Is It Addiction Or Just Plain Entertainment

2009.05.03

When it comes to the average person, their concepts of addiction vary greatly. If you were to ask one person how they know someone is addicted, they may say, because that person smokes it two or three times a day. Then another person may tell they know someone is addicted because they are always happy. In conclusion, of this, everybody has their own idea of what addiction is and this often leads to misinterpretation of the effects of cannabis.

There are some anti pot users that believe if you own a hash pipe, bubble bags, or bongs for exactly then you must be highly addictive to the marijuana because you own all their paraphernalia.

Going beyond the average person what, do the so-called experts have to say about addiction? Some of the dictionary will tell you that if you have a psychological or physical dependency on something then you are addicted to it. Its means that you are abnormally tolerant of the substances.

If you have a strong craving that is abnormal then there are those individuals who will often refer to as “chasing the dragon” which was originally a Chinese saying about heroin. Yet some how its managed to find its way into the vocabulary of cannabis. Its now believed this saying should be applied to any drug that alters the mind.

When one looks at the interpretations you really do have to ask yourself who is setting the standards and by what qualifications. Are these just insinuations made because they are the normal thinking of society? For example, the individuals who gave the interpretation in the dictionary what are their credentials and what was their source.

In respect to the strong craving. Who determines what the difference between a normal craving and a strong craving? Who says that any type of craving is normal? In other words, is it appropriate to accept wanting ice cream, as a normal craving but if you want to smoke a joint then that’s an abnormal craving?

Chasing the dragon has become such a loose term now that it relates to almost anything that affects your mind. It may be hard drugs, prescription drugs for pain and mood disorders or even adrenalin rushes.

There is no argument here that there is not such thing as addictions. We all know to think that way would be a fallacy. The point I am making is before assuming someone is addicted to weed for example make sure you have a good knowledge and understanding of what a true addiction is before basing an opinion on just what you see on the surface.

It is unfair to pin a label on someone just because you disagree with their actions. You have the right to your opinion most certainly but if you are going to express that opinion then at least make sure it is factual. This applies to both the users and non-users of cannabis.