Drug addiction and alcoholism is a disease. This disease is something that is genetically inherited from our ancestors. No one chooses to become an alcoholic or an addict. Alcoholics and addicts (like me) are generally really nice people. What sets us apart from “normal people” is when we use alcohol or other drugs we develop the phenomenon of craving. There is a point at which someone who has the genetic make-up can successfully stop using drugs/alcohol and not develop the disease. Unfortunately, most of us don’t stop before reaching “the point of no return”. Once this has happened, the individual can no longer successfully use drugs or alcohol.
I had a great time using drugs and alcohol when I first started using them. But eventually I no longer got very much enjoyment from them and felt I had to use them to feel “normal”. As you can tell from the name of this website and the other statements I’ve made, my drug of choice was marijuana. Most alcoholics and addicts have a drug of choice; this is the “standby” or one they cannot go without. Most of the people I meet in AA stated that their drug of choice was alcohol. There were several times when me and my friends tried to get cocaine or other drugs and were unsuccessful. But, marijuana was always there and it was our drug of choice.
By age 25, marijuana was no longer working like it used to. Really all I wanted was to be comfortable in my own skin. My psychiatrist stated (years after I got sober) he thought I eventually would have switched over to pain pills. I guess he took note of all of the statements I made regarding how this type of drug made me feel. Pain pills were definitely one of my favorites because of the energy and overall good feeling they gave me. I used to tell my friends that I could be at work “Smiling” as I was taking out the trash.
If you’re an addict like me and you’re pretty young, the odds of me convincing you that you have a problem are pretty slim. It’s very difficult to convince us addicts that we have a problem when the drugs are still working for us. After you finish reading this article I would like for you to take a few minutes and really think. Look back on your life. When you were 10 years old did you think this was how your life was going to turn out? Are you living up to your full potential or is something holding you back? This was the case with me. In my early teens I was on the computer all the time and at age 16 I had a bulletin board system running at my parents’ house. Once I started using drugs and alcohol heavily, I lost all interest in the thing I loved the most (the computer). I was definitely not living up to my potential and I definitely didn’t think by the time I was 25 that I would be smoking pot all day long and using other drugs just so I could get through the day. Take some time to think. Think back to when you were 10 years old.
You know that you can become addicted to computers/the internet, right?
You cannot say look at yourself 10 years ago, are you living up to your expectations?
F***, no ones life is exactly like they thought it would be in 10 years. Everything in the future is a mystery. No I didn’t think I would be smoking pot, but I tell you what I am damn glad I do. If it weren’t for marijuana my life would be in ruins.
SINCE becoming a ‘pot head’ I have gotten a job, enrolled in college, I exersize a lot more, I have a much more positive outlook on the world as a whole, I think about things more, and I have a passion for life that I never used to have.
Stop trying to ruin an a plant because you are a weak feeble minded individual that can’t even handle the weakest of street drugs, Cannabis.
Drug addiction isnt a disease you idiots. Do i need to go to rehab because i am addicted to chocolate and tea/coffee? didn’t think so! Smoking weed isn’t addictive but people ENJOY doing it because its FUN! i realise you may not understand this, but people will ALLWAYS take drugs of every description and keeping them illegal means the supply and quality is controlled by the very people you are trying to bring to ‘justice’ (If you can call it that?). Drug use is a matter of public health NOT criminal justice!
legislate, regulate, tax and control is the only option, prohibition hasn’t worked for the last 40 years and it will continue to fail until the worlds politicians get their heads out of their asses!
Of course, it makes no difference to me as i’m going to get high whether its illegal or not. please re-evaluate the aim of your site.
Tom,
Let’s try to stay on topic here. Did you think back to when you were 10 years old?
When I was 10 I dreamed of being the greatest basketball player ever like Michael Jordan. Did I actually think that was going to happen? No, but I wanted it to happen. I hoped. Now, I enjoy cannabis every single day and when I was 10 there is no way I thought my life was going to turn out this way; nevertheless, my life is going great. I have a full-time job that pays very well (hard to find in this economy), I enjoy cannabis 2-3 times a day and I’m able to hang out with friends after work to play basketball or just chill.
