Also, I get that your intention is to have an honest airing of the issue but unfortunately, it does come off as a little alarmist. And really the point is that even you admit that at the peak of your usage you were still a functioning member of society. Somebody with the equivalent habit in say heroin or crack would probably be dead real soon and would likely be a net drag on society. In that light the addictiveness and impact of pot is so close to negligible that it’s hardly even worth mentioning. Aside from the whole truth in arguments issue that is. Anyway, it’s still a good debate.

I bring it up not to alarm people, but because informed debates are better than debates filled with falsehoods and misinformation. This isn’t too important for this issue, but when it comes to the legalisation debate “marijuana isn’t addictive” only makes it easier to fault the entire pro-legalisation cause.

I ran into the shorter comment further down and wrote something in response. It is largely irrelevant now BUT I did still want to reiterate that for the other 95-90% of users the “addictiveness” of cannabis is basically not even an issue. Most people I know quit easily and freely without all the backlash that you seem to experience.

I’m not saying you are wrong, but I am saying that you are in a special case classification and your experiences alone should not be reason to alarm the larger populous with outlier level claims that pot is addictive in the way that people think of other “hard” drugs to be addictive.

Addiction is physical, chemicals in your brain, they control how you think. This is a physical process. Additionally…

Firstly, right from the horses mouth: plenty of users report withdrawal symptoms. You can search forums all around, you’ll see the same sorts of symptoms, in amongst plenty of idiotic dismissals “I quit weed after smoking for 10 years and didn’t experience anything, you must be full of…”. Interestingly the withdrawal symptoms are very similar to nicotine withdrawal: agitation and irritability, insomnia, loss of apetite and , fidgetiness, etc. Of course no body ever claims nicotine is only psychologically addictive.

Secondly, many scientific studies have outlined marijuana dependence. Here’s one decent one that isn’t behind a paywall.

Thirdly, (I know you didn’t make this claim, but other people in this comment thread have, and it is regularly bandied in the debate), if something is addictive, there is some element of physical addiction. There is no such thing as pure “psychological addiction”. The brain is part of your body; if it is saying “I’m not going to let you sleep and you’ll be an irritable shit for the next three days” this is a physical symptom. Other drugs such as opiates and alcohol might produce more serious, debilitating effects such as spasms, weak muscles, fevers, etc; but this only means one set of symptoms are milder than another, it does not mean one set of symptoms are physical and the other is psychological. If you disagree with this statement, then I ask “what nicotine withdrawal symptom is physical?” because the symptoms are very similar to marijuana withdrawal.

The truth of the matter is that marijuana can be and is addictive to some users. The studies I’ve read usually seem to bandy the amount between 9-20% of users and usually there is some kind of caveat about the level of use (i.e. 20% of everyday smokers compared to 9% of occasional). Additionally, of users that do report withdrawal symptoms, they’re usually fairly mild and are not a significant health risk. They’re certainly milder than opiate addiction, alcohol addiction and less prevalent than nicotine addiction. They do however, cause marijuana to be very difficult for some users to give up, especially as its the sort of drug that once you have some dependence its pretty easy to function on normally.

I’ve certainly experienced withdrawal symptoms back when I was trying to stop being an all day everyday smoker. I’d pretty much be guaranteed three or four nights of very restless sleep, a few days barely able to keep food down and a week without any real apetite, and a good fortnight of being in a shit-house mood that only gradually improves. Now if I go through a fairly heavy stint of use (say a little every night for 2-3 weeks) I’ll force myself to stop for a while knowing that if I don’t withdrawals will be worse. After forcing myself to stop I’ll be a bit grumpy for a few days, I’ll have one or two crappy nights sleep and I’ll be less hungry than usual for a day or two, but I’ll still be able to eat.

Can you provide some evidence? Thanks!

Additionally, I don’t think you have to worry. The spike won’t be *that* great. No one is going to notice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiHhX4PdV7k&feature=player_embedded

I am big fan of concentrates. It is delightful to see them covered on boing boing. I cover concentrates and other advanced smoking topics at weedist.com

http://www.weedist.com/author/diablodabsseattle/

IG/Twit : @diablodabs

The less generous side of me wishes to tell you to go fornicate with your own rear end but I think your head might still be there.

/mean

One morning i drove my gf to work after smoking 2 or 3 cones (bowls in US speak) in a row *ducks flying objects*. On the way a concrete truck lost a bunch of gravel down the slide at the back sending rocks flying into and chipping my windshield. I thought that it was particularly dangerous and that I should inform the cops. Most people wouldn’t visit the heart of darkness (police station) while seriously baked but to me it just isn’t a thing. I went in there to make a complaint. The cop on duty would have had NO idea I was baked. This is backed up by the countless times I’ve been breath tested (while blazed) and the cops had nfi.

The point is that if you ignore the nagging brain that is making you second guess yourself and force yourself to behave with confidence and clarity it is very easy to overcome. I’ve regularly talked to deans, bosses, police, you name it – all completely blazed and all without any incident.

FWIW knifing hash is basically the same thing going on in this video… Make metal red hot, put burny stuff on it, breathe. I too prefer buds but I can see how this could have uses for casual smokers. The best way to reduce the health impacts of smoking anything is by smoking less of it. It is by this same principal that I prefer the most stanky chronic shit money can buy because I’ll smoke less plant matter than if I get mild ‘bush bud’. If you were someone who wanted to continue to get blazed but significantly reduce the health impacts of your vice then wax or hash would be the way to go.

I like patting kittehs because most times I patted the kitteh it was soft and purry.. So when I think of patting kittehs I get a good feeling and want to pat a kitteh again. This doesn’t mean I’m addicted to patting kittehs.

For folks who need the medication for pain or other serious issues and who have respiratory issues I’m given to understand that wax or oil as it is used and when properly made is a lot easier on them. But for casual users? For my it’s no better than being pretty much instantly too fucked up to enjoy yourself.

I am told it has very little odor which is nice. I love and hate the smell of weed.

Well, except, unlike crack it’s … well, first, it’s cannabis and therefore nothing like crack.

Hence, “The optics are terrible.” Optics = appearances, not actuality. And the optics are: take the plant, refine it with solvents into little rocky-looking bits, fire them up in a glass pipe with a blow torch, inhale the smoke. It looks exactly like freebasing. Media portrayals are not about subtleties, especially in an enforcement culture that still defines marijuana as a “narcotic.”

Also, this is not *at all* new.

Which is why I wrote, “The concentrates aren’t really a new thing, but their spike in popularity is.” Again: it’s not about what is, it’s about what it might seem. Assume that the most fearful inference is what will get the most play.

…we shouldn’t let idiots make laws about this sort of thing based on some stupid notion that it sort of kind of maybe except not really vaguely looks like crack.

The point of my comment was that the media will report based on what things look like, not on what they are, and I anticipate that the “idiots” who make policy will latch onto this.

“Should” has nothing to do with it.

There is a third called Ruderalis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_ruderalis

it is mentally addictive, but not physically addictive.

//smoker

I prefer just regular ol’ weed.  It’s cheaper and easier to deal with.  But earwax and hash and the like are fun treats every now and again.