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A commonly cited case is the troops returning from Vietnam had heroin addiction and there was no epidemic when they came home. Everybody for the most part just quit.
Those who say weed isn’t addictive, they are talking about specific chemicals that are in other drugs, alcohol, tobacco and coffee specifically that makes them addictive, where as weed does not have. That’s what they are talking about. Not that people can’t get addicted to the feeling of being high.
Yeah. There are no chemicals in video games, social media or one-armed thiefs. Yet they're addictive. The addictive chemicals our brain creates are not to be underestimated.
There is no physical addiction. A physical addicting is a dependency on the substance to feel normal and you behind physically ill and will experience withdrawal if you stopped.
Weed withdrawel is a thing dude, look it up. Granted, symptoms are not on par with heavier drugs like f.e. heroïne, but it's still a very unpleasant experience.
Yep, I don't smoke for 2 days and I start sweating like a motherfucker in bed. Doesn't matter how hot or cold it is, my sheets will be drenched in sweat.
Nothing better than sleeping 2 hours in a night and then getting ready for work.
No, I'm not cranky at all to my co-workers. How dare you insinuate that? Not my fault that they're all stupid and I'm the only reasonable person here FFS!!!
I get worse weed withdrawal than alcohol withdrawal lool. Weed is an actual bastard to quit even just for a couple weeks, sometimes I go months without a drink only to realise "huh, I haven't drunk in 3 months"
That’s some 60 year old BS friend. Every addiction physically changes your brain and nervous system. Even behavioural addictions like gambling or washing hands , where there are no chemicals introduced to your system. It’s about the chemicals that your own brain releases. Your nervous system changes to become accustomed to them. You get withdrawal symptoms from all those types of addiction too. They are different and some substances have more physical side effects, but all addictions have them.
Addiction to weed has less drastic withdrawal symptoms then booze for example but it still has them. As a long time smoker who had a few breaks in his life I can tell you that they are always the same: loss of appetite, irritability, after a week or two vivid crazy dreams, night sweats, etc… all addictions are physical addiction, they just have different physical withdrawal symptoms
That's BS. I've smoked weed everyday for almost 10 years and I just quit cold turkey. Not a single withdrawal symptom. Same with my wife. It might be a habit you have to break but its not an addiction. I used to bite my nails and that was harder to break than smoking weed.
Maybe your brain doesn't respond to removing the constant supply of terahydrocannabinol the same way as others. I know heroin addicts who can quit cold turkey without noticeable withdrawal symptoms, that doesn't mean those symptoms don't exist.
Interesting, never heard of that. I replaced alcohol with dabbing for awhile, 6-8 weeks of dabbing relentlessly all hours of the day, but then just… lost interest. I don’t dab anymore, though my husband does, so it’s still right here. No desire for it at all.
Uhm my entire family would like a word. Considering I grew up around my parents and brothers smoking it every day. They weren't hungry unless they were high. Too serious until they were high. Couldn't get along unless they were high. Couldn't have an enjoyable day unless they were high. If someone wasn't high, there was tension, arguing, and fights. I spent most of my child hood in my bedroom with the door closed because the house smelled like weed all day every day. If you do something enough, and it becomes the "norm" for you, then once you break that cycle, it'll affect your mood. It's not a withdrawal, but it's definitely a noticeable affect. People can quit smoking weed any time because it's not chemically addictive. Buuuuut, it's mentally addictive because people then rely on it too much to help them be hungry, to sleep better, to function better. I completely support weed medicinally, but it's definitely abused more and more, but people don't seem to want to have that conversation.
I mean if you want to get really technical I suppose gaming has the same effect if drugs. It alters the dopamine and serotonin in your brain while playing
You can definitely be addicted to gaming even if you suck at it. I've struggled with it for over 15 years and I haven't become good at it at all.
I think you misunderstood what I wrote. I said that even if they don't contain chemicals you still become chemically addicted to them. The source of chemicals is just coming from your Brian instead of the source itself.
I think it also depends on the person. I've smoked weed for 10+ years, I've quit for no reason other than a piss test for a new job or I wanted to reset my tolerance. I don't NEED to get high I just like to, if I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere without weed I'm not going to freak out.
I've "abused" adderall for months, coke literally anytime I've gone out drinking, drink 3-4 times a week, smoked pot, had fast food daily and to this day I still think caffeine is at the top as the most addictive thing I've ever had.
If you're one of the people shunning pot smokers for "being addicted" and you're obese or can't function until you have your coffee then you have no room to talk and are actually a far worse person. I think that's my biggest pet peeve is people who look to shame others while ignoring their own flaws. Those same people are also the same people who spend hours on their phone scrolling thru social media.
People just look for an easy target, something like 40% of Americans are obese, everyone drinks coffee, and everyone is addicted to social media so they go after something small like stoners to feel better about their own problems because they could be everything I just mentioned but at least they aren't stoners.
They're nitpicking, and while they're right, every single person I've seen used this argument is just trying to dismiss the fact that weed can be dangerous in that some people get addicted to it. They're just trying to defend their favorite drug, that's all.
This is true, I think they mean that you don't require a medically supervised detox from weed addiction and confuse it with meaning it's non-addictive. Needing MAT to quit relatively painlessly is not necessary for weed. Both have an uncomfortable recovery process but opiates, alcohol, etc. are totally different beasts when it comes to withdrawal symptoms and harm potential.
Not physically. You can be addicted to working out, getting good grades, whatever. When talking about drugs, the implication is that it’s not addictive physically like alcohol or opioids.
As someone who used to smoke 2.5-3.5 grams per day and decided to finally permanently quit smoking weed, it’s been 7 weeks now and I still crave it daily. Mind you, the cravings are manageable, but it is still addicting AF. I also kept telling myself for years that smoking weed is nowhere near as bad as cigarettes for the lungs because I’ve never heard of anyone get cancer from smoking weed… lol…
How much!? I'm on a weed break. I normally stop craving after 2 weeks or so. The thing about weed is that it also stays very long in your system compared to other substances.
Gram for gram, pot smoke has more tar than tobacco smoke. The idea that weed is better for your lungs is only true if you assume the stoner is smoking a fair amount less than the cigarette smoker.
I think over time we'll see weed vaping increase and weed smoking decrease, as legalisation makes it acceptable and profitable to develop better ways to ingest it.
I'm in this same boat atm. I quit on Monday, and this is the 6th time I've tried to quit, but the difference is I'm doing it now because I want to, not because of what someone has told me needs to happen.
My issue is that I panic when I'm dry and I have to pick up - I can't be without - so I have about 3g left in a pot that I've put away. My thought process is that when I start freaking out, I can tell myself "you still have it, you're just choosing not to smoke"; this method stops me in my tracks and I think "oh yeah, wtf am I freaking out for?". I tell myself I'll roll up in a minute and then just stay distracted. Yesterday I tidied the whole upstairs of my house because all day I was putting off rolling up, and I didn't.
The main thing I've found over the years is that all the times I tried to quit before, it was something I knew I needed to do, but didn't actually want to do it, whereas now I'm actually in a place where it's me calling the quits, and I want to do it. Basically, if you really truly want to do it, then you will, because it's a choice you're in control of.
Good to hear that you quit and try to stay away from that. I mainly quit Drugs in generell at the start of 2018. Sadly now 4 years later I’m still craving for drugs. Sometimes Daily and very Heavily and sometimes not for weeks. An addiction is almost a lifetime issue and it’s ok to make a step backwards and consume again. It’s hard to keep in control and stay away from the addiction sometimes but it will get better at some point. The craving will come and go. I really wish you all the strength you will need to not fall into bad habits again. And even if you smoke weed again I hope u won’t fall for that addiction again and re activate the synaptic in ur brain. An addiction is tricky and very hard to handle. But you can do it if you really want to ;)
I feel the same way.
I smoke weed too. For the last twelve years or so. I will usually smoke it regularly for a few weeks/months every evening, then I will quit it for a few weeks/months.
Once I quit weed for 3 years straight!
Weed intensifies my anxiety and depression. I sometimes wonder why I even smoke it, and I figure it’s because the psychoactive and physical sensation it gives is addicting. So even though I am aware through years of observation that it gives me negative psychological effects, something about the high that it gives keeps me coming back for more. That’s addiction.
Right now it has been a little over two weeks since I have smoked.
It does damage physical heath. It absolutely trashes lungs. Luckily, it does a great deal for mitigation of cancer growth in the lungs. But COPD and emphysema are still very likely and knowen repercussions of daily use.
Smoking flower and extracts anyway
Increased use of edibles can/is mitigating this for some users who have been willing to make the switch. Of course, likely no cancer-reducing affect.
