Do you or anyone you know seem heavily addicted to Marijuana?

[Casualty]

I always used to hear and read that it was impossible to become addicted to pot. I must admit that most of that info came from High Times and from pot smokers though, but I also remember hearing a few 'experts' make the same claim way back in the 80's and early 90's.

Now as I've pointed out on other posts here, I have never been a big pot smoker. I would occasionally smoke it, but certainly not every day.

However, I had several friends who were major pot heads. This meant that they would usually smoke pot early in the morning, throughout the day, and in the evening. Sometimes, when they had the day off,
blah blah blah

I think your stories are fabricated and I think you work for drug free america or some bullshit. I quit for 6 years with ease.. didn't even notice really it just happened that I didn't have any at the time and didn't bother to look for more.
You are trying to paint stoners as heroin addicts and I find it ridiculous. A lot of people use it for migraines or little aches and pains or other more serious issues.. they know there's no harm in using it so they don't quit since there's no point. Some people make a hobby out of it and enjoy the lifestyle.. do you hear heroin addicts saying they love their lifestyle?? nope.. but you hear plenty of potheads say that they're enjoyin life just fine.

 

[Paulycodone]

Marijuana actually has medicinal value where alcohol and tobacco don't come close

 

[stonerish]

Its funny how defensive some people get over this...

Weed negatively affects some people's quality of life...because it turns into an addiction where it is used more often than it should be...

If you think it doesn't affect you...cool, great for you...

But to come on here and bash people who have had a problem with this addiction is a step too far...go chill in the cannabis forum if you want to extol the virtues of this plant...

Its not a godsend...its not a miracle-drug...its a fucking drug...Those who define themselves by it are no better than heroin addicts in my eyes, and I was once one of them...That is the defining feature of MARIJUANA ADDICTION: It comes to the forefront of your life to the exclusion of all else and makes it seemingly normal to devote mass quantities of every day to serving it, you come to define yourself by it to the exclusion of all else...

/rant

That said...

I will most likely smoke weed again after this 6 week break is over (im on day 10) and i no longer feel addicted. I love the feeling of being high, I don't like the feeling of needing to be high and being a slave to a plant...

 

[regfairfield]

people say they are addicted so it doesnt make them seem like a pothead

 

[Casualty]

Its funny how defensive some people get over this...

Weed negatively affects some people's quality of life...because it turns into an addiction where it is used more often than it should be...

If you think it doesn't affect you...cool, great for you...

But to come on here and bash people who have had a problem with this addiction is a step too far...go chill in the cannabis forum if you want to extol the virtues of this plant...

Its not a godsend...its not a miracle-drug...its a fucking drug...Those who define themselves by it are no better than heroin addicts in my eyes, and I was once one of them...That is the defining feature of MARIJUANA ADDICTION: It comes to the forefront of your life to the exclusion of all else and makes it seemingly normal to devote mass quantities of every day to serving it, you come to define yourself by it to the exclusion of all else...

/rant

This IS the Cannabis Discussion forum lol..... and Cannabis IS a godsend. How is a source of fiber that could stop us from having to cut down trees anymore not be a godsend. It most certainly is a miracle drug as well that can treat hundreds of ailments. Anyone who has been addicted to a truely physically addictive substance can tell you that so called Cannabis addiction is nothing like it. Not even remotely close to the same thing. Anyone can have their life revolve around a hobby like sailing or growing plants. A connoisseur of weed is no different then a connoisseur of fine wine.
I bashed the guy who created this thread because I see through his fake stories not because I don't think weed can have some negative impact for certain people with psychological addiction issues. No need to try and be a hero for him.

 

[Cane2theLeft]

^I think your arguments are specious... no offense intended.

There certainly are wine and weed connoisseurs and likewise there are wino's whose alcohol problem has drastically affected their lives and potheads who have dropped out and said fuck it to everything that matters in their life and just smoke all the time.

You want to call this 'addiction' or not is a semantic differentiation.

Substances don't have to produce substantial physical dependence for people to develop unhealthy attachments to them that affect their lives. As I brought up pages ago, cocaine, crack, meth and other amphetamines hardly produce ANY physical dependence and the withdrawal is almost exclusively psychological but are speed freaks and crack heads not addicts?

Its not the level of receptor down-regulation that characterizes addiction... if it were then beta blockers and oxymetazoline would be some of the most addictive substances on the planet.

Addiction, to put it simply, is the unhealthy relationship people develop with a substance and the adverse effect this relationship has on their social, professional and educational functioning.

Percentage-wise, far fewer pot smokers develop this than users of 'harder' substance but to outright deny its existence is to deny a substantial amount of empirical evidence.