Now Admin it’s your turn to think back to when you were 10 years old. Did you think you’d make a website that told people what to do? Did you think you’d be FOR the prohibition of a harmless drug that has medicinal value? Did you think that it was alright to restrict other adults’ right to do what they want in the privacy of their own home. It all goes back to morals. Perhaps you should get some. Stop trying to restrict my freedom. Be above the ignorance of society. Think for yourself.
Hm, ten years ago I didn’t know what I wanted to be. Now, I want to work in the film industry. I’m just saying, some people can use cannabis and still lead productive lives. I’m sorry that you couldn’t.
Also, there are a ton of ridiculously stupid comments on here. I like how you only comment upon those instead of the ones that are intelligent and contradict what you have said.
Sophie,
I don’t have time to comment on all of the postings. I’m just telling my story. It’s as simple as that. If someone can relate to what happened to me, then it might help him/her. You have no idea what I’m up against. When I approached other people in rehab and told them that I had tried to quit on my own. Their responses were like: “Are you serious? Why?”. This is what this website and I am up against.
But, I’ll just keep writing. I hope everyone keeps coming back. In AA we have speaker meetings where someone gets up and tells what it was like then and what it’s like now. Here is an example someone famous doing just that:
http://saynotopot.com/videos/
Just wanted to say that you are a complete moron. Addiction is not a disease! its just a choice. you can choose to have a addiction or you can choose not too. Saying its a disease only provides addicts with a exuse to continue. You should recognise that you are the master of your own destiny and get a grip. If you choose to eat choclate all day you will probably get fat. Drugs like anything can have both positive and negative effects. I strongly suggest you start taking drugs again.
I smoked pot until I got my current job, did extremely well at school and university, got the job I always wanted and am respected by my peers and boss. I never drove stoned or ever got into a fight whilst under the influence. The ONLY reason that I don’t do it now is because my organisation does random drug tests. Why do I keep hearing all these stories of people who cock up their lives and blame it on pot? I came from a good home, had great friends and am considered my most to be a pretty decent human being. How come my life isn’t totally stuffed? Is it because of my environmental upbringing rather than the means by which I have a good Friday night?
Why the hell is it illegal to smoke a plant that decreases aggression, but its still totally legal to distribute alcohol, which can (in a lot of cases) increase aggression, leads to horrible decision making and is by chemical definition a poison? Have you ever heard of some one over dosing on pot? No, it simply isn’t toxic enough. Have you ever heard of a fight breaking out because of pot? No. Pot is safer than alcohol.
(And don’t respond with that 50,000 accidents a year crap, anyone with even has the most basic idea of how statistics like that are generated will know its rubbish and misleading)
Look I can see that you are trying to help people and that’s really good, but I am a doctor of psychology and for you to state that drug addiction is a genetically inherited disease and that nobody chooses to become an addict is ridiculous. It is true that addictive traits are hereditary and that somebody with a family background of substance dependency is more likely to develop such habits, but only slightly. Environment and attitude play a bigger role in whether or not one will develop a habit.
Think back to when I was ten years old? I wanted to be billionaire F1 driver with houses all over the world, thanks for making what I’ve accomplished seem insignificant. lol
I can see your trying to help people but I recommend you to please stop before before you put false ideas into very desperate peoples head.
While I neither agree nor disagree with the author’s comments, I enjoy cannabis on a near daily basis and I am aware of its both positive and negative effects on my life and my body.
Some science:
Cannabinoids are special molecules that interact with certain receptors in the brain, the most common of which is best known as THC. These special molecules have been proven to evoke the same coronary response as that felt during accomplishment. So when you smoke pot you feel good about your self and you can do anything (or nothing) and feel satisfaction.
The down side of course is that generally you don’t actually get anything done.
Marijuana does not kill brain cells. Inhaling carbonized (burnt) plant matter of any type can result in eventual brain damage due to asphyxia.
Fortunately for the health conscious cannabis enthusiast, some smart folks invented the vaporizer: any one of a large number of available devices designed to use super heated air to melt the crystallized THC from the outside of the marijuana plant. The vaporizer heats the crystals at such at temperature that they are instantly turned into a fine mist, or vapor. Due to the size of the THC molecule the mist is fine enough to enter the alveoli in the lungs without causing damage. These devices generally sell between one and two hundred dollars and are widely available.
