Controversy: Is Marijuana Addictive?

Marijuana has long, controversial past. From the first part of the 20th Century, where "reefer smokers" were demonized in the press, to the "Summer of Love" where pot was promoted as a way to "chill out", many myths and theories on marijuana use abound.

One common misconception is that marijuana is a safe, non-addictive drug.

"Many people, particularly teens, are lead to believe that marijuana is safer than alcohol or cigarettes," comments Mary Rieser, Executive Director for Narconon Drug Rehab Georgia. "This is why although cigarette use is down in schools, the rate of marijuana use is steady. Kids think it's safe. What they don't realize is that marijauna smokers are many times more likely to move on to harder drugs, such as cocaine or heroin, than those who don't smoke marijuana."

The Office of National Drug Control Policy reports that marijuana has been proven to be a psychologically addictive drug. Scientists at the National Institute on Drug Abuse have demonstrated that laboratory animals will self-administer THC in doses equivalent to those used by humans who smoke marijuana.

So is marijuana addictive?

Consider these facts:

• Marijuana is much more powerful today than it was 30 years ago, and so are its mindaltering effects. Average THC levels rose from less than 1 percent in the mid-1970s to more than 6 percent in 2002. Sinsemilla potency increased in the past two decades
from 6 percent to more than 13 percent, with some samples containing THC levels of up to 33 percent.

• Subjects in an experiment on marijuana withdrawal experienced symptoms such as restlessness, loss of appetite, trouble with sleeping, weight loss, and shaky hands.

• According to one study, marijuana use by teenagers with prior serious antisocial problems can quickly lead to dependence on the drug. The study also found that, for troubled teenagers using tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana, progression from their first use of marijuana to regular use was about as rapid as their progression to regular tobacco use, and more rapid than the progression to regular use of alcohol.

A study by Dr. Alan Budney and colleagues at the University of Vermont in Burlington found that marijuana smokers who stop using the drug while in their home environment suffer withdrawal symptoms that appear as severe as those associated with tobacco-smoking.

"These findings represent a significant step toward general acceptance of withdrawal as a key aspect of chronic marijuana use," says Dr. Jag Khalsa of NIDA's Center on AIDS and Other Medical Consequences of Drug Abuse. Treatment providers may not address the problem of marijuana withdrawal because the condition is not currently included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), the standard reference published by the American Psychiatric Association.

Dr. Budney and his colleagues evaluated withdrawal symptoms in 12 adult marijuana smokers (7 male, 5 female, average age 30 years) over 3-day abstinence periods that followed 5-day periods when participants could smoke marijuana at will. "We found consistent emotional and behavioral symptoms that increased during abstinence and dramatically decreased when marijuana smoking resumed, suggesting that these types of symptoms are the hallmark of acute marijuana withdrawal," Dr. Budney says. "The symptoms most closely resembled many of those observed during nicotine withdrawal.”

“Someone suffering from marijuana addiction needs as much help as someone suffering from any other drug addiction,” comments Ms. Rieser. “Get them the help they need.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with an alcohol or other drug problem, contact Narconon today for immediate assistance.  Visit www.drugsno.com or call 1-877-413-3073.

Copyright © 2009. Narconon of Georgia Inc. Call 1-877-413-3073. All rights reserved. Narconon and the Narconon Logo are trademarks and service marks owned by the Association for Better Living and Education International and are used with its permission.