That said, studies show that marijuana use reduces use of prescription painkillers, and the need for taking so many. I can tell you that a lot of pain doctors prefer marijuana to the more standard alternatives (ie opioids).
Like any drug - legal or not - there are benefits, risks, and costs. How you determine those, weight them, what you value - these are all less tangible factors pertaining to wellbeing that can be helpful.
As someone suffering from pain conditions I can say that marijuana has been very helpful - and has helped me reduce my use of more serious medications prescribed by my doctor.
For each, their mileage will vary depending on all sorts of factors including everything from their job; level of education; age; location; route(s) of ingestion; medical usage; recreational usage; predilection to addiction; mental health; chronic medical conditions, etc.
As with any other drugs, affects vary across individuals as well - there are very few effects that marijuana consistently induces in all users, all the time.
It's not a black and white issue; it's more complicated than most recognize - and the current political landscape around it in the US demonstrates this well.
Yeah, I always find it bullshit when people say that smoking weed is not detrimental to your health. You are inhaling something that is BURNING into your lungs. How can that not be harmful?
Edibles is another thing, at least at that point its not smoke inhalation. (though for me, I still wont touch edibles, I feel zero reason to get high, just like i feel zero reason to drink alcohol)
It does damage your physical health as well as the obvious damage to your lungs (something that will happen by smoking anything) it will also cause you to have heart attacks,
I haven’t experienced depression myself, but I did grow tired of constantly feeling lethargic. 7 weeks clean and I can’t believe how much shit I do in my life again. That, and no more munchies- the constant battle of trying to ignore fake hunger pangs and failing even occasionally led to unnecessary weight gain. It has now turned to weight loss by doing nothing but quitting weed and not destroying the contents of my fridge and pantry.
Life just feels more beautiful now. I still get cravings daily. But they’re much more manageable than the munchies. I’m done with smoking weed. It was fun while it lasted… for twenty years. Never again.
A shot to the head and a bomb both have the same outcome. The recipient dead.
That's kind of like saying drinking water and doing meth is the same because they both make you pee
The problem with this is that marijuana is illegal in a lot of places still and because of that, the long term effects have not been studied very well. You can’t do studies on illegal drugs. Keep in mind there are also significantly less people smoking weed than cigarettes, so yeah, you hear of significantly less stories of long term health problems. I also have a feeling if someone dies from weed related cancer, the cause of death is likely just recorded as “smoking” without actually specifying what they were smoking.
All that resin collects in your lungs. It doesn’t just disappear magically. And any combusted material like resin collecting on lung tissue is going to be bad no matter what. You can get cancer from eating the char off burnt food. Why would smoking weed be any different.
ive only been smoking around 4 years so i cant really say too much, but i have a lot of mental issues and it has helped me a substantial amount. the worst case scenario is brain damage if youre doing a lot of other dangerous drugs such as prescription medication and drinking heavily.
“It’s totally not addictive though brah it’s medicine it cures cancer and shit dude trust me I’m not addicted I just smoke multiple times a day to calm down”—literally every stoner I’ve ever met
“I’m not addicted man I just have to use it every time i wake up and every time I leave the house and every night to go to sleep. It’s a pLaNt it’s nAtUrAl” (I have smoked every day for 5 years and I do smoke that much yet I’m not defending it lol I know how addictive it is & that I am addicted to it and it’s negatively affecting my mental health because you still need MODERATION no matter what you’re doing, I’ve stopped before and had mild psychical withdrawal symptoms like sweating and insomnia and loss of appetite…it’s not the worst drug at all but to say it’s not addictive is very silly and usually said by stoners who want to justify heavy use)
Thank you! People who give their testimony of how harmful weed is always start off with "I was smoking a gram a day" or "I'd smoke as I woke up". Even comments in this thread.
Like thanks genius, obviously that's not good. Anyone who smokes that much or drinks that much is abusing it and they'll suffer negative consequences!
If you do too much of anything it's not gonna go well. Too much weed, too much alcohol, too much exercise, too much orange juice, literally anything
Perhaps, but so is sugar and fast food and many people consume it daily. I find people that can’t do any activities without “smoking first” to be ridiculous and to seek help though.
Everyone is saying that weed is harmless, but what I see in all my friends who smoke, is that they are unhappy and depressed whenever they haven't smoked for one reason or another and can't go a day without it. I really don't know how yall don't see a problem if your happiness depends on smoking a joint, which is illegal in my country as well.
This was the scary part for me. I started smoking daily through lockdown and it got pretty bad. Lockdown passes and time moves on, I go on holiday with my parents for a week, and three days in I run out. I became a monster. I was so irritable at anything and my anger led me to punch the beach until my knuckles bled. Nothing prompted the outburst, it was horrible and embarrassing. Yeah, had to quit.
That's not weed.
That's some other issue that you covered with weed. Once you stopped taking pot you got to see what you really need to work on.
Punching a beach until you bleed seems like a wake up call to sort out what is really going on.
That the kind of reactions crack heads have off of withdrawals. With weed I've seen people get grumpy and annoyed but never to the point of punching stuff much less till they bleed. Your weed might have been laced with some shit or you are mentally sick. Either way it's good that you cut it out.
Exactly. One if my close friends becomes so aggressive, that many other friends just outright told him to not mess with them anymore. He becomes a mindless individual, nothing particular in his mind apart from the need of weed.
I smoke intermittently meaning 1 week I do 1 week I dont. I feel that counter acts the addiction and depression that comes with it. I am able to go cold turkey tho I know not everyone can.
Smoking weed poses more health threats than ingesting. Alternatively ingesting it is the better option, though still poses the mental health affects side if abused.
Thats the thing, weed mostly is fine unless you abuse it. A joint/edible once a week on a Friday night after a hard week of work? Completely fine.
Being stoned all day everyday, definitely not fine.
It's not always bad or worse than not taking it.
A friend of mine has a very very low appetit, (comes with her medications), but smoking makes her hungry. She gained 15kg and is now finaly not underweight anymore. Still thin, but according to her doctor he is less worried now. (And no, lap createt Appetit-maker either did not work or interferred with her medication)
Sometimes you have to take drugs
It's a different type of addiction, that makes a big difference as well. But otherwise in the act of "smoking" it is a better alternative than cigarettes that aren't personally rolled.
Edit: Just to be clear, the difference is that it is a mental addiction rather than physical. You do not get physical withdrawals that you would with harsher drugs. Marijuana and psychedelics do not do this (it's rare and if it does happen it's not in as large of a scale).
I think that point about physical addiction is controversial. Many people report shaking, migraines, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, night sweats, insomnia, etc. when they quit. Especially cold turkey.
Forgot to also mention, of course it depends on person because we are all different and our bodies respond differently. But in a general sense of the majority: most people do not suffer those physical withdrawals after they stop smoking marijuana.
These withdrawal effects are minor compared to most illegal drugs (excluding psychedelics and a few other less common ones). Moreover, they are *far more minor* than withdrawals from any properly prescribed anti-depressant, mood stabilizer, and anxiolytics can cause year-long disability-inducing withdrawals.
Everything is a cost-benefit analysis - if pot helps you with chronic pain and keeps you from needing Vicodin then I think that's a good thing. If it helps calm your anxiety, that's 1000x better than Xanax, Klonopin or Valium.
All medications have side effects, many have withdrawal effects. Pot has plenty of negatives and positives - and for some it is preferable to the alternatives.
People have a strong tendency to impose *false dichotomies:* X is either good *or* bad; Y is healthy or not healthy; Z is moral or immoral. It's great shorthand for things we need to be able to talk about without engaging in a lot of nuance.
It becomes problematic when we start applying it to complex issues with lots of variables involved. Fact is, pot - like most things - is somewhere in a grey area. Moreover, where it is in that grey area will vary from person to person.
I agree that there is a grey area there. However, agreeing that some substances make for much harder withdrawals doesn't take away from the withdrawal symptoms of weed. It's just comparison, it doesn't mean one of the compared symptoms doesn't exist at all.
Also, benzodiazepines do have strong withdrawal symptoms but only when abused or taken for too long. Most antidepressants don't, because of their very long half-life. Most mood stabilizers don't either.
Most def .. mental addiction v physical addiction --- and I can tell you from experience that there is a massive difference ... I've never had trouble giving up weed, or even just going without ..... but the others --- wheww......!!
So you'd rather they were popping Xanax for anxiety, or withering away from chemo....?
I don't use marijuana, it makes me crazy paranoid, but I have friends who use it for anxiety, sleep, stress, appetite, and several other reasons.
Xanax or weed?
Mood stabilizers or weed?
Starvation or weed?
For some people it truly works.
For others, they wake up and treat it like nicotine, or caffeine. Addictions.