Despite wide spread use for thousands of years (that’s right, thousands of years) there is NOT ONE recorded death due to long term cannabis use.
Did you know that the government of The United States of America banned, unbanned, and then re-banned cannabis all in the 20th century? At first it was banned as part of a wholesale desire to cut off the hemp industry that was taking over many other US industries and because ONE government report based on monkeys that were force fed 60 joints per day said it would kill brain cells (so does standing in a burning building inhaling that kind of smoke…)
If you’re interested in seeing both sides of the story, watch the Documentary “The Union” made in BC, Canada, the largest cannabis producing region in North America. It looks at the Marijuana industry in BC, the politics both locally and internationaly, and the science behind smoking dope.
I am in no way connected with the creators of this film but I did find it quite enlightening.
PS – putting poorly researched miss information into print will result in an even greater divide between the conscientious pot users and fear mongering establishment.
I applaud what you are doing, trying to save others from what you feel was a list of poor decisions you made. But if you really want to save someone’s life, use a scalpel not a meat cleaver.
YOU DO KNOW…
FACT 1: It has been long proven that weed has no addictive propities or chemicals.
FACT 2: more people die a year from coconuts falling on their head than off the effects of weed
FACT 3: Weed was origonaly used for medicine and is still used today to treat AIDs, Authritus, anorexic people, ect.
FACT 4: You cant inherit addictions
FACT 5: Addictions aren’t diseases, dont be a retard.
FACT 4: The approx ratio of deaths a year of alcohol users to cannibas uses is 50:1
Booze in general is bad. But it depends on if you go to a bar to relax or get smashed.
It’s exactly the same with cannibas.
ITS THE PERSON, NOT THE DRUG
Get your facts RIGHT :]
I know more than you and i’m probally a quater of your age.
I pity that you are so poorly educated.
Listen you ignorant piece of ****, when you say No one chooses to become an alcoholic or an addict. you are a liar. the only people who are addicted to marijuana by your definition of the term addicted are people who have low self confidence, lack of integrity, and those who cannot think for themselves. Why did you start smoking marijuana? did you think it would make you seem cool? why did you quit? did you think it would make you seem like a responsible person? In other words have you ever thought for yourself? or have you given into peer pressure all your life. I started smoking marijuana because I chose to. Me, myself, and I. Not because my friends wanted me to. If I ever do quit smoking marijuana, it will be my decion made by me, unlike you who allowed yourself to be brainwashed by others until you believed that this was the right path for you to take in your life. Instead of using your brain and thinking for youself. SPREAD TRUTH NOT IGNORANCE
Let me give my honest answer.
When I was ten years old, I didn’t think that I would ever smoke marijuana – but I also didn’t think that I would be so addicted to internet technology.
If I were to rate my use of marijuana and the use of the internet, I would honestly say that I have become more addicted to facebook etc than I am to marijuana.
Sometimes I struggle with controlling my own use of marijuana. I agree that addiction can be classified as a “disease” but only to convey the notion that it is treatable and not criminal. Of course it would be a logical fallacy to assume that all marijuana use falls under the category of “addictive”.
And, just as I would not ask the government to ban facebook, I think that my own personal responsibility should allow me the right to choose how and when I enjoy marijuana, and if I should choose to get help then that’s my prerogative.
Alcoholism/addiction is not a disease and is by no means genetic. Scientists have been searching for years for any sign of “alcoholism” as a disease and have found none. This was proposed decades ago and it’s only a scape goat for people that do have addictions.
@Genetics says
I like how you don’t cite any source for that completely outrageous claim. I can cite a source that says otherwise
http://focus.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/1/2/190
Here’s an excerpt from the article published by the American Psychiatric Association, a very reliable and reputable source on all mental disorders and diseases.
“Not only does acute drug use modify brain function in critical ways, but prolonged drug use causes pervasive changes in brain function that persist long after the individual stops taking the drug. Significant effects of chronic use have been identified for many drugs at all levels: molecular, cellular, structural, and functional (6, 7). The addicted brain is distinctly different from the nonaddicted brain, as manifested by changes in brain metabolic activity, receptor availability, gene expression, and responsiveness to environmental cues. Some of these long-lasting brain changes are idiosyncratic to specific drugs, whereas others are common to many different drugs (6–9). The common brain effects of addicting substances suggest common brain mechanisms underlying all addictions (5, 7, 9, 10).”
