Teenage cannabis addiction on the rise

[aradiasraven]

There is no toxicity and it less harmful the ANY other "drug" even coffee

only if you dont smoke it, smoking anything including cannabis is carcinogenic, yeah you can use a water pipe which cleans it alot, but its still cancerous no matter which way you look at inhaling smoke, if you legitimatley wish to consume cannabis healthily, it has to be eaten/drank

I do not know I would say the jury is still out on that one
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01729.html OR
http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view ... tionID=234

Mostly likely there are some ill effects from smoking anything but imo dose not change the fact that cannabis has the least amount of side effect of any other drug legal or otherwise. Sure everything has it's own pros and cons.I should have also stated in my frist post that it is the least toxic rather than no toxicity. My bad

[happydaze777]

There is no toxicity and it less harmful the ANY other "drug" even coffee

only if you dont smoke it, smoking anything including cannabis is carcinogenic, yeah you can use a water pipe which cleans it alot, but its still cancerous no matter which way you look at inhaling smoke, if you legitimatley wish to consume cannabis healthily, it has to be eaten/drank

Or vaped as that doesn't burn it.

You beat me too it Boner... No combustion = no carcinogens….

This discussion really makes me smile. Having experienced the whole gamut of addiction so far in my life (from smack to booze) I am comfortable with my pot habit. Just because it works for me, doesn't mean it will work for everyone. Personally I don't think we need to blame the 'product' as it is a person than gets addicted (and yes some things are much easier to become addicted too!). I do think its important to be honest about cannabis... In our desire to 'right the wrongs' of this evil world, we might want to advocate a benign herb to all and sundry, shout it from the roof tops even, cannabis is OK! In reality habitual use can cause problems and we should be honest about those issues (if the occur for us) as no one else will. That does not mean I am a fan of illegality. I will state my point once more, adults should be armed with the facts and left to make their own decision about what they put into their own bodies...

" I, as a responsible adult human being, will never concede the power to anyone to regulate my choice of what I put into my body, or where I go with my mind. From the skin inwards is my jurisdiction, is it not? I choose what may or may not cross that border. I am the sole legal and spiritual government of this territory, and only the laws I choose to enact within myself are applicable."

Chemist and Author Alexander Shulgin Quoted

[Pauli Wallnuts]

Or vaped as that doesn't burn it.

good point boner

adults should be armed with the facts and left to make their own decision about what they put into their own bodies..

amen to that

[baked]

i agree. the choice is up to yourself, but saying there is no risk and it is not dangerous, is not right.

aradiasraven, i there always are a lot of opinons if people have to have a predespition or not. i think there there a tons of researches proving it wrong or right.

[sh@dy]

probably it is the personality, but canabis is changing the personality and just the feeling of not toking produces stress.

the problem you`Re talking about is not cannabis-addiction but stupidity....if I am not able to handle a drug, I wouldnt take it, its as simple as that. nobody NEEDS drugs, only the people who are already addicted to some kind of drug.

im sorry but you are just a retard. you are not able to have an impartial look on this issue. therefore i think talking to you is like talking to a pile of dumb. i follow your retarted posts for a while but this just shows that you are not willing to admit. maybe your addiction is pushing you this far, maybe you are just the regular german potsmoker. who knows?

when did I insult you?
to tell you the truth about myself:
I had a problem with my stomach, I couldnt do anything without pain in the stomach. when I started to smoke daily, before that I did it only on the weekend, this went away(this was BEFORE I knew of ANY kind of medication with cannabis). same with my sleep. I was never ever able to sleep good at night, I just dont get to the stadium of full-sleep, I wake up by the slightest sound...since I smoke it daily, I feel good in the morning, not like I have partied 2 days, which was the situation before that....I went to work/school with no energy because I couldnt sleep, now I dont have any problems with waking up early, going to work and work 9 hours.
So I dont see any problem in smoking weed. Addiction? sorry, but this is ridicilious, weed is no heroin, get yourself a bit of information and you will see I am right.
of course kids just shouldnt do ANY kind of drugs, but that is just UNREALISTIC and since we live in a world where people will ALWAYS take drugs, I would rather see the teens smoking pot all day than seeing them taking cocain/speed/xtc, which is happening in the last few years.
And just to make sure you dont answer with this addiction-thing again, try to find out what addiction really means
for me addiction is something you cant controll, but WANT to controll. I love to smoke weed, so I dont see any addiction there. when the day comes and I think by myself "wtf, this doesnt fit you anymore", then I will stop, I just did so with cigarettes

