Anyone use CBD

[UTTransplant]

Dependence is different and there's usually something behind dependence that isn't a physiological THC addiction. It can be a severe mental health disorder like anxiety or schizophrenia, where THC is the self-medication of choice to blunt the effects of the disorder. It's no surprise that the incidence of substance use/abuse is much higher in people with mental health disorders, trauma survivors/PTSD/C-PTSD. When the underlying disorder is properly treated, the user is not necessarily dependent on THC any longer. There's also dependence for other substance abuse which I mentioned earlier.

My mother self-medicated her depression for many years with alcohol. Sadly, there really wasn’t much other treatment in those days. Of course alcohol can cause true chemical addiction, and patients who are withdrawing need medical intervention and sometimes hospital stays. I do know people who cannot function without marijuana, but it is a dependence, not addiction, as you note.

 

[Babe2201]

I think it's important to separate dependence from addiction. Studies done on addiction as well as anecdotal evidence "I know pot smokers in the real world" support my opinion that THC addictions are very weak in comparison to things like nicotine or even caffeine.

Dependence is different and there's usually something behind dependence that isn't a physiological THC addiction. It can be a severe mental health disorder like anxiety or schizophrenia, where THC is the self-medication of choice to blunt the effects of the disorder. It's no surprise that the incidence of substance use/abuse is much higher in people with mental health disorders, trauma survivors/PTSD/C-PTSD. When the underlying disorder is properly treated, the user is not necessarily dependent on THC any longer. There's also dependence for other substance abuse which I mentioned earlier.

See I do not think it is important to separate them and really only serves as a way for you think you are right and that marijuana is not addictive. Do you believe people can be addicted to things like heroin and opioids or are they just dependent?

I also know a lot of people that are addicted or what you like to call dependent to pot and are just stoners and more than likely do not suffer from any of the stuff you claim they do. Just for giggles you are spot on and are these people not using a drug to combat those issues instead of another remedy such as hobbies to take care of their problems?

 

[SeilerBird]

What are the four signs of addiction?
Shakes, tremors, or slurred speech. Change in their daily routines. Lack of concern for personal hygiene. Unusual need for money; financial problems.

I ran a medical marijuana clinic for years and I met hundreds of marijuana users and not one person ever showed any of these signs.

 

[Reinigm]

When I was going through my cancer treatments I tried various cannibis products.
I found that CBD in various forms did very little for me, but products containing THC helped with the pain from the surgery and radiation, helped me maintain my appetite and also helped me sleep. Usually 10-20 mg of THC was very effective. Much more than that would get me higher than I wanted to be. I once tried 100mg of THC in a chocolate bar and I've never been so high on cannabis in my life! And I was a pot smoker for most of my life!
On the other hand I have a close friend that has nerve issues from almost being electrocuted many years ago. For him CBD is a miracle drug. It helps relieve the lingering pain, and helps with the tremors he gets in his hands.

I'm not sure scarfing down Twinkies is the correct way to "maintain you diet", Dude.

 

[Skookum]

See I do not think it is important to separate them and really only serves as a way for you think you are right and that marijuana is not addictive. Do you believe people can be addicted to things like heroin and opioids or are they just dependent?

I also know a lot of people that are addicted or what you like to call dependent to pot and are just stoners and more than likely do not suffer from any of the stuff you claim they do. Just for giggles you are spot on and are these people not using a drug to combat those issues instead of another remedy such as hobbies to take care of their problems?

Heroin is an opiate, and it causes a severe physiological and psychological addiction whether the user is dependent on it for self medication due to other disorders or not. To cease a heroin addiction generally requires clinical intervention with a structured recovery program. Benzodiazepines? Ceasing heavy abuse can cause death because they are so physiologically addicting.

THC? Studies and anecdotal evidence all confirm it's minimally addictive. As I said, quitting a caffeine habit would be comparable on the extreme end. Anecdotally, I know people who use THC recreationally and they have no problem stopping use when they need or want to. Withdrawal is minimal, people notice it's a little harder to get to sleep, especially if they use THC as a sleep-aid, and maybe a few days of low mood as they adjust to processing raw emotion again. If someone cannot physically quit THC, it's an extremely rare/unique situation, or there's something else about their situation that you do not know.

 

[Babe2201]

What are the four signs of addiction?
Shakes, tremors, or slurred speech. Change in their daily routines. Lack of concern for personal hygiene. Unusual need for money; financial problems.

