Some users who regularly smoke marijuana – such as those working successful jobs and careers, or raising a family, who feel that smoking weed adds depth and joy to their daily life – find it rather insulting to ask about marijuana being addictive, likening the concept of addiction only to images of junkies clutching needles or crazed business men snorting cocaine.

This type of reaction misses the point though:

Marijuana addiction can still be a real problem for some even if others – even if most – people are able to function in a healthy or responsible manner while smoking marijuana.

The easiest analogy here is that of alcohol: the majority of alcohol users are not alcoholics, yet there is still a percentage of individuals who will become addicted to alcohol, and act out the signs of addiction.

But this is where the analogy gets fuzzy:

The casual marijuana smoker is usually put into an unfair box as compared to the casual drinker: when someone is talking about marijuana addiction, they often make the assumption that nearly everyone who smokes marijuana has a problem, whereas the same assumptions are not made for alcohol use.

This unfair bias is a big reason that many smokers feel threatened by the topic of marijuana addiction: when the smoke clears (no pun intended), they understand that the cultural attitude they are up against implies they are an addict by virtue of the fact that they use marijuana. Little to no consideration is given as to whether or not marijuana use could function as something other than a negative habit.

Unfortunately, this black and white outlook penalizes those who enjoy marijuana responsibly while obscuring the problem for those who are suffering because of a real addiction to marijuana.

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?