[fr_freak]

Kind of like saying someone is a "chronic" alcohol drinker or a "chronic" nicotine user. They are addicted.

"Chronic" only implies regularly reoccurring. People who like to have a glass of scotch or a couple of beers are chronic alcohol users. Are they addicted? Maybe, since alcohol is physically addictive, but they probably aren't. Marijuana is not physically addictive, however, so even heavy repeated usage doesn't result in physical addiction. It certainly is more fun than real life, though, so those who have a weak character may simply choose to forgo their responsibilities in favor of doing the more fun thing, but that STILL doesn't make it physically addictive.

[Right Wing Assault]

I have never used marijuana, or taken any drug, to get high. I never drank enough to get drunk. I saw too many relatives of mine get into deep social and health troubles with alcohol. I never smoked for similar reasons. As a kid I taught myself that I didn't need any of those to feel good or to have fun or to be sociable. Someone once said about me at a party, "He's the life of the party and he's not even drinking." In my old age, pushing 70, I occasionally take a single drink of something that tastes good just before bed.

Knowing my bias, let me continue.

The question 'is it addicting' has been around for ages, of course. Just for fun, I did a StartPage search on "is marijuana addicting" and looked at a lot of results. Various topics were covered, such as what does addicting mean and is it addicting.

What I took away was that the current idea is that certainly it is psychologically addicting, which has been known. Physically addicting, mostly for long term users or those more genetically prone. Can the person stop long term and function seems to be the question. For most people, the answer seems to be Yes

Also, the physical addiction is easier to break than alcohol and drugs. (I was a medic in an Army hospital during Vietnam and I saw two guys undergo near cold turkey from alcohol. Scared the crap out of me.) A few weeks they say and most of the MJ anxiety and craving are gone. But long term users are likely to have long term psychological problems that are difficult to overcome. Maybe they would have had them or already had them, but it sounds as if researchers believe the MJ causes at least some if not most or all of it.

You mentioned "weak character" being a reason people people forego responsibilities, but some of the articles called that a result of heavy MJ psychological addiction. They used to say the "weak character" thing about drunks, too.

Long ago, I taught in an inner-city high school for five years. I saw so many stoned kids who just sat and smiled, if they managed to get to school at all. Some of them were very bright. The brightest of them pointed a gun at the driver of the car next to him just for fun. I'm sure his eyes were bloodshot and he was smiling. The driver was an off-duty cop who shot him in the head. The worry I have about legalization is that the "laid back" parents will be careless about their kids getting into their stash, or, maybe they don't even care.

Anyway, I don't want to get into a long back and forth argument on the topic. I'd be glad to hear back from you, but I won't respond. I blow too much time in online discussions.