I ran a medical marijuana clinic for years and I met hundreds of marijuana users and not one person ever showed any of these signs.

They can also be addicted without showing any of those signs.

You are welcome to your opinion and you can deflect all you want to try to prove yourself right but I have known several people tell me that they are not addicted to pot and that pot is not addictive and my response sometimes is to tell them to quit for a month and they usually come back with some excuse on why they will not. That tells me they cannot go without it and that tells me they are addicted. Some might say that is dependence and not addiction but I am not sure it matters or not.

 

[Babe2201]

Heroin is an opiate, and it causes a severe physiological and psychological addiction whether the user is dependent on it for self medication due to other disorders or not. To cease a heroin addiction generally requires clinical intervention with a structured recovery program. Benzodiazepines? Ceasing heavy abuse can cause death because they are so physiologically addicting.

THC? Studies and anecdotal evidence all confirm it's minimally addictive. As I said, quitting a caffeine habit would be comparable on the extreme end. Anecdotally, I know people who use THC recreationally and they have no problem stopping use when they need or want to. Withdrawal is minimal, people notice it's a little harder to get to sleep, especially if they use THC as a sleep-aid, and maybe a few days of low mood as they adjust to processing raw emotion again. If someone cannot physically quit THC, it's an extremely rare/unique situation, or there's something else about their situation that you do not know.

Minimally addictive is still addictive now isn't it. That statement you just made proves I am right that marijuana can be addictive even if it is minimally.

 

[Skookum]

Minimally addictive is still addictive now isn't it. That statement you just made proves I am right that marijuana can be addictive even if it is minimally.

Yes, absolutely. You'll notice I'm not the one who wrote "Marijuana isn't addictive" ...that was Seilerbird I believe it's a generally true statement that encompasses the severity of most marijuana addictions but I make no excuse and do not hide the fact that there can be some addiction.

Again, much like caffeine, which many people consider to be a perfectly acceptable/harmless addiction, if you don't have to quit, why would you? Could you? Well, yeah...

 

[Lou Schneider]

The tobacco industry has made a fortune on the addictiveness of their product. Why else
besides staving off withdrawal effects would anyone willingly ingest a bitter, foul tasting product several times a day?

Of course, you could say the same thing about coffee.

 

[SeilerBird]

The tobacco industry has made a fortune on the addictiveness of their product. Why else
besides staving off withdrawal effects would anyone willingly ingest a bitter, foul tasting product several times a day?

Same thing goes for the alcohol industry. In Dodger Stadium there is a large sign for an "adult" beverage that proclaims "Drink it anyway you damn well please" and in much smaller type below it says "just do it responsibly". Alcohol kills brain cells so there is no way to drink alcohol responsibly.

 

[Wasillaguy]

The tobacco industry has made a fortune on the addictiveness of their product. Why else
besides staving off withdrawal effects would anyone willingly ingest a bitter, foul tasting product several times a day?

Of course, you could say the same thing about coffee.

The body often craves what it needs. Read a few books written in the early 1800's by people who lived among the native Americans and you find many mentions of how old the chiefs and elders lived, well into their 90's. You will also find many accounts of how those very old men smoked the peace pipe all day long.

 

[SargeW]

It is a lot of very broad statements being made as to weather marijuana causes addiction, dependence, cancer, or a variety of other ailments, and the truth is long term effects of THC are a long way off, so much of what has been presented is opinion. But we are free to make our own choices (mostly) and decide for ourselves. Several small studies have been done and have come up with a variety of conclusions. The truth is each individual's experience will vary greatly for a variety of reasons.

And comparing one against another to justify safety is laughable. You could compare famous cigar smoker George Burns who lived into his 90's and smoked a cigar every day as healthy. In comparison a good buddy of mine loved his cigars too. He was diagnosed with stage 4 throat cancer and passed away within 6 weeks. He was not yet 40.

A snippet from the American Cancer Society's web site:

Possible harmful effects of marijuana​

Marijuana can also pose some harms to users. While the most common effect of marijuana is a feeling of euphoria ("high"), it also can lower the user’s control over movement, cause disorientation, and sometimes cause unpleasant thoughts or feelings of anxiety and paranoia.

Smoked marijuana delivers THC and other cannabinoids to the body, but it also delivers harmful substances to users and those close by, including many of the same substances found in tobacco smoke.

