Can Cannabis be Addictive? Who Gets Addicted and Why?

For the past few months, cannabis has been legalized and used for its medicinal use. It has become a popular alternative treatment for a range of serious medical conditions including chronic pain, arthritis, depression, anxiety and even cancer.

But what do you do when this use becomes abuse?

For some people quitting cannabis is no big deal. According to a cannabis consumer, George, “if you stopped consuming chocolate, you would certainly crave for it, but it doesn’t mean you are addicted to it. The same is true for cannabis.”  

There are millions of people who can pick up and put down cannabis pretty quickly. People who have been using cannabis to treat their medical conditions that qualify for 420 evaluations in San Francisco often find it easy to quit it if they have been consuming it in moderation.

However, it’s not true for everyone. For some, cannabis becomes addictive.

A writer Kitty Gray confessed in an article published on Vice in 2015 saying, “I have been psychologically addicted to cannabis for more than 10 years now.” She further added, “if I need to watch TV, do chores around the house, practice self-love, forget a terrible experience, calm myself down, be amused, relax, sleep, eat or do anything: I smoke cannabis.”

A study conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse suggests that 30% of medical cannabis consumers might have some level of cannabis use disorder. It also suggested that people who are below 18 years are 4 to 7 times more likely to become addicted to cannabis. The potential of these people to develop cannabis use disorder is more than adults.

Specialists even believe that regular use and higher levels of THC can result in increased physical dependence for the consumer. A cannabis user might have problem quitting it, experience more cravings for it especially when can’t have it, and might need to consume more of it to get the same results.

Cannabis use disorder

Cannabis use disorders are usually related to dependence – in which a consumer experiences withdrawal signs when not using the herb. The consumers of cannabis who use it frequently usually report restlessness, cravings, decreased appetite, sleep and mood difficulties, irritability and other types of physical discomfort that increase within the first few days after quitting and often last for more than 3 weeks.

Medical marijuana addiction happens when the brain gets used to higher quantity of the drug by lowering the creation of and sensitivity to its own neurotransmitters in the endocannabinoid system. When the person is unable to stop consuming cannabis even though it impedes daily life activities of his or her life, he or she becomes addicted to the drug.

How can you become addicted to cannabis?

Let’s get one thing straight – cannabis is much less dangerous than tobacco and other addictions. And no one has ever died from its addiction. While it’s amazing to know that it’s safe to use, it also misguides that cannabis addiction doesn’t exist. And this isn’t true. Like any other drug, it also has a potential to get abused and make the consumer addictive.

Some signs of cannabis addiction include:

• Continuing to use in spite of the first health-related problem it causes
• Unable to stop cannabis use
• Medical marijuana tolerance and withdrawal
• Consuming more medical marijuana than intended
• Using medical marijuana to handle daily problems
• Depending on cannabis to relax
• Spending a lot of time smoking cannabis

Chronic cannabis use

Wondering what is chronic cannabis use? Well, there is no widely accepted or comprehensive definition of chronic cannabis use. However, it simply means using cannabis for a prolonged period of time.

Here are the characteristics of a chronic cannabis use:

• Smoking an average of 10 ± 8 joints per day
• Smoking for 12 ± 9 years.

Experts suggest that an addicted person is someone who has tried to quit it many times but always failed. So, it represents that a person is addicted to cannabis when she smokes more than 10 joints per day. And he or she has been doing so for over 10 years but failed to quit it successfully.

Another factor that contributes to cannabis addiction is lack of responsibility skills. “People who are not involved in social networks, have families or jobs have higher addiction rates,” says Carl Hart, a psychology associate professor at Columbia University.   

Experts have been investigating the health effects of cannabis addiction, but could only find limited proof on this drug addiction.

Here’s what is found:

When you consume cannabis continuously for many days, it gets stored in the fatty tissue of the body. THC, one of the popular cannabinoids of the cannabis herb is then slowly emitted into the bloodstream.

Conclusion

Even though cannabis addiction is not very common, it is real and can be sometimes dangerous. Moreover, while some don’t have withdrawal symptoms, some have to seek treatment to get rid of the addiction. Thus, one should prevent cannabis addiction while using it to treat their medical condition qualifying for 420 evaluations in San Francisco and should know when it’s time to quit.