No, it is nowhere near the same class of drug as alcohol is. Believe it or not, you can do anything high on MJ that you could do straight. Drive a car, function in society, a very long list of anything and everything. That might be hard for you to believe but it is true.
You can't do much when you are drunk. Except fall down or crash the vehicle you are driving. Or commit acts of violence. Or have your marriage destroyed.
Alcohol can be fatal. MJ has no known overdose. Alcohol has withdrawal symptoms that can be bad enough to kill you without being in a detox unit at a hospita. MJ has zero physical withdrawal symptoms.
One is very bad, the other is most benign. One is legal and one is not.
What's wrong with this picture?
Are you speaking from experience? I have seen people pass out and I know it is difficult to drive.
I am on your side, but I think it might be helpful to get better data on the subject.
http://www.cannabis.net/withdrawal/index.html
Withdrawal symptoms following cessation of heavy cannabis (marijuana) use have been reported, yet their time course and clinical importance have not been established. A 50-day outpatient study assessed 18 marijuana users during a 5-day smoking-as-usual phase followed by a 45-day abstinence phase. Parallel assessment of 12 ex-users was obtained. A withdrawal pattern was observed for aggression, anger, anxiety, decreased appetite, decreased body weight, irritability, restlessness, shakiness, sleep problems, and stomach pain. Onset typically occurred between Days 1-3, peak effects between Days 2-6, and most effects lasted 4-14 days. The magnitude and time course of these effects appeared comparable to tobacco and other withdrawal syndromes. These effects likely contribute to the development of dependence and difficulty stopping use. Criteria for cannabis withdrawal are proposed.
///////////////////////
One reason that cannabis withdrawal is not noted more is the fact that the chemicals are fat soluble and linger in the body for some time- so when cannabis ingestion is suddenly stopped, the cannabis built up in the body slowly decreases, greatly softening withdrawal symptoms.
Opiates are mostly water soluble and have a much shorter biological half-life. When you stop ingesting heroin, it is gone from your body much faster and the withdrawal symptoms are readily apparent.
http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/public-health/dpb/supplements/supp10.pdf
This lists cannabis withdrawal symptoms, and declares them to be mild and not dangerous medically.
The article mentions effects on the large airway structures and compares these with the effects of tobacco, which effects the small airways like the alveoli. Chronic bronchitis is common to pot smokers, according to the article.
The biggest concern seems to be the effects on motivation, especially among the adolescent.
So we can dismiss all this since a government published it. It can't be valid.