Why Does Leaves Even Exist? Is Cannabis Really Addictive?
Anyone who has smoked weed for any length of time has heard it: Weed is a plant, it’s all natural, just an herb. And floating on top of all those ideas was one big message – smoking weed is harmless.
That was the idea for many years, and each of us in Leaves often did our part in perpetuating it. Weed helped us, gave us joy, soothed our pain, and was a trusted companion right up to the point that we learned the truth through personal experience – for some people, weed is addictive, both psychologically and physically.
First and foremost, it's crucial to understand that any substance that gives us pleasure, whether it's a legal drug like alcohol or a prescribed medication, has the potential to be addictive. Cannabis, or more specifically, its primary psychoactive family of compounds THC, is no exception to this rule.
Research shows that about 9% of individuals who use cannabis will develop a dependence on it. This statistic increases to about 17% for those who start using in their teens and 25-50% for those who use it daily. (1) So, while not everyone who uses cannabis will become addicted, the risk is significant, particularly for heavy or early-start users.
Psychological Dependence on Cannabis
Psychological addiction to cannabis means that you continue to use despite the fact that bad things are happening because of your use. Those of us at Leaves found ourselves mentally reliant on the drug to cope with stress, to sleep, or even to socialize. The drug become an essential part of our routine, and the idea of not having it created a sense of anxiety or unease.
This psychological dependence can be as, if not more, challenging to overcome as the physical one. When we were using, we had difficulty imagining our lives without cannabis, we struggled with the idea of having to cope with stressful situations without it, and we often let it separate us from anything or anyone that wasn’t compatible with smoking.
Okay, Psychological Dependence Maybe, but Physical?
Lots of people have different takes on what “physical dependency” means – like that it needs to have specific biochemical mechanisms like various other drugs, or you need to have medical assistance for withdrawals, or even that those withdrawals need to be able to kill you.
But in reality, the medical definition, and the one most relevant to actual recovery, is more simple: “A condition in which a person takes a drug over time, and unpleasant physical symptoms occur if the drug is suddenly stopped or taken in smaller doses.”
Based on the medical definition, we have 300,000 people who can tell you from their own experience that cannabis is unequivocally physically addictive. And with increasing legalization making cannabis more available for study, there is a growing body of research that makes our experience empirical. (2)
Regular cannabis use can lead to withdrawals when you stop. Symptoms frequently discussed on Leaves include nausea, digestive problems, sleeplessness, vivid dreams and nightmares, depression, anxiety, decreased appetite, cravings, restlessness, and physical discomfort. These aren’t individual reports, they are thousands of contributions over years and years, all with the same feelings.
We’ve even seen smoker’s bodies rebel against THC, as cases of cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, a persistent and sometimes dangerous cyclical vomiting, are on the rise.
If you are a frequent smoker these issues should be something you should be paying attention to. If you feel you’re not at risk, or just an ally of smokers, it’s important that you advocate for the whole truth about the risks really are.
Our Message on Addiction
We understand that for some people in the cannabis community this can be a difficult idea to take in, but our message as a group is this:
Yes, cannabis can be addictive, but that’s okay.
We have an opportunity to change the narrative around cannabis addiction. Alcohol addiction spent years being pushed underground, and so many alcoholics went untreated because there was so much myth and recrimination around what being an alcoholic meant.
The cannabis community, our community, has an amazing opportunity to show how it can be done right. Smokers supporting those who want to quit, understanding that some people saying no doesn’t affect anyone’s ability to say yes, and using some of the money generated from smoking going to treat those who need extra help.
It’s an opportunity to show who we are as a community by accepting the truth and helping the people who need it.
https://nida.nih.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/marijuana-addictive
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2764234