Think marijuana isn’t addictive?
Former users say think again.
Chicago Tribune,
by
John Keilman
Original Article
Posted By: AltaD,
3/2/2020 12:29:07 PM
In the basement of the Mustard Seed, a red brick building in Old Town that hosts dozens of Alcoholics Anonymous meetings each week, a handful of people gathered on a recent night to discuss a different addiction. They were members of Marijuana Anonymous, a rapidly expanding 12-step organization that serves those struggling with a drug that is now legal in Illinois and 10 other states, and that many people view as innocuous.(Snip)But treatment specialists say marijuana’s addictive potential is well-established. About 1 in 10 people who use the drug end up with the condition known as cannabis use disorder, meaning they continue to use compulsively even
Reply 1 - Posted by:
BluesClues 3/2/2020 12:38:29 PM (No. 334475)
I still would disagree. Sure, some people have addictive personalities and can get addicted to anything. But it's different than alcohol. There's no physical withdrawal. That's what really defines addictive. Using the definition that they use in the article, then it's the same thing as being addicted to sex, or naps. It's still less addictive than coffee or diet soda.
11 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
DVC 3/2/2020 12:41:22 PM (No. 334477)
One in ten wind up with "cannabis use disorder". The other nine become worthless lay abouts and never accomplish anything in their lives beyond eating many bags of Fritos.
17 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
old dog 3/2/2020 12:45:54 PM (No. 334483)
Jeepers some folks are addicted to things ,people places, political parties etc. and POT is the root cause! Little wonder that most pot users are dems and live in peoples basements. but i digress....
3 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Strike3 3/2/2020 12:54:28 PM (No. 334490)
The addiction factor may be an object of debate but the reduced brain function and "stoner factor" is not. Being stuck in one's teenage years is not a good thing.
21 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
msjena 3/2/2020 12:58:49 PM (No. 334497)
This article says there is a physical withdrawal, for those who become addictive. Too bad politicians don’t take information like this into account when legalizing marijuana.
9 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
earlybird 3/2/2020 1:23:54 PM (No. 334512)
Those who know about such things have said and written that the marijuana being sold today is not the stuff of the Flower Child era. Much stronger. Much of it the hashish that damaged our military in places like Lebanon and Viet Nam. So, there can be no blanket denial of the possibility for addiction. Most seem to start low and move up the scale for bigger and better highs. I call that addiction, especially when it is used to remove a person from Life. Take them into a fantasy place where they have no worries.
There is a connection between marijuana and schizophrenia in young men that is worrisome. No myth. A diminishment in depth perception, which can lead to automobile accidents of varying magnitudes, has also been documented.
I have never wanted to get out of my life so much that I’d give in to too much alcohol or any other “feel good” substance. It was more important to stay sharp and solve the problem.
Comparing it to sex, naps, coffee, or diet soda is disingenuous. There is no comparison as to effect - temporary or longer term.
16 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
Enoch Powell 3/2/2020 1:38:22 PM (No. 334521)
I love the fact that those who hate cigarettes love pot. What hypocrites.
11 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
Ida Lou Pino 3/2/2020 1:51:24 PM (No. 334537)
OK - - addictive or not addictive - - where does the government come off banning free citizens from using the stuff? And - - why should I have to pay for all the very expensive personnel and equipment that it takes to prevent my fellow free citizens from ingesting any substance they choose to?
In short - - when and how does the 50-year-old "War On Drugs" end?
8 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
chumley 3/2/2020 1:51:45 PM (No. 334539)
In the mid 1970's one of the many high schools I attended was in northern Ohio. We had one Mexican kid there. One day he tried to sell me a really nice 8 track tape player, cheap. I asked him why he wanted to sell such a nice machine, and his words stuck with me ever since then. "If anyone ever tells you pot isn't addictive, he's an idiot".
3 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
Ida Lou Pino 3/2/2020 1:54:44 PM (No. 334546)
Sorry for the second post - - but there is absolutely no causal connection between marijuana and schizophrenia - - none.
People who are afflicted with that horrible brain disease find some comfort in the narcotic effect provided by marijuana - - but marijuana in no way whatsoever has a causal connection to the disease.
2 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
mre 3/2/2020 1:55:59 PM (No. 334548)
Oh, FFS. I know more people who are addicted to their cell phones or to their Spotify or to Facebook than are addicted to MJ. One can become addicted to anything. I know people whose Trump Derangement Syndrome is 10 times worse than any cannabis addiction.
8 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
BigGeorgeTX 3/2/2020 2:14:29 PM (No. 334573)
What really cracks me up is the ones who say they've been smoking weed for decades and haven't become addicted. The same people that claim marijuana isn't addictive also are most likely to proclaim abortion is not murder.
6 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
Heraclitus 3/2/2020 2:52:00 PM (No. 334620)
Someone with medical knowledge can use the correct words, but here goes:
years ago I watched a program about newest research into why heroin users become addicted.
The study showed that in the normal brain we have a set number of neuropathways by which serotonin travels through the brain, When you introduce something that mimics serotonin's action of creating pleasurable sensations, but overloads the system so to speak, new pathways eventually form. Then, the body begins to call for more of that chemical substance. Works for alcohol, or any substance which acts on the part of the brain where such processes occur.
I'm sure someone here knows more about this and can enlighten us.
