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Marijuana addiction is real, and rising

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Re: Marijuana addiction is real, and rising

#51

Post by hsienmaneja »

Baeocystin wrote: post #39
hsienmaneja wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pot destroys lives in part by being so apparently benign.

Whatever problems drive a person to use pot as a crutch are the source issue. Pot abuse itself (or any maladaptive behavior) is best thought of as a symptom, not a cause.

If someone is self medicating with pot, and pot is making their lives worse (which is the case for some users), the pot is a problem in and of itself.

Drug culture itself is riddled with such booby traps. Fallaious street wisdom backed by egos and peer pressure are powerful tools to indoctrinate a child into an unexpected lifetime of addiction to substances such as pot.

Re: Marijuana addiction is real, and rising

#52

Post by badloginagain »

fhood wrote: post #23
omegbule wrote: post #16

A very real thing is that weed is a crutch for depression here in the states.

that was my first thought as well, but it is interesting that the addiction rate seems to double for those who started as a teenager. I guess it makes sense that changing chemical balances in the brain when it is growing that rapidly could easily cause dependencies.

There are studies that teens with a predisposition to schizophrenia and similar mental issues can actually be exacerbated by marijuana.

I haven't heard evidence of it doing the same for adults, but I'd have to check.

There are a number of reasons why children/teens shouldn't use it, and should be as tolerated a children smoking/drinking/opioid-ing

Re: Marijuana addiction is real, and rising

#53

Post by evo_9 »

It's hard for me to relate to this. I smoke daily, and probably what most would consider a lot. I however also travel for work and or other reasons and often go days or a week without smoking. It has no noticeable effect on me.

It could be because I'm extremely active and fit. I workout basically 7 days a week, mostly because I do a lot of intense stuff 'for fun' (aka, play hockey 3-4 days a week, etc).

I'm not saying it's not true, just pointing out this could be related to things beyond just pot. Aka, inactivity, perhaps an already down mental state, etc etc.

I also take a shit-ton of vitamins and sups, I'm about to turn 51 and I train hard and play hard because I'm often skating against high-level 18-20 year old's etc, so I'm quite driven to stay at the top of my game. Possible some of the vits/sups I take are offsetting whatever the pot is doing to others.

Diet, exercise, sleep - so many factors goes into feeling well. Addiction though, man that's a lot more extreme than I would label my desire for pot. I mean I certainly enjoy it and even sometimes wish I had some on a trip, but it's a passing though more than anything.

Update: one point I should note, I only smoke Sativa's, or sativa heavy hybrids. Not sure if that's a factor but thought I was worth noting.

Re: Marijuana addiction is real, and rising

#54

Post by eikenberry »

taobility wrote: post #9
fb03 wrote: post #7

Humans can get hooked to anything that triggers a 'feel good' response, be it gorging on food, drugs, gambling or even exercising. With all the grinding, long hours and stressful situations "modern life" puts us through, it's not difficult to see how people more and more just want to hit the 'instant gratification' button instead of actually getting better by working their underlying issues.... there is simply no tim…

you just want to give a reason to indulge yourself. Every adult should clearly know the difference between good habit or bad addiction.

I don't think you meant it, but the way you put that makes it sound like you don't think people should ever indulge in things they enjoy.

Re: Marijuana addiction is real, and rising

#55

Post by anaptdemise »

StanislavPetrov wrote: post #36
omegbule wrote: post #16

A very real thing is that weed is a crutch for depression here in the states.

Which speaks to the larger question, why are so many people in our society depressed?

Unsolicited life advice.

If you have to drink or do drugs to do your job, you should probably question your career path.

If you have to drink or do drugs to feel satisfied with your life, you should probably ask yourself what you have actually done to make your situation better.

Good for strippers, accountants, lawyers, anyone.

Re: Marijuana addiction is real, and rising

#57

Post by Kenji »

Marijuana addiction is a whole load of baloney. Do you know what's highly addictive? Tobacco. Do you know how people roll their joints? 50% tobacco, 50% weed. See, there's the mistake. Smoke it pure, problem solved. You're addicted to tobacco (and nicotine), not weed.

Re: Marijuana addiction is real, and rising

#58

Post by chimeracoder »

hsienmaneja wrote: post #32
chimeracoder wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> certainty calls into question the street wisdom that pot isn’t (physically) addicting. This isn't "street wisdom"; there's a massive body of clinical research that's gone into marijuana and investigating its effects on the body and brain. Marijuana is one of the most-studied drugs in existence, far more so than most prescription medication on the market.

Actually, the notion that pot isn’t addictive is the street wisdom, or was when I was growing up. This is in contradiction to the reality.

> Actually, the notion that pot isn’t addictive is the street wisdom, or was when I was growing up. This is in contradiction to the reality.

No, it's not in contradiction to reality; it's the results of clinical research. To the extent that "addiction" is a relevant term in colloquial use (it's neither a DSM-IV diagnostic criterion nor a formal pharmacological term), marijuana is not known to induce practically significant symptoms of physical dependence.

Re: Marijuana addiction is real, and rising

#59

Post by tzar »

evo_9 wrote: post #53

It's hard for me to relate to this. I smoke daily, and probably what most would consider a lot. I however also travel for work and or other reasons and often go days or a week without smoking. It has no noticeable effect on me. It could be because I'm extremely active and fit. I workout basically 7 days a week, mostly because I do a lot of intense stuff 'for fun' (aka, play hockey 3-4 days a week, etc). I'm not sayin…

How long have you been smoking daily? From the article:

> Unlike with opioids and stimulants, marijuana dependence tends to develop slowly: Months or years may pass before symptoms begin to affect a dependent user’s life.

The case is similar with alcohol dependence: it can take quite a long time.

Re: Marijuana addiction is real, and rising

#60

Post by boomboomsubban »

badloginagain wrote: post #43
boomboomsubban wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or it's a combination of mental addiction and the placebo effect. The ritual has become such an important part of their life, that when they remove it their anxiety causes a physical reaction based on their concept of withdrawl.

I read that the use of marijuana actually inhibits dreams, and that people who quit temporarily experience intense dreams.

Yes. This isn't physical addiction. It can cause a mental addiction if you use it for that purpose, and the anxiety over going without can keep you awake. You see it in people with PTSD.

edit Curious why people are objecting to this as I have personal experience in the area. Vivid dreams are common any time you go without dreaming for a while, it's not a sign of a physical addiction.

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