Many people I know insist weed isn't addictive. Perhaps not in the way cocaine or cigarettes are. However, why can't potheads quit smoking it, if its not addictive?
About 10 percent of the people that use or try weed will get addicted, and it can be severe; just like about 10 percent of the people that use or try alcohol.
And the determinant as to whether they become an addict to either is genetics.
I've know several people who smoke pot and have had one hell of a time stopping. Perhaps it isn't physically "addictive" but almost any behavior can be psychologically "addictive".
I know many, many people who have smoked pot at different times in their lives and then put it down altogether.
I know others -- mostly professionals -- who smoke it only occasionally, for recreation.
There are people who can get addicted to all kinds of things, including caffeine.
But pot itself is NOT generally addictive.
Actually, the label "addictive" refers to certain bodily reactions and mental thresholds. Pot is addictive in the sense that people want to do it again and again; so is weightlifting to many, for that matter.
People with addictive personalities are prone to get addicted to many things: porn, sex, and yes, pot. Absent those substances which make the body/mind feel it "needs" them, addiction is often just indulgence mislabeled.
Is pot addictive? To some, for certain. Is it anywhere near the category of physical/mental addiction of alcohol, caffeine, or tobacco? Not even close.
They can if they want to. Some don't want to.
Since when can't potheads stop smoking? I have known more than one person who smoked pot heavily for a long time, then quit by merely deciding to do so, without any of the withdrawal symptoms or psychological crises that, for example, a cigarette smoker goes through. Just because someone may not want to stop smoking pot doesn't mean they can't. Cigarettes, on the other hand, are a f-ing nightmare to quit.
Confusing "can't" with "unwilling," I believe. To be a addictive substance, the withdrawal from the chemical must produce withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal from marihuana doesn't.
Because they don't really want to. No, it is not addictive. I know many people that lead productive lives and only smoke in the evenings to relax. I see absolutely nothing wrong with that, it is far less harmful than alcohol.
After 22 years of indulgence, On October, 4 2002 my then 5 year old daughter told me I smelled funny after I returned from a trip to the garage. That's all it took. Haven't touched it since. No treatment. No withdrawals. Only some minor cravings in social situations, like fishing, where it used to be a big part of the activity. People just need a good enough reason to quit. Growing children are often that reason.
maybe,JUST maybe,they do not want to.