[happydaze777]

the problem you`Re talking about is not cannabis-addiction but stupidity....if I am not able to handle a drug, I wouldnt take it, its as simple as that. nobody NEEDS drugs, only the people who are already addicted to some kind of drug.

im sorry but you are just a retard. you are not able to have an impartial look on this issue. therefore i think talking to you is like talking to a pile of dumb. i follow your retarted posts for a while but this just shows that you are not willing to admit. maybe your addiction is pushing you this far, maybe you are just the regular german potsmoker. who knows?

when did I insult you?
to tell you the truth about myself:
I had a problem with my stomach, I couldnt do anything without pain in the stomach. when I started to smoke daily, before that I did it only on the weekend, this went away(this was BEFORE I knew of ANY kind of medication with cannabis). same with my sleep. I was never ever able to sleep good at night, I just dont get to the stadium of full-sleep, I wake up by the slightest sound...since I smoke it daily, I feel good in the morning, not like I have partied 2 days, which was the situation before that....I went to work/school with no energy because I couldnt sleep, now I dont have any problems with waking up early, going to work and work 9 hours.
So I dont see any problem in smoking weed. Addiction? sorry, but this is ridicilious, weed is no heroin, get yourself a bit of information and you will see I am right.
of course kids just shouldnt do ANY kind of drugs, but that is just UNREALISTIC and since we live in a world where people will ALWAYS take drugs, I would rather see the teens smoking pot all day than seeing them taking cocain/speed/xtc, which is happening in the last few years.
And just to make sure you dont answer with this addiction-thing again, try to find out what addiction really means
for me addiction is something you cant controll, but WANT to controll. I love to smoke weed, so I dont see any addiction there. when the day comes and I think by myself "wtf, this doesnt fit you anymore", then I will stop, I just did so with cigarettes

Just because this is your experience, does not mean it isn't true. Your definition of addiction is wrong in my humble opinion. TURE addicts don't know they are addicted, or will not allow them selves to admit they are addicts.

Addiction by its very nature is insidious.

I am glad you are so strong and have so much control over your own life, well done bud!

[sh@dy]

im sorry but you are just a retard. you are not able to have an impartial look on this issue. therefore i think talking to you is like talking to a pile of dumb. i follow your retarted posts for a while but this just shows that you are not willing to admit. maybe your addiction is pushing you this far, maybe you are just the regular german potsmoker. who knows?

when did I insult you?
to tell you the truth about myself:
I had a problem with my stomach, I couldnt do anything without pain in the stomach. when I started to smoke daily, before that I did it only on the weekend, this went away(this was BEFORE I knew of ANY kind of medication with cannabis). same with my sleep. I was never ever able to sleep good at night, I just dont get to the stadium of full-sleep, I wake up by the slightest sound...since I smoke it daily, I feel good in the morning, not like I have partied 2 days, which was the situation before that....I went to work/school with no energy because I couldnt sleep, now I dont have any problems with waking up early, going to work and work 9 hours.
So I dont see any problem in smoking weed. Addiction? sorry, but this is ridicilious, weed is no heroin, get yourself a bit of information and you will see I am right.
of course kids just shouldnt do ANY kind of drugs, but that is just UNREALISTIC and since we live in a world where people will ALWAYS take drugs, I would rather see the teens smoking pot all day than seeing them taking cocain/speed/xtc, which is happening in the last few years.
And just to make sure you dont answer with this addiction-thing again, try to find out what addiction really means
for me addiction is something you cant controll, but WANT to controll. I love to smoke weed, so I dont see any addiction there. when the day comes and I think by myself "wtf, this doesnt fit you anymore", then I will stop, I just did so with cigarettes

Just because this is your experience, does not mean it isn't true. Your definition of addiction is wrong in my humble opinion. TURE addicts don't know they are addicted, or will not allow them selves to admit they are addicts.

Addiction by its very nature is insidious.