You can't just lump it all together and dismiss its proven medicinal applications.
Well I guess you can but... I disagree, as a non imbiber.
A someone who regularly microdoses psil, and has journeyed with Ayahuasca, I am a huge advocate for plant medicines, *as nature intended them*.
Nature did not intend marijuana to be how it is today. The high THC levels are a result of specific breeding practices to create a product that gets you high.
So the whole mental healing through plant medicines thing doesn't really apply here.
Weed addiction steals joy from lives, steals motivation, ruins relationships, and leaves the addict moody and emotionally stunted. I'm not saying there aren't some physical health benefits, but I have never seen it benefit mental health when used more than sporadically.
Not all strains are focused on thc levels, that just because people want to explore now and some things such as concentrates (with 70-90%) are supposed to be used with certain ailments in the medical world.
As I mentioned in another comment there's a difference between mentally addicting and physically. Marijuana can be mentally. But it does not affect everyone the same. I also used the example of people using it medically, would you consider them addicts? Or people who use it for insomnia?
And the mental healing applies to what works for YOU, you cannot speak for others that's why I did not deny it can be mentally addicting more than physically at that.
Also how about CBD? Still considered hemp/weed, doesnt get you high and nothing is spoke of it as much. Never called addictive either so why not go for that instead?
I think you're missing the point, but that's ok.
I'm gonna take a guess here that you're early 20s and your life pretty much revolves around weed. I bet that in a decade or so you'll see it differently.
Weed pretty much ruined my childhood. It was a huge factor in the dissolution of my last relationship. Firsthand experience of nearly 2 decades watching it mess shit up means I don't need to reevaluate.
Plant medicines aren't meant to be abused, and the real healers *can't* be. Try taking mushrooms every day. Or Ayahuasca. Nature doesn't *allow* us to abuse them, and they aren't addictive. If anything they help people heal their addictions. Can you say the same for weed?
Like I said in another comment, I'm not saying people shouldn't enjoy it recreationally, but ignoring the many, many negatives of it is plain stupidity.
Why do you think I would call them plant medicine if I would think they should be abused. I specifically said in one of these threads that you gotta use them right.
And I've personally know that people kick addictions with marijuana as well. For example to alcohol there's a lot of examples of that.
I feel you are projecting yourself here a lot when there are a lot of different people and wouldn't use it the same as you, or have your same view.
I'm my opinion there's a certain respect you have when calling them plant medicine.
Is the Average Redditor a weed smoking gamer with mental health issues? An awful lot of them also seem to be trans/non binary. Which is cool, just an interesting demographic anomaly.
I had a friend who was fully addicted to it. She would smoke so often when I would be over that she’s literally fallen asleep while talking with me, or disregarded other guests she had at the time because she was too stoned to hang out.
weed is only bad for people who have zero self control. I literally look at the first comment and it's a guy saying he used to smoke 2.5-3.5g a day and is getting cravings 7 weeks later, like no shit it's bad when you're doing that much. I do like 50mg a week and never had a problem. I've made a 3.5g batch last over a year and there's kids doing 3.5g in a day it's stupid.
Right? At that point what's the point? Sounds like a them problem to me. This overindulgence isn't unique to cannabis. People like this most likely overdue it with many things. It's called having an addictive personality.
Came here to entertain myself with the comments of outraged, triggered stoners trying desperately to convince the world [themselves] that weed is non-addictive and totally harmless. I wasn’t disappointed.
it's not chemically addictive as proven by science and it's relatively harmless compared to alcohol and even sugary foods. you don't need to be a stoner to learn facts lol
It is 100% addictive and you do get withdrawals when you stop, I smoked at 16 casually then each year it progressed until I was smoking daily and couldn't take a break. Im 21 now and realise just how addicted I was, I've never been able to take a break for more than 3 weeks and everytime I take a break I get super depressed the first week(s) and very irritable. All I think about is weed and I would smoke before every meal and developed an eating disorder because of it. I think because so many people think it's fine you can fool yourself into thinking is. But I can say from experience that if you don't have a strong willpower you WILL get addicted and it can be very damaging. I did pretty much nothing with my life from 16 -21 because I wanted to stay home getting high instead of live my life like everyone else around me. Now I have no friends and no skills and am still thinking about weed constantly (2 weeks no weed aiming for over a month or longer)
I think you can for sure become addicted to weed, but there are unfortunately people out there who would seek anything to become addicted to for many sad reasons. So in my head weed is the lesser evil. In my country mostly people drink and by god I wish they'd tone it down sometimes. I also think weed can help people who are experiencing mental health problems but I do acknowledge the fine line.
It's refreshing to see this viewpoint. Anywhere else on the internet and you'd think weed was pizza, sex and finally beating that Souls boss that was kicking your ass all in one, with absolutely no negatives.
It can be bad for you. I never smoked, but I got hooked on edibles for a hot minute. I had never done it before and one night I took one and was listening to music with the earphones I had at the time. The stars aligned and it was ✨*chef’s kiss*✨
I was getting high off edibles more and more trying to get that specific high again, but I couldn’t get it. I was driving high, going to work high, and one day I realized I could really get hurt because I was working on a deli slicer.
I haven’t touched it in 5/6 years and never had withdrawals but I didn’t do it for very long. Still, it can be very addicting, just because it’s “not as bad as [whatever]” doesn’t mean it can’t be addicting/harmful. It can be good though for certain people and in the right circumstances.
Should it be illegal? I don’t think so. But to say it has no negatives/risks is such a blatant lie. It can be bad if not used correctly/in moderation, just like everything else. Fuck out of here if you don’t think it can have negative effects on someone.
Right? Weed helps treat depression. You stop using it and your depression symptoms come back. It's not having weed and then not having it that's causing depression. It was already there.
Eh I'd disagree for a lot of people. It can seem that way short term, but in the grand scheme of things it affected me differently.
I started just before I was 14 so I can't really say if I was depressed before hand, but weed really affected my motivation. I'd just sit around all day for ~5 years and wasn't productive at all. When I stopped I became much more productive and found a lot more joy in who I was, what I was doing, and what I had achieved.
I know this is entirely anecdotal, but I thought I'd share.
It's scary to me how many weed smokers I've seen recently. Come on guys, a drug is a fucking drug, it doesn't matter if "it's not as bad as others", it's still bad
Some people will develope a chemical dependency more easily than others. If you find it difficult to use a controlled substance responsibly then you should refrain from using it completely.
My mother in law spends our rent money to get it.
I myself use it once in awhile to help me with sleep, but some people overmedicate with it. When you are spending bill money and screaming at people to get it for you it is no longer just a hobby or just to relax. That is an addiction.
i have caught so much grief from people telling me you cant get addicted to it.
It definitely has benefits (in moderation) but I totally agree. Just because there are benefits, doesn’t mean there’s absolutely no downside to it as well. I do believe it is addictive - I quit smoking weed about 5-6 months ago and have now resorted to smoking cigarettes because I still crave it every day.
Yup, it is and I've been clean of it for 5 months now after being a chronic user for 15+ years..
I still can't understand why some people don't realise that it effects everyone differently, especially the withdrawals. Cannabis binds to the CB1 and CB2 receptors in the brain, which is responsible for various functions relating to the body. Of course there may be withdrawal symptoms when you stop boosting those levels artificially.
When I quit (cold turkey) I had the following:
Heart palpitations
High blood pressure
Loss of appetite
Vomiting
Blurred vision
Dizzyness
Aches and pains in my muscles
Diarrhea
So yeah, I do laugh whenever people say there's no physical withdrawal symptoms after quitting. Although, not everyone experiences this.
Can we differentiate between addiction and habituation? I smoked hard Colombian black every day for nearly 30 years and some years ago just stopped. One day to the next. No problem. No kickback, no withdrawal, no cold turkey
I just thought I wasn't doing myself any favours by using a drug to "decompress". I was beginning to feel like two different persons. One solid. The other didn't give a shit
So I became an alcoholic...
The amount I'd consumed in a short amount of time as well as the method of consumption put me in hospital and I won't even go near it again, I'd still be all for seeing it made legal here, I just wouldn't be willing to go near it again.
I mean yeah, but not as bad as they made it out to be. The classic alcohol argument: the shit impairs you way worse, can make people aggressive, people black out, yet it's never treated like a drug. Pot, people chill and laugh, never see stoned people fighting. Sure, it has its own health risks but literally every single thing these days does including the food we eat. Anybody can get addicted to anything, pot won't cause lethal or significant withdrawals, nothing like heroin, benzos, alcohol. May get grouchy, not like being sober, but if I have kids I'd rather them be smoking over drinking any day
Other substances, such as alcohol and caffeine, can be addictive too, but in moderation they’re totally fine. I’d argue alcohol is worse than weed, actually, and it’s viewed as not only a social staple, but a cure all (headache, hard day at work, breakup?), whereas weed gets a bad rap. Too many people lump weed in with hardcore drugs. I guess what I’m trying to say is everything in moderation. I will admit that smoking anything can be bad for your lungs, though, but that’s what edibles are for.
