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- NikoKun, on 03/22/2008, -20/+173There is no true addiction for Marijuana... At least nothing more than any other enjoyable activity. Sex is more addicting, and we are programed by evolution to desire that...
The only thing that makes Marijuana even remotely addictive, is that it's enjoyable.
Ask anyone to give up their favorite enjoyable hobbies, and you can be darn sure they'll show signs of being "addicted" to it...
Honestly, the only thing close to a withdrawal, which I've experienced personally... Was a desire to use Marijuana, after I had quit for a while... It lasted a few days, and I got over it quickly and easily. This is NOTHING when compared to other drugs!
By comparison, a drug like Alcohol has such a strong withdrawal from it's addiction, that it could actually kill you, just from not using it anymore!!! Can the same be said of Pot? NO.
In my mind, anyone that claims the be addicted to Marijuana, is either brainwashed, or they have absolutely no willpower whatsoever.
It is insulting, to people who've REALLY experienced a real addiction, to claim Marijuana is anything close to that. - dt07, on 03/22/2008, -18/+158God help us. Marijuana could help about 40 diseases. It shouldn't be illegal at all. It certainly isn't a class one like heroin.
Looks like the special interests in the Pharma industy are pressuring their people in Washington.
Personally, I'd like to see what drugs our so-called elected representatives have in their bodies............................ - Ganja420, on 03/22/2008, -12/+97Im clearly addicted to marijuana
- cerealjynx, on 03/22/2008, -4/+84"You ever suck dick for marijuana!?"
- hiPpymIck, on 03/22/2008, -12/+76if theyre offering REHAB for 'pot addiction' instead of JAIL to minor offenders..who WOULDNT go for it
FTA
"According to state and national statistics, up to 70 percent of all individuals in drug treatment for marijuana are placed there by the criminal justice system."
weve been getting that same ***** about 'addiction' in UK recently as well
- also usually supported by big rises in numbers from confessions of 'addiction' in criminal prosecutions ...Duhhh
..papers like the Daily Mail love it
i think in UK they often just copy the US approach to drugs assuming its 'American' and therefore 'sophisticated' ...without realizing how bad and old fashioned your Drug laws are
..bit of a TransAtlantic *****-up by UK there - TomK88, on 03/22/2008, -8/+59It depends on your definition of "addiction". If you think marijuana is addictive, than ANYTHING is addictive. That includes World of Warcraft, doing housework, and clipping your toenails. I believe true addiction is when there are serious, consistent physical changes that occur from withdrawl. Therefore, things like meth, heroin, crack, smoking, etc. are addictive because there is actually something physical that is keeping you addicted to them. Everything else is "habit-forming".
- inactive, on 03/22/2008, -1/+43the only withdrawal symptom you get from Marijuana is the realization of how ***** bored you are.
- inactive, on 03/22/2008, -5/+44I am all for the legalization of marijuana, but I know some heavy smokers who themselves believe they have some sort of addiction. Mostly they complain of not being able to sleep if they are not able to get high, the longer the period they go without smoking, the worse the insomnia gets until eventually it ebbs.
It seems you can be addicted to just about anything, so I am not shocked that people can develop a pang for mary jane if they smoke long enough, and heavily enough. Mild insomnia that lasts for a period of months would hardly seem to be all that bad.
Still, this is anecdotal and by no means a scientific study, more of an observation through association with some good-to-know potheads. - NikoKun, on 03/22/2008, -0/+34Since you bring up responsibility, I'd just like to make a note here.
Personally, I think prohibition removes the legal incentive of responsibility, around drugs... Rather than a policy which judges people by their actions, whether they be responsible or irresponsible... Prohibition disregards individual responsibility all together, and criminalizes everyone who uses Marijuana, regardless of whether they were responsible or not.
Instead, we should have a policy which encourages people to be responsible users, if they decide to use Marijuana. Being irresponsible (such as doing something that's REALLY a crime, such as driving while high, or causing real harm/risk to others), should then be punished... But we cannot justly preempt crime, by punishing everyone, as Prohibition does.
Why punish those who have done nothing wrong, and are being responsible?
