What Does Marijuana Addiction Mean?
Marijuana addiction is a rare occurrence, but it does affect some users who partake in marijuana. Like all addictions, marijuana addiction occurs when the user feels like they must consume their chosen substance to feel like their 'normal self'. With a marijuana addiction, a person usually suffers negative side effects once they try to abstain from their addiction.
There is an ongoing debate as to whether or not marijuana can be addictive. The National Institutes of Health reports that marijuana is indeed real, but it has admitted that it occurs far less frequently than with other substances. For instance, 24% of people who try heroin become addicted. It’s only 9% for marijuana users.
However much safer marijuana might be than other drugs, or even alcohol, it can still be an addictive substance.
Maximum Yield Explains Marijuana Addiction
Most of the cannabis industry puts forth that marijuana is safer than other options out there, including alcohol, which enjoys much greater acceptance in society. While it is true that marijuana is safer, there is no denying the fact that its use can be addictive. In reality, the best term to use here is probably cannabis dependence, rather than marijuana addiction, though.
Dependence is defined as a situation in which you use a particular substance or product for the long-term in order to attain a state of normalcy. Not using the substance leaves you feeling off or abnormal. Almost anything can be addictive/dependence forming, as well. Modern science has proven that even substances as seemingly harmless as caffeine and sugar can be habit forming.
However, marijuana addiction seems to be more about habits and their formation, rather than any sort of physiological symptoms. It’s more about psychology than it is about physical dependence.
With that being said, there are contributing factors that make some people more likely to become addicted (to any substance). Those factors include mental health disorders, such as depression, severe anxiety, and other mental health disorders.
Concerned that you might be addicted to cannabis? Try cutting it out for a week. Do you feel irritable? Are you unable to function? On other hand, are you spending too much money each week on cannabis? These are all signs that you might have an addiction problem.