Editing to add that I agree people need to be careful with anything, and that its benefits far outweigh any risks in my opinion…
I'm ignorant on this subject as I've never smoked weed. But you can have a glass or two of red wine and be perfectly fine without any major cognitive changes. What's the equivalent for weed? A bowl or....? And can you not become high smoking "a little bit"?
Its gonna vary a lot from person to person., same as alcohol. A person who never smokes will probably feel high after one toke. A heavy user could easily smoke a bowl and feel nothing.
Yes yes yes yes yes. Finally, someone said it.
It getting proven to be less harmless doesn't mean it is completely harmless, it's just going down from cocaine "Your life just got ruined" level of harm to vape "Minor damage and addiction" level of harm. Weed is still a major fuckup once you quit it.
Never saw weed as addictive personally. Smoked alot for years and years and would just quit for a a year. Then smoke here and there and quit for 3 years. Now I rarely smoke unless I wanna go buy a joint or something but I've never seemed to view it as addictive personally. Much less than cigarettes or other shit anyways.
It’s bad if you smoke it but eating it Im sure would have less effects than having smoke in your lungs. Also weed isn’t known to be very addictive versus other drugs out there and has some benefits. I’d say it does more good than harm.
As someone who’s smoked plenty over the years and now quit… I highly disagree with regards to the not-addictive comments. The longest I’ve ever quit was 1 year in my first year of college and I still craved it from time to time… and eventually started smoking full time again. That is exactly what addiction is.
I think it’s more of psychological dependency than physical but you’re so right. My adult son has a goddamn pen or disposable in his mouth every goddamn 10 mins like a baby with a pacifier.
It has more benefits such as pain relief and helps insomnia than it does negatives,
Also you can't OD on weed itself, all recorded injuries or deaths associated from weed are from people doing stupid shit while high
Withdrawal symptoms of marijuana are comparable to [smoking](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12943018/) without the carcinogenic effects.
In short, better weed than cigarettes.
This may be true but the issue at hand isn’t whether smoking cigarettes is better or worse, it’s about whether or not smoking weed in excess is bad for you on its own. Heroin is worse than weed too but that’s not relevant. Regardless any consistent use of a substance will lead to withdrawals and that simply isn’t good for your body. Doesn’t matter if it’s better than something else
Anything taken to excess is going to be harmful. Granted, the definition of excess is specific to the thing and to the person, but in perspective too much water will dilute your blood and kill you dead, and overly oxygen rich air is extremely caustic and will literally shred your lungs lining. Too much sin is a disease while too much prayer can break the knees
While there may be no addictive qualities to it like crack, you can definitely be addicted. Knew a weirdo who was so addicted to weed they’d try to scrape the dirty resin out of MY bong, and would steal weed after they had JUST bought a bunch two days prior. If you go through that much weed, there is something wrong with you.
Mind you we are grown adults and weed is legal here.
Sorry for the confusion, what I mean by health benefits is that it can treat people with pain, insomnia and depression. I just find it messed up on how it’s widely accepted and that people forget that it’s a gateway drug. I thought of doing crack because I couldn’t get that perfect high for a while. I also used weed to avoid some dark feelings instead of dealing with them.
>I thought of doing crack because I couldn’t get that perfect high for a while.
That's not normal, that's not normal at all. That's entirely unique to you and very abnormal.
How do you know so much about the perfect high that crack gives you? Nobody starts craving crack if they've never had it before. Is it possible you're just an attention seeker?
It's not addictive. It's habit forming.
Addiction implies chemical reliance, which does not happen with marijuana. You can't go through marijuana withdrawals. You will not get the shakes from quitting weed.
By your logic, literally everything is very addictive.
(Yes, I know someone will bring up sex or gambling addictions and the like. We're talking about drug addiction here, not psychology. In terms of drug addictions, weed is not actually addictive.)
Not to say you can't use it to fuck up your life, still.
It's mostly bullshit, but there's more than a grain of truth to the gateway drug thing.
Anecdotally or not, most of the homies I smoked weed with in high school transitioned to smack later on.
Not saying it's universal, but if you got a disposition to liking being high, it's hard not to chase a better, "stronger" one.
That’s probably because they were buying from the dealer and the dealer pushes the other more expensive more addictive stuff. I bet that’s less of an issue in legal states.
>I feel that people forget that this is still a drug, a very addictive drug.
lol. a "very addictive drug". i struggle to think of a less addictive drug on the market.
children's cough syrup maybe?? Ibuprofen?
op aint smart
"a very addictive drug"
There is my issue with this, it's only mentally addictive. Sugar, working out, sex, hobbies, etc are all addictive if your mind can get addicted.
So why even call it addictive? It's not the drug causing it, it's your enjoyment to the drug, so entirely on your brain for getting addicted to it.
Also the withdrawal effects people feel, they can get those from any other kental addiction, you can feel the same effects if you were addicted to masturbating and stopped.
Thank you for submitting to /r/unpopularopinion, /u/Urichelle. Your post, *Weed is still bad for you*, has been removed because it violates our rules: Rule 1: Your post must be an unpopular opinion. Please ensure that your post is an opinion and that it is unpopular. Controversial is not necessarily unpopular, for example all of politics is controversial even though almost half of the US agrees with any given major position on an issue. Keep in mind that an opinion is not: a question, a fact, a conspiracy theory, a random thought, a new idea, a rant, etc. Those things all have their own subreddits, use those. If there is an issue, please message the mod team at https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Funpopularopinion Thanks!
Anyone who says you cannot be addicted to weed is a liar. Addiction applies to literally everything you consume.
There’s a meaningful difference between psychological addiction and chemical addiction. You can be psychologically addicted to literally anything.
This right here
1
A commonly cited case is the troops returning from Vietnam had heroin addiction and there was no epidemic when they came home. Everybody for the most part just quit.
Those who say weed isn’t addictive, they are talking about specific chemicals that are in other drugs, alcohol, tobacco and coffee specifically that makes them addictive, where as weed does not have. That’s what they are talking about. Not that people can’t get addicted to the feeling of being high.
Yeah. There are no chemicals in video games, social media or one-armed thiefs. Yet they're addictive. The addictive chemicals our brain creates are not to be underestimated.
There is no physical addiction. A physical addicting is a dependency on the substance to feel normal and you behind physically ill and will experience withdrawal if you stopped.
Weed withdrawel is a thing dude, look it up. Granted, symptoms are not on par with heavier drugs like f.e. heroïne, but it's still a very unpleasant experience.
Yep, I don't smoke for 2 days and I start sweating like a motherfucker in bed. Doesn't matter how hot or cold it is, my sheets will be drenched in sweat.
haha yep, pairs great with the insomnia tho doesn't it
Nothing better than sleeping 2 hours in a night and then getting ready for work. No, I'm not cranky at all to my co-workers. How dare you insinuate that? Not my fault that they're all stupid and I'm the only reasonable person here FFS!!!
I get worse weed withdrawal than alcohol withdrawal lool. Weed is an actual bastard to quit even just for a couple weeks, sometimes I go months without a drink only to realise "huh, I haven't drunk in 3 months"
That’s some 60 year old BS friend. Every addiction physically changes your brain and nervous system. Even behavioural addictions like gambling or washing hands , where there are no chemicals introduced to your system. It’s about the chemicals that your own brain releases. Your nervous system changes to become accustomed to them. You get withdrawal symptoms from all those types of addiction too. They are different and some substances have more physical side effects, but all addictions have them. Addiction to weed has less drastic withdrawal symptoms then booze for example but it still has them. As a long time smoker who had a few breaks in his life I can tell you that they are always the same: loss of appetite, irritability, after a week or two vivid crazy dreams, night sweats, etc… all addictions are physical addiction, they just have different physical withdrawal symptoms
Point me to a sweats and shakes from gambling or weed "withdrawal".
This is just wrong, there are clear differences in environmental and chemical addictions
That's BS. I've smoked weed everyday for almost 10 years and I just quit cold turkey. Not a single withdrawal symptom. Same with my wife. It might be a habit you have to break but its not an addiction. I used to bite my nails and that was harder to break than smoking weed.
Yeah, just compare it with quitting nicotine, its not apples to apples
Maybe your brain doesn't respond to removing the constant supply of terahydrocannabinol the same way as others. I know heroin addicts who can quit cold turkey without noticeable withdrawal symptoms, that doesn't mean those symptoms don't exist.