Anyway, not arguing with you or anything... Just making that note here. - joshgeek, on 03/22/2008, -5/+35"It is insulting, to people who've REALLY experienced a real addiction, to claim Marijuana is anything close to that."
absolutely correct. it also absolves an individual criminal of responsibility for his/her own actions.. if they kill someone while high, well, the pot must have FORCED him/her to commit murder. rediculous in any case, and a terrible way to treat people. - triskele, on 03/22/2008, -1/+29I'm sorry, but you don't need a $4 million center to help you get over a few days of disrupted sleep and appetite.
- fslone, on 03/22/2008, -7/+34I hate to point this out, and I know I'll be voted down for criticizing Digg's most popular user, but Mr. BabyMan's sources are getting a little ridiculous. Most of the content that I have seen him submit in the past few weeks has been ripped straight from the front page of Reddit, where it appears roughly a day and a half before. Obviously this content is tried and true on social media and likely to get votes, so it seems that BabyMan has given up on finding his own content and is now just going for the popularity.
Sorry to have to point out the truth. - AdmiralAcbar, on 03/22/2008, -2/+26but.. alcohol isn't illegal.
- cerealjynx, on 03/22/2008, -5/+29It's the lifestyle that's addicting. You try saying no to being perfectly content sitting around playing video games all day.
- NikoKun, on 03/22/2008, -1/+23And that's the reason why the "rehab" statistics are so high... It was a choice between rehab, and prison... Most people would choose the rehab...
- laserblazer, on 03/22/2008, -5/+26Marijuana is a boon to humanity, and the birthright of free peoples world-wide. Any who sunder their fellow citizens from this miraculous plant are enemies of freedom and represent the darkest form of authoritarianism.
- profchaos155, on 03/22/2008, -5/+25Marijuana is not physically addictive like heroin or nicotine, but it is psychologically addictive. Basically, you get the idea that you can't do anything or behave normally without being high. Kinda like the guy in Half Baked.
- Bostocks, on 03/22/2008, -4/+24I think the problem with this interpretation is the idea that addiction = chemical dependance. If you look at the process of recovering from an addiction the physical withdrawl is the easy part, in a lot of cases they use medical assistance to make sure the patient doesn't really feel too much discomfort. Then they start the more difficult psychological process.
Addiction is an emotional disorder were someone uses a substance or an activity as a coping mechanism and can't stop despite serious consequences, it can take years for a patient to recover and in many cases they don't.
Marijuana is a lot less destructive to our society then alcohol or gambling or prescription pain medication which are all probably more addictive. But it's certainly is addictive. - pimpofpixels, on 03/22/2008, -11/+29Marijuana is addictive. It has physical and psychological effects, and some people become dependent on those effects. I'm sure anything that is remotely pleasant can become an addiction, but marijuana is no different. It should be legal, and is not nearly as bad as some stigma associated with it, but it can be harmful as well.
- RothenbergXXX, on 03/22/2008, -5/+21Let me just start off by saying that comparing the addiction potential of pot to that of caffeine is more than fair.
I know, I know, for the longest time I thought it was a silly assertion also. But then I got addicted to pot.
No, seriously. Seriously.
I don't mean addiction the kind of addiction you acquire to nicotine and cocaine, which many cannabis opponents like to purport. But to say that no addictive symptoms occur after a year of smoking repeatedly each day is just as preposterous.
Allow me to elaborate. On days that I decide to take off from smoking (or simply cannot get my hands on any cannabinoids whatsoever) there are a few mild withdrawal symptoms I experience. Most notably is my inability to sleep. I have been in the ritual of smoking before going off to sleep, and when I haven't done so I find it impossible to nod off, literally not falling asleep the entire night. This generally only occurs the first night without pot, and I can sleep normally later in the day usually. In addition to this I have a greatly decreased appetite at times when I've been without weed. Not in the same way stimulants decrease your appetite in that you feel hungry but food makes you ill; I just have decreased hunger. Generally this lasts longer than sleeplessness. Finally, I catch myself being irritable and intolerant towards others. If you've been addicted to cigarettes, it is very comparable to that. This lasts the longest, usually I still feel moody after three days or so.
I conclude by saying that there is no doubt in my mind that pot has addictive potential, albeit a very mild one almost comparable to that of any other drug. It's really not very significant, but it's wrong to say that it's nonexistent.