 

[Casualty]

Percentage-wise, far fewer pot smokers develop this than users of 'harder' substance but to outright deny its existence is to deny a substantial amount of empirical evidence.

And I certainly don't outright deny that some people with psychological dependence on marijuana have a problem that they probably need help with. My real issue with this guy is that he is obviously fabricating tales, they are not even remotely believable imo. I've read some of his other threads and most of them follow in a similar tone that I'm calling out as fake. "HI GAIZ, I don't really smoke pot and never really did but I hate it and all my friends that use it are like heroin addicts. Tell me how much you hate it and how much it sucks too." lol....

 

[Cane2theLeft]

^I think we're largely on the same page then.

To be fair I haven't read all of the posts in this rather extensive thread and I've only popped in and out so I won't comment on the veracity or validity of the bulk of Charles' posts.

 

[nomy]

It's only right that the the benefits of weed should be mentioned here too. I can certainly vouch for it's effectiveness for pain relief. I've had all sorts of standard meds for my deteriorating back condition, and nothing offers the same all round pain and stress relief. In the US you are lucky enough for this to be truly recognised in some states, but not here in the UK despite some loud voices in the medical industry.

So yeah, it has it's problems for some (though in my mind mostly from abuse), but it sure as hell has practical benefits too.

 

[Sentience]

A habit is not the same as an addiction.

I have seen pot heads smoke constantly, and nail biters bite their fingers to nibbons, but have you ever seen a pot head foam at the mouth or go into convulsions or seizures if they dont get their medicine?

Didnt think so.

 

[Blowmonkey]

I really should stop reading this thread. It's making me foam at the mouth. :D

 

[Cane2theLeft]

A habit is not the same as an addiction.

I have seen pot heads smoke constantly, and nail biters bite their fingers to nibbons, but have you ever seen a pot head foam at the mouth or go into convulsions or seizures if they dont get their medicine?

Didnt think so.

I don't think any drug cessation causes mouth foaming, let alone ALL of them that would be considered addicting.

If you're going to make up your own criteria, any debate is kind of pointless. I was using the accepted criteria agreed-upon throughout the medical and treatment communities regarding the detrimental effects that the relationship an individual has with a substance has on their life.

If you go back a few pages you can see where I listed all 7 criteria (4 being necessary for a 'substance dependence' diagnosis) and see how someone can easily meet the criteria without having physical dependence or physical withdrawal.

If you're making up your own definition of what addiction is, debating whether or not marijuana fits this artificial-construct is kind of pointless, is it not?

 

[stonerish]

This IS the Cannabis Discussion forum lol..... and Cannabis IS a godsend. How is a source of fiber that could stop us from having to cut down trees anymore not be a godsend. It most certainly is a miracle drug as well that can treat hundreds of ailments. Anyone who has been addicted to a truely physically addictive substance can tell you that so called Cannabis addiction is nothing like it. Not even remotely close to the same thing. Anyone can have their life revolve around a hobby like sailing or growing plants. A connoisseur of weed is no different then a connoisseur of fine wine.
I bashed the guy who created this thread because I see through his fake stories not because I don't think weed can have some negative impact for certain people with psychological addiction issues. No need to try and be a hero for him.

lol

My bad lol...

I'm a touch more angry than i tend to normally be, given that im on day 11 of a tolerance break...

I would, without a pause, say I was addicted to weed, definitional arguments aside...and as such, I get a tad touchy when people say that 'thats not possible'...

I see now that you have more a vendetta against the OP than against the argument I was trying to defend...which is fine by me

Have fun being able to blaze...Ive got 4 more weeks or so to push through before I can re-start my relationship with the MJ...

 

[whataboutheforests]

im addicted. Im basing that off that fact that I want to stop smoking so much weed, because its negatively impacting my life, but I can't stop.

 

[Casualty]

lol

My bad lol...

I'm a touch more angry than i tend to normally be, given that im on day 11 of a tolerance break...

I would, without a pause, say I was addicted to weed, definitional arguments aside...and as such, I get a tad touchy when people say that 'thats not possible'...

I see now that you have more a vendetta against the OP than against the argument I was trying to defend...which is fine by me

Have fun being able to blaze...Ive got 4 more weeks or so to push through before I can re-start my relationship with the MJ...

No worries, yea I really just find the OP's stories off the deep end especially the way he words them. If you reread his post as a cynic you will see that it's like some bad joke.
"I can't wait to tell u about my friends Joe and Sue.. well Joe smoked dope every waking minute and then sold Sue off as a sex slave and chewed his own arm off when he couldn't find his stash.. oh and by the way I heard later that he fell down a hole and died after landing on a baby and killing the baby too!" yeah...