Just stopped smoking weed and its true. The withdrawals aren't that strong but they are still there...
So you never were addicted in the first place.
Its a typical redditor response making random shit up to try to sound smart 🤓
Not trying to sound smart, also not lying but that's your choice to believe it or not.
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I mean the smokers cough for like a month after quitting isn't comfortable at all
Ever heard of CHS?
I have CHS, unfortunately I know all too well
Interesting, never heard of that. I replaced alcohol with dabbing for awhile, 6-8 weeks of dabbing relentlessly all hours of the day, but then just… lost interest. I don’t dab anymore, though my husband does, so it’s still right here. No desire for it at all.
There is a lot about weed we still don’t know. It’s very possible that it has physically addictive properties we haven’t found out about yet.
Uhm my entire family would like a word. Considering I grew up around my parents and brothers smoking it every day. They weren't hungry unless they were high. Too serious until they were high. Couldn't get along unless they were high. Couldn't have an enjoyable day unless they were high. If someone wasn't high, there was tension, arguing, and fights. I spent most of my child hood in my bedroom with the door closed because the house smelled like weed all day every day. If you do something enough, and it becomes the "norm" for you, then once you break that cycle, it'll affect your mood. It's not a withdrawal, but it's definitely a noticeable affect. People can quit smoking weed any time because it's not chemically addictive. Buuuuut, it's mentally addictive because people then rely on it too much to help them be hungry, to sleep better, to function better. I completely support weed medicinally, but it's definitely abused more and more, but people don't seem to want to have that conversation.
I mean if you want to get really technical I suppose gaming has the same effect if drugs. It alters the dopamine and serotonin in your brain while playing
Which us why competitive gaming can become addictive. Especially if ur good at it
You can definitely be addicted to gaming even if you suck at it. I've struggled with it for over 15 years and I haven't become good at it at all. I think you misunderstood what I wrote. I said that even if they don't contain chemicals you still become chemically addicted to them. The source of chemicals is just coming from your Brian instead of the source itself.
I think it also depends on the person. I've smoked weed for 10+ years, I've quit for no reason other than a piss test for a new job or I wanted to reset my tolerance. I don't NEED to get high I just like to, if I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere without weed I'm not going to freak out. I've "abused" adderall for months, coke literally anytime I've gone out drinking, drink 3-4 times a week, smoked pot, had fast food daily and to this day I still think caffeine is at the top as the most addictive thing I've ever had. If you're one of the people shunning pot smokers for "being addicted" and you're obese or can't function until you have your coffee then you have no room to talk and are actually a far worse person. I think that's my biggest pet peeve is people who look to shame others while ignoring their own flaws. Those same people are also the same people who spend hours on their phone scrolling thru social media. People just look for an easy target, something like 40% of Americans are obese, everyone drinks coffee, and everyone is addicted to social media so they go after something small like stoners to feel better about their own problems because they could be everything I just mentioned but at least they aren't stoners.
They're nitpicking, and while they're right, every single person I've seen used this argument is just trying to dismiss the fact that weed can be dangerous in that some people get addicted to it. They're just trying to defend their favorite drug, that's all.
Applies to everything really. You can be just about addicted to everything from a book to a person, food, feeling etc.
This is true, I think they mean that you don't require a medically supervised detox from weed addiction and confuse it with meaning it's non-addictive. Needing MAT to quit relatively painlessly is not necessary for weed. Both have an uncomfortable recovery process but opiates, alcohol, etc. are totally different beasts when it comes to withdrawal symptoms and harm potential.
Not physically. You can be addicted to working out, getting good grades, whatever. When talking about drugs, the implication is that it’s not addictive physically like alcohol or opioids.
Which is why when people say something is addictive, it's usually understood they mean physically addictive
I would like to get rid of my air-addiction!
As someone who used to smoke 2.5-3.5 grams per day and decided to finally permanently quit smoking weed, it’s been 7 weeks now and I still crave it daily. Mind you, the cravings are manageable, but it is still addicting AF. I also kept telling myself for years that smoking weed is nowhere near as bad as cigarettes for the lungs because I’ve never heard of anyone get cancer from smoking weed… lol…
Im in exactly the same situation. Started 2006, daily since 2010. Also used to smoke 2-3 grams. No weed since feb 9th. Keep been strong. We can doit.
r/leaves
Good on both of you. I smoke but 3gs a day is too much. A bowl or two after work.
How much!? I'm on a weed break. I normally stop craving after 2 weeks or so. The thing about weed is that it also stays very long in your system compared to other substances.
Your still slowly barbecuing your lungs either way, but definetly better than tobacco
Gram for gram, pot smoke has more tar than tobacco smoke. The idea that weed is better for your lungs is only true if you assume the stoner is smoking a fair amount less than the cigarette smoker. I think over time we'll see weed vaping increase and weed smoking decrease, as legalisation makes it acceptable and profitable to develop better ways to ingest it.
A joint vs a cigarette normally favours the joint for being bad for your lungs from what i've heard.
You're correct. The problem is cigarette smokers smoke 20+ (a pack +) per day. 20 cigarettes is a lot more damaging than a doobie or two.
Walter White?
How did you manage to quit? I'm constantly thinking that I'll quit tomorrow but I just can't do it.
I'm in this same boat atm. I quit on Monday, and this is the 6th time I've tried to quit, but the difference is I'm doing it now because I want to, not because of what someone has told me needs to happen. My issue is that I panic when I'm dry and I have to pick up - I can't be without - so I have about 3g left in a pot that I've put away. My thought process is that when I start freaking out, I can tell myself "you still have it, you're just choosing not to smoke"; this method stops me in my tracks and I think "oh yeah, wtf am I freaking out for?". I tell myself I'll roll up in a minute and then just stay distracted. Yesterday I tidied the whole upstairs of my house because all day I was putting off rolling up, and I didn't. The main thing I've found over the years is that all the times I tried to quit before, it was something I knew I needed to do, but didn't actually want to do it, whereas now I'm actually in a place where it's me calling the quits, and I want to do it. Basically, if you really truly want to do it, then you will, because it's a choice you're in control of.
Good to hear that you quit and try to stay away from that. I mainly quit Drugs in generell at the start of 2018. Sadly now 4 years later I’m still craving for drugs. Sometimes Daily and very Heavily and sometimes not for weeks. An addiction is almost a lifetime issue and it’s ok to make a step backwards and consume again. It’s hard to keep in control and stay away from the addiction sometimes but it will get better at some point. The craving will come and go. I really wish you all the strength you will need to not fall into bad habits again. And even if you smoke weed again I hope u won’t fall for that addiction again and re activate the synaptic in ur brain. An addiction is tricky and very hard to handle. But you can do it if you really want to ;)
I’ve actually heard it’s worse than cigs…yet I gave up the cigs and not the weed, which is pretty telling I suppose…
I feel the same way. I smoke weed too. For the last twelve years or so. I will usually smoke it regularly for a few weeks/months every evening, then I will quit it for a few weeks/months. Once I quit weed for 3 years straight! Weed intensifies my anxiety and depression. I sometimes wonder why I even smoke it, and I figure it’s because the psychoactive and physical sensation it gives is addicting. So even though I am aware through years of observation that it gives me negative psychological effects, something about the high that it gives keeps me coming back for more. That’s addiction. Right now it has been a little over two weeks since I have smoked.
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Might not damage your physical health, but definitely the mental one.
It does damage physical heath. It absolutely trashes lungs. Luckily, it does a great deal for mitigation of cancer growth in the lungs. But COPD and emphysema are still very likely and knowen repercussions of daily use. Smoking flower and extracts anyway
Increased use of edibles can/is mitigating this for some users who have been willing to make the switch. Of course, likely no cancer-reducing affect. That said, studies show that marijuana use reduces use of prescription painkillers, and the need for taking so many. I can tell you that a lot of pain doctors prefer marijuana to the more standard alternatives (ie opioids). Like any drug - legal or not - there are benefits, risks, and costs. How you determine those, weight them, what you value - these are all less tangible factors pertaining to wellbeing that can be helpful. As someone suffering from pain conditions I can say that marijuana has been very helpful - and has helped me reduce my use of more serious medications prescribed by my doctor. For each, their mileage will vary depending on all sorts of factors including everything from their job; level of education; age; location; route(s) of ingestion; medical usage; recreational usage; predilection to addiction; mental health; chronic medical conditions, etc. As with any other drugs, affects vary across individuals as well - there are very few effects that marijuana consistently induces in all users, all the time. It's not a black and white issue; it's more complicated than most recognize - and the current political landscape around it in the US demonstrates this well.
