For decades, weed’s deleterious health effects were exaggerated, experts said, leading to excessive criminalization
This line fron the article is exactly why I’m skeptical. I had to sit through tons of middle school and high school programs that lied to me about the physiological effects of marijuana. This article itself opens with an anecdote about one individual, but fails to identify any academic study suggesting physiological addiction because… There is none.
Psychological addiction is real. There’s a reason that in most places any gambling advertisements have to include a warning and a hotline. The problem is that these sensationalist articles never make the distinction between psychological and physiological addiction. This article mentions when the case study first tried marijuana, but fails to detail the circumstances of her life, her personality, and other factors that can contribute to psychological addiction.
Add in that the medical marijuana industry is trying to replace the very physiological addictive (and profitable) pain medications… Add that to the years of lies in schools and media… Forgive me for not trusting this BS at all.
You’re right not to trust this BS at all. It’s straight up reefer madness propaganda. It’s widely acknowledged that anything pleasurable can be addictive, that doesn’t mean we need to ban gambling or alcohol or weed.
It’s a “gateway” drug is my personal favourite. Yeah marijuana may not be as bad a heroin but it leads to heroin so you know, don’t do it!
Hey don’t eat that carrot! Why? It’s a gateway food to candy!
🤦♂️
Very anecdotal, but I know multiple people who are addicted. Could very well be psychological, but if they go more than a day or two without smoking they are terrible to be around. Which sucks because I’m stuck with
A) don’t be around them
B) be around them while they are baked and smell
C) be around them while they are terrible
I’ve been sticking with A for the time being, but it sucks because I feel like I’ve already lost a few friends when I stopped smoking and it seems like that is their whole life.
Honestly, if I found out one of my friends saw me this way I’d rather they just get out of my life.
Crazy that you’re getting downvoted for this. I smoke occasionally, but used to smoke daily and had to quit cold turkey for over a year. I now (almost 3 years since I first stopped cold turkey) refuse to have any marijuana on me and only smoke on the occasion that I’m out with friends and it’s offered to me. That ends up being about one toke a month. Irritability and bad mood for chronic smokers when they haven’t smoked enough to get withdrawals is common enough (anecdotally from my own experience quitting and seeing others around me struggling with it as well).
Especially if someone has quit and finds the smell off-putting or doesn’t like to be around people who are either constantly baked or very irritable, this point of view is perfectly valid and adds to the conversation. Don’t downvote just because you personally disagree.
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They are wasted within years, broken bodies and souls who need years to get healthy again
And then there’s Keith Richards…
Yes, but we’re talking about humans, not whatever Keith must be.
A lot of people don’t realise this but he lives in a mansion and mostly does art every day, he’s not living a party lifestyle anymore and hasn’t for quite a while - it’s just the same equation we’ve seen time and time again; rich = great healthcare + relaxation = longevity and health. Like how Elon looks younger and healthier than he did 25 years ago, it’s just money.
I had hoped there would be a significant study I could read but it’s just the same reefer madness we’ve seen for decades.
It will be great when it’s finally fully legal and we can do real science on it.
i started smoking because i have mucle pain every day (muscular disbalance) basecally my mucels are to short and i because i liked the affect. it’s been around a year and a half in that time i noticed beleave it or not (i don’t care) my memory got better and i’m much happier mostly because i don’t have to take pain killer that often. if i don’t have any other than not being able to be very active(because of pain) i don’t notice it to much of curse i sometimes then think it would be nice to smoke one but that dosen’t happen to often. at least for me being a stoner and being lazy dosen’t apply at all i’m a mechanikalengeneer (i did an apprenticeship) and now i’m doing a second one as a programmer.
Nah fam. I’m addicted, trust me. Trouble eating, sleeping, keeping food down. Have to titration down super slowly or get intense cravings. It sucks.
After about 8 years of daily smoking (and slowly smoking more and more because of tolerance building up) I decided to quit for various reasons.
