
I know pot is not the problem rather some emotional problems. But there is strong evidence that both my brothers are hooked to feeling of getting high.
In many ways my brothers are trapped in the middle of nowhere. Perhaps if they were alcholics they could be saved from hell.
I know
My husband is reading the most current Consumer Reports right now and he told me there’s a home made brownie recipe that calls for pot. I live in Amish land and see miles of fields planted with tobacco – tabacco plants should be traded for pot plants ( if pot ever became legal ) the profit would be greater! I don’t smoke ANYTHING but if I did, it would be pot – NOT cigarettes!
Hello, I think weed is spiritual, it can be addictive to those who believe that weed is everything, there’s more to life then just getting high, anything that is misused or used in repetitive continuous way may lead to critical damage including weed. However weed generates feeling that people never discovered some changes their lives.
Personal use: I smoked weed we smoked it for a week but on the 7th day i decided not to smoke, because i wanted to be normal and it wasn’t necessary to be high in order to feel good. Smoke when you want and stop when you want its really your choice and nothing else.
You may think your in control off your smokeing but weed will get control of you with out you knowing it
Here’s the truth of it, anything can be addictive if the “victim” is weak minded. That alone is not enough to make marijuana illegal. If it was then tobacco, alcohol, porn, video games, sex, work, gyms would all be illegal because some individuals become obsessed with these.
If pot showed more characteristics of physical dependency like opiates or strong correlation of violent behavior then yes it should be illegal. However, by itself pot has never expressed these outcomes. Unless someone’s brain is wired incorrectly, a flood of dopamine shouldn’t cause rage.
The only punishable offense for using marijuana is if the user is high and using heavy machinery including automobiles due to slower reaction time, much like alcohol.
If someone you care about is suffering in life, don’t blame pot, you need to look into a deeper issue.
Did it not occur to you that movies are also an escape from reality? Why do most people watch movies? Escapism! If it is an action film, they like identifying with the brave hero who saves the day from dark forces. If it is a romance film, they like identifying with one of the lovers and the steamy passion that goes on in the film. If it is a comedy film, they just like sitting there in the theater free of troubles and laughing at the characters.
What about music? Music can dramatically alter your mood! Music can make you sad, happy, or angry with the click of a button. Music can be HIGHLY addictive. As a Muslim, I have personally witnessed many fellow Muslims struggle to give up music, but they find it incredibly difficult to do so. They are addicted to it, but they feel that they have to give it up because of religious rulings.
My point is, anything can be addicting. People have even been addicted to Chapstick!
Oh and another thing – marijuana causes no changes in dopamine levels :-)
im not saying that addiction isn’t possible but in all honesty, pot is way way way way way overrated as far as being “addictive” or “dangerous” is concerned. I have only smoked pot and drank. I discovered very quickly after drinking a few times that was not for me, not to mention my peers act CRAZY on it. I decided to try smoking pot which i did in fact enjoy. Its a awesome social drug, and i have made many friends because of it and it just makes me feel happy. Three years later, i do not have to smoke everyday or after every situation, class, job, whatever to “get by”, i have never considered trying any other drugs and i smoked a cig once and that was just purely disgusting…my lungs felt like they were going to bust unlike how they feel when i smoke and i sleep like a overfed baby at night.You do not have to worry about someone smoking pot and getting violent or driving while influenced because unless somethings wrong, you normally just want to relax and not do anything crazy. How many deaths have been reported because of pot? Maybe in the drug war but not while operating a vehicle or overdosing or some other means. I always have in depth conversations with my friends about school, politics, religion, anime, whatever and i am fully able to remember everything from class and work even if I am high. I’m a full time college kid with a full time job and people need to stop stereotyping others who smoke pot as bad guys or the lazy guys because they choose to be that way, not because i drug made them do it and that goes for ALL DRUGS. i have known plenty to break a drug habit cold turkey so it is not impossible and these people are just weak minded like mentioned earlier. LEGALIZE it and quit wasting our tax money on fighting a war on marijuana that you will never win. I thought america was about freedom? NOT ANYMORE obviously.
wow i can tell i typed that in a hurry, sorry for the couple of mistakes! just my opinion though…its all in the mindset.
*my lungs felt like they were going to bust unlike how they feel when i smoke mj and i sleep like a overfed baby at night.