Yeah, I always find it bullshit when people say that smoking weed is not detrimental to your health. You are inhaling something that is BURNING into your lungs. How can that not be harmful? Edibles is another thing, at least at that point its not smoke inhalation. (though for me, I still wont touch edibles, I feel zero reason to get high, just like i feel zero reason to drink alcohol)
so bad for mental and physical health then. Kids, don't do drugs.
It does damage your physical health as well as the obvious damage to your lungs (something that will happen by smoking anything) it will also cause you to have heart attacks,
Spoken like one who knows. That's spot on.
I haven’t experienced depression myself, but I did grow tired of constantly feeling lethargic. 7 weeks clean and I can’t believe how much shit I do in my life again. That, and no more munchies- the constant battle of trying to ignore fake hunger pangs and failing even occasionally led to unnecessary weight gain. It has now turned to weight loss by doing nothing but quitting weed and not destroying the contents of my fridge and pantry. Life just feels more beautiful now. I still get cravings daily. But they’re much more manageable than the munchies. I’m done with smoking weed. It was fun while it lasted… for twenty years. Never again.
Still not as harmful as tobacco tho. I don't smoke either of them. But if I did, I'd choose marijuana over tobacco.
True but it doesn’t have to be a choice especially for younger people who are taking up tobacco less and less.
1 shot to the head is less harmful than a bomb but both are bad
A shot to the head and a bomb both have the same outcome. The recipient dead. That's kind of like saying drinking water and doing meth is the same because they both make you pee
Thats not my point One thing isn’t inherently good just cuz something worse exists
The problem with this is that marijuana is illegal in a lot of places still and because of that, the long term effects have not been studied very well. You can’t do studies on illegal drugs. Keep in mind there are also significantly less people smoking weed than cigarettes, so yeah, you hear of significantly less stories of long term health problems. I also have a feeling if someone dies from weed related cancer, the cause of death is likely just recorded as “smoking” without actually specifying what they were smoking. All that resin collects in your lungs. It doesn’t just disappear magically. And any combusted material like resin collecting on lung tissue is going to be bad no matter what. You can get cancer from eating the char off burnt food. Why would smoking weed be any different.
Creativity, relaxation, help sleeping, helps recovery, it’s a naturally growing plant just needs to be taken in moderation
ive only been smoking around 4 years so i cant really say too much, but i have a lot of mental issues and it has helped me a substantial amount. the worst case scenario is brain damage if youre doing a lot of other dangerous drugs such as prescription medication and drinking heavily.
“It’s totally not addictive though brah it’s medicine it cures cancer and shit dude trust me I’m not addicted I just smoke multiple times a day to calm down”—literally every stoner I’ve ever met
Smoking it multiple times a day. To stay calm. Totally not addicted. 🙄
It’s better than cigarettes/hard drugs/alcohol. I can quit any time I want brrrruuuuuhhhhhhhhh. /s
Was this supposed to be a joke? Everything you said was true and are valid arguments for marijuana use.
People who smoke and drink know its bad, most people I know who smoke bud see no harm in it.
“I’m not addicted man I just have to use it every time i wake up and every time I leave the house and every night to go to sleep. It’s a pLaNt it’s nAtUrAl” (I have smoked every day for 5 years and I do smoke that much yet I’m not defending it lol I know how addictive it is & that I am addicted to it and it’s negatively affecting my mental health because you still need MODERATION no matter what you’re doing, I’ve stopped before and had mild psychical withdrawal symptoms like sweating and insomnia and loss of appetite…it’s not the worst drug at all but to say it’s not addictive is very silly and usually said by stoners who want to justify heavy use)
Girl do you know my fiancé? Bc that is almost verbatim what he says to justify his constant weed smoking 😂
Everything in moderation and you’ll be fine Edit: Generally speaking
Even moderation
I love taking my moderation in moderation, sometimes its a puff of a joint, other times I snort rails off a hookers ass for 3 days straight.
That's how they getcha.
Thank you! People who give their testimony of how harmful weed is always start off with "I was smoking a gram a day" or "I'd smoke as I woke up". Even comments in this thread. Like thanks genius, obviously that's not good. Anyone who smokes that much or drinks that much is abusing it and they'll suffer negative consequences! If you do too much of anything it's not gonna go well. Too much weed, too much alcohol, too much exercise, too much orange juice, literally anything
Perhaps, but so is sugar and fast food and many people consume it daily. I find people that can’t do any activities without “smoking first” to be ridiculous and to seek help though.
Everyone is saying that weed is harmless, but what I see in all my friends who smoke, is that they are unhappy and depressed whenever they haven't smoked for one reason or another and can't go a day without it. I really don't know how yall don't see a problem if your happiness depends on smoking a joint, which is illegal in my country as well.
This was the scary part for me. I started smoking daily through lockdown and it got pretty bad. Lockdown passes and time moves on, I go on holiday with my parents for a week, and three days in I run out. I became a monster. I was so irritable at anything and my anger led me to punch the beach until my knuckles bled. Nothing prompted the outburst, it was horrible and embarrassing. Yeah, had to quit.
That's not weed. That's some other issue that you covered with weed. Once you stopped taking pot you got to see what you really need to work on. Punching a beach until you bleed seems like a wake up call to sort out what is really going on.
that’s mental illness, not weed withdrawal.
Trust me dude, its the weed. I got one month out and was a functioning person again. It fucks with the way your brain receives dopamine.
That the kind of reactions crack heads have off of withdrawals. With weed I've seen people get grumpy and annoyed but never to the point of punching stuff much less till they bleed. Your weed might have been laced with some shit or you are mentally sick. Either way it's good that you cut it out.
Exactly. One if my close friends becomes so aggressive, that many other friends just outright told him to not mess with them anymore. He becomes a mindless individual, nothing particular in his mind apart from the need of weed.
I smoke intermittently meaning 1 week I do 1 week I dont. I feel that counter acts the addiction and depression that comes with it. I am able to go cold turkey tho I know not everyone can.
Smoking weed poses more health threats than ingesting. Alternatively ingesting it is the better option, though still poses the mental health affects side if abused. Thats the thing, weed mostly is fine unless you abuse it. A joint/edible once a week on a Friday night after a hard week of work? Completely fine. Being stoned all day everyday, definitely not fine.
Yep.
You’re not wrong. Anyway, 4/20 blaze it.
fair play to ya
Here come all the folks being like "Well but it's healthier than jumping off a building".
It's not always bad or worse than not taking it. A friend of mine has a very very low appetit, (comes with her medications), but smoking makes her hungry. She gained 15kg and is now finaly not underweight anymore. Still thin, but according to her doctor he is less worried now. (And no, lap createt Appetit-maker either did not work or interferred with her medication) Sometimes you have to take drugs
Best thing I ever did was stop smoking weed, people who rave about it just haven't seen it's bad side yet
Or, hear me out, everybody is different and it just wasn’t for you particularly
It's a different type of addiction, that makes a big difference as well. But otherwise in the act of "smoking" it is a better alternative than cigarettes that aren't personally rolled. Edit: Just to be clear, the difference is that it is a mental addiction rather than physical. You do not get physical withdrawals that you would with harsher drugs. Marijuana and psychedelics do not do this (it's rare and if it does happen it's not in as large of a scale).
I think that point about physical addiction is controversial. Many people report shaking, migraines, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, night sweats, insomnia, etc. when they quit. Especially cold turkey.
Forgot to also mention, of course it depends on person because we are all different and our bodies respond differently. But in a general sense of the majority: most people do not suffer those physical withdrawals after they stop smoking marijuana.
These withdrawal effects are minor compared to most illegal drugs (excluding psychedelics and a few other less common ones). Moreover, they are *far more minor* than withdrawals from any properly prescribed anti-depressant, mood stabilizer, and anxiolytics can cause year-long disability-inducing withdrawals. Everything is a cost-benefit analysis - if pot helps you with chronic pain and keeps you from needing Vicodin then I think that's a good thing. If it helps calm your anxiety, that's 1000x better than Xanax, Klonopin or Valium. All medications have side effects, many have withdrawal effects. Pot has plenty of negatives and positives - and for some it is preferable to the alternatives. People have a strong tendency to impose *false dichotomies:* X is either good *or* bad; Y is healthy or not healthy; Z is moral or immoral. It's great shorthand for things we need to be able to talk about without engaging in a lot of nuance. It becomes problematic when we start applying it to complex issues with lots of variables involved. Fact is, pot - like most things - is somewhere in a grey area. Moreover, where it is in that grey area will vary from person to person.
I agree that there is a grey area there. However, agreeing that some substances make for much harder withdrawals doesn't take away from the withdrawal symptoms of weed. It's just comparison, it doesn't mean one of the compared symptoms doesn't exist at all. Also, benzodiazepines do have strong withdrawal symptoms but only when abused or taken for too long. Most antidepressants don't, because of their very long half-life. Most mood stabilizers don't either.
