Debunking marijuana addiction

[420SOS]

Does it even exist? I'm helping a friend edit his blog and I came across this https://thcdetox.biz/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-marijuana-addiction/

But I wanted to check with you guys, I've been a heavy consumer for two decades, I probably haven't smoked in like 6 months total in the last 20 years. Whenever I've had to stop I've done without a problem and for undetermined periods of time without feeling anything remotely similar to abstinence.

Just a little crankiness and boredom, so what about you old schoolers are you "addicted" ?

 

[Gry]

Just glanced through the material, but could
not help but notice a lack of any studies which
would demonstrate a proof of addiction.
The quotation cited, was from a gentleman
who works in the rehab industry.
I think I am being generous in
saying that is an ugly industry, and
I have more than a little difficulty
giving him any credibility.
Having said that, I imagine
that there are people who
would do better without cannabis.

Strung out like a lab rat on prescribed oxycontin.
Cannabis was what allowed my escape from it.
In going over the material, it is more than obvious
what the agenda of those who collected it is.
As someone who was introduced to oxycontin
as the result of cancer, I find it more than
bothersome that there is a cancer section
in the material, which completely ignores
the many benefits which cannabis offers
those who suffer from cancer. What
it delivers is fearmongering of the sort
that I find reprehensible.
I am an enthusiastic cancer survivor
currently dealing with a second
round of cancer twenty years after
being sent home with stage 4 cancer
and a bottomless bottle of oxycontin.
Far from finding cannabis a cure all as I
am from saying I believe Rockefeller
medicine has integrity.

 

[420SOS]

Just glanced through the material, but could
not help but notice a lack of any studies which
would demonstrate a proof of addiction.
The quotation cited, was from a gentleman
who works in the rehab industry.
I think I am being generous in
saying that is an ugly industry, and
I have more than a little difficulty
giving him any credibility.
Having said that, I imagine
that there are people who
would do better without cannabis.

Strung out like a lab rat on prescribed oxycontin.
Cannabis was what allowed my escape from it.

That's exactly wht I was thinking, people in the ugly business of rehab are usually ugly people, his opinion is completely biased.

Oxicontin huh? That's rough, cocaine and cigarettes for me, had me strung out too but thanks to cannabis not anymore

And definitely there are a bunch of people who are already to slow to be getting any slower am I right?

 

[St. Phatty]

If you meet enough Cannabis users, eventually you meet some that seem to be addicted.

That happened to me in Sonoma County at a dispensary. One of the other patients was smoking about 10 grams a day & then ran out.

Called me up at 7 AM in the morning and said "I owed him". The day before, I had just given him a 1/2 ounce of old White Widow I had laying around.

However, "addicted" requires definition.

It seemed like, he ran out, and that was a BIG PROBLEM.

But other things, like sleeping patterns, why he's staying in his wife's house & she's nowhere to be seen, etc. were all part of his situation.

 

[EsterEssence]

I’ve puffed for 50 years and can quit cannabis any time, when I smoked tobacco I was addicted to it...

 

[Frosty Nuggets]

Tobacco is addictive, pot is not.

 

[mr.brunch]

Never noticed a problem before when I’ve taken breaks, I’m a daily smoker for 30 ish years. I get a little bored without a smoke, but my mind is an overactive one that won’t shut up- so I use weed to get a little more level headed.
Going to have a couple of day break next week, and a 5 day one the week after for two small holidays, but I’ll be busy anyway.

 

[Dropped Cat]

So many other substances/behaviors fall into the addictive model.

Proven time, and time again, cannabis is not an addictive substance, by definition.

 

[Fermented]

I envy those who can stop smoking cannabis and suffer zero withdrawal symptoms. I suffer from insomnia and nightmares, a lack of appetite, feel irritable and lose interest in sex if I stop smoking cold turkey, but it gets better each day and after a week or so I'm eating and sleeping ok again.

Over the years I've met maybe two or three long term daily smokers who have similar withdrawal symptoms to mine, but none get it as severe as I do...99% of long term daily smokers don't seem to get any withdrawals at all apart from remembering dreams, a lack of appetite for day and maybe one night of slow to fall asleep.

