Is Marijuana Addictive? Unpacking the Myths and Realities of Cannabis Use

Signs include increased tolerance, cravings, withdrawal symptoms, and prioritizing marijuana use over responsibilities. While not everyone develops dependence, some users experience withdrawal symptoms and difficulty quitting. For those struggling with marijuana dependence, treatment options are available. At 12 South Recovery, we provide a comprehensive and personalized approach to overcoming cannabis use disorder. As legalization efforts gain momentum across various states and countries, public perception of marijuana is shifting. Many view cannabis as a harmless recreational drug, while others remain concerned about its potential for addiction and its effects on society.

• So, a drug can cause dependence but not abuse, as is the case for some people prescribed opiate pain medication.
• Understanding the complexities of marijuana use, its potential for addiction, and its impact on mental health is essential for informed decision-making.
• While it may not carry the same overdose risks as opioids or alcohol, marijuana addiction is real, diagnosable, and treatable.
• The use disorder, according to researchers, can morph into an addiction when the person can’t stop using the drug even when it interferes with their daily activities.
• While some people believe marijuana is harmless, it has short-term and long-term effects that can impact both physical and mental health.
• Research is mixed as to whether mental health issues are more often the cause of cannabis abuse, or whether dependence on cannabis can, in turn, lead to mental health issues.

Effects of Weed on the Brain and Body

Even if not physically or chemically dependent on marijuana, some people will develop a psychological dependence upon the drug. This often persists despite a person knowing they have a dependence or wanting to quit. Most early research into marijuana addiction suggested that marijuana use rarely produced tolerance and withdrawal.

• Nearly 90 percent of people who use medicinal marijuana claim that it helps them to manage their disease and symptoms, and many find that they are able to decrease their use of other medications.
• In order to feel the same high, the person has to take larger and larger doses.
• Cannabis use disorder, or marijuana use disorder, is when a person continues to use the substance even though they experience negative health or life effects from use.
• This condition can be diagnosed by a healthcare professional such as a medical doctor or psychologist.
• It triggers receptors in your brain called endocannabinoid receptors.

Acute Effects and Insight into Reinforcing/Addictive Properties of Cannabis

Marijuana use disorder, also known as cannabis use disorder, is when the use of marijuana negatively impacts a person’s health or life but they continue to use it anyway. Like any drug used medicinally, the potential risks of use are weighed against the potential benefits when deciding what should and should not be tried. Learn more about marijuana addiction, risk factors, effects on the brain, and more.

SLEEPING WITH BEES

• Promising candidates for treatment of CUD that prevent relapse include naltrexone, gabapentin, and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) (Mason et al. 2012; Brezing and Levin 2018).
• Current drug policy often reflects this division, leading to varied legal frameworks and access to treatment options.

“The most common genetic legacy relating to addiction is inherited boredom,” explained Stalcup. What they have scientifically is a pleasure system that’s about 20 percent below normal. “The problem isn’t that they are releasing less dopamine, but that the dopamine stimulation in the brain is having a very attenuated effect,” Volkow said. “I’ve always found quitting marijuana to be easy when I needed to because of travel reasons or personal reasons, or professional, or what have you,” he told Healthline. One marijuana user, Conrad, age 47, of San Francisco, said that when he can’t smoke, he drinks more. But family ties may also help some people avoid progressing to a state of addiction.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), about 9% of people who use marijuana will develop a dependence. That number increases to 17% for those who start using as teenagers. By addressing cannabis myths and providing education on substance abuse and recovery options, we can work towards a more nuanced public perception of cannabis. Continued research and thoughtful drug policy will be crucial as society navigates the evolving landscape of cannabis use. For those seeking help, numerous treatment options are available, and recovery is possible.

Holistic therapy

• While some people can try and use marijuana without becoming addicted, it can also be addictive for some people.
• The Canyon, a treatment center in Malibu, California, lists 10 signs that someone might have an addiction to marijuana.
• People develop cannabis dependence for different reasons, so it’s important to address any underlying issues.

The only sure way to stop CUD from happening is to never use marijuana. If you have children, make sure they know marijuana can be harmful. Keep a close eye on your kids if you get divorced, move, or have to heroin addiction send them to a different school. Teenagers tend to use drugs when faced with uncertain changes or stressors. While this is a serious medical concern, it can also be treated. Healthcare professionals can support by diagnosing and then providing talk therapy, medications, or a combination of the two.

If someone uses a drug often enough, the brain will become accustomed to it. And the more blunted their response to the methylphenidate, the more negative emotions they felt, including irritability, anxiety, depression, and aggressiveness. “It is very well-known that dopamine is one of the most important neurotransmitters that regulates reward, motivation, and self-control,” said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of NIDA and one of the authors of the study.

After examining the acute and long-term effects of cannabis, CUD appears to conform to the general patterns of changes described in the Koob and Volkow model of addiction. Cognitive dysfunction, specifically impairments in executive domains, after chronic cannabis use is a key feature of the neurobiological model of addiction (Koob and Volkow 2016). Deficits in executive function after chronic cannabis use have been shown in both preclinical and clinical studies. In one preclinical study, chronically administering a synthetic cannabinoid agonist to adolescent rats impaired short-term working memory in adulthood (Renard et al. 2016). Specifically, this chronic cannabinoid exposure altered PFC structure and impaired cortical synaptic plasticity from reduced long-term potentiation (LTP) in the hippocampus-PFC circuit. These findings support the theory that adolescent cannabis use causes lasting deficits in memory.

So, a drug can cause dependence but not abuse, as is the case for some people prescribed opiate pain medication. Or a drug can cause no withdrawal at all, as in the case of cocaine, but still pose a high likelihood that a person will develop an addiction when using it. Treatments are available that can help people overcome marijuana addiction. Such treatments primarily focus on psychotherapy, but researchers are also exploring medications that might someday be helpful. Another study found that those who begin using marijuana before the age of 18 are four to seven times more likely to develop a cannabis use disorder later in life.