Scattered Work

Hooked

For some reason, the New York Times style section published an article on marijuana addiction a few days ago. It starts by chronicling some stories of addiction, trying to break through the myth that marijuana is not actually addictive, which arose in response to the myth that marijuana is actually very addictive. I don’t think the article is factually wrong: marijuana is addictive, and marijuana abuse has adverse effects on peoples’ lives. As the article points out, this addiction is not nearly as severe as dependence on alcohol, tobacco, cocaine, methamphetamine, Xanax, Valium, Codeine, etc. Still, it is habit forming.

But at the same time, this article, and most of the discussion around drug abuse, glosses over a fundamental point. Addiction is not merely a function of ingesting substances for a thrill and then becoming hooked. We’ve all seen people become compulsive about eating, gambling, (video) gaming, shopping, or fucking, to name a few. There are underlying mental disorders that lead to compulsive behavior, and it’s counterproductive to try to separate that discussion from a discussion of drug addiction. This is especially true with marijuana, which, like some of these other compulsions, is not physically addictive. Marijuana withdrawal very often causes loss of appetite, insomnia, and/or anxiety, but not vomiting, diarrhea, uncontrollable shaking, or death as with some other drugs. I’ve seen numerous habitual smokers walk away from pot without treatment or counseling, having minimal withdrawal symptoms and no relapse.

For these reasons, I think it may be more helpful to think of habitual marijuana use as analogous to compulsive behavior more generally, as opposed to the physical addiction of other substances. There is some research to suggest that drug addiction is neurologically similar to any other compulsive behavior. The question is, if there is no physical addiction involved, would we be better served by treating marijuana abuse as a compulsive behavior than as a substance addiction?

Tags: addiction, marijuana, nuerology