Yes, you can get addicted to weed

[Gemini666]

When I tell people I was addicted to weed, they actually get pissed off at me and tell me I'm ignorant and don't know what addiction is *actually* like. Then I tell them I'm an IV heroin user. Just because I'm addicted to heroin now does not mean I was at one point addicted to weed. At the time, it was the only thing that I liked doing and I panicked if I ran out. I failed all my classes one semester because I literally only wanted to smoke weed. Yes, being addicted to heroin is completely soul-crushing and it's a lot worse. But I still had a problem with weed, it just affected me differently. Weed addictions are completely valid.

 

[CousinCocaine]

Sounds more like depression than addiction to me. I think you were self medicating depression or some other underlying problem. The weed helped you forget whatever your problem was and you would panic about running out because you didn't want to deal with the problem yet.

Not calling you a liar or anything, I just had an alternative theory. Whatever it was it wasn't good.

 

[Gemini666]

Well yeah, you're probably right actually. I was definitely depressed at the time. But a lot of addictions stem from depression or other mental illness.

 

[herbavore]

People get addicted to all sorts of things. Why quibble about physical dependence vs psychological? The addiction which is killing the world and damaging the most people is addiction to stuff,or consumerism. Gambling, eating, sugar, self-harm... there are a lot of addictions out there. To me, it is only important to ask one question: is this behavior truly your own or are you owned by it? I know for myself its an uncomfortable question sometimes.

I hear you about the minimizing though. I love weed and I have always loved weed culture (not so sure about it anymore but that was inevitable). But I stopped for years (most of my adult life ) because it made me more anxious than I naturally was, and I thought, who needs that? Many of my friends found that they had to give it up for what it did to motivation 9most of them, artists). I'm back in love with it these days, having conquered anxiety by other means, but I try not to over-glorify it. It's not that I won't talk about it favorably but I want to stay sensitive to the fact that it truly is not for everyone and particularly around young people this can become a message of "there is something wrong with you if you don't like pot". I never liked alcohol and hate the high from it and that made me overly sensitive to all the hype and advertising that goes into it and ends up in the national vernacular as humor on everything from greeting cards to T-shirts. I don't want to see that happen with weed but it will.

 

[iksaxophone]

Weed is obviously dependancy-forming, the difference between it and other drugs is that it is easier habitually use pot and maintain function. And for most people a pot habit isn't harmful (not all people...I really fucked myself up last year by continuing to toke through a bronchitis episode..that was a time of really being 'owned by it'....).
Just because it can be a medicine and an enormously positive thing doesn't mean there is no dark side.

 

[poledriver]

Like anything it should be used responsibly or problems can arise. I think as we get older we get much wiser to these things.

When I was in my teens and 20's I used to wake and bake and have 'who can smash the biggest bong bowl' sessions with friends etc but doing that was negatively impacting my motivation and over time I realised it was slowing me down and costing me a lot of money as I had formed a high tolerance to it. Same with alcohol.

Nowadays I still use weed daily most of the time, but mostly just in the evening after I have had a full busy day of doing things. I much prefer of an evening to have a vape of weed than some alcohol but I understand there are many people who choose to consume to use some alcohol to relax.

I'm pretty much a daily weed user so I guess I am addicted to it but I dont see it negatively impacting my life at all anymore. Same with caffeine, I only use that a few times in the morning then that's it for the day for me.

So for me it's a few cups of coffee in the morning and a few vapes in the evening and I am done, a happy camper.

Take these two things I like away from me and sure there will be some slight withdrawals for a week or two but I know I'll be OK and can adapt if need be.

 

[DerDiebKommt]

Obviously it's addicting, everyone just says it isn't because it's the only drug that technically isn't that bad for you, even though I still think it's bad.

There is a difference between physical and psychological addiction though. Becoming physically addicted to weed is impossible, but you can SURELY become psychologically addicted. Hell I smoked for a year straight even though I would get super anxious everytime I smoked, I was obviously psychologically addicted but kept telling myself, "You can't get addicted to weed" and kept smoking even though I knew my mental health was getting way worse.

You can get psychologically addicted to literally ANYTHING, you just won't have physical withdrawals.

 

[CousinCocaine]

Well yeah, you're probably right actually. I was definitely depressed at the time. But a lot of addictions stem from depression or other mental illness.

I just assumed depression (which might've been somewhat unfair) because I first got into drugs in an effort to self-medicate my depression and anxiety. Unfortunately I didn't start out with weed or even alcohol, i forget what came first but the first week I tried Adderall and OxyContin. In my opinion amphetamines and moderate to fairly strong opioids aren't the best substances for someone who's never used drugs recreationally lol. It got completely out of control very quickly. I very strongly preferred (and to this day still do) Oxy to Adderall but had a more limited and less predictable supply so I used the Adderall instead because I felt like I couldn't stand sobriety and continued to use it even after I started to dislike the way it made me feel. In the next few months I tried alcohol, codeine, NORCOs, morphine, Ritalin, weed, Ativan and DXM among others. Even though opiates were by far my favorite (followed by weed and hallucinogens, which were all rare to me compared to Adderall at the time) the majority of my use was Adderall. Thankfully I have my drug use under control (for the most part at least) nowadays, but it took me getting caught by my parents quite a few times, a handful of near death experiences and a lot of suffering I don't wanna get into, but even then it wasn't and at times still isn't easy.

Sorry for all the background but the point is to see if you were actually addicted to weed or were you like I was and just addicted to being intoxicated. You said you would panic when you were out, let's say you ran out but had a stash of your 2nd or even 3rd choice of substances (if you even used any other drugs at that time) more than big enough you could stay high until you could get more weed. Would you be content enough you could wait without too much if any trouble? Or would you still be completely miserable until you got more weed?

Like I said before not calling you a liar I'm just curious.

 

[PerpetualAnhedonic]

Many good points throughout this thread.
Certainly, anything can be "addictive", however I am in most agreement with herbavore that the biggest and most damaging to society, our species as a whole, and even the planet we live on, is consumerism by far- and I speak on this a great deal in real life.

As for the OP though, I actually quite like this article, and find it to be a pretty fair representation of the facts in respect to the potential addictive nature of cannabis....even posted this in another thread not long ago- https://www.leafly.com/news/health/is-cannabis-addictive
Give it a read guys.

-PA

 

[elvis_wears_nikes]

There is definitely a difference between dependency and addiction. When a behaviour such as drug use (any drug) becomes a problem such as affecting school or work, a deterioration in your mental health, relationship problems, criminal activities such as stealing to score drugs. Be it heroin or cannabis then that is an addiction,

Just because cannabis is supposedly not physically addictive then the majority of people think that it cannot be addictive.. When I was between the ages of 12 and 16 I was definitely addicted to cannabis and I was abusing it... I was smoking crazy amounts such as an 1/8 a day and was displaying addictive behaviour to score and use weed.

Unfortunately, now I am recovering heroin addict I have been on methadone for two years now. Yes there is no physical dependency to cannabis such as the horrific withdrawal from heroin but I really can empathise with people who are addicted to cannabis.

Any behaviour can becomes addictive... Think of binge eaters, gambling addicts, sex addcts ect. But most people smoke weed with no problem. My mum gave me some weed when I was withdrawing from heroin and it really helped with the pain and insomnia, and I hadn't smoked since I was 16!

And now I am able to smoke weed sensibly with no problem because I am not abusing lke I was before. But yes anyone an become addicted to any drug or behaviour.

 

[Artificial Emotion]

9% of people using cannabis suffer from some form of dependence whereas 15% of alcohol users become addicted.