I’m at about 10 days off cold turkey and I’m still struggling a lot. At the beginning was a big loss of appetite, trouble going to sleep and obviously the psychological desire to smoke. The worst part for me though is the intense anxiety, irritability and the lack of motivation to do anything. It feels like falling back into depression and slowly try crawling out of it.
Really disappointing to see so many people in here denying what I’m going through. Yes there’s always been propaganda against using, but there’s still some truth to it. I’m still glad that it’s legal here in Canada because it did help me at one point, but like every drug, you have to be careful.
All of these things you describe are very real but they’re not physical withdrawal symptoms, but indeed psychological. The mind is a very powerful thing, so these effects can be very powerful, I’m not trying to dismiss your experience. However they are not the same as for example withdrawal from heroin or heavy alcoholism, both of which create actual physical pain and potentially death.
Every individual is different too, so people sharing how they can be heavy smokers and stop while on vacation for a few weeks without issues aren’t trying to dismiss your experience, just like how you shouldn’t dismiss theirs.
I’ve known physical withdrawal in the past and am a daily smoker now, I’m also one of those that can just stop on vacation no big deal, but I seldom skip a day at home.
Not too surprising. A good rule of thumb is, anything that gives you joy, happiness, or helps with pain & sadness, can be addictive. It can definitely be used as crutch vs. dealing with the underlying issues (such as anxiety).
However, there’s a difference between that kind of addiction and chemical addiction which I don’t see mentioned in the article. It seems to focus on the crutch aspect, not things like physical ailments from withdrawals and that sort of thing. It’s hard to tell.
Generally, moderation should be the key and if you are using it to avoid things that maybe therapy would help with - that’s not ideal.
Absolutely right! It can be a pretty great crutch, used sporadically, but constant use signals something else to work on. And depending on the issue, constant use can just make it slightly more comfortable to stay in that crappy state. (Ask me how I know, lol)
So, where’s the science in this article? I just read a bunch of fear mongering and feels. …and a whole lot of stories and sources from red states.
I don’t know how I feel about this. I regularly smoke/use edibles, and I get that it can easily become habitual. You get home afterwork, smoke a bowl, and get on with your life.
But not once have I ever felt that I NEED to smoke. I’ve been using for over 4 years now. I grow my own. I make my own oils and edibles. I’ve never felt that it’s something that I need to do. For example, I can very easily stop for a few weeks and suffer literally zero withdrawal from it. So, I don’t really understand what’s so “addicting” about it.
You can be addicted to the feeling of mellow and high that marijuana gives you, that’s psychological addiction. It’s the same as how you can become addicted to eating oreos. You can stop eating oreos or smoking weed and physically be fine, no withdrawals. But psychologically, you may feel the need to go back to it.
If you can be “psychologically addicted” to anything, then why label marijuana specifically as “addicting”? We don’t label wintergreen mints as psychologically addicting, even though some people will routinely crush a bag of them in one sitting. It seems that we’re misattributing the human, habit-forming parts of ourselves (or possibly our need for pleasure) as a negative-characteristic of marijuana, and I don’t think that’s being genuine to the problems.
Articles like this only further the demonization of marijuana and give cause to ban it.
Having smoked cannabis for over two decades, I can certainly tell you there were times where I smoked a lot tougher then I do these days.
Back when I was at my peak usage, I tried to quit by going cold turkey. I went through periods where I would wake up in cold sweats. While I didn’t have gnawing urges like an alcoholic, I definitely had some physical withdrawal symptoms that weren’t super pleasant.
Like most people pointed out, you can get addicted to anything. But people need to understand that there are drugs that are more chemically addictive and cause larger issues like meth and nicotine and people labeling marijuana with those other drugs is dumb and ignorant.
I was definitely addicted to marijuana when I was younger. I came home from work one night to find my roommates had smoked the last of it and I literally physically attacked them and then cried myself to sleep.
I have a personality built for addiction though.
I spent a decade as a heroin addict and I would have killed to cry myself to sleep when I was without. There was no sleep, just ungodly pain.
