Blazed and confused: Should we consider weed addictive?

Apr 8, 2014, 12:00 AM

As people who live in Washington, and especially as Seattleites, there is little to no stigma around the recreational use of marijuana in our daily lives. The use of cannabis is seen as harmless to those who choose to indulge, and they are relatively correct; marijuana is not as bad for you as, say, drinking alcohol or doing harder drugs. But, when we deny that cannabis is an addictive substance, we deny the possibility that too-frequent marijuana usage can be a negative thing. If someone were drinking for hours at a time each day, there would be some sort of intervention. It is easy to see in the case of alcohol, for example, that it is unhealthy to need an outside substance in order to subsist. But, when someone who smokes pot recreationally for hours a day does the same thing, often it is shrugged off as being because they are a “stoner,” or because it is non-addictive. They could stop if they wanted to. The differences between marijuana and alcohol usage are evident — alcohol has proven itself to have major consequences for our bodies and our lives — but the comparison still stands. A psychological addiction can be just as detrimental as a physical one, and even if we deny that the physical addiction exists, our mind is still a part of our body. Physical addiction occurs when your cells rely on your substance of choice to continue functioning; this is why when use ceases, withdrawal occurs. Psychological addiction, on the other hand, involves the belief that you need a drug and that you cannot live without it. Rehabilitation with psychological addiction is more complicated, because detox does not remove the mind’s craving for a drug. There are more consequences of being addicted to weed than what we typically think of, like laziness and memory problems. In some cases, psychotic and cognitive issues may be made worse by marijuana addiction. Loss of appetite, dysphoria, and disturbed sleep all fall under the category of cannabis withdrawal symptoms, which, according to a study conducted by the University of New South Wales, are now considered clinically significant. I have no problem with recreational marijuana use; as an alternative to drinking, and as just generally a good time, I quite enjoy it. But that doesn’t make it non-addictive, and that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t educate people about drugs in general. Pot can be a great way to let loose and a lovely relaxant, but we should teach people that they don’t need any recreational substance to live happily, and that dependence on marijuana is a real thing. When we rebuff the existence of marijuana dependence, we set ourselves up for failure. Habit-forming drugs can get in the way of all the wonderful things we are capable of doing. While I won’t deny that letting loose can be beneficial, if weed becomes a substance that you need, something has to change. Substance dependence impedes our ability to be the best people we can be, and blazing it up five hours a day, every day, won’t make your life any better. If we look at addiction to weed in a real way, it may be easier for future generations of pot-enthusiasts to avoid the problems many resident stoners face today. Reach opinion writer Haylee Millikan at opinion@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @hayleemaid

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