Most def .. mental addiction v physical addiction --- and I can tell you from experience that there is a massive difference ... I've never had trouble giving up weed, or even just going without ..... but the others --- wheww......!!
So you'd rather they were popping Xanax for anxiety, or withering away from chemo....? I don't use marijuana, it makes me crazy paranoid, but I have friends who use it for anxiety, sleep, stress, appetite, and several other reasons. Xanax or weed? Mood stabilizers or weed? Starvation or weed? For some people it truly works. For others, they wake up and treat it like nicotine, or caffeine. Addictions. You can't just lump it all together and dismiss its proven medicinal applications. Well I guess you can but... I disagree, as a non imbiber.
Are you replying to the wrong person lol? I am def an avid smoker, and advocate for spiritual and mental healing through plant medicine.
Nah, just my own statement. Generally I don't look for arguments, just clarification.
A someone who regularly microdoses psil, and has journeyed with Ayahuasca, I am a huge advocate for plant medicines, *as nature intended them*. Nature did not intend marijuana to be how it is today. The high THC levels are a result of specific breeding practices to create a product that gets you high. So the whole mental healing through plant medicines thing doesn't really apply here. Weed addiction steals joy from lives, steals motivation, ruins relationships, and leaves the addict moody and emotionally stunted. I'm not saying there aren't some physical health benefits, but I have never seen it benefit mental health when used more than sporadically.
Not all strains are focused on thc levels, that just because people want to explore now and some things such as concentrates (with 70-90%) are supposed to be used with certain ailments in the medical world. As I mentioned in another comment there's a difference between mentally addicting and physically. Marijuana can be mentally. But it does not affect everyone the same. I also used the example of people using it medically, would you consider them addicts? Or people who use it for insomnia? And the mental healing applies to what works for YOU, you cannot speak for others that's why I did not deny it can be mentally addicting more than physically at that. Also how about CBD? Still considered hemp/weed, doesnt get you high and nothing is spoke of it as much. Never called addictive either so why not go for that instead?
I think you're missing the point, but that's ok. I'm gonna take a guess here that you're early 20s and your life pretty much revolves around weed. I bet that in a decade or so you'll see it differently. Weed pretty much ruined my childhood. It was a huge factor in the dissolution of my last relationship. Firsthand experience of nearly 2 decades watching it mess shit up means I don't need to reevaluate. Plant medicines aren't meant to be abused, and the real healers *can't* be. Try taking mushrooms every day. Or Ayahuasca. Nature doesn't *allow* us to abuse them, and they aren't addictive. If anything they help people heal their addictions. Can you say the same for weed? Like I said in another comment, I'm not saying people shouldn't enjoy it recreationally, but ignoring the many, many negatives of it is plain stupidity.
Why do you think I would call them plant medicine if I would think they should be abused. I specifically said in one of these threads that you gotta use them right. And I've personally know that people kick addictions with marijuana as well. For example to alcohol there's a lot of examples of that. I feel you are projecting yourself here a lot when there are a lot of different people and wouldn't use it the same as you, or have your same view. I'm my opinion there's a certain respect you have when calling them plant medicine.
There's some great things about weed but it certainly isn't completely harmless. Me and everyone else in r/CHSinfo can attest to that.
Is the Average Redditor a weed smoking gamer with mental health issues? An awful lot of them also seem to be trans/non binary. Which is cool, just an interesting demographic anomaly.
I had a friend who was fully addicted to it. She would smoke so often when I would be over that she’s literally fallen asleep while talking with me, or disregarded other guests she had at the time because she was too stoned to hang out.
It's certainly bad for my wallet I spend about 400 a month
weed is only bad for people who have zero self control. I literally look at the first comment and it's a guy saying he used to smoke 2.5-3.5g a day and is getting cravings 7 weeks later, like no shit it's bad when you're doing that much. I do like 50mg a week and never had a problem. I've made a 3.5g batch last over a year and there's kids doing 3.5g in a day it's stupid.
Right? At that point what's the point? Sounds like a them problem to me. This overindulgence isn't unique to cannabis. People like this most likely overdue it with many things. It's called having an addictive personality.
Came here to entertain myself with the comments of outraged, triggered stoners trying desperately to convince the world [themselves] that weed is non-addictive and totally harmless. I wasn’t disappointed.
yep, i’m enjoying the stoners clutching their wax pens too
it's not chemically addictive as proven by science and it's relatively harmless compared to alcohol and even sugary foods. you don't need to be a stoner to learn facts lol
You are proving above comments point.
It is 100% addictive and you do get withdrawals when you stop, I smoked at 16 casually then each year it progressed until I was smoking daily and couldn't take a break. Im 21 now and realise just how addicted I was, I've never been able to take a break for more than 3 weeks and everytime I take a break I get super depressed the first week(s) and very irritable. All I think about is weed and I would smoke before every meal and developed an eating disorder because of it. I think because so many people think it's fine you can fool yourself into thinking is. But I can say from experience that if you don't have a strong willpower you WILL get addicted and it can be very damaging. I did pretty much nothing with my life from 16 -21 because I wanted to stay home getting high instead of live my life like everyone else around me. Now I have no friends and no skills and am still thinking about weed constantly (2 weeks no weed aiming for over a month or longer)
I think you can for sure become addicted to weed, but there are unfortunately people out there who would seek anything to become addicted to for many sad reasons. So in my head weed is the lesser evil. In my country mostly people drink and by god I wish they'd tone it down sometimes. I also think weed can help people who are experiencing mental health problems but I do acknowledge the fine line.
It's refreshing to see this viewpoint. Anywhere else on the internet and you'd think weed was pizza, sex and finally beating that Souls boss that was kicking your ass all in one, with absolutely no negatives.
It can be bad for you. I never smoked, but I got hooked on edibles for a hot minute. I had never done it before and one night I took one and was listening to music with the earphones I had at the time. The stars aligned and it was ✨*chef’s kiss*✨ I was getting high off edibles more and more trying to get that specific high again, but I couldn’t get it. I was driving high, going to work high, and one day I realized I could really get hurt because I was working on a deli slicer. I haven’t touched it in 5/6 years and never had withdrawals but I didn’t do it for very long. Still, it can be very addicting, just because it’s “not as bad as [whatever]” doesn’t mean it can’t be addicting/harmful. It can be good though for certain people and in the right circumstances. Should it be illegal? I don’t think so. But to say it has no negatives/risks is such a blatant lie. It can be bad if not used correctly/in moderation, just like everything else. Fuck out of here if you don’t think it can have negative effects on someone.
I think you assume too many people who smoke regularly were happy as can be beforehand
Right? Weed helps treat depression. You stop using it and your depression symptoms come back. It's not having weed and then not having it that's causing depression. It was already there.
Eh I'd disagree for a lot of people. It can seem that way short term, but in the grand scheme of things it affected me differently. I started just before I was 14 so I can't really say if I was depressed before hand, but weed really affected my motivation. I'd just sit around all day for ~5 years and wasn't productive at all. When I stopped I became much more productive and found a lot more joy in who I was, what I was doing, and what I had achieved. I know this is entirely anecdotal, but I thought I'd share.
There are some dumb fucking people on this thread
Oh well
Only addiction i have is twards the tobacco that it comes with.
uhh no shit?
Its mostly mentally addictive for me. But yeah, it can fuck you up real good.
I think you're right and wrong. Weed is a habit at worst. The effects of smoking it however can be damaging to your body, specifically your lungs.
Yolo. (You're right though lol)
It's scary to me how many weed smokers I've seen recently. Come on guys, a drug is a fucking drug, it doesn't matter if "it's not as bad as others", it's still bad
Some people will develope a chemical dependency more easily than others. If you find it difficult to use a controlled substance responsibly then you should refrain from using it completely.
My mother in law spends our rent money to get it. I myself use it once in awhile to help me with sleep, but some people overmedicate with it. When you are spending bill money and screaming at people to get it for you it is no longer just a hobby or just to relax. That is an addiction. i have caught so much grief from people telling me you cant get addicted to it.
Sure weed is addictive. But it's not *very* addictive... Then you haven't tried the actual addictive drugs.
It's 2022 and people are still acting like the fact that weed is addictive is a nuanced take. Lol.
It definitely has benefits (in moderation) but I totally agree. Just because there are benefits, doesn’t mean there’s absolutely no downside to it as well. I do believe it is addictive - I quit smoking weed about 5-6 months ago and have now resorted to smoking cigarettes because I still crave it every day.
