Is cannabis addicitive?

[Crusader Rabbit]

addiction is a term used to describe the dependant effect of a chemical on neural plasticity and how the neural pathways are structured (how the webs of synapses are layered) as a cause of regularly altering neurochemistry,, i dont see how else it can be defined,,

Your definition cuts right to the heart of the matter. Is this chemical the substance ingested ? ... or could it be a chemical internally produced as part of our reward system? I guess both endogenous and exogenous chemicals fit within this framework.

 

[sso]

cannabis is not addictive.

 

[bozga]

I'm prone to nervousness if I don't smoke in the evening....... :/ But if I decide not to smoke for a few days I am back at the baseline with no cravings.... So I don't think it's so seriously adddictive. I quit drinking coffee because I would had headache if I haven't drank my daily dose of coffee...So I guess it's even less addictive than coffee. It's more of a mindset than addiction.

 

[OjoRojo420]

Nature offers the two most addictive drugs for "free"!

Sex

and

Falling in love.

Doomed from the get go I reckon.

Ojo

 

[devilgoob]

Somebody has brought up the point that it is not addictive. I am not disagreeing with you. To me, anything can be addictive, but it would concern the person being addicted, and not the drug.

To say that marijuana has a few withdrawal symptoms, such as nervousness, would be to say if you're naturally bored and need stimulation, weed is not there.

A really good thing is equating it to life - things in life are addictive. It is the nature of the being.

40Amps, I agree with you, but explaining and rectifying the problems this issue causes, is my intention. I gave people no outs in my poll. This is because I need answers pertaining to my mind only, not people's actual opinions.

I already know all the viewpoints, I am trying to engineer a way that works. People in other countries with hash and people in the US curing people of cannabis addiction, makes for sensational statements from once addicts that are now clean of the pot.


Supposedly 13% of people smoking have a dependency or are addicted, but it does make sense to say 13% gets hooked because of the drug.

The 13% are bored, have problems, or both.

This would make it seem a person who has smoked 8 joints a day, an addict.

This would make a person, who smokes their own home grow, and dies happy, an addict.

To me, the root meaning or any meaning of the word is describing the PERSON. It is up to the drug to have it's hold on that person. Marijuana does not have a strong hold, but it's fun and cures boredom, makes you think better and that is why it is different from a pharamaceutical that is already addictive and can cure these things.

Why, would a benzodiazepine, be an honest choice for medication, when it's addictive and causes atrophy? Let the pharama dole out their ativan, valium, percocets.

Let's not forget, these things are addictive and cause people money problems.

So take for instance, that many people have untreated anxiety and are prone to addiction....wouldn't they benefit from something they can use when they want, that is quick acting like marijuana?

See how I flipped the pills around, with the weed?

Now we must argue weed is addictive, we must argue the addict is the ONE. Then that leaves out the substance being the predatory one, and leaves the conclusion to the person.

In regards to leading one to think: I get addicted, not the substances.

Then once a person tries to think "Substances can be addictive, though."

They get the response "Yes, exactly, the person is weak-willed maybe, but the substances can be addictive. In regards to that, benzodiazepines and other drugs are addictive, and do not reframe someone's mind.....they mask the problem with addictive drugs rather than expanding them with marijuana."

Naturally things are attractive, can hurt us or aren't right. Addiction hurts a person. If you do depend on marijuana for sanity and you think you're an addict, you could be both.

Some people are an addict to work, to play, to sex. These are natural things, done too much.

With marijuana, the key of self-medication is moderation. That doesn't mean you can't smoke a lot. It means realizing, when you're still kind of high...to not keep it going.

Don't live in a constant fog all the time, you'll gain no perspective from your high.

 

[MacGyver420]

what a terrible poll; every one of your choice is yes

where is the "no cannabis is not addictive in any way" option.

pointless poll

 

[stihgnobevoli]

no, but growing it is addictive.

 

[dagnabit]

i have a theory concerning cannabis and addiction.

if (like me)in your teenage years you were a "chronic" user all of your formative life experiences(eg;first kiss,first concert,first boob,ect..)were experienced while stoned.
this sets up an association later in life.
i take regular abstinence breaks for a month or two from time to time and i find myself doing some amazing shit that any normal person would be contented with(standing in a waterfall in a full moon and seeing a moonbow emerge beneath my feet)thinking"this would be sooo much cooler if i were high as a giraffe's ass right now.

so it's kinda like Associative Euphoric Deficit Disorder?


growing however IS highly addictive

 

[kg beans]

i dont smoke ..i vape ..sometimes i work away for 2/3 weeks at a time and never think about getting high at all ...so no,for me its definatly not addictive

 

[kg beans]

no, but growing it is addictive.

AMEN

 

[devilgoob]

I just quit two days ago after 3+ years of smoking every day and mostly all day because I ran out of the kind of weed I like to smoke. Absolutely 0 withdrawal symptoms of any kind...not even a headache like you get from caffeine. I've done this a couple of times staying 'clean' for over a month...there's no point in 'quitting' and there is no addiction whatsoever imo. People with addictive personalities on the other hand get addicted to things mentally so maybe they experience some sort of addiction /shrug

PS I didn't bother voting in your poll because there is no way to answer it is not addictive...