Oh, and yes, I have also been addicted to caffeine, cocaine, and cigarettes. Don't think I don't know my *****. - QuantumBios, on 03/22/2008, -3/+18Smoked buds for nearly half my life. Quit recently. No craving whatsoever.
- libertao, on 03/22/2008, -1/+16Heavy machinery, I can understand your disapproval, but a ***** concert? Are you joking?
- kiderjones, on 03/22/2008, -8/+23I crave coffee every day.
I smoke weed when I feel like it, and I never pay for it because it grows out of the ground.
Life is good. - rodeograndma, on 03/22/2008, -1/+15i know a few people who seem pretty addicted
- KloroFormd, on 03/22/2008, -1/+15I smoked for 5 years, every day all day. I quit because I was put on a year of probation for a single roach.
I haven't smoked in 10 months, no withdrawals. Not even a headache. Do I want to? Why hell yeah. Will I continue when I don't have the risk of random drug tests? Hell yeah. It's a want thing, not a "my body NEEDS it" thing. - inactive, on 03/22/2008, -1/+14I think, however, that one has to be careful when you say "you *cannot* get addicted to cannabis, it's never a serious problem"; this is not true.
There are people for whom sex addiction, gambling addiction, food addiction (compulsive overeating), and yes cannabis addiction are very serious and very detrimental to their life and psychological well-being. Clearly something like gambling is not physiologically addictive in the manner of nicotine or opiates; nonetheless gambling addiction is very real. It's pretty well established that the physiological addiction to cannabis is fairly mild (loss of appetite, moodiness, insomnia); but the brain/mind connection is very poorly understood, and so are addiction mechanisms. Even a "psychological" gambling addiction can manifest physical withdrawal symptoms such as insomnia, changes in appetite, mood swings, etc. The problem is *addiction* itself, not the activity or substance one is addicted to. Clearly sex or food are positive and even necessary; but once they are involved in an addictive cycle, the story changes. At the same time, it's pretty clear that outlawing sex, or food will do *nothing* to curb addiction of such, since they are not the problem. Cannabis is no different.
In short, we really have a very poor understanding of the line between psychological/physiological addiction; and essentially any sort of "immediately pleasurable" activity can become involved in addictive abuse. - jzh1554, on 03/22/2008, -4/+17Going off the reasons they give for pot being illegal.... Alcohol should be Schedule 1
- fyngyrz, on 03/22/2008, -1/+13It's not "laughable", though. The feds are blatantly lying to the citizens. It's a habit they've gotten into. They don't feel they have to obey the constitution, they don't feel they have to tell the citizens the truth, they don't feel that they are obligated to the citizens in the decisions they make.
In the meantime, they wage this ultra-violent war denying personal and consensual choices to the citizens, in the process creating a thriving and equally dangerous black market.
Good thing we can trust them, eh? - laserblazer, on 03/22/2008, -2/+14You should do your own research, but I'll name a few: depression, mania, insomnia, muscle-ache, glaucoma, asthma, appetite problems, menstrual problems, chemotherapy side-effects, AIDS drug side-effects and probably many others.
It boils down to the individual's right to self-medication, a birthright. - banmaster, on 03/22/2008, -1/+13What about when the bias is backed up with the 'REAL' available evidence, instead of just more government anti-pot propoganda? Is it really biased then??
- tdog138, on 03/22/2008, -1/+12No, no one knows what you mean.
- laserblazer, on 03/22/2008, -2/+13I buried you because not only do you make sweeping generalizations, but you poke your nose where it doesn't belong.
- banmaster, on 03/22/2008, -0/+11Was probably still a repost of someone elses submission from an hour before though, like usual.
- joshgeek, on 03/22/2008, -6/+17the real problem here is that this is a privacy issue. the govts the world over are telling people what they can and cannot do with their own bodies, regardless of the fact that there is no "victim" in this "crime." truth is, its too hard to tax and regulate. instead of being progressive and figuring out efficient ways to tax and regulate, its easier to just stick users/dealers in jail and allow the market to exist unregulated. it's lazy and an incorrect way to go about this. Most of all, it is irresponsible policy, in that is does more harm than the 'crime' it supposedly seeks to abolish (which wont ever be accomplished: marijuana will exist far longer than mankind.)