 

[RedBaron]

Hell I'm hooked. I repeatedly abused it in that all day every day manner, then began to sell when I couldn't support my consumption. Got busted, stopped smoking, completely clean, then found JWH and I'm back to my old habits.
There wasn't noticeable physical W/D, but psychologically it's very hard for me to imagine myself not getting stoned all day. But I work a shit job now anyway until my legal situation clears up, so it's not hindering much.

 

[Sentience]

I don't think any drug cessation causes mouth foaming, let alone ALL of them that would be considered addicting.

If you're going to make up your own criteria, any debate is kind of pointless. I was using the accepted criteria agreed-upon throughout the medical and treatment communities regarding the detrimental effects that the relationship an individual has with a substance has on their life.

If you go back a few pages you can see where I listed all 7 criteria (4 being necessary for a 'substance dependence' diagnosis) and see how someone can easily meet the criteria without having physical dependence or physical withdrawal.

If you're making up your own definition of what addiction is, debating whether or not marijuana fits this artificial-construct is kind of pointless, is it not?

Its just a hypothetical example of severe side effects that result from true chemical dependency. If no bodily process is unable to function due to lack of internal chemical that stopped being produced, then its not a true chemical dependency, is it?

"Addiction" in rehab programs is defined by behaviour. That is kind a new way of looking at it. Addiction, from what I understand, originally meant chemical dependency.

A nail biter may be OCD about biting their nails, but its not like something will HAPPEN to them if they stop...besides their nails hopefully growing back.

I happen to understand the neur-chemistry of marijuana, and I know there is no 'gland' that will atrophy or stop producing your internal THC....rather, every single neuron in your body secrets your endo-thc, and its ability to produce this chemical doese not seem affected by prolonged regular use of marijuana....maybe its possible, but I dont think there has ever been a documented case of it....there is no proof of chemical dependency.


In my opinion, the NA meeting and 12 step program definition of addiction is the 'made up' one. This is a recent attempt to 'understand the mind of the addict'.....I understand that it used to mean specifically habits that may include attitudes of obsession and compulsion removing control, but more importantly produces chemical dependency.

ANYTHING can be addictive using some of these 12 step program definitions. Video games can be "addicting"....but it does not produce a true dependency, like opiates do.

 

[DrunkardsDream]

I've met some smokers who can't do certain things without getting high first like eating, or going about their everyday life.

Pot can be psychologically addictive in some people.

I've heard of people who were heavy daily smokers going through a sort of "withdrawal" from quitting smoking but it's not like W/D from booze, opiates, or benzos.

 

[Casualty]

I've met some smokers who can't do certain things without getting high first like eating, or going about their everyday life.

Pot can be psychologically addictive in some people.

I've heard of people who were heavy daily smokers going through a sort of "withdrawal" from quitting smoking but it's not like W/D from booze, opiates, or benzos.

Pretty much breaking any habit that you've grown accustomed to will give you a quasi withdrawal.. I got withdrawals from quitting mmorpg's lol. Trying to quit smoking cigarettes felt completely different though.. it is physically challenging while quitting mmo's was more about mentally breaking a cycle. Most people with a "marijuana addiction" problem seem to be in the boat of being accustomed to a daily routine that they want to change but find difficult. They don't fear getting the shakes like an alcoholic or going through the typical withdrawals of an opiate addict.

I would probably say as the best advice I could give someone with a problem with pot.. try to switch up your daily routine and reduce your access to it. For me the more of a pain in the ass it is to get something even if it's still available the less I will do it. If you always have bud laying around your apartment then yea you will probably keep tokin.. but if you have to drive across town to get it you likely won't bother if your goal is to stop smoking. And you can take heart in the fact that you won't have terrible stomach aches and night sweats with RLS for weeks on end like a physical dependancy might give you.

 

[Sentience]

Well, if somebody really cant eat without marijuana, and its not due to an underlying medical condition, then I would agree that it could represent some form of addiction and dependency.

I have never known this to be the case though, except in people who already had trouble eating.....if you find me somebody with a healthy apatite who isnt on chemo and without some severe medical condition, and then show me that they cant get through a meal or eat anything without smoking pot first....I will concede that marijuana is addictive in the true sense of the word. I personally have never seen such a thing.

I have also known people who use it to sleep when they have anxiety or restlessness, but generally they had that to begin with, rather than manifesting for the first time after they quit smoking.

I guess I am open to it causing a true chemical dependency, but I am skeptical.

I reject the ALANON and 12 step program definitions of addiction.

noun
the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma.

I have never seen this 'severe trauma' from marijuana WDs.