Is cannabis addictive?

Question

I know friends who smoke it first thing in the morning when they get up, if they were doing that with drink they would be considered alcoholics.

so in that sense are they addicted and is it addictive?

Answer 1

i asked this question a few weeks ago.. many will say it is not but it is. i know..

Answer 2

It was for me. I started using at about age 20 because it helped me forget my problems and there was a good sense of togetherness with other pothead friends. After a while, it became my favourite pastime. It also made me very lazy and apathetic about life. I eventually stopped smoking after about 15 years because it was no longer any fun and provided no pleasure. Even so, I wonder how much more I would have accomplished with my life had I not spent so much time smoking up half of Columbia. Will you become addicted if you smoke one joint? Highly doubtful! Only do it if you absolutely MUST satisfy your curiosity one time, but don't plan on making it a habit, because in the long run, it causes more problems than advantages. Find yourself a more constructive hobby.

Answer 3

All cannabis reference site say that it is not addictive but I used to live with someone that smoked it and he tried to give up on a number of occasions and kept going back he was always a heavy smoker so it was not the fags he was craving it was the high. So I think you get addicted to the way cannabis makes you feel.

Answer 4

Of course they are addicted!

There is too many long term effects to list on here of the prolonged use of cannabis. Google it to find out yourself. People I know who have used it extensively and over long period of time have many different problems from it. One couple took 10 years to conceive and another is addicted to many types of drugs as well as alcohol. It affects your whole life, family and finances. Pretty bad repercussions considering people think cannabis is a 'harmless' drug you start taking in your teens to 'experiment' with. Not such a good idea 'experimenting' with your future......
I have nothing against the odd puff here and there and have many friends who indulge and I myself, have tried it and probably will again. But I am not addicted to it and perhaps indulge once every 6 months if I am having a stressful time.

Answer 5

I have made the same argument. If I had a shot of vodka with my morning cuppa then surely that would make me an alcoholic but I know a lot of people that do this with dope and think its ok.

Apparently there is nothing in Cannabis itself to make it addictive but I beleive you become addicted to the feeling of being stoned. Obviously there is the nicotone in the ciggy used to make the joint - that is addictive.

Answer 6

Yes. But in most cases, marijuana is only psychologically addicting. However there are cases of people who experience withdrawel symptoms, so this would suggest that it could also be physically addicting.

Let me help you understand something about what causes addiction. When you smoke a cigarette, or drink alcohol, or smoke crack, these drugs enter your body quickly, and leave your body quickly, from 1-6 days (depending on how often you use, and which specific drug we're talking about)... When you do these habitually, you have a high dose of the drug in your body. Now, stop the use, and the drug begins to leave the body, but they leave so quickly, that your body goes into shock, and it starts craving the drug... That is when the withdrawel symptoms kick in for your physical addiction.. All drugs are psychologically addicting, which is why you're in rehab longer than the physical addiction itself. Now, marijuana stays in your system for much longer than any other drug, about 7-30 days (depending on how much you use). Smoking once, it will leave your body in about a week. Smoking daily, it will leave your body within a month. This is why it is usually not a physical addiction. Think about the patch. Smokers use the patch to slowly get off the drug (nicotine), it does not shock the body as it leaves... Marijuana takes about 30 days to exit the body, so your body does not go through shock as the drug leaves. However, some people just smoke SO much, that simply not being stoned will cause them to be extremely irritable, and this irritation will only grow worse as the drug leaves the body. It is rare, but it is possible.

The majority of potheads are just psychological addicts. Most of us can stop anytime we want. I've stopped for months at a time, without any withdrawel symptoms. And, I haven't smoked habitually for over a year now. Before that, I was smoking almost daily for about 6 years... Now, consider the fact that I stopped after smoking daily for that many years, and had no withdrawel symptoms. I rarely get any cravings to smoke, but every once in a while, :( I miss smoking on a daily basis... but I have since then realized that abusing drugs will lead you nowhere in life. I've learned to smoke and drink responsibly.

Still, the fact remains, that it's just as I have always said, "I can stop anytime I want."

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"Cannabis impairs cognitive development (capabilities of learning).Cannabis impairs psycho-motor performance in a wide variety of tasks, such as motor coordination, divided attention, and operative tasks of many types; human performance on complex machinery can be impaired..." (these are while stoned, not long term, and alcohol does the same thing while drunk)

"...there is an increased risk of motor vehicle accidents among persons who drive when intoxicated by cannabis...."

"...cannabis used during pregnancy is associated with impairment in foetal development leading to a reduction in birth weight;cannabis use during pregnancy may lead to postnatal risk of rare forms of cancer..."

Doesn't the LEGAL drug, alcohol, do ALL of that????? Some in different ways...

Take for instance, using while pregnant. Instead of cancer, they get FAS. The point? NO ONE EVER SAID DRUG (alcohol is a drug) USE WHILE PREGNANT IS SAFE!

You wrote some things that only marijuana does, which are some things alcohol does not do... But, what you fail to realize (or refuse to point out) is that there are many things alcohol does, that marijuana does not do. I would never claim that marijuana is a perfect drug, or that it is a safe drug. Alcohol, when used responsibly is a good thing. But if you abuse alcohol there are MANY consequences. The same applies to marijuana. NO DRUG IN EXCESS IS HARMLESS. But, although marijuana is not perfect, it is far less devastating than alcohol. Don't get me wrong, marijuana ABUSE comes with many problems. My argument is this; if marijuana should be condemned, then so should alcohol.

Furthermore, the younger a person is when they start using drugs, the more likely they are to become an addict. Drug dealers don't ID, so it is much easier for kids to get drugs if they are illegal. Think about that.

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fg is right about everything he said.

Answer 7

No, it's not that it's addictive..And it's not even a drug in the drug sense. It's a natural tea and good for pain. People wake every morning and have a cup of tea or coffee...Is this an addiction?

Answer 8

Yes, it's addictive. More psychologically than physically addictive, but both elements exist.

Many people will tell you marijuana isn't addictive; they're either misinformed or lying. For teens and to a lesser extent young adults, marijuana use is the single most common reason for admission to drug rehabilitation programs.

Answer 9

everything has the potential to be addictive. cannabis is addictive in the way that toast is addictive. if they can't get through the day without smoking it and have withdrawal symptom they are addicted xxx

Answer 10

it means that they have let the drug tell them when to smoke it. They obviously have no self control. I smoke as well, I manage and run a dog kennel and I am not waking up everyday thinking that I need to take pot, I use it responsibly. Its people like this that give the rest of us a bad name. I do not drink alcohol and only smoke what I grow personally so no chemicals.

Answer 11

Yes it is addictive it's a drug only illegal not much different to the legal ones smoking and alcohol.