Because marijuana plants come in different strains with different levels of active compounds, it can make each user’s experience very hard to predict. The effects can also differ based on how deeply and for how long the user inhales. Likewise, the effects of ingesting marijuana orally can vary between people. Also, some chronic users can develop an unhealthy dependence on marijuana.

 

[Jeff in Ferndale Wa]

So maybe doctors rarely prescribe it because it is rarely effective and not out of fear?

I don't know the reasoning, but when I mentioned to my cancer docs that I was using cannabis to help me get by, they usually only would comment something like "if it works for you, go for it", but generally non committal, while the nurses in the same office generally would make very positive comments and tell me how many people are helped with cannabis.

 

[Jeff in Ferndale Wa]

I'm not sure scarfing down Twinkies is the correct way to "maintain you diet", Dude.

Actually, during the radiation and chemo treatments, they wanted me on a 3500 calorie a day diet. They didn't care how healthy it was as long as I maintained the calories. I ate a lot of ice cream those six weeks.

 

[Wasillaguy]

I don't know the reasoning, but when I mentioned to my cancer docs that I was using cannabis to help me get by, they usually only would comment something like "if it works for you, go for it", but generally non committal, while the nurses in the same office generally would make very positive comments and tell me how many people are helped with cannabis.

The nurses' careers are not threatened if they speak the obvious truth.
The last couple years have made it clear doctors must follow the approved protocols or pay dearly.

 

[Larry N.]

You could compare famous cigar smoker George Burns who lived into his 90's and smoked a cigar every day as healthy.

He actually died at 100. I had a great uncle who smoked cigars, and at 88 he was still climbing on roofs (steep ones) to do repairs. He died in a nursing home at 103, still (with staff assistance) smoking 4 cigars a day.

Of course that just shows that different folks react in different ways to bad stuff, as well as to good stuff.

 

[Wasillaguy]

Yet every tribe of Indians had lots of George Burns' types. Even with all the disease the white man brought, they lived very long lives smoking constantly.
They knew the medicinal benefit of every plant. Saved the pilgrims with Pine needle tea (shikimic acid, which was used in Tamiflu before it was taken off the market shortly before covid???)

 

[SeilerBird]

Yet every tribe of Indians had lots of George Burns' types. Even with all the disease the white man brought, they lived very long lives smoking constantly.
They knew the medicinal benefit of every plant. Saved the pilgrims with Pine needle tea (shikimic acid, which was used in Tamiflu before it was taken off the market shortly before covid???)

And Andy Kaufman never smoked and he died in his 30s of lung cancer.

 

[Skookum]

It is a lot of very broad statements being made as to weather marijuana causes addiction, dependence, cancer, or a variety of other ailments, and the truth is long term effects of THC are a long way off, so much of what has been presented is opinion. But we are free to make our own choices (mostly) and decide for ourselves. Several small studies have been done and have come up with a variety of conclusions. The truth is each individual's experience will vary greatly for a variety of reasons.

And comparing one against another to justify safety is laughable. You could compare famous cigar smoker George Burns who lived into his 90's and smoked a cigar every day as healthy. In comparison a good buddy of mine loved his cigars too. He was diagnosed with stage 4 throat cancer and passed away within 6 weeks. He was not yet 40.

Cars give people cancer in the state of California, according to a mandated label on the sale of every new car in that state. Should we be spooked about the long term effects of driving a car, or is it a generally acceptable risk?

It's important to call out published studies of the "long term" effects of marijuana are still a ways off. Marijuana use dates back 2500 years but it's only recently (20 years?) been acceptable to really scientifically study it and publish results. But there is no shortage of lifetime users and anecdotal evidence which provides real data points.

 

[Babe2201]

Cars give people cancer in the state of California, according to a mandated label on the sale of every new car in that state. Should we be spooked about the long term effects of driving a car, or is it a generally acceptable risk?

It's important to call out published studies of the "long term" effects of marijuana are still a ways off. Marijuana use dates back 2500 years but it's only recently (20 years?) been acceptable to really scientifically study it and publish results. But there is no shortage of lifetime users and anecdotal evidence which provides real data points.

I can't even begin to say how ridiculous this statement is. Most people need to drive a car to get to their job, grocery shop, get their kids to school or events, buy supplies for their home, and many other day to day things. Please tell me how someone needs to smoke pot to do any of those things.

Never mind the fact that your statement starts with what California says. I am pretty sure that is the state where you can shoplift as long as you keep it under a certain dollar amount.