All i know is i don't like to foggy-up my brain, if I can help it.
2 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
msjena 3/2/2020 3:32:38 PM (No. 334655)
Alcohol isn’t addictive for everyone but it is for some. The same seems to be true for marijuana. What is the cost of legalizing another addictive substance? That should be the question.
2 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
kono 3/2/2020 3:34:27 PM (No. 334657)
Pot is certainly habit-forming, which can make it just as hard to quit, but for psychological reasons (whereas addiction is much more physiological).
There are people who can use all sorts of substances that would be addictive to others without getting addicted. And some people have physical or psychological inclinations to becoming dependent on things that would not affect most others. Personal differences complicate our desire to pretend that everybody has the same strengths and weaknesses.
0 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
Rumblehog 3/2/2020 4:54:41 PM (No. 334723)
It's not addictive if you can quit.
It's always amazing how many posters come out from under their rocks to inform us how Pot is much better than alcohol. Pot destroys the military effectiveness of young men, turning them into unmotivated sloths. The first thing any dictator wants to see are young males with no set moral standards or aggressiveness.
5 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
rubberneck 3/2/2020 6:25:56 PM (No. 334809)
I'm 100% in agreement with #8. I live in a free country and my free fellow citizens should be able to get informed and choose for themselves. There are lots of addictive things that are perfectly legal - tobacco, alcohol, sugar, chocolate, cell phones. What gives the government the right to declare some of them illegal? Is that in the Constitution someplace, and I missed it? (On the other hand, if impaired citizens do damage to others, THAT crosses the line and such behavior must be vigorously prosecuted.)
1 person likes this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
fayebeck 3/2/2020 6:31:07 PM (No. 334811)
Never fails. Have a discussion about pot and it will always end with the alcohol bs. Pot is here to stay no matter what. The march towards a third world membership for the US of A continues unabated.
0 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
or gate 3/2/2020 6:41:22 PM (No. 334819)
The pot shops are mostly owned by politicians..
No wonder it is rated so high.
Isn't being out of it great?
0 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
msjena 3/2/2020 8:14:01 PM (No. 334887)
So, for those who want to let people decide whether to buy and use an addictive substance, heroin, meth and cocaine should be legal, too. And 18 year olds—adults—should be able to drink and buy cigarettes (and marijuana). The cost to society of addiction and abuse have no relevance, right?
1 person likes this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
cheeflo 3/2/2020 11:04:57 PM (No. 335044)
A lot of people on this thread have mistaken notions about pot — it is not addictive, per se. #1 made the point that it is the personality of users that drives their dependence. It’s not a narcotic. The Feds classified it as a Schedule 1 narcotic under Nixon because of a potential for abuse and because they thought it of no use medically, although I don’t know how they could decide that since medical research with it was prohibited. Cocaine is a Schedule 2 controlled substance, and it is far more dangerous than pot.
Not everyone who smokes pot is a brain-dead stoner or an abortion-supporting liberal. Now that research into its therapeutic potential is permitted, I expect to see it eventually develop into a medically useful drug. Studies have shown that smoking pot reduces the need for narcotic pain relief. It can soothe digestive problems, help boost appetite in chemo patients, reduce ocular pressure and may help treat glaucoma, aids sleep, and there may be many other applications.
No one I’ve ever known who has routinely smoked pot has ever suffered any withdrawal symptoms without it, and that includes myself. It’s just not as pernicious as it’s made out to be. No reason an adult shouldn’t be able to use it, either medically or recreationally.
0 people like this.
I beg to differ. My SIL is dead and so are all of his high school friends. Smoking is bad but huffing on a joint is good for your lungs ? COPD
0 people like this.
Reply 23 - Posted by:
Smart11344 3/3/2020 12:37:13 PM (No. 335693)
Too many token tokers out there have proven marijuana is not harmless.
1 person likes this.
Reply 24 - Posted by:
earlybird 3/3/2020 1:22:56 PM (No. 335757)
ABSTRACT. We briefly review the evidence that cannabis use in adolescence and young adulthood is a contributory cause of schizophreniform psychoses, by summarising longitudinal studies that: a) have examined relationships between cannabis use and the risk of psychosis or psychotic symptoms; and b) have controlled for potential confounders, such as other forms of drug use and personal characteristics that predict an increased risk of psychosis. There is now reasonable evidence from longitudinal studies that regular cannabis use predicts an increased risk of schizophrenia and of reporting psychotic symptoms. These relationships have persisted after controlling for confounding variables such as personal characteristics and other drug use. The relationships did not seem to be explained by cannabis being used to self-medicate symptoms of psychosis. A contributory causal relationship is biologically plausible because psychotic disorders involve disturbances in the dopamine neurotransmitter system with which the cannabinoid system interacts, as has been shown by animal studies and a human provocation study. We briefly explore the clinical and public health implications of the most plausible hypothesis, that cannabis use precipitates schizophrenia in persons who are vulnerable because of a personal or family history of schizophrenia.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2424288/
1 person likes this.
Reply 25 - Posted by:
czechlist 3/15/2020 11:34:43 AM (No. 347035)
If only we all were safe, responsible and respectful there would be no laws nor restrictions on anything; but, we are humans.
0 people like this.
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I'm not opposed to states legalizing and taxing pot, just admit that like alcohol, pot can be addictive.