Is Marijuana Addictive?

Well, yes. But it’s complicated.

Robert Roy Britt
Elemental
Published in
10 min readJul 8, 2019

Photo by Ramille Soares on Unsplash

TThe idea that pot is not addictive is widespread. A global survey of 55,000 cannabis users last year found that while 75% believe messages around the health risks of marijuana — from driving under the influence to forgetfulness, as well as harmful chemicals in the smoke — only 64% believe the fact that some people who try it become addicted. Yet health experts and scientists agree marijuana is addictive, though less so than, say, heroin. And as cannabis potency soars, some experts worry that the addictive potential is rising, especially for the under-25 set whose brains are still developing.

“Definitely, yes,” cannabis is addictive, says Ruben Baler, a health scientist at the science-policy branch of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). “About 10% of people who use marijuana run the risk of addiction,” Baler says. “The risk goes up if you use it frequently.”

Furthermore, according to a NIDA statement, “data suggest that 30% of those who use marijuana may have some degree of ‘marijuana use disorder,’” a term recently rolled into the pot lexicon in an as yet confusing attempt to recognize a spectrum of use from relatively harmless to harmful, and to snuff out the stigma of addiction.

Your brain on pot

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Elemental
Elemental

Published in Elemental

Elemental is a former publication from Medium for science-backed health and wellness coverage. Currently inactive and not taking submissions.

Robert Roy Britt
Robert Roy Britt

Written by Robert Roy Britt

Editor of Wise & Well on Medium + the Writer's Guide at writersguide.substack.com. Author of Make Sleep Your Superpower: amazon.com/dp/B0BJBYFQCB

Responses (41)

What are your thoughts?

As an addict and cannabis user, I can tell you that the medical industry really has no idea what addiction is. As you say, it’s complicated, and looking only at brains, or any particular body part, can’t reveal the nuances of addiction. Medicine…...

Dabs can be four times as concentrated as the cannabis in a typical high-grade joint, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

I wouldn’t trust the DEA to tell me if it was day or night unless I was standing near an open window.

I know for a certainty that pain is addictive; for the past 50 years now it’s been with me every day.
And I know that marijuana can block up to 50% of that pain. So I’ll accept the trade-off. At least for the next 50 years….
Thank you.