Stopping smoking/vaping cannabis hurts so much that I don't stop if I can help it! lol...but if forced to not smoke, I've learned to wean off from being high all day down to a just few hits at night over a period of 7 ~ 10 days as my supply runs down from low to nothing and then I feel ok, but not great, just a hell of a lot better than going cold turkey. An hour or two of exercise or physical work each day really helps to sleep better too.

 

[St. Phatty]

So what if it does exist ?

We all have access to pot, most of us.

I have met one med. user whose behavior became so aggressive when he ran out, it was hard not to suspect that there was something similar to addiction.

In about an hour I'll be taking my one puff morning hit.

If I didn't take it, I might blow off some of the morning work and just listen to Netflix (aka watch TV.)

Maybe that is addiction.

It helps "push the pain away" (in my teeth/ jaw/ nose).

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

If you 'feel' you're addicted to cannabis, you have issues you're not aware of. Cannabis is relieving these issues, and this creates a subconscious desire to seek out the 'comforting' substance again.

When you find and alleviate your discomfort without cannabis, you no longer 'feel' the desire to use cannabis. Cannabis is a great therapy tool, for the very fact it is not chemically addictive to the body. Once the 'itch' has been scratched without cannabis, there isn't any chemical addiction to continue the desire for usage.

People who have no need for cannabis, experience no relief from cannabis and have no desire to keep using. Of course, it's rare to meet anyone who never experiences any stress in their lives. Nobody needs help relaxing after a rough day, right? lol

 

[Fermented]

I find the secret to coping without cannabis (during the daytime) for the first few days of abstaining is to keep busy, keep moving, keep doing something and I soon forget about not having any.

 

[Mr. J]

It's a joke really. Weed is addictive like coffee or tea is addictive. Nobody goes to rehab because they quit coffee. Oreos are more addictive, like cocaine addictive. Once I open the bag I eat them until I get sick or until they're all gone.

 

[dddaver]

Weed is NOT physically addictive. Nothing in it makes your body demand more.

 

[SuperMac]

the Cannabinoid receptors miss artificial stimulation which does result in a temporary craving but I would agree dddaver that's not an addiction...

 

[WelderDan]

If I smoke for a week or more straight, then stop, I get a little irritable, and my insomnia gets worse for about 3 days. I crave it, but I don't get all wiggy over it.

I was on painkillers for over a year before I had surgery, and after surgery I went cold turkey. Withdrawal for 2 weeks sucked ass. No comparison.

I can walk away from weed. Walking away from opiates was a mother.

 

[Teddybrae]

I 'm addicted. Totally. I could not live another moment if my cookies were taken away.

Well, maybe I could. But would I want to? My life would be hell. I 'd have to dissociate from being dissociated and become really involved in whatever drama came next. My Wife would turn into the Sardonic Harpie with sneer-twisted lips demanding I do normal things like wash the car. Or even wash myself!

Sex would become a thing of the past. No longer the warm surge of horniness emanating from somewhere deep inside. No more my extensive and even expansive fantasy life.

It would feel horrible!

 

[Gypsy Nirvana]

Yes Teddy - but like a plant - its good to let your root dry out once in a while -

Heaven forbid that the wife might start putting bars of soap in your pockets - as a hint.

 

[f-e]

Many people self medicate to overcome psychological problems. So when it's taken away from them, and the masked problems come forward, It's easy to see them as MJ related. Most people that do such a study will have a preconceived idea of the result. If that idea is that MJ is bad, then the study ends there. A more scientific approach is to prolong the study looking for the length of time the withdrawal symptoms last. Which will actually be forever as it's not MJ withdrawal, it's another issue the MJ covered. The conclusion... MJ causes lasting damage. Because no amount of qualifications can effect the preconceived ideas in a lot of peoples heads.

MJ will always have qualified people studying it, and saying it's bad. But only psychiatrically, because it's all voodoo anyway.

 

[dddaver]

Yes Teddy - but like a plant - its good to let your root dry out once in a while -

Heaven forbid that the wife might start putting bars of soap in your pockets - as a hint.

hahaha