- Ansible, on 03/22/2008, -2/+13I'm all for marijuana legalization. I don't really care whether its addictive or not, though for most people it seems it isn't. The main thing is getting rid of the pointless and expensive (in many ways) 'war on drugs'. BTW, I'm also in favor of legalizing cocaine and other highly addictive, dangerous substances. Not that you should be able to get them without a prescription, perhaps. With decriminalizing possession of these substances, the war on drugs can be refocused on rehabilitation and not incarceration. Furthermore, illegal drug cartels like the mexican mob and etc would be deprived of income.
- Joneth, on 03/22/2008, -1/+11It's incredibly simple to tax and regulate, do it just like tobacco.
- footbag01, on 03/22/2008, -5/+15Just because you smoke pot doesn't mean you belong in jail or in rehab. As well, rehab frequently introduces marijuana users to more addictive drugs.
- debuggercll, on 03/22/2008, -0/+10I wish we would look at Amsterdam.
- SirWalrus, on 03/22/2008, -0/+10I can say from experience that not having my morning coffee is far harder than quiting marijuana.
- InferiorWang, on 03/22/2008, -1/+11You don't know what you're talking about, do you?
- inactive, on 03/22/2008, -2/+11Those aren't "withdrawal symptoms"... Pot probably helped you sleep, and gave you more appetite depending on your consumption. Stop the pot, and you lost that appetite (also, stuff taste better under the influence, it might be a factor). Come back when you get inexplicable mood swing/shivers or when you get violent if you don't get your joint. You know, like real drugs and caffeine ;)
- bromac, on 03/22/2008, -7/+16WEED? Weed ain't a drug. You ever suck dick for weed? Well I've sucked dick for coke! Now that's a drug!
- laserblazer, on 03/22/2008, -2/+11What a ludicrous statement.
- jerbaker, on 03/22/2008, -2/+11"It's laughable that the Feds are pushing the concept of pot addiction when science shows that withdrawal symptoms from caffeine are far worse."
By this definition, nothing is addictive except whichever drug has the worst withdrawal symptoms of all.
Why is it that Diggers are all for science and the scientific method when we're talking about evolution, but if we talk about global warming or pot, there is a vast conspiracy afoot in the scientific community? - banmaster, on 03/22/2008, -1/+10No change there then.
All he used to do was resubmit other people's submissions (and ignoring the 'duplicate URL' messages). - tim04, on 03/22/2008, -0/+9it's true that most don't get "physically" addicted to cannabis, but I've seen many friends that are addicted to the cannabis lifestyle, as well as the sleeping benefits. Once they quit, many have trouble falling asleep even when they didn't used to before. This only applies to heavy users, as I sometimes smoke 1-2 times a week, but feel no withdrawals during 1-2 month periods of no contact.
On the other hand, the idea that cannabis makes you dumb is just crap. I started using it a year before starting university, and my grades have actually started getting better since then. It really has no affect on grades unless your high during school or exams, which means you're probably retarded to begin with. Unfortunately, this applies to many people, adding to the misconception. - Infidelcastr0, on 03/22/2008, -1/+9Buried for ignorance.
- bbardlbradd, on 03/22/2008, -0/+8Why is it really illegal? You need to stop calling B.S. on all of this ***** that's obviously B.S. and target the real reason for the prohibition. You need to look beyond what it does for the individual, and focus more on the sociological effect that it could have on America as a society. I think that's their concern and they don't want to mention it because America is all about "Freedom" and "Liberty", yet they are more concerned about the health of the Nation as a whole. Someone needs to do research on the sociological effects and somehow prove that the nation can actually benefit from everyone (don't take that too literally) being stoned.
I only say this because we live in America, the beautiful, and anything that is ok for the individual should be ok with the group because we are a nation of people, right? Why is it illegal, really? For all of you stoners out there that would like to see it legalized and keep pointing out that it's not a bad thing over and over and over and over. Try targeting the real issue, why is it illegal and don't settle for their explanation. Look at it from all angles, even the ones that they never mention because it really is a mysterious prohibition. Everyone including the people in medicine will tell you that it's much less dangerous that legal drugs, yet still, the government will not budge. It's obviously a societal issue and not one of personal safety. -
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