You just said there is no addiction. Then you said it's your opinion. Then you say there are addicts our there, that get addicted.

I guess only sometimes maybe. Kind of like I have drank before and I am not a raging alcoholic, yet some people are drinking their lives away.

Some people come to dealers with video games, jewelry or speakers. Their own stuff, they traded for weed. It's not that is addictive right?

You are therefore saying the addict is the problem.

Well, if I had starting drinking habitually and sooner or later I became "everynight a 12 pack"....then you would say maybe alcohol is addictive. Alcohol is hard to quit when a person is way in it.

Juxtaposed to the marijuana smoker who you do not see this in, yet I could see a person coping because of it.

My last option you overlooked, says "it depends on the person" or what not. You agreed and said some are out there.

I am not an arguer, I explain. I have already explained it's addictive for some.

The people with the addictive personalities.

 

[lost in a sea]

lol however fun growing cannabis is,, i cant get high from staring at them so it is a bit annoying when i know i have a month to wait till i have something to toke on,,,

as crusader rabbit said this is a very grey area,, because there are different levels of what you can call an addiction,,, so my definition is only one of a few different ways of interpreting the phenomenon of having an affinity for anything,,,

im addicted to happyness so on one level that is the same as saying im addicted to cannabis lol,, physical symptoms and mental angst are obviously not the only aspects of what you could call an addiction,,,

does an addiction have a time limit ?

what if the changes made to the brain last a life time ? and you simply become predisposed to want what goes with your current mental state whenever you happen to be able to have it ?

after all the cannabinoid pathway is a very important aspect of the brains functioning just like the dopamine or the GABA pathways for example so who's to say the changes dont last longer than what we could call the time period required to denote an addiction ??

i dont know,,, i need a reefer

 

[sso]

is your "addiction" killing you or harming you?

then its an addiction.

if its actually harming you, but you cant stop, then and only then, is it an addiction (cause othervise its just something you really like that you might tire of later, or not)

 

[40AmpstoFreedom]

You posed a question for a poll asking whether or not weed is addictive yet provided no way to answer no. If you can't see the failed logic there well /shrug. Some people are addicted to eating fucking couch cushions like the lady in my link. Some people are addicted to things they never even ingest, like video games, watching tv, or making retarded posts. No weed itself is not addictive. People out there are addicted to things that aren't themselves addictive due to psychological problems.

 

[HempHut]

http://clear-uk.org/poster-cannabis-is-not-addictive/

Professor H.P. Hartung, Chair of Neurology at Heinrich-Heine University, Dusseldorf, Germany and Chairman of the satellite symposium, commented: “Sativex® has proven to reduce the severity of symptoms and improve patients’ quality of life and functional status, in patients with spasticity in multiple sclerosis, meaning that they can undertake everyday tasks more easily. Also, importantly, clinical experience to date has demonstrated that the tolerability profile of this medicine is favourable, with limited relevant adverse effects and - particularly reassuring - the drug does not appear to lead to withdrawal effects if patients suddenly stop using it.”

http://www.gwpharm.com/Phase III da...ex in MS spasticity presented at ECTRIMS.aspx

BTW, sativex is a combined extract from two strains -- one high in THC the other in CBD. It's not synthetic.

 

[lost in a sea]

is your "addiction" killing you or harming you?

then its an addiction.

if its actually harming you, but you cant stop, then and only then, is it an addiction (cause othervise its just something you really like that you might tire of later, or not)

that's a popular definition,, but an addiction doesnt strictly have to harm you,, unless you define changing physiology as harm,, though addiction is also almost by definition helplessness,,

how does one define "cant stop" ?

i cant stop because i just wont, but will i freak out if i have to go weeks-months before i can have another joint ? no ,,,

my brain prefers certain foods and drinks based on taste or wellbeing and makes me happier when i eat them,,, if i had to eat what i deem crap food i wouldnt receive the same neurotransmitters into my system,, so as i see it that is a low level addiction that wont cause me physical or mental angst but the alternative is less pleasurable,,, neural plasticity is how my brain has "set" what it prefers food wise and cannabis is probably pretty similar,,

it is possible to take many of what people call highly addictive substances without any dependancy or harm,, it depends on the mental fortitude of the individual,,

people themselves allow the dependancy on any chemical to grow by raising its importance within their psyche by cyclic and obsessive thoughts,,

everything can be an aquired taste,,

but for most people if anything the chemical cocktail of cannabinoids acts as an anti addiction agent because it makes people conscience of their flaws and faults and quite often helps people take control of their own mental capacity,, just my take on this subjective term anyway,, people are free to define anything however they want,,,

 

[Crusader Rabbit]

it is possible to take many of what people call highly addictive substances without any dependancy or harm,, it depends on the mental fortitude of the individual,,

I think there is more to it than mental fortitude. We may not all be playing on a level field. Maybe I was born with more or less of some critical cannabinoid receptors within my system, and it sets me up for becoming a habitual user. I may have great mental fortitude, but if for some biological reason cannabis fills a void that previously existed in my life neurotransmitter wise, then I'm genetically predisposed to develop a substance dependency here.

