Current Events > Is cannabis addictive?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Yes.

Sure fucking seems like it. Same as coffee.

It can be. People with addictive personalities, like myself, should be cautious how much they use.

Idr if it is only mentally or not but it is addictive, so I hit yes.

Anything that makes you feel good is addictive.

i'm a drug addict in general and i just like being high, period. my drug of choice is weed.

Same way that pr0n is

Not the same way that tobacco is

Anything can be addictive.

Cannabis does not have the chemical addiction harder drugs do that make them so dangerous. It's like quitting caffeine or something similar.

MC_BatCommander posted...

Anything can be addictive.

Cannabis does not have the chemical addiction harder drugs do that make them so dangerous. It's like quitting caffeine or something similar.

caffeine does have physical withdrawal though. it's mild, but it definitely exists. weed does not have any physical withdrawal AFAIK, it's all mental / habitual

MC_BatCommander posted...

Anything can be addictive.

Cannabis does not have the chemical addiction harder drugs do that make them so dangerous. It's like quitting caffeine or something similar.

Quitting caffiene is far worse tbh. The goddamn headaches and lack of energy for the first week or so...

i'll say yes. maybe not in a chemical way but you can get addicted to it like your habits or dependencies. i'm a big weed enjoyer and i'm going through a 6 month break with it. i get urges all the time, to want to chase the chill vibes i get from it. i'm perfectly fine physically not smoking, but i want to all the time.

I have a super addictive personality with substance abuse history, currently, and I've never gotten addicted to it. I have, however, gotten addicted to the lifestyle that surrounded using it where I'm from

Yes. Not as strongly addictive as hard drugs, but you can still crave it. Same with things like caffeine and sugar

Like others have said mentally addictive, yes. Chemically, like heroin or something, no.

I would say I'm probably mentally addicted.

Without getting too much into the psychology of it, it would seem like anything enjoyable or pain-reducing could become physically addictive if done to such an extent that your brain becomes so accustomed to it that its absence will cause anxiety-induced stomach pains or such. The main prevention of that occurring is a natural drive depletion, like you'd get from the sustenance tasty food offers. Or self-discipline obviously, but who actually wants to practice that..

Basically, it seems like anything that has mental effects has the potential to manifest in more observable physiological ways when done to the extreme. Heroin and alcohol are easier to become dependent on and withdrawal from either one can be fatal, the latter effect which doesn't seem to be much a concern with weed, but that doesn't convince me that weed or certain over-the-counter drugs or anything done recreationally couldn't result in some kind of physical ailment brought on by its absence.

I used the word "seems" a lot because I never got went past intro to psychology in either high school or college.

Pretty clearly yes, but not nearly as addictive as cigarettes.

I don't think anyone smokes the equivalent of a pack+ a day as plenty of smokers do.

What is the difference between chemical and mental addiction if our brain is just chemicals?

Also, yes.

quite literally anything can be addictive. So yes, id say weed can be addictive. There are also people addicted to porn, eating, and in more fringe cases things like stealing.

Not unless you're adding something extra in that is addictive. I've known plenty of people who smoked it myself included, and not felt the physical symptoms of chemical dependency or withdrawals. Though they may be very mild. I can't speak about the newer legal marijuana. Perhaps there is something in that stuff that is?

Habit forming, rather than addictive.

C_Pain posted...

What is the difference between chemical and mental addiction if our brain is just chemicals?

Also, yes.

Chemical dependency can kill you if you try to quit, withdrawal symptoms are severe too.

Anything a person enjoys is addictive. I dont know why my friends in college were against me saying this. I was ridiculed for calling pot addictive. It isnt physically addictive like heroin tho.

C_Pain posted...

What is the difference between chemical and mental addiction if our brain is just chemicals?

Also, yes.

Your body grows dependent on something you have been introducing into it for a long period of time. Having to quit cold turkey can at the very least make you cranky, and at worst can severely impact your health for a while before all the toxins are eventually cleaned out of your system.

to elaborate a bit about how my mental addiction to weed affects me.

