Is marijuana addictive?

Question

Grandson is in big trouble.

Answer 1

No, marijuana is not chemically or physically addictive. It can become emotionally addictive though.

Also, to the person that said it is a gateway drug, you are correct. However, it does NOT always lead you down that path, and you die. Many infact don't go down that path at all, they just stick with smoking pot. I have friends that went down that gateway path, and some didn't come back. Most of them did though, and they are perfectly fine.

From personal experience, I know it is a gateway drug, and I did try to get into other drugs. However, I learned from it, and I'm not dead, and I didn't lose my life. I'm perfectly fine, and don't do horrible things with horrible people. I have friends that don't do drugs, they help quite a bit.

Also, please don't try and force religion.

To the person above me, wonderful post. That can all be true.

Answer 2

Can a person become addicted to marijuana?

A: Yes. While not everyone who uses marijuana becomes addicted, when a user begins to seek out and take the drug compulsively, that person is said to be dependent on the drug or addicted to it. In 2002, over 280,000 people entering drug treatment programs reported marijuana as their primary drug of abuse, showing they needed help to stop using (12).

Some heavy users of marijuana show signs of withdrawal when they do not use the drug. They develop symptoms such as restlessness, loss of appetite, trouble sleeping, weight loss, and shaky hands.

According to one study, marijuana use by teenagers who have prior serious antisocial problems can quickly lead to dependence on the drug. That study also found that, for troubled teenagers using tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana, progression from their first use of marijuana to regular use was about as rapid as their progression to regular tobacco use, and more rapid than the progression to regular use of alcohol (4).
http://www.drugabuse.gov/MarijBroch/parentpg17-18N.html#Addicted
http://www.nei.nih.gov/news/statements/marij.asp
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/marijuana.html

Answer 3

Marijuana is both emotionally and mentally addictive. Once an individual becomes addicted to marijuana it develops into part of who they believe themselves to be. Avoiding their friends who do not use, the addict will gravitate to others that do. Marijuana is a topic that is always on their mind, whether it be thinking about the next time they will be able to get high or where their going to get their next sack. When someone is addicted to marijuana eventually their friends and the people close to them only know how they act when their stoned because they no longer do anything without first smoking. Their constant abuse is due to the misconception that marijuana is what they need to solve their problems. Sometimes addicts will take their stash with them wherever they go, just in case an opportunity arises and they are able to take a couple hits. They may even go through several dealers in order to make sure they always have a constant supply of marijuana.

The cost of marijuana addiction to the individual who allows their addiction to escalate may suffer health and social consequences, memory and learning problems, problems at work or even result in losing a job because of high absenteeism. Those who isolate themselves from friends and family often put a heavy strain on relationships with loved ones. There is a vicious cycle to marijuana addiction in which these problems are often used as a rational to smoke even more pot. Marijuana addiction is a no-win situation that many unintentionally fall into (the drug that is causing the problem becomes the solution to the problem it caused).

Addiction to marijuana is severe due to its affect on the user's brain. Scientists now know many facts about marijuana's effect on the body and how delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the major active chemical in Marijuana, acts in the human brain. When marijuana is smoked, THC travels quickly through the body and into the brain where it unites with specific receptors on nerve cells. Areas of the brain with the most receptors affected by THC are parts of the brain that control pleasure, thought, memory, sensory, concentration, time perception, and coordination. It's these areas of the brain that are most likely to be affected when an individual faces marijuana addiction.

Answer 4

Marijuana is not physicaly addictive but it can be psychologicaly addictive. A psychological dependency on anything is a symptom of other underlying problems and not the problem in and of itself.

Answer 5

Oh geez, not these answers again.

You can a chart of the relative addictive qualities of various drugs at http://druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/basicfax5.htm The chart was prepared by two of the top researchers with the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

In short -- marijuana is about as addictive as caffeine.

If it is your grandson then you should know that, statistically speaking, your grandson is at least 50 times as likely to wind up dying from the effects of alcohol or tobacco than from any illegal drug. Tobacco kills about 400,000 people per year. Alcohol kills about 100,000. No deaths are attributed to marijuana.

Before you go running off to do anything extreme, you should get yourself a little background on the subject. Grandson is likely to have a fair education on the subject and -- if you aren't careful with what you are saying -- you could wind up with no credibility at all.

First, read the short history of why marijuana was outlawed in the first place. http://druglibrary.org/schaffer/History/whiteb1.htm

In short, it was outlawed because of racial prejudice against Mexicans and the fear that heroin addiction would lead to the use of marijuana -- exactly the opposite of the modern myth.