I am glad you are so strong and have so much control over your own life, well done bud!

haha thank you
but to be honest, thats the major experience I have made with pot-smokers....they can control themselves very well. not everyone, but most of them do so, I dont see this as something special. I know people who arent able to handle drugs, but should because of those erm...let it be 20% of people who are not able to handle it the other 80% be made criminals? I dont think so.

have a nice evening

[happydaze777]

Thanks bud, I am having a lovely slow indica evening...

I concur with your estimate. If I think about it, lots of my mates (many who haven't been smoking quite as long as I) its probably around 10-20% would admit to 'problems' with their cannabis use, and nearly all blame themselves rather than the product.

Its just I sometimes think people see addiction in black and white terms, and I honestly don't believe it to be so...

And for the sake of clarity, I believe addiction (in ALL its forms) should be dealt with as a health issue, never a criminal one.

Hope your evening is as stoned as mine!

[pipe-and-slippers]

The criteria for judging an addiction of any sort (drugs, alcohol,gambling etc) are well defined and widely accepted:

Tolerance - ie needing increasing doses to obtain the same effect. Clearly partially true with cannabis, but only to a point. Even the heaviest smoker is going to be toasted after a gram or two. Crack addicts end up on literally thousands of pounds worth a day.

Withdrawl - a predictable and measureable physiological response to the levels of the drug in the blood lowering. This has NOT been demonstrated with cannabis. The half life (a measure of the drug level) for cannabis is very long - detectable in urine for upto six weeks - so gradual withdrawl does not present a problem.

Primacy - use of the drug becomes the most important thing in your life. Habitual as many people are - cannabis doesn't usually exclude all other interset and activities. You might lose motivation and only hang out with tokers, but that's not the same as primacy.

Continuing despite harm - as the actual harm for most people is rather limited this usually doesn't pose much of a problem. Ask yourself if you would really have that pre-breakfast toke if you were on your final warning at work. Most wouldn't.

Compulsion - the psychological desire to partake of the drug. This is probably the most relevant feature of cannabis use, and the reason that people claim cannabis is addictive.

Restriction of repertoire - ie seeking stronger alternatives - it's why alcoholics drink spirits instead of Fosters. Cannabis is stonger these days but most people temper their use accordingly. If it were addictive everyone would stop smoking wasteful joints and stick to vapourisers and hot knives. Clearly not the case.

Cannabis is NOT addictive but it does become habitual and sometimes that can seem like the same thing. For most people it's a benign pleasure with no adverse consequences but for others there is a very real downside. Mostly this is just anxiety, trouble concentrating and low mood, but some poor fuckers end up psychotic. A few of those that do stay that way. We're all grown ups and the consequences are of our own making...

[beejun]

370 kids got send to rehab for weed addiction? whether they talk about amsterdam or the whole country, 370 is a very low numbers, it is definitely propaganda...

IMO I agree that kids shouldn't mess with cannabis, just like they shouldn't mess with alcohol.

IMO cannabis IS addictive, It is also a fact that a lot of heavy pot smokers who stop to smoke cannabis, suffer from lack of sleep, panic attacks, boredom, depression, etc...

If, like me, you wake up and you get high first thing, it does make you an addict, just like an alcoholic that needs a drink before going out of bed. You can try to tell me otherwise but I wouldn't believe it.
A cannabis addict that works, save money, pays his bills, take care of his family and lead a good life is right to smoke as much as he wants if it's what he wants.
One that is unemployed, or are too poor or else to support their habits should seriously cut down or stop.
Hope I make sense.
Peace to all of you, addict or not! :p

[sh@dy]

what you`Re saying is "imo cannabis is addictive", but after that you state, that its YOU who wakes up and gets high first. I smoke since 5 years, but I NEVER EVER had the desire to smoke a J in the morning before going to work....and I know many people who have the same opinion, so it is the individual who makes the addiction, not cannabis itself, right?

edit: dont get me wrong here, if you want to smoke in the morning its your thing,but its just not cannabis which makes addictice

[baked]

the problem you`Re talking about is not cannabis-addiction but stupidity....if I am not able to handle a drug, I wouldnt take it, its as simple as that. nobody NEEDS drugs, only the people who are already addicted to some kind of drug.

im sorry but you are just a retard. you are not able to have an impartial look on this issue. therefore i think talking to you is like talking to a pile of dumb. i follow your retarted posts for a while but this just shows that you are not willing to admit. maybe your addiction is pushing you this far, maybe you are just the regular german potsmoker. who knows?

