I would say that despite all the hype and confusion, a good working definition of what it means to be addicted to marijuana is simply this:

“Marijuana addiction could be defined as chronically making the firm decision not to use marijuana followed shortly by a relapse due to experiencing overwhelming compulsive urges to use marijuana despite the firm decision not to. “

Note that this is definition sidesteps the question of whether or not MOST people become addicted, or how marijuana stacks up against other drugs in their addiction potential, etc. None of those things matter if that sentence above describes your experience. (Also note how well this definition works in regards to being addicted to anything.)

Addiction Signs

Understanding addictive behavior means looking at patterns and underlying motivations for a behavior and actions. While it’s not as easy as going down a list and checking yes or no and adding it all up, such a list is a useful tool is making an overall analysis of what is going on. Below is a set of symptoms that are associated with the behavior of a user who is suffering from marijuana addiction.

• User feels they are unable to control behavior.

Have you tried to stop smoking marijuana? Did you fail? Does this keep happening, despite how hard you try?

• Marijuana habit interferes with or causes a reduction in social activities.

Do you avoid people who disapprove of you smoking? Does marijuana gives you increase your social anxiety? Does it prevent you from going out and trying new experiences? If you didn’t smoke, do you think you’d have a more active social life?

• Marijuana use interferes with family life, negatively impacting relationships with children, parents, and loves ones

Ask yourself, “Would I be a better Father/Mother/Son/Daughter/etc if I weren’t doing this?”

• User spends money on marijuana when basic needs, or the needs of their family, etc. are not met

Are you still able to find money for marijuana even when money is not there for food, clothes, etc or to pay late bills?

• User experiences unpleasant side effects if he or she does not smoke marijuana.

Can you feel headaches or dizziness coming on that is only relieved by smoking again? Can you fall asleep without being high? Do you start to get nervous, anxious, or freak out if you know you are running out of or don’t have any more weed to smoke?

Parents who believe their children show signs of marijuana addiction may be interested in the at home drug test Walgreens sells.

What is it?
Marijuana is a mix of dried leaves and stems from the Cannibas Sativa plant. It is by far the most commonly used illegal drug in the USA. (More usage stats below.)

How is it sold?
Midrange to high quality marijuana is usually sold in increments as 8th of an ounce or a quarter of an ounce. It is also sold by the gram. It is common for lower grade marijuana is also sold in $5 and $10 amounts, known as nickel and dime bags.

How do people use marijuana?
By far the most common method of ingestion is smoking in a glass pipe or bong. In some cultures, Europe for example, marijuana is often mixed with tobacco and rolled into a joint. Marijuana can also be vaporized, cooked into brownies or other foods, made into a tea, and even into items such as chocolate. Other extraction methods are involved in creating marijuana-derivatives such as hash or resin, both of which are also smoked.

What are the effects?
Effects are wide-ranging, often contradicting one another. The intention, previous history with the drug, expectation, and setting, as well as quality or type of marijuana being smoked, greatly influence the effects. That being said, common effects include euphoria, light headedness, anxiety, paranoia, laughter, lethargy, apathy, and increased appetite (affectionately known as “the munchies”.)

How common is marijuana usage?
Marijuana use is widespread in the USA. Here’s a look at this a bit more in depth.

• NORML, a pro-marijuana group, states that 80 million Americans, at the time of the study, reported having used marijuana at least once. Of these, 20 million have used it in the last year. The latest government census states that the population of the USA is roughly 300 million people. Considering 80 million of them have tried marijuana and apparently it sounds like about 20 million use it currently – these numbers are significant!

One study found that…

• Percentage of 8th Graders who have tried marijuana at least once: 20% with 9% calling themselves ‘current users.’ (Unclear if that’s 9% of total number of 9% of the 20% who have tried it.)

• Percentage of 10th graders who have tried marijuana at least once: 40% with 20% reporting they were current users.

• Percentage of 12th graders who have tried marijuana at least once: 50% with 22% reporting they were current users.

Other Stats:

• Number of those seeking treatment for marijuana addiction: 150,000 per year, according to one, possibly suspect, website. (Other statistics have not been found to confirm this figure.)
• Interesting to note though, that not a single death has been attributed to using marijuana. This is significant to consider, as sometimes the hype around marijuana problems does get out of control.

Is it marijuana safe? Is it addictive?
These are complicated questions. It’s fair to say it’s safer than harder drugs yet not safe in the sense of causing delayed reaction time (while driving, for instance), not to mention the suffering it can inflict on the lungs via repeated smoking. This leads us to the next post and the next question on marijuana addiction i.e.  is marijuana addictive?