Is Marijuana Addictive? It Depends How You Define Addiction
This article is from TIME. It is a little dated. It was written back in 2010 around the time California was preparing to vote on their version of amendment 64. The article focuses mostly on what people define as addiction. Experts go "by the book" which defines addiction as "addiction is the compulsive use of a substance despite ongoing negative consequences" as well as withdraw symptoms when substance is cut off. By this logic 10% of users are addicted.
Non specialists adopt an older perspective, now outdated by experts. One I personally agree with because the addict spectrum is broadened with this definition. It basically splits the new definition into two parts. There are physical addictions, producing withdrawals, and there are psychological addictions causing only cravings. Okay so we know marijuana isn't seen as a physical addiction, but is it physiologically addictive? Is it ignored as a possible addiction by majority of the public and experts because its only physiologically addictive? Is it just an addiction that's easy to hide? Or is it relatively not addictive?
There is much more to this article. This is a great resource.
Cannabis dependance - Wikipedia
This is a very factual maybe biased source. Weed is the most widely used drug in the world. Again is says about 10% to 20% of users develop a dependency. They state the addictive potential is pretty low compared to most. Can worsen mental disorders such as schizophrenia. Treatment is not widely known or given because of the lack of interest in being treated. Because of the low addictive quality should this drug be unwatched and untreated? Is it being taken too lightly? Is there no interest in treatment because nobodies addicted or because nobody wants help?
This is a very interesting topic. With living here in Colorado and marijuana legal, it's interesting to know if it can really be addictive. With only 10% of people addicted, that shows to me that marijuana is not as addictive as I though it was.Its just a recreational drug. Something to pass the time with and people can quit at any time. I look forward to see what else you find.
ReplyDeleteYou may find some research being done on potency for laws that they are trying to enact. Check the state governments for sources.
ReplyDeleteThis topic is extremely relevant and is on everyone's mind these days in Colorado! I, like Veronica, was actually shocked that only 10% of people are addicted! I thought it would be significantly more. You pose a great question with the low addictive qualities if it should be left unwatched and untreated. I think it needs to be handled just like any other legal drug like alcohol or nicotine. There are plenty of ongoing studies and treatment programs for those, so I think we need to make sure that the same should hold true for marijuana. I can't wait to see what other research you find on this!
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