*not because a* drug made them do it
Here is my take on things. I am 23, female, and have smoked my share of pot. One day, I discovered that I wasn’t interested in it anymore; it just made my head feel fuzzy and I was incapable of interacting with others on the same level that I am while I am sober. However, I realized that weed affects everyone differently, so while I renounced it for myself, I did not give my boyfriend at the time any shit for his decision to continue smoking. My boyfriend was very highly-functioning while high, as I’m sure many of you are, and he enjoyed the feeling he got from smoking. Again, chalk it up to individual differences.
As time went on, I realized just how often my boyfriend was smoking (3 – 4x per day on average): before work, on his lunch break, right after work, right before bed. After a while I started noticing that it was interfering with my own lifestyle, because even though I wasn’t smoking, I still had to spend the majority of my time with someone who was high. We couldn’t go hiking, to the movies, to a family dinner, or even boating in paradise without him having to get high beforehand. That was when I saw that it was a problem. And it’s not because he’s a “loser”, or “lazy”. He works 50 hours per week at a very successful investment bank. He has his life together in many ways. But his dependence on marijuana was indicative of a deeper problem.
Let me say this clearly: I do not take issue with marijuana. I myself have smoked it and know that it is, in itself, a benign drug. It does not make people crazy and frankly I think it’s ludicrous to be classified as Schedule 1 right up there with opiates and other things. RIDICULOUS. However. It is the use as an escape that is the problem, and that’s what this article is addressing. Not once did the author claim that people who smoke are losers, and nobody is trying to control anybody, so don’t get your panties in a twist. All the author is pointing out is that there is a potential for addiction with marijuana, just as there is a potential for addiction with anything (as many of you have already addressed).
This is a subject that is close to my heart because my relationship ended largely over my boyfriend’s dependence on marijuana. That’s why it’s hard to see people defending the other side and fighting tooth and nail to prove that there is no such thing as marijuana addiction; well, I have seen it happen to someone I love dearly and I’m here to tell you, it’s a real thing. At no point did anyone ever accuse everybody who smokes pot to be addicted; hell, I still smoke it on occasion. I’m not a loser. I’m not stupid or lazy. But it’s like I told my ex boyfriend: I love drinking milk (weird example, I know). But if I had to have a big old glass of milk every couple of hours just to make it through my day, then that would indicate that I have a deeper problem I’m not addressing. Milk isn’t gonna kill anyone, and it’s maybe not doing any physical damage to me either, but if it’s being used as a way to navigate my way through deeper issues, then it’s a problem. Weed is the same way, as are cigarettes, alcohol, and anything else on this earth if someone’s personal affinity for it is allowed to grow out of control. That’s all.
Pot is habitualy addictive if you do it enough you will make a habit out if it the only difference is a habit is much easier to break then an addiction. People going to rehab for pot is rediculous . I used to smoke to much pot that’s right I said it too much pot I got arrested it sucked and I stopped smoking it didnt kill me. A yEar later and I’m smoking Again but not like I used to it’s not my life and I wouldn’t describe myself by it. If you describe yourself as a stoner or pothead smoke less weed when describing yourself the first adjetive that should come to your head should not be about weed.
I am married and have been with my husband for 7 years. We have two children and I am in school and working. My husbands name is Victor and he smokes weed all day everyday. Before work at work after work before activites with the kids and the family. I am strongly considering leaving him becasue he does not function well on weed. He is talkless, motionless and just simply a downer. I think people should go to rehab for weed becasue anything that can destry a family and take a person completely away from his kids, need deep help!
Not to mention he spends lots of money on it!
Legalize pot! it never killed anyone, it never hurt anone. its just like beer. affects your mind and makes you do bizarr things. but its nnot addictive.
For everybody saying that cannabis is not addictive and harmless, fuck you all. I believed in that bullshit and now i´m paying for been an idiot teenager like you all.
If you like your life and your mind, don´t touch high grade marijuana.
first off, I’m not going to get into a mud slinging contest here. I can see the benefit in it for someone experiencing terminal illness, and believe for those people, in such intense pain due to disease, it should be legal. But I don’t believe this drug should be exposed to children, expecting mothers, teenagers, or the general public in enclosed spaces. Before anyone starts yelling at me, some of my bestfriends smoke weed. BUT they respect me enough to not expose me to it. They know how sick I get from it.
