Hey, no this is not a sarcastic post.

Before my GF and I broke up (recently) she told me that I am addicted to pot. She used to be a daily user, self-described pothead for ten years and then cleaned up after her source disappeared. So she thinks that anyone who smokes on a regular basis is addicted. She gave me a few books to read before I moved out and I've started to read them. They all describe hard-case people who used to the extreme for years, fucked up their lives, hit rock bottom, then started with therapy or AA (usually because they also drank a lot) to get them off it.

I started using when I had a herniated disk in my back when I was 30 to deal with the pain, instead of percocet which I found was a really 'holy shit' high and made me agressive. Then I found pot helped with my Crohns and kept using it, off an on for the last ten years. Mind you, I did experiment when I was younger too but never really got high that much.

Anyway, I'm just curious what y'all think about the whole concept of 'addiction'. Does being a regular user mean that you are addicted? It seems like a weird concept and there is a lot of judgement and labelling. I guess because it is a drug (and connotations that go along with using it are very poor, generally) people think any regular use is bad.

Having to hide it also makes it seem like anyone using it has a problem.

So, I'd like to know what other people think. I'm still feeling guilty and ashamed for supposedly being addicted and being responsible for wrecking what was a not bad relationship...except her not being able to deal with me quitting, and me not really wanting to quit because it helped deal with my Crohn's symptoms. So we would argue about this quite a bit and that part sucked. I ended up trying to justify the use and she never understood that it helped with the pain. I guess at the end she just decided that having someone around who smoked it was something she couldn't deal with (I never did it in front of her and I guess tried to hide it from her because I knew she didn't like it).

Maybe if there were more people like me I could talk to, it would make things a bit easier. But users like me are kind of in the closet, mostly because if the employer found out I would end up in rehab or something.

Addiction theory is a very poor description of human behavior, and accounts for less than 10% of any given population at best. I prefer pain avoidance theory when describing drug abuse.

Anyone can become acclimated to any behavior. And they can just as easily choose to no longer perform that behavior. Its called "self control."
Not all researchers believe in that crap either. Most who do have a financial outcome bound up in maintaining that specific theory as "real" and "true"
For example:
http://www.psychotherapy.net/interview/thomas-szasz

Sounds like the situation was more about Her, rather than You. People like to deflect and have a tendency to project. She tried to control you because the only way to control herself is through whatever happened to cause the break up. Your better off. Find someone who isn't domineering, ignorant and shallow. And if she is stupid enough to find books about people being taken over by inanimate substance then I got some sci-fi to sell her.

Smoking pot does not make one 'dirty' and when I don't smoke I do not become 'clean'. I just don't smoke. I'm a worthwhile human being whether I have a extra cannabinoids in my system or not.

Thanks for your thoughts. That link was an interesting read. Turns traditional thinking upside down - in a good way.

I believe in pain avoidance behaviour too, and much prefer the natural path in treating the pain. I've probably been in denial too long, trying to satisfy other people's needs more than my own. Feeling the guilt.

People who aren't sick don't understand. Less open minded. Thinking you can 'just snap out of it' or distract yourself from the pain. Mind you, I like the pleasure too, but even that shouldn't be cause for more guilt. We want to have more than simple survival, simple tolerance of the pain. I prefer to be pain free, and enjoy a bit of life. Yes, with some luck I will find someone who shares this point of view.

Addiction is for the weak minded ;p letting a substance have control over your life, having your life revolve around whatever you're addicted too. Truely in my eyes shows a weak minded individial with greater mental problems beyond addiction. It's all in your head. : p

With all that said, I'm not really talking about pot. Of course theres plenty of people who are 'addicted' to pot that don't smoke it for a legitimate reason rather just for the fun of it, or habit.

just a thought, I'm totally bored atm!!!!

I guess that means we are all weak minded then? We all need h2o, can't live without it, is this addiction then?

Im sorry todays society has created this "addiction" as a form of control. How easy would it be to control the actions of the masses if "YOU" had their fix? At least the less productive ones.

Think about it!

This is a tricky subject, to be sure... Call it addiction or whatever, but I think some of us recognize the following symptoms:

1. Always wondering / scheming where your next dose will come from
2. Using too much, knowing you're using too much, and unable to cut down no matter how many rules you make for yourself
3. Blowing off important events because you'd rather stay home and get high
4. Getting panic attacks when you realize you're down to your last few doses
5. Crippling depression after running out

I've experienced these with a number of substances over the years, pot included. But I know it isn't the substance, it's me, call it pain avoidance or whatever, I go through these phases where I can't imagine my life without whatever it is I'm currently fixated on. I'm still paying off a $6000 credit card debt I racked up the last time...

...but I have complicating factors as well. Depression unrelated to substance abuse that started in my teens. Panic attacks unrelated to substance abuse that started after a traumatic incident in 2003 and made worse by another one in 2005. And some form of psychosis that was rather bad between 2006-2010.

So, it's hard to say when I'm "withdrawing" from pot, say, or if I'm simply experiencing the return of my natural state. It gets even further complicated by the fact that I have lupus, people assume the gut cramps and skin rashes and eye problems and nausea are symptoms of pot withdrawal, but it's actually the other way around, the *lack* of those symptoms, which I have most of the time when untreated by cannabis or steroids, is a gift pot brings.

Lately I've looked at it this way... if I'm using about a gram a day, it's all good, enough to treat lupus and give me a bit of joy. If I'm using 4 grams a day and mixing tobacco with it so I can take bigger lungfuls, I'm probably slipping into something not so good.

I too lost a girlfriend over pot, but as I've described above it's not always obvious with me when I'm using it medically, when I'm having some honest fun, or when I'm using it to escape problems rather than face them.

You do realize cannabis is good for your situation, don't you? Our society has made cannabis taboo not because its bad for you, so don't fall victim to the hype, thats what they hope. Did ya ever think your body enjoys the affects because you have an imbalance of cannabinoids and you feel good when the balance temporily restored? Doesn't that cold water feel good after a long walk or run? Same thing, your body feels good so you feel good. Maybe stop worring about what others think and follow what your body wants. who knows better? Drop the tobacco and do up 10g a day and you would be better off. 10g is just a number for example, me, Im doing approx 15g a day now(with no high anymore)




Honest fun would be finding a cure for Lupus, what your doing is eleviating the symptoms. Maybe its your body trying to tell you something. Stop get in touch with your needs and fuck everyone else.

Good Luck with the lupus.

A girl friend by definition is a friend who is a girl. A friend is a person who will show up at 3am to get you out of a ditch.


All others are not your friends. They are properly termed acquaintances.

right right duely noted, lol. I guess I'd further label addiction as something The mind/body want, Not need for survival.