• i have smoked pot or been high from cannabis in some fashion almost every day since the fall of 2000 when i started senior year of high school. the only exceptions to this have been when i was in rehab (for alcohol) or in the hospital (edit: i quit for 21 days in college for a drug test). i haven't missed a day since September of 2010.
• i am high almost any time i am not at work. i smoke first thing when i get home from work, and if i go do something after work i bring it with me. on non-work days i usually wait 1-2 hours after i wake up before i smoke just to let my head clear up a little, but then i'm stoned the rest of the day.
• the idea of not having weed makes me anxious. back when i was buying it myself, i would have anxiety about my stash running out if my connections were out. i started buying multiple ounces at a time and would start looking for more when i got down to about a half oz.
• availability of weed affects where i vacation. when I went to Europe in 2018, I made a point to go to Amsterdam first so I could get hash for the remainder of the trip, which I brought with me to France and England. when I went to Mexico in 2019 and again in 2022, I brought THC tincture or hash with me. i have reservations about going to some place like Japan where drug laws are very strict and it would be hard to smuggle it in, or find it there.
• it is very difficult for me to sleep without weed. the last time i was in rehab and had no access to cannabis, i barely slept for the first two nights. the third night my dreams were so intense i woke up numerous times and didn't sleep well. i finally got some decent rest on the fourth night, but man, that was rough.

C_Pain posted...

What is the difference between chemical and mental addiction if our brain is just chemicals?

physical means withdrawal

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_withdrawal

Venixon posted...

Not unless you're adding something extra in that is addictive. I've known plenty of people who smoked it myself included, and not felt the physical symptoms of chemical dependency or withdrawals. Though they may be very mild. I can't speak about the newer legal marijuana. Perhaps there is something in that stuff that is?

If anything, legal weed is less likely to have that effect due to it actually being a regulated substance. Especially for people that are just walking in, usually wanting to try something simple. People being able to enjoy it without developing a physical addiction, even if they make up the vast majority, don't render a substance non-addictive either mentally or physically.

LoZguy709 posted...

If anything, legal weed is less likely to have that effect due to it actually being a regulated substance. Especially for people that are just walking in, usually wanting to try something simple. People being able to enjoy it without developing a physical addiction, even if they make up the vast majority, don't render a substance non-addictive either mentally or physically.

Ah I see. Thanks for your perspective.

Venixon posted...

Ah I see. Thanks for your perspective.

Haha yeah my perspective is honestly all it is at the end of the day. I'm kind of looking for someone to point out the distinction that makes a substance not physically addictive because the withdrawal symptoms aren't severe enough. If there can be any physical effect, it's my inclination to see the substance/activity as potentially physically addictive, which like others have said, is just about anything enjoyable. It's just a matter of know how physically addictive things can be.

I've heard that it isn't and it hasn't been for me. I've had weeks where I dry vape every day that week, and have also gone weeks without vaping without even realizing it.

Payzmaykr posted... It can be. People with addictive personalities, like myself, should be cautious how much they use.

I definitely agree with this. One of my good friends has an addictive personality (smoking, regular vaping, coffee) and I made the mistake of introducing him to shrooms. Got to the point where he was microdosing in public. The only reason he didn't get addicted to weed is because it combined with vaping made him feel sick

It can be, but it's mostly mental. Anxiety, irritability, etc when you go clean. Worst physical symptom I've experience when taking a t-break has been indigestion and insomnia but nothing that was gonna kill me, just mild inconveniences.

I was a bit addicted to the orgasms that cannabis gave. They are incredible. I would eat edibles once every couple of weeks. But my balls would sometimes be in pain after. It also made me more irritable. These two issues along with the laziness and short-term memory issues is what turned me off cannabis completely. I haven't used them in over a year.

No, for me. Shit made me tired, and drowsy, and it's been more than an year since I last smoked one. ASMR gives me a better high.

AFAIK, cannabis isn't chemically addictive in the way that nicotine, alcohol, and opiates are (especially the latter two; going cold turkey is completely inadvisable for alcoholism and opiate addiction, as your body grows dependent upon the respective substances), but your brain can still become addicted to the endorphins that your pituitary gland pumps out during pleasurable sensations (including but not limited to runner's high, orgasms, gambling, and the high that THC induces).