Why?
Marijuana is a naturally occuring substance, this is true. So is tobacco and a few other things. However, just because it’s natural doesn’t mean it’s healthy. Poison Ivy occurs naturally but I don’t want it touching me, I know I’m going to itch like crazy if it does. Some people are infact allergic to marijuana and there are plenty of studies to show that some people have lungs that are so hypersensitive that any kind of smoke (including the smoke from burning marijuana) can cause severe even fatal bronchospams, and being exposed to it can lead to death for these people.
What you want to do to your bodies is your business, PROVIDED no one else is exposed to it unwillfully. You want the right to smoke it, make sure you demonstrate that every single person who does smoke it can be responsible about it, the same as the government is currently forcing tobacco smokers to be more responsible. Now where I am, you cannot smoke in a car with someone under the age of 18, you cannot smoke in the same house as someone who is under 18 either, smoking in clubs, bars, restaurants, is illegal. The whole message: If you want a smoke take your butt outside, and in the open where by stander exposure is as minimal as possible.
I’m 54 years old
Remember laughing at “Reefer Madness” (the film) and thinking that all negative info about pot was propoganda. Now I know better. I’ve seen it. Pot can be harmful.
I know many people that are addicted to alcholol. They hold good jobs, are committed to their families … can go weeks or months without drinking but they are addicted and every so often they do very stupid things and drink way too much for too long. Gererally they spend far too much money on liquor. They know they have a problem but what the heck … everything is bad for you right?
I also know several people that have been smoking pot for decades and they have tried to quit many times. They don’t want to smoke anymore but can’t seem to stop. They don’t smoke tobacco but the pot is affecting their health. They can’t quit. I’m not sure how to classify that but it is a problem for them. I didn’t hear about these people or read about them … I knwo them … they CAN’T stop smoking pot.
If you are so certain that pot is not addictive check out the number 2 reason that people are admittted into rehab in Great Britian. I all suppose all these people are not addicted but rather they have been brainwashed by the propogana against pot … or perhaps someone will suggest it is some sort of conspiracy.
Sure glad I don’t smoke pot. But I would if I was sick and it improved my health.
By the way I listen to music alot and it affects my mood. Helps me to alter my state of mind. Don’t know if that meets the criteria for addicted. I love music and wouldn’t want to live without it.
My husband is a heavy pot smoker. He cannot eat a meal unless he smokes pot first. He cannot drive a car unless he can smoke pot. His whole life is about his pot! He would have his children go hungry and homeless first, so he can have his pot. marijuna is his God period. He lacks emotion, he is self centered and most of all lacks in serious motivation. He uses every excuse under the sun to smoke pot. He smokes pot in front of his kids, their playmates. He does not care about anyone or anything other than fullfilling his addiction to marijuna first. So sad that someone so smart is actually so very stupid. He smokes about $600.00 a month on average, and some months even more. He does not care about paying his financial obligations, but does care about how much pot he can smoke. I have had enough after 14 years and am saying goodbye. I am tired of being controlled by his addiction.
Difficult subject. I know people who can smoke weed and function normally – go to school, work full-time, etc. but I also have a 20 year old son whose life revolves completely around smoking weed. He flunked out of one school, dropped out of the next school, lost his job; all he does is zone out in his room listening to music and watching movies. He received money in a settlement, over $6000, and in less than 6 weeks it was all gone. He lies constantly and he steals to support his habit. In and out of counseling and treatment programs – nothing matters. I have had to kick him out of our house and my life until (hopefully) the day he realizes all he has lost due to weed.
Kristina,
That´s because your son probably smokes high grade marijuana.
Different drugs are called marijuana because there´s weed with 2% of THC, with 5%, 10, 15, more than 20. Everybody who smoke marijuana are not smoking the same stuff and are not smoking the same amount ….that´s the main reason why some people smoke a lot with apparently no problem and others go crazy with the stuff like me and your son.
If everybody starts to use pure THC isolated from the plant like morphine is isolated from opium, everybody would start to freak out and going psychotic from the effect of THC and from withdrawals too.
If people are honestly believing this nonsense, then I feel sorry for you. Where ever this person who wrote this artical got their information from, they are clearly buying into the negative stigma on cannabis. Do your own research to avoid getting brain washed from stories like these.
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