Is there any scientific information on the addictiveness of marijuana

[AvenaSativa]

I feel like weed is addictive and I'd like to know actual scientific studies on how it interacts with the brain to cause dependency instead of having a 15 year old be like "Weed isn't addictive you pussy!"

I smoke weed every chance I get, I love it and I'll never stop. The problem is that when I don't have it I can't eat. Like I haven't smoked in 2 days and I'm starving but the idea of eating repulses me. I also don't feel comfortable until I smoke physically or mentally, it's like smoking makes my body and mind feel at peace (unless the weed makes me paranoid, then I feel better when I start coming down).

Is there any scientific evidence that the THC has messed with my endocannabinoid system so much that it's not functioning properly, so I'm having withdrawal? I just want to eat, but I can never eat until I smoke. Also I'm having aches and and my mind feels like blah.

 

[Cotcha Yankinov]

There are a lot of blatantly pro-weed and anti-weed people. There is a scientific middle ground that realizes that THC isn't perfect but isn't the devil's lettuce - THC works by binding to a cannabinoid receptor called CB1. With continued exposure, it can cause downregulation and desensitization of CB1 receptors. Essentially there are compensations that take place when you continually ingest a substance, and when it comes out of your system you will see a deficit of CB1 signaling mediated by endogenous cannabinoids. It will then take time for the CB1 receptors to upregulate again, and for the downstream cells to un-compensate.

I believe THC is self administrated by animals and they show signs of withdrawal, like conditioned place avoidance. I believe THC also causes the induction of addiction associated genetics like DeltaFosB that is seen with other addicting drugs. Cannabis withdrawal is also recognized in the literature.

In terms of your situation, your brain can just take a while to return to homeostasis after it has adjusted to compensate for having THC in your system chronically. Depending on how long/how much you've been smoking and how old you are, the worst part of withdrawals will probably be over in a week. But repeated withdrawals tend to make each successive withdrawal worse. Ondanestron may help with the nausea/appetite and gabapentin has shown to be helpful for cannabis withdrawal.

I might rethink the whole "daily weed user for life" thing, there is more and more research on the negative long term effects of cannabis. Addicting drugs are particularly self administered by animals when they are stressed. The same certainly goes for humans.

 

[Egzoset]

Salutations AvenaSativa,

Perhaps the following molecule would be one good hint for starters...

Spoiler: About the pregnenolone molecule...

Science Daily: Molecule Discovered That Protects Brain from Cannabis Intoxication​ (2014-Jan-2)

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140102142012.htm

Well, somehow it seems to confirm that the more you take the less you get...

Lets be careful what we're hoping for as we may feel sorry... I mean, who knows where that could lead other than a hospital, or even the morgue:

Google Search: Biotrial Bial "BIA 10-2474" Death

An anti-cannabis vaccine maybe?...

Good day, have fun!!

 

[Yourbaker]

You can look online and find a lot of reports that all seem to put it at apx 9% of daily/heavy users will become addicted.

I am addicted, I have been for years. When I stop using I experience the equivalent of a cold for about 7-10 days, runny nose, mild head ache, loss of appetite and a bit of an irritable disposition. I get more REM sleep and have amazing lucid dreams that are just off the hook, sadly slight insomnia as well but nothing worse than a cold.

My addiction does not compel me to use like alcohol did. I use on a schedule for medical reasons and just not using doesn't make me Jones.

From experience this addiction is less compelling then coffee, alcohol and probably sugar but I doubt I could get that out of my diet to see.

 

[Egzoset]

Salutations YourBaker,

You can look online and find a lot of reports that all seem to put it at apx 9% of daily/heavy users will become addicted.

I feel so lucky today! %)

Tell me something i'd be curious to know, for example what percentage of this country's whole population actually corresponds to "heavy" (enslaved-dependant) cannabis users associated to "problematic" situations, excluding the medical applications of course... M'well if one can manage to ignore/reject statistical contamination from multi-intoxication/poisoning that is, compounded with adversarial/toxic environments, etc. So how are you so sure it's really cannabis itself which causes YOUR problem anyway?... Any chance we may reach any agreement when it comes to systematic nation-wide persecution, theft, kidnaping and HOMICIDE/SUICIDE by POLICE, etc? How about the simple recognition that our laws are obviously racist basically/statically! Or how do the re-hab "expert$" proceed in "saving" (brain-washing) so-called "addicts" and what's their failure/success rates alike? Including the corresponding co$ts, human and material...