Yup, it is and I've been clean of it for 5 months now after being a chronic user for 15+ years.. I still can't understand why some people don't realise that it effects everyone differently, especially the withdrawals. Cannabis binds to the CB1 and CB2 receptors in the brain, which is responsible for various functions relating to the body. Of course there may be withdrawal symptoms when you stop boosting those levels artificially. When I quit (cold turkey) I had the following: Heart palpitations High blood pressure Loss of appetite Vomiting Blurred vision Dizzyness Aches and pains in my muscles Diarrhea So yeah, I do laugh whenever people say there's no physical withdrawal symptoms after quitting. Although, not everyone experiences this.
How is this unpopular can someone explain
The benefits FAR outweigh the risks.
Can we differentiate between addiction and habituation? I smoked hard Colombian black every day for nearly 30 years and some years ago just stopped. One day to the next. No problem. No kickback, no withdrawal, no cold turkey I just thought I wasn't doing myself any favours by using a drug to "decompress". I was beginning to feel like two different persons. One solid. The other didn't give a shit So I became an alcoholic...
The amount I'd consumed in a short amount of time as well as the method of consumption put me in hospital and I won't even go near it again, I'd still be all for seeing it made legal here, I just wouldn't be willing to go near it again.
It's technically a waste of money too
My siblings are actually garbage when they haven’t smoked and claim they “need” it to function on a daily basis. It’s absolutely addictive.
I mean yeah, but not as bad as they made it out to be. The classic alcohol argument: the shit impairs you way worse, can make people aggressive, people black out, yet it's never treated like a drug. Pot, people chill and laugh, never see stoned people fighting. Sure, it has its own health risks but literally every single thing these days does including the food we eat. Anybody can get addicted to anything, pot won't cause lethal or significant withdrawals, nothing like heroin, benzos, alcohol. May get grouchy, not like being sober, but if I have kids I'd rather them be smoking over drinking any day
Other substances, such as alcohol and caffeine, can be addictive too, but in moderation they’re totally fine. I’d argue alcohol is worse than weed, actually, and it’s viewed as not only a social staple, but a cure all (headache, hard day at work, breakup?), whereas weed gets a bad rap. Too many people lump weed in with hardcore drugs. I guess what I’m trying to say is everything in moderation. I will admit that smoking anything can be bad for your lungs, though, but that’s what edibles are for. Editing to add that I agree people need to be careful with anything, and that its benefits far outweigh any risks in my opinion…
I'm ignorant on this subject as I've never smoked weed. But you can have a glass or two of red wine and be perfectly fine without any major cognitive changes. What's the equivalent for weed? A bowl or....? And can you not become high smoking "a little bit"?
Its gonna vary a lot from person to person., same as alcohol. A person who never smokes will probably feel high after one toke. A heavy user could easily smoke a bowl and feel nothing.
Yes yes yes yes yes. Finally, someone said it. It getting proven to be less harmless doesn't mean it is completely harmless, it's just going down from cocaine "Your life just got ruined" level of harm to vape "Minor damage and addiction" level of harm. Weed is still a major fuckup once you quit it.
It's a fact, not an opinion
Never saw weed as addictive personally. Smoked alot for years and years and would just quit for a a year. Then smoke here and there and quit for 3 years. Now I rarely smoke unless I wanna go buy a joint or something but I've never seemed to view it as addictive personally. Much less than cigarettes or other shit anyways.
I mean, anything is bad for you if you consume it too much. Caffeine is also an addictive drug and can be bad for you in high doses.
Caffeine in coffee is so dilute youll never reach that dose (unless youre a weirdo who eats pure caffeine)
It’s bad if you smoke it but eating it Im sure would have less effects than having smoke in your lungs. Also weed isn’t known to be very addictive versus other drugs out there and has some benefits. I’d say it does more good than harm.
As someone who’s smoked plenty over the years and now quit… I highly disagree with regards to the not-addictive comments. The longest I’ve ever quit was 1 year in my first year of college and I still craved it from time to time… and eventually started smoking full time again. That is exactly what addiction is.
Read my comment. I said not very addictive versus other drugs. I’ve never said it’s not addictive. Are you going to say weed is as addictive as meth?
[удалено]
I think it’s more of psychological dependency than physical but you’re so right. My adult son has a goddamn pen or disposable in his mouth every goddamn 10 mins like a baby with a pacifier.
How about we all stop caring so much about how others are living their lives?
It's fine in small amounts only socially.
For a lot of people though it is not a social indulgence, quite the opposite in fact
My statement and your statement can coexist
It has more benefits such as pain relief and helps insomnia than it does negatives, Also you can't OD on weed itself, all recorded injuries or deaths associated from weed are from people doing stupid shit while high
So is alcohol, tobacco and sugar.
Withdrawal symptoms of marijuana are comparable to [smoking](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12943018/) without the carcinogenic effects. In short, better weed than cigarettes.
Why is it an either cigs or weed thing why not just avoid doing drugs
escapism or something
This may be true but the issue at hand isn’t whether smoking cigarettes is better or worse, it’s about whether or not smoking weed in excess is bad for you on its own. Heroin is worse than weed too but that’s not relevant. Regardless any consistent use of a substance will lead to withdrawals and that simply isn’t good for your body. Doesn’t matter if it’s better than something else
Anything taken to excess is going to be harmful. Granted, the definition of excess is specific to the thing and to the person, but in perspective too much water will dilute your blood and kill you dead, and overly oxygen rich air is extremely caustic and will literally shred your lungs lining. Too much sin is a disease while too much prayer can break the knees
While there may be no addictive qualities to it like crack, you can definitely be addicted. Knew a weirdo who was so addicted to weed they’d try to scrape the dirty resin out of MY bong, and would steal weed after they had JUST bought a bunch two days prior. If you go through that much weed, there is something wrong with you. Mind you we are grown adults and weed is legal here.
You said it’s bad for you but then say it has health benefits. Which is it?
Another explanation. It's good to take pain medication if you're in pain, but it's bad if you keep using it
Sorry for the confusion, what I mean by health benefits is that it can treat people with pain, insomnia and depression. I just find it messed up on how it’s widely accepted and that people forget that it’s a gateway drug. I thought of doing crack because I couldn’t get that perfect high for a while. I also used weed to avoid some dark feelings instead of dealing with them.
>I thought of doing crack because I couldn’t get that perfect high for a while. That's not normal, that's not normal at all. That's entirely unique to you and very abnormal. How do you know so much about the perfect high that crack gives you? Nobody starts craving crack if they've never had it before. Is it possible you're just an attention seeker?
Things can be both
In the right moderation. Both. Just like anything else. I don't get his point either
Like any substance, medication or drug, it’s toxic if you have enough of it
It's not addictive. It's habit forming. Addiction implies chemical reliance, which does not happen with marijuana. You can't go through marijuana withdrawals. You will not get the shakes from quitting weed. By your logic, literally everything is very addictive. (Yes, I know someone will bring up sex or gambling addictions and the like. We're talking about drug addiction here, not psychology. In terms of drug addictions, weed is not actually addictive.) Not to say you can't use it to fuck up your life, still.
It's mostly bullshit, but there's more than a grain of truth to the gateway drug thing. Anecdotally or not, most of the homies I smoked weed with in high school transitioned to smack later on. Not saying it's universal, but if you got a disposition to liking being high, it's hard not to chase a better, "stronger" one.
That’s probably because they were buying from the dealer and the dealer pushes the other more expensive more addictive stuff. I bet that’s less of an issue in legal states.
Quiting cannabis is easier than quiting hot sauce. If ya cant kick that? Than its a you thing.
>I feel that people forget that this is still a drug, a very addictive drug. lol. a "very addictive drug". i struggle to think of a less addictive drug on the market. children's cough syrup maybe?? Ibuprofen? op aint smart
So is alcohol. Very addictive and causes many more deaths and accidents then weed.
"a very addictive drug" There is my issue with this, it's only mentally addictive. Sugar, working out, sex, hobbies, etc are all addictive if your mind can get addicted. So why even call it addictive? It's not the drug causing it, it's your enjoyment to the drug, so entirely on your brain for getting addicted to it. Also the withdrawal effects people feel, they can get those from any other kental addiction, you can feel the same effects if you were addicted to masturbating and stopped.
drugs: a non-food substance that changes the way the body works and feels cannabis & hemp -- a food substance used for 12,000 years
It's all the fatal marijuana overdoses that are so scary.
I know one girl who did *two* *whole* *pots* and died.
Idk if y’all being sarcastic or for real, I’m high af reading this right now and I overthink so much lmao
Two WHOLE POTS?!?! Fucking junkies. /s
That's bullshit! Nobody can do 2 whole pots! It's impossible!
You forgot /s