“A friend indeed won’t make you smoke that weed”

People claim that marijuana is not addictive. A lot of people seem to think marijuana is different from other drugs. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Marijuana is just as addictive as other drugs (including alcohol and nicotine). This is specifically applicable to teenagers.

Drug dependence means needing a drug to feel physically okay. If a person is dependent on a drug, having enough of a supply is always important to them. However, being dependent doesn’t necessarily mean you’re addicted. For example, many people
can be dependent on a medication prescribed by their doctor without being addicted to the medication.

A person with a drug dependency will experience withdrawal if they completely stop using the drug all at once. Withdrawal is what leads a lot of people who are addicted to a drug, relapse – they’ve tried to quit, but they start taking the drug again.

The portrayals in movies and TV of people addicted to heroin, is that of sweating, shaking and being curled up in bed with unbearable pain. Marijuana withdrawal is a lot more subtle, but every bit as real. The main psychological symptoms of marijuana withdrawal include irritability, anxiety, depression, restlessness, insomnia and poor appetite. Physical symptoms are stomach pain, sweatiness, shakiness, fever, chills and headaches.

The longer a person uses marijuana, the more likely they are to have withdrawal symptoms when they aren’t using. In the Journal of Addiction Medicine Study, teens who had marijuana withdrawal symptoms were more likely to have problems at school or at work or trouble with relationships.

Fact is: One in six teens who try marijuana will get addicted to it, and that goes up to as many as one-half of teens who use it every day.