There remains some lingering doubt about the true nature of marijuana addiction.
Scientists now know that marijuana does induce a psychological addiction with heavy use.
You get accustomed to the effects of the drug and eventually come to need these effects for normal functioning, but whether or not it's physically addictive is not yet conclusively known.
Psychological Addiction Users do come to need the drug to function normally, and once psychologically addicted, they will start to feel symptoms of withdrawal within a day of their last joint.
You get accustomed to the anxiolitics properties of the drug, and when you can't have it, start to feel very anxious.
Many people also come to use marijuana as a coping tool for the stresses of life, and find that with time they rely on and need marijuana to deal with everyday and normal trials of daily existence.
Cannabis smokers do develop a heavy tolerance to the drug, and a chronic user will consume as much as 10 times the quantity in a session as an inexperienced user.
The greater the quantity of the drug smoked the greater the risks of addiction, and with heavy use and time, marijuana users may find themselves psychologically dependent on the drug, and will need to endure a significant period of withdrawal pains when they attempt to quit.
Physical Addiction Far less certain is the case for physical addiction.
The pains of marijuana withdrawal are physical in nature, and fundamentally, whether or not the addiction occurs through physical changes in the brain matters little to the addict going through detox.
Scientists have identified some long term neurological changes to the dopamine systems of the brain as a consequence of heavy cannabis use, but whether or not this qualifies as physical dependence is still open to interpretation.
Marijuana addiction is very real.
Scientists now know that marijuana does induce a psychological addiction with heavy use.
You get accustomed to the effects of the drug and eventually come to need these effects for normal functioning, but whether or not it's physically addictive is not yet conclusively known.
Psychological Addiction Users do come to need the drug to function normally, and once psychologically addicted, they will start to feel symptoms of withdrawal within a day of their last joint.
You get accustomed to the anxiolitics properties of the drug, and when you can't have it, start to feel very anxious.
Many people also come to use marijuana as a coping tool for the stresses of life, and find that with time they rely on and need marijuana to deal with everyday and normal trials of daily existence.
Cannabis smokers do develop a heavy tolerance to the drug, and a chronic user will consume as much as 10 times the quantity in a session as an inexperienced user.
The greater the quantity of the drug smoked the greater the risks of addiction, and with heavy use and time, marijuana users may find themselves psychologically dependent on the drug, and will need to endure a significant period of withdrawal pains when they attempt to quit.
Physical Addiction Far less certain is the case for physical addiction.
The pains of marijuana withdrawal are physical in nature, and fundamentally, whether or not the addiction occurs through physical changes in the brain matters little to the addict going through detox.
Scientists have identified some long term neurological changes to the dopamine systems of the brain as a consequence of heavy cannabis use, but whether or not this qualifies as physical dependence is still open to interpretation.
Marijuana addiction is very real.