When it was outlawed federally in 1937, there were only two doctors who testified. One was the representative of the American Medical Association. He said the AMA knew of no evidence that marijuana was a dangerous drug -- it was used in about 250 common medications -- and, therefore, no reason for the law. He was told to stop interfering.

The only other doctor to testify was Dr. James C. Munch. His claim to fame was that he had taken some extract of cannabis and injected it directly into the brains of 300 dogs -- and two of them had died. When they asked him what he concluded from this he said he didn't know.

Dr. Munch was the only doctor in the US who agreed that marijuana should be a crime so he became the US Official Expert on marijuana.

The head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics knew that the law was hopelessly unenforceable from the very beginning. As a result, he went with the Reefer Madness campaign.

His own Official Expert -- Dr. Munch -- testified in court, under oath, that marijuana would make your incisors grow six inches long and drip with blood. He further testified that he tried it himself and it turned him into a bat.

The information from the US Government hasn't gotten any better since those days.

You can find a good short history of the laws at http://druglibrary.org/schaffer/History/whiteb1.htm

You can find the major government commission reports on marijuana over the last 100 years at http://druglibrary.org/schaffer under Major Studies of Drugs and Drug Policy. They all concluded that marijuana was not a serious threat to health and that there was no reason for it to be illegal.

You can find additional historical research on the subject at http://druglibrary.org/schaffer/History/history.htm There are several histories by different authors, as well as the full text of hundreds of original historical documents.

You can find the full text of a few hundred medical articles on the effects of marijuana at http://druglibrary.org/schaffer under Cannabis Research Library.

If you are new to the collection and want to get a good background in the drug problem as a whole, the one book to read is the Consumers Union Report on Licit and Illicit Drugs at http://druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/cu/cumenu.htm

One of the facts you will learn from that book is the most common cause of drug epidemics among US teens. I will bet you guessed peer pressure. Wrong. The most common cause is anti-drug campaigns.

Now, as to the problem with your grandchild. First, don't get too excited. Marijuana is not going to kill him. The lethal dose is about one-third your body weight. Neither is it going to do him any serious long-term harm. The biggest study of the health effects to date was done by Kaiser Permanente. They found no significant differences in the health records of pot smokers versus non-smokers. That study is in the Cannabis Research Library, above.

And no, it is not particularly deviant for kids to try marijuana. About half the US has tried it at one time or another. About ten percent continue to smoke it into adulthood on any regular basis. For most of them, it is no different than someone else having the occasional glass of beer or wine.

No, there is no evidence that it produces an "amotivational syndrome". People who are naturally lazy tend to like it, and it will interfere with motivation in the short term (while they are stoned) but it will not just destroy the drive and ambition of someone who was motivate in the first place. Indeed, there are at least a few billionaires who are professed pot smokers.

Frankly, the biggest thing you should be scared about is that he will get busted. That is the biggest threat to his health and future.

Step one is to think a minute or two and get some knowledge yourself. The worst thing you could do is convince your grandson that you really don't have a clue what you are talking about. He will just think that you still believe that marijuana will turn you into a bat.

Read the research above. It is the best and most comprehensive research ever done. The bottom line is that you would have much more to worry about if you caught him drinking alcohol or smoking tobacco.

How upset would you be if you caught him trying a cigarette or a beer? Remember -- those are at least 50 times as likely to kill him as any illegal drug.

Answer 6

No, not chemically addictive.

It may be physically or emotionally addictive though, depending on the person smoking it and their propensity to addiction.

Answer 7

from my experience...no. its not addictive, there are no withdrawl symptoms, honestly i would much rather see my kid smoke a joint then a cig. i would beat thier butts anyway. weed has never killed anyone and not everyone wants to try other drugs. your grandson is probably just experaminting. i would definatley punish him but he dident just kill someone.

Answer 8

It's a gateway drug. You start with that, and it introduces you to these low life people that will try to talk you into harder and harder stuff, until the point that you die a horrible death with no one around to love you or even care that you died. So go ahead and toke up. Just rememeber, you've been warned.

for a better high than pot let me introduce you to a friend of mine, His name is Jesus Christ, and you can read all about him in a Bible. Stay away from drugs, or you will lose all you hold dear.

Answer 9

it is said not to be addictive but many people get addicted to it through the buzz they get and doo find they get withdraw symtoms when stopping

itis said too be in there head though

but i beleave it is addictive

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Answer 10

could be. It could be worst. Alcohol, Coke, Herion, Meth, PCP, Speed, Prescription Drugs, Morphine, Crack, LSD,.........ect.