I’m currently taking a third of my normal suboxone dose right now because I lost several and someone picked them up (don’t blame them). I’m handling it well. I have to deal with this until the 17th. So far 3 days in and I’m just coasting. All this time worrying about tapering off and then this happens and I’m thinking maybe it won’t be so bad. I have to do it like this or go some time without, which is scary af. When I tried to taper I’d experience topical withdrawal symptoms. Constant yawning, chill bumps, fatigue. I swear I think it was all in my head because I could choooooose not to do it.
The addict in me keeps trying to talk me into making it a problem for future me, but I’m not doing that.
As a matter of fact, I’m thinking of sticking with it if it’s not worse by the end. After that I’ll either taper off or go to the shot.
Fuck it. I’m done worrying about it. I’m done being afraid that if I lose my medicine I’m a cripple and the system won’t help me. I’ll have to break the law to be ok. Fuck that.
Thanks for sharing bud. I too am in recovery and I wish you well. Everything gonna be alright.
Fk bro sorry to hear that. Not saying weed isn’t addictive, just that it shouldn’t be compared to harder drugs that form a chemical dependency much faster than weed. I’ve struggled with addiction in the past. I’ve found that working out when you get those urges can help. Good luck going forward bro
Apparently not porn. There’s a thread above discussing how porn addiction is apparently not real.
Well I was sure as shit addicted to it as a teenager. I’m almost certain I did nerve damage to my penis as a youngster.
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Know folks who spend 500+/month on weed and then can’t afford to live. Just because they don’t go trainspotting doesn’t mean it isn’t as fucked.
Because they are addicts with money or are they escaping bigger issues? Genuinely curious! (Not challenging you)
Dunno. Got cut out because didn’t approve of lighting up every 30m.
You can literally get addicted to anything… even a habit can be addictive.
As with anything you do, do it in moderation. Even too much bananas can kill you.
Of course is real. As any other things, like even sugar, we live in a wheel of addiction everyday.
A lot of the comments here are great examples of exactly what this article is about.
I feel like the pendulum of how safe or dangerous weed is has spun back in the opposite direction. At the end of the day weed is a drug. There’s worse things out there’s but it’s not harmless. I know potheads who look at it like it’s another green leafy vegetable that also cures cancer.
Edit: I just realized this is the science community. This article is not science. It’s news or maybe an editorial. There’s plenty of legit studies to post if we want to have this discussion.
It’s not harmless, but neither are the vast majority of the products you can buy off the shelf.
Microwaving plastic is terrible. Half the stuff you can buy from home Depot has to have a California reproductive health/cancer warning on it. We actively pump chemicals into the air, water, our bodies, etc. with very little thought to the downstream consequences.
What makes pot special? Alcohol, by nearly every measure, is worse, but we all recognize that banning it doesn’t actually help anything, and criminalizing things based on a maybe health impact is insane.
It’s a shame that studies on marijuana and its effects on users were blocked and considered taboo subjects for so long. The reason we have these types of conflicting messaging about the safety/danger of marijuana use, is because there has not been enough research or longitudinal studies in those regards.
Can you become addicted to marijuana? Maybe. Does marijuana cause cancer? Maybe. Does it cause this or that or the other thing? Maybe.
For now we have to make assumptions. If you’re worried about getting addicted, you should probably stay away. If you’re worried about it being a carcinogen, you should probablt stay away. We’re probably a long ways away from having conclusive evidence to show either way.
I wouldn’t call it addiction, in most cases it is dependence…unless your facing legal trouble due to your use, but keep smoking. But that’s more to do with shitty legal practices.
I’ve been addicted to real addictive substances and weed ain’t the same at all ime.
For long time users, stopping can cause some withdrawal symptoms, sure, but nothing worth fear mongering over imo.
It really varies person to person. Some people let it run their life. Others not so much.
MJ is a psychological, rather than chemical addiction. Thus it is completely different than Opioids and Amphetamines, which are chemically addictive.