And here’s all the articles and studies cited in that excerpt.
#5 G. F. Koob, Trends Pharmacol. Sci. 13, 177 (1992); G. F. Koob et al., Semin. Neurosci. 6, 221 (1994)[Medline]
#6 S. E. Hyman, Neuron 16, 901 (1996); E. J. Nestler, ibid., p. 897; W. P. Melega et al., Behav. Brain Res. 84, 259 (1997); J. Ortiz et al., Synapse 21, 289 (1995); N. D. Volkow et al., Am. J. Psychiatry 147, 719 (1990).[Medline]
#7 E. J. Nestler et al., Mol. Psychiatry 1, 190 (1996); D. W. Self and E. J. Nestler, Annu. Rev. Neurosci. 18, 463 (1995)[Medline]
#8 E. J. Nestler, J. Neurosci. 12, 2439 (1992); T. E. Robinson and K. C. Berridge, Brain Res. Rev. 18, 247 (1993); R. Z. Terwilliger et al., Brain Res. 548, 100 (1991)[Medline]
#9 G. F. Koob, Neuron 16, 893 (1996)[Medline]
#10 A. I. Leshner, Hospital Practice: A Special Report (McGraw-Hill, Minneapolis, MN, 1997)
Can someone find a legit study, article or publication stating something else?
“The continued PROHIBITION of cannabis jeopardizes the health and well-being of Canadians MUCH MORE than does the substance itself.”
• Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs, 2002
It is NOT addictive as you claim.
There has never been any demonstrable justification for prohibition in the first place and it is therefore unconstitutional
People who smoke it religiously are being illegally discriminated against. Some people believe Moses inhaled before he heard the voice of God.
Freedom of every individual to believe and practice whatever doesn’t harm anyone else must become universal
I started smoking joints when I was thirteen. Being a kid, and not knowing any better, it led to more dangerous substances such as alcohol and tobacco. It took me 25 years to become tobacco free. (10 yrs now) As a mentally ill youngster, (severe bipolar disorder), I discovered that marijuana enabled me to function on a higher level. (I have a genius IQ, yet was extremely sensitive and socially retarded). I am currently prescribed very high doses of lithium and quetiapine, which leaves me pretty much useless for 12hrs/day. Marijuana allows my to use much, much less of the prescribed meds saving me from extreme kidney pain from accumulated lithium in my system. Marijuana is of great health benefit to me, however I do not lobby much for medical marijuana as there is so much ignorance and prejudice educated into physicians. As I said and it bears repeating, Freedom of every individual to believe and practice whatever doesn’t harm anyone else must become universal, whether you have a prescription or not. Why would I ask for anyone’s permission or approval to do what I need to do?
Of course. The Status quo generates so much inertia to slow or prevent change…wouldn’t it be nice if all those police, guards lawyers politicians bureaucrats and otherwise unnecessary social workers, etc., could have jobs that actually contributed value to society instead of being paid out of the values generated by others. None of those people produce any good or commodity, (which is what the GDP consists of) marijuana growers, on the other hand produce billions of dollars for the global economy every year, even if it an underground economy it fuels the ‘legitimate’ economy too. Unfortunately, the ‘prison industrial complex’ consumes even more values than their counterparts produce.
I wonder why i am wasting my breath why would an evil entity publish any comment that was contradictory or disproved its hideously corrupt and malicious, nefariously wicked propaganda that marijuana has EVER been in any way harmful to anyone. Those unfortunate testimonials are from the same types who would develop issues with or without the help of marijuana. In fact in some cases it is clear they were in fact being helped for a time before they were convinced it was bad for them. Other than the effects of prohibition, there is no downside.
I do not advocate abusing any drug or substance, but properly used, drugs of all sorts can be very powerful tools. But a person can gain more damage from getting carried away on the donuts after the toke than from the toke. Want to outlaw donuts too? Why not ? They do more harm.
As I said 35 years of daily use. Lucid enough for you?
Your website full of lies and propaganda will be reported to the PROPER Authorities.
I pray the good Lord grants you wisdom, a heart filled with Peace, and the courage to do the right thing.
God Bless.