 

[devilgoob]

40amps, you've hit the echelon of what I am getting at dude.

I explained why I asked a skewed question, but you've hit it on the head.

The point was not to ask a question, and get the answer. The point was to nail key points naturally through it.

If there were no people on earth, there would be nobody addicted to anything.

If marijuana was sitting there, unscathed. You couldn't call it addictive.
If cocaine was sitting there, unscathed, and no one exists to be attracted to it, to a self-defeating degree, then it's not addictive.

Having properties that make something attract another thing, against what that person's true intentions or goal, is having the properties that lead to addiction, and therefore addictive meaning, having the properties leading to addiction.

We must factor in the person, we must factor in the drug.

Something addictive, holds properties that attract. Addiction is when the properties don't support their intent anymore and only bandage the addict's troubles.

The key point you brought up is that marijuana and it's physical and mental addiction, are null and void now, because people are addicted to hurting themselves or eating cushions.

I never try to argue, and we havent even disageed. I think people dont like another stupid "weed addictive" thread.

This isn't about "addiction, it's bad" it's about:

Addiction is not all that it's cracked up to be, and is variable.

If you are labeled "addict".......I need people to know this word "addiction" is only a word, and should be discussed.

Now this goes beyond xanax and adderall being killers or people abusing them.

You can argue that other drugs are addictive or a person is addicted to those things, so marijuana would be better. They will say it's just to get high and get rid of bad emotions. I will tell them, painkillers and benzodiazepines do that.

Marijuana gets rid of negative emotion, but it's almost like it's put on a different shelf instead of being obscured, letting you experience yourself and come to realizations.

People out there think, the people who smoke weed are drowning out their emotions are wrong. Your emotions do shift, and you do become less negative. Have you become intoxicated to get rid of these emotions, or was it because of the way you had thought on marijuana?

I want to make it clear, I do not think it's addictive in colloquial terms, I believe it like you - the couch cushion eater is just going to find another couch. The other people will spend their money and lives.

The people who grow weed, will live long "addicted." This is a big portion, how this addiction affected the person's life.

When a person dies, nobody goes: "man, pot really took ahold of him. got him addicted and now what? death."

I need those "you're throwing your life away" or "your friends don't know you because of pot" to listen to me.

So when I spit the line: "What would you say at a person's funeral about their addiction?"

Their reaction on how marijuana ruined the person's life or anything, is dumb. Not because the person is dead, but because while he was living you threatened him to jail or fines for a meaningful and beneficial thing he did for himself.

 

[devilgoob]

*double posted*

New question now:

In light of people getting medicinal marijuana, the Federal people say no.

Besides cannabis being as addictive as not even coffee, the FDA has side-lined every medical use.

The "inhaled crude smoke" is not effectively medical to them. They do not believe it's a good route.

People can vaporize or eat it, but it contains a cocktail of cannabinoids.

These cannabinoids, they don't know all of the effects.

There are 90 cannabinoids or so, it's not medically pure.


The question is, being that it's addiction is negligible and other pharmaceuticals out there are hurrying to write homicidial warnings on zoloft and prozac, then why when posed with the answer that "it's not medically pure" or not a pure solution do they get defensive.

We need to make headyway. I could only prove that hardcore or compulsed people get addicted to anything, which could include cannabis. It seems that it's only a minority of people who already need help.

If the people who are addicted, are the problem, then marijuana is not. Therefore anybody going in to get their medical marijuana, whom is a junkie, who is a real addict....

needs help. So, if people are not regularly brought to do things to obscure themselves from their own lives: working too much, procrastinationg.....those are the people who will hide away with a drug.

So it is not the drug, it is the user.

And if is the drug, then the drug only holds the term "addict(ive)" and should be referred in context when someone has actually harmed or obscured their life away.

I, of course, answer the last option in my poll and now have a basis on what to think when someone wants to confront me and I want to win only with words.

 

[lost in a sea]

I think there is more to it than mental fortitude. We may not all be playing on a level field. Maybe I was born with more or less of some critical cannabinoid receptors within my system, and it sets me up for becoming a habitual user. I may have great mental fortitude, but if for some biological reason cannabis fills a void that previously existed in my life neurotransmitter wise, then I'm genetically predisposed to develop a substance dependency here.

exactly! its all really grey and people want to be able to think of it in a black or white,, addiction/no addiction situation, but the brain doesnt work like that and there are other pysiological factors that play into the whole thing like you say that may be genetic or caused by exposure to some other exogenous chemical for example,,

its also part of the learning process on a day to day basis, as we learn and sense and new synapse juctions are layed down in the webs upon webs of experiences (like tributaries) that are our brains certain behaviours and experiences through obsessive repetition become carved into the brain turning tributaries into rivers that people cannot escape from,, this is how i see addiction,,

people are definitely not playing on a level field,,