It’s weird that people are trying to distinguish between chemical and psychological addiction. Addiction is addiction. It’s all tied together. Every addictive thing is chemically addictive and the chemical is called dopamine.
It’s weird that people are trying to distinguish between chemical and psychological addiction. Addiction is addiction. It’s all tied together. Every addictive thing is chemically addictive and the chemical is called dopamine.
Correct. Addiction is when something has a serious negative effect on very important parts of a person's life, and they can't stop doing that thing. Whether it's physical withdrawal or psychological withdrawal preventing them from stopping, makes little difference. The destructive effects are the same.
When we say that a thing which does not create changes in our physiology that produce pain, sickness, and even death upon sudden withdrawal, we are speaking metaphorically-- i.e. we are saying that the desire to do X is so intense that it feels physical.
With pot (as with cocaine, sugar, fat, masturbation, etc) the question of physical addiction is not the correct one. The question is why some people find pot and any of these other things-- things that don't produce acute physical pain and discomfort upon withdrawal-- preferable to a reality without them. And the answer always has more to do with that objective reality than with the character, or whatever, of the individual him/herself. Why is contemporary life so empty for so many of us that even a few mins of easy pleasure is endlessly, repeatedly, preferable to experiencing it unmediated? As someone prominent in the movies business once said to me about cocaine, it only becomes a serious problem for you if it's the best thing in your life. And, apparently, even for some very famous and successful actors, it was!
That is "When we say that a thing which does not create changes in our physiology that produce pain, sickness, and even death upon sudden withdrawal is addictive, we are speaking metaphorically-- i.e. we are saying that the desire to do X is so intense that it feels physical.
No it's not Mr. Semantics. The results of a physically addictive drug are physical (sweating, vomiting, the shakes). The results of mentally addictive drugs are mental, i.e. it's harder to tolerate your lame posts, couched in repressed fear of pot and other things you don't understand.
Pot addiction has plenty of physical withdrawal symptoms: head ache, nausea, etc. You’re altering biochemistry, and that manifests in a number of physical and psychological ways. The brain is the most important part of the body. You can’t damage that and not expect adverse impacts.
A headache? Nausea? OH NO!
You do not get headaches or nausea stopping pot. There are no adverse affects from stopping. You are either lying, delusional or a hopeless anachronism.
Just came to say this. Maybe not physically addictive, but there is a definite psychological addiction that occurs over time. The daily stoners who need it to cope, relax, chill, motivate, get creative, there's a laundry list of excuses why they have to take a hit.
Of course there is. The same can be said for caffeine and even sugar.
Moderation is key with most drugs. Things like heroin and fentanyl should probably be avoided entirely, but weed is fairly tame. It’s also much easier for me personally to moderate than alcohol, and even easier than sugar for that matter. More people are addicted to twinkies and McD’s value meals than pot.
And yet no one argues whether sugar, or unhealthy junk food, is addictive. Yet some will argue vociferously that marijuana is not in any way addictive. All evidence to the contrary - a massive subculture of people willing to give up almost any semblance of productivity in order to get high each and every day.
A tangent here: I dislike smoke in general and find myself avoiding - even suddenly dodging - smoke from people smoking pot, cigarettes, cigars, vaping, etc. I might be OK with incense in a church but in general I am annoyed when smokers are anywhere close to me.
I find church incense deeply disturbing and to be terrible for my lungs, almost as bad as the sermon is for my brain. Give me some second hand pot smoke any day.
According to recent studies Pot has a direct correlation to psychosis and further mental health issues. Yes, of course you can argue they were already mentally ill and thus the correlation. Alex Berenson has a very solid book on this topic.
According to recent studies Pot has a direct correlation to psychosis and further mental health issues. Yes, of course you can argue they were already mentally ill and thus the correlation. Alex Berenson has a very solid book on this topic.
The fact that there are higher rates of addiction / use disorder as THC content is increased is a clear indication that THC is addictive.
I think one of the biggest failures of the war on drugs and the anti-drug messages from the 80's and 90's was the failure to recognize that each person's risk tolerance is going to be the biggest determining factor in whether they will experiment with illegal drugs or not.
The pure fantasy of the "gateway drug" whether invented to scare people away from weed, or as a misreading of data on drug addicts, it failed to address the real issue. The theory that someone will smoke weed then crave the next big high, so they start shooting up heroin sounds like something invented out of the brain of someone that has never smoked pot or even sipped a beer.
Of course there is. The same can be said for caffeine and even sugar.
Moderation is key with most drugs. Things like heroin and fentanyl should probably be avoided entirely, but weed is fairly tame. It’s also much easier for me personally to moderate than alcohol, and even easier than sugar for that matter. More people are addicted to twinkies and McD’s value meals than pot.
And yet no one argues whether sugar, or unhealthy junk food, is addictive. Yet some will argue vociferously that marijuana is not in any way addictive. All evidence to the contrary - a massive subculture of people willing to give up almost any semblance of productivity in order to get high each and every day.
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