I don't play chess because i plain suck as a player, hence i simply stopped doing that decades ago but yet i can't imagine advocating for the nation-wide prohibition of checker games: you see i don't give an inch to my adversaries by "breaking the toys of others" in bigot behalf, only to please THEM, or even recourse to burned land/bridge strategies when it's all too clear i've lost the game. Briefly put, why does a guy continue to play if he's won at the alledged 9 % lotery? Go figure, "addiction" i guess!

...

Now does the fact that you've lost control for/by youself even imply that the lives of everyone else are just deemed ruined even before they even faced the issue for real?? How many individuals were brutalized by police force last year because of a tobacco war? Or a booze one perhaps?... ... Where's reasonable force and proportionality?!! Have prescription pills in the medecine cabinet sent anybody to jail lately? Or if it were you're own kid exposed to such dangerous situation, wouldn't you still much prefer that he chooses cannabis over those true potential killers such as morphine, etc., whatever! Just curious where we can meet.

As for the obvious walls of shame distributed across the web for all to see, thanks for your recommendation anyway, though i'm already aware of this mediatic phenomenon, plenty. What i don't know so far is how many of those testimonies didn't come with a salary attached: after all why should demonization apply unidirectionally when it's about cannabis? Elite persons as doctor John Warnock, magistrate Emily Murphy and many more were seen as guiding lights in their own time by influencial people and yet these references will cause a few eyebrowses to raise today. We know better, that's mostly just a collection of decoys serving biased/self-serving purposes. No "Science" there, this is politics.

So who can we trust as a source from that part of the web anyway?? Health Canada after it tried to stay low-profile about the fact that a Licensed Producer of their own choosing (Mettrum Ltd.) has kept BANNED pesticides on site, for example?... Etc., etc.

Allow me to remain skeptical after i reminded myself of hearing a former policeman testimony which explained long ago that those statistics may as well also reflect external factors for which the cannabis consumption was mistakenly/conveniently blamed for all too often... Prohibitionists managing to collect 9 % of contaminated data still doesn't cut it IMO, but that's me. Too bad i can't afford to wait another half-century simply to find out how the story shall conclude - if it ever does.

Maybe we can/should revisit similar numbers once fully optimized/tested/characterized pro-cannabic vaporizers have eventually/globally become available to every consumer who needs it, legal or not... Just lets not hold our breath meanwhile!

Good day, have fun!!

 

[Yourbaker]

I only read the first bit of the wall so I don't think I can really respond, thanks for the good day and you have fun too

Edit:

I took a look at your post and it seems you disagree with the random number that is fairly easily found on the Internet. Feel free to write the Internet and tell them to change it.

It took a lot of words for you to get to the point so I'm going to suggest being concise vs precise. You write like a lawyer and it takes me three attempts to understand some of your paragraphs. Remember I'm a weed smoker, small sentences that get to the point are best.

Weed addiction is barely anything at all to me. 7 years of daily use with only a few breaks but if I just don't use it for a day I notice nothing. I think I may also be able to not use it at all now but why is the question at that point.

Sugar and coffee are far more addicting and probably doing more harm to me. Weed is a non issue medication IME, maybe some have an allergy or high blood pressure that may prevent it's use but I can't see any reason to worry about addiction from weed. Like anything if you keep it in your body all the time, your body will notice when it is gone.

Perhaps heat is about as addicting as weed. You barely notice it's there until it's gone and you can do ok without it but you feel a bit cold.

 

[thujone]

when I quit chronic (as in "constant") smoking I also had the weird withdrawal symptoms like loss of appetite, restless sleep that lasted for a week or so. After I started vaping regularly, toking became more of a once-a-day thing and even though it was usually every day if I missed a day's dose it didn't cause any withdrawal symptoms or break my other routines. I'm not sure if it's due to the vaping vs smoking or just getting used to a smaller dose but it seems like the related brain chemistry can recuperate pretty quickly if you just scale back a little and avoid keeping your blood saturated with THC 24/7.

 

[Julesz]

Nope personally its al in ur head if u think u are addicted to marijuana you simple havent taken a proper drug.