There remains some lingering doubt about the true nature of
marijuana
addiction. Scientists now know that marijuana does induce a psychological
addiction with heavy use. You get accustomed to the effects of the drug and
eventually come to need these effects for normal functioning, but whether or not
it's physically addictive is not yet conclusively known.
Psychological Addiction
Users do come to need the drug to function normally, and once psychologically
addicted, they will start to feel symptoms of withdrawal within a day of their
last joint. You get accustomed to the anxiolitics properties of the drug, and
when you can't have it, start to feel very anxious. Many people also come to use
marijuana as a coping tool for the stresses of life, and find that with time
they rely on and need marijuana to deal with everyday and normal trials of daily
existence.
Cannabis smokers do develop a heavy tolerance to the drug, and a chronic user
will consume as much as 10 times the quantity in a session as an inexperienced
user. The greater the quantity of the drug smoked the greater the risks of
addiction, and with heavy use and time, marijuana users may find themselves
psychologically dependant on the drug, and will need to endure a significant
period of withdrawal pains when they attempt to quit.
Physical Addiction
Far less certain is the case for physical addiction. The pains of
marijuana
withdrawal are physical in nature, and fundamentally, whether or not the
addiction occurs through physical changes in the brain matters little to the
addict going through detox.
Scientists have identified some long term neurological changes to the
dopamine systems of the brain as a consequence of heavy cannabis use, but
whether or not this qualifies as physical dependence is still open to
interpretation. Marijuana addiction is very real.
