Am I addicted to marijuana?

[Cheyde]

I first tried pot(est.) 2 years ago, used it again(est.) 2 months after this, once more (est.)5 months after this and several months after that I had done it again( 5 months ago from this day), and since then my relationship with the drug hasn't been the same. For about one month after this last time, I smoked pot almost every other day. I was caught, and since then my use of the drug has been significantly reduced. For the first few weeks after getting caught, I would feel a deep-seated desire to get high. I have continued to get high approx. 6 times after getting caught. Now, I only truly desire getting high if presented with it. Does this mean that I am addicted? Was I ever addicted? I rarely think about getting high anymore, and if I do, I do not feel the necessity to do it. ONLY when presented with it, can I not resist it. When presented with it (ex:at a party) my previous morality vanishes, making me a victim to my impulses. ONLY with marijuana, do I experience this senseless urge to participate. I do not wish to stop smoking pot forever, I just wish I could legitimately not care if I do not participate. This craving is not a result of peer pressure, it is entirely an internal and impulsive conflict. I will now stop rambling, please give me advice as to how I can say NO in the heat of the moment.

[ZJILLIAN]

I was hoping that someone else would answer you; but I will try. So much is happening in your post. I think it is better to think of your involvement with marijuana another way, rather than "am I addicted?" It is more like falling in love. It has been explained to me that in the beginning of using a drug you find that it suddenly makes up for something that you are missing. For me it was at first alcohol which allowed me to have fun at a party and not be self conscious. But like love, it takes over your thoughts and you begin to long for it.You argue with yourself and try to be rational but find you can't. Everyone is different but some of us have the tendency to fall in love with drugs. It is a dangerous possibility. Just like with love it is necessary to STOP SEEING the person; not at parties, not on the street, not at someone's home. To protect yourself from temptation by keeping away from the object of your love.

[theeagle]

You are not addicted to pot - doesnt happen. But you may be "habituated" - which is basically addiction without the withdrawal syndrome...... ZJILLIAN is correct above....the best thing for you to do would be to totally avoid the situations where your desire to use is triggered. Parties, friends, and etc....... After a period of a few months you should be able to get control and be exposed without craving the participation. But that will take distancing yourself from current users, working on yourself, and some time. Good luck to you!

[ZJILLIAN]

Just wondering how you are doing?
ZJ

[Cheyde]

Hey, I'm doing better, thanks. I'm just trying to be the best I can be so that I can be happy in life, I don't want something as simple as this to ruin it. I really appreciate what you have done for me.

[ZJILLIAN]

Thanks for responding back. Glad you are doing well. If you need help you know where to find us.

[fashiondog]

It is a habitual addiction and you should cut down slowly
Addictions do not form over night so try and lower your amount on a monthly basis, itll help with the withdrawl

People here as well talk about how they recovered from marijuana addiction, the stories should help
http://www.detoxinsider.com/testimonial.php?gid=91

Good luck to you

[Lynn79]

I have always strongly disagreed with the notion that marijuana is not addictive.  It may not be physically addictive, being that it does not bind to any receptors and therefore does not cause the brain to become tolerant of the drug.  But anything that gives you a feeling of euphoria is certainly psychologically addictive.  I want to share my story with you.  All I did was pot back in the day.  I never cared for any kind of pills, or anything stronger, I just loved getting stoned.  Once in a while at college parties turned into every weekend, which turned into me buying it for myself and smoking every day.  I used it every day for a few years, and it RUINED MY LIFE.  I decided to quit one day, because I had gotten hired at a prestigious tennis camp in Maine for the summer.  I needed to leave in 3 weeks, and I knew that I had to be in the best shape of my life for this job.  I decided to give myself time to work out and exercise and get in shape, and pot was definitely not part of this plan.  I woke up two days later with a horrible feeling I had never had before.  (It was later defined as anxiety, but I did not recognize it because I had never been an anxious person.)  I had panic attacks, I could breathe as easily as I always had, and I just felt completely uncomfortable.  I couldn't explain it.  Anxiety in a normal person is supposed to be something that comes and goes, with a panic attack here and there.  No.  Mine was CONSTANT.  Every second of every day was spent concentrating on my breathing, with the irrational fear that I would just stop breathing if I didn't make myself.  I did not sleep, I went to the ER almost every day, and I was put on acid reflux meds, then anxiety meds.  Each thing the doctor came up with, I really hoped was the problem.  I just wanted them to find something wrong with me so it could be treated.  Needless to say, I had to call the tennis camp and tell them I could not come.  I was completely incapacitated for 4 months.  Every second of every day for 4 months, feeling like you are going crazy and living with this horrible feeling that just came out of nowhere, was enough to make me beg for death.  This feeling is what led me to start taking Vicodin, because it took all of those horrible feelings away and made me feel great again.  I had forgotten what "normal" felt like, and I mistook being high for "normal."
My point is that my highly addictive personality was that voice in my head that really craved marijuana.  It is that addictive personality that led me to the 2 year Vicodin addiction that followed.  And now, I have to live with the struggle of being an addict for the rest of my life, knowing that the slightest thing could send me right back to that horrible anxiety I had.  I completely messed up my brain chemistry, and once that happens it is so hard to get it back.  It sounds like you are still in a position to turn and walk the other way, completely painlessly.  Please, don't walk.  Run.  You do not want this life.  Once you introduce something to your body that makes you feel better than you normally would, your body always wants to feel that good.  This is what addiction is.  Therefore, marijuana is addictive.  Even though you may want to smoke when it is offered to you, maybe you could find something else to do that makes you happy.  If it is out of the question to stay away from the other people who do it, maybe you could just tell them not to offer it to you anymore.  I don't know.  Cravings are very hard to overcome, but a few hours of feeling good is definitely not worth a lifetime of pain!

[Prospero73]

I feel there's a basic confusion about several things here.  In the first place, I believe you are correct that there is such a thing as an addictive personality.  This is at least partly genetic, and it can be treated successfully by twelve-step programs and probably other forms of therapy.

There are also addictive substances, which will almost inevitably produce a dependancy that is both physical and psychological in everyone after a period of use.  Some of these are legal: nicotine is highly addictive, in that almost everyone experiences great difficulty in quitting; alcohol is more selective, in that many, perhaps most, people are able to drink moderately with no problems, but some will eventually have to quit or die.  Opiates are addictive on a level that can cause serious social problems on a broad level, e.g., China during the opium wars in the 19th century.

There is nothing inherently wrong with euphoria.  In some form or other, such as joy, love, or success, it's what makes life worth living.  If your only source of euphoria is a substance of some kind, especially one that's illegal or bad for your body,  you need to deal with that and develop other sources of emotional satisfaction in your life.  The substance isn't bad, and the euphoria isn't bad, but the human perspective is what needs work.

[leeisgettingclean]

really good post!!!