when did I insult you?
to tell you the truth about myself:
I had a problem with my stomach, I couldnt do anything without pain in the stomach. when I started to smoke daily, before that I did it only on the weekend, this went away(this was BEFORE I knew of ANY kind of medication with cannabis). same with my sleep. I was never ever able to sleep good at night, I just dont get to the stadium of full-sleep, I wake up by the slightest sound...since I smoke it daily, I feel good in the morning, not like I have partied 2 days, which was the situation before that....I went to work/school with no energy because I couldnt sleep, now I dont have any problems with waking up early, going to work and work 9 hours.
So I dont see any problem in smoking weed. Addiction? sorry, but this is ridicilious, weed is no heroin, get yourself a bit of information and you will see I am right.
of course kids just shouldnt do ANY kind of drugs, but that is just UNREALISTIC and since we live in a world where people will ALWAYS take drugs, I would rather see the teens smoking pot all day than seeing them taking cocain/speed/xtc, which is happening in the last few years.
And just to make sure you dont answer with this addiction-thing again, try to find out what addiction really means
for me addiction is something you cant controll, but WANT to controll. I love to smoke weed, so I dont see any addiction there. when the day comes and I think by myself "wtf, this doesnt fit you anymore", then I will stop, I just did so with cigarettes

there you did:

probably it is the personality, but canabis is changing the personality and just the feeling of not toking produces stress.

the problem you`Re talking about is not cannabis-addiction but stupidity....if I am not able to handle a drug, I wouldnt take it, its as simple as that. nobody NEEDS drugs, only the people who are already addicted to some kind of drug.

maybe you learn the meaning of addiction yourself.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addiction



you are just trying to defend yourself and not admit you are addicted.
like i said before, of course weed is not heroin, but it is addictive, it changes habits and personalities and so on. you state that it is not dangerous at all. this is ignorance.
like happydaze said, it is a health issue. i did not mean to describe you as a criminal but just somebody who smokes weed often. i do it myself and sure i can control myself, but still smoking weed or not smoking weed has an influence on this. i never said i could not control myself, but the tendency is just different.
how about your smoking friends, dont they and you have that crave to smoke a joint before going to bed? did none of you call your dealer at night because of the sponatinous desire of smoking a joint?
i think most of us have had such or similiar situations.
if you cant admit any of this, you lost your mind.

Restriction of repertoire - ie seeking stronger alternatives - it's why alcoholics drink spirits instead of Fosters. Cannabis is stonger these days but most people temper their use accordingly. If it were addictive everyone would stop smoking wasteful joints and stick to vapourisers and hot knives. Clearly not the case.

i disagree, why did thinks like ice hash and terminator come up? because there is a market for it. compare 10-15% thc reg weed with 60% ice... about the same difference as beer and spirits i'd say.
i think your definitions are right, but i think there is a difference between a physical addiction like hard drugs cause and a mental addiction like online games, internet and weed.

i agree with beejun and shady i think it is weird that all the typical potsmoker habits cant be applied to you and you friends. if smoking in the morning would not be common, why is there such a term as "wake and bake"?

once again, it is not about saying people are wrong when they smoke daily or smoke a lot, i just find it ignorant to say there is no risk at all.

[cantona7]

i dont buy that weed is addicting. i used to think i couldn't quit but i did for 6 months and it wasn't hard. the first few weeks are the toughest. all you need is discipline and a little will power. if theres any kind of addiction theres a mental/emotional addiction.if that.

[beejun]

i dont buy that weed is addicting. i used to think i couldn't quit but i did for 6 months and it wasn't hard. the first few weeks are the toughest. all you need is discipline and a little will power. if theres any kind of addiction theres a mental/emotional addiction.if that.

Cantona, heavy cannabis user, can quit, of course, much easier than a smack head or a crackjunkie, and most of the everyday marijuana users who stop weed think like you, but they are also a lot of potheads that find it very hard to quit , withdrawal symptoms can be very unpleasant; not being able to sleep properly, panic attacks and depression... So don't tell me it ain't addictive, type "stopping cannabis" in google and read the testimonies of people wanting to stop. Peace!

[seanlyall]

PMSL my mate invited me round on Friday to get high, "Wake 'n' Bake" for the Scotland match on Saturday morning.