Just because a person wants to do something doesn’t mean that person is addicted to that thing, even if they want to do it really darn badly all the time.
Physical addiction to a substance is totally different.
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They will always say they only enjoying and as you say they just ‘want’ it, but then they are sneaking out of work to hit some, or driving at strange hours of the night because they are out, or otherwise displaying high risk behaviors that they will rationalize away. You ask them about it and they become very defensive and agitated... classic signs of dependency. They can’t consciously acknowledge the need to themselves, so they certainly wont admit it to you, and attempts to get them to will be met with hostility.
I used to buy into the psychological dependency versus physical addiction argument, but I even question that anymore. If you get them to let their gaurd down, such as when they are talking to other chronic users, they will admit things like “I just can’t relax without it” or “I’m going to need more of it to get though [fill in the blank]”
Listen, it doesn’t matter what they say or do not say.
Nothing in MJ is physically addictive. Nothing.
They might believe they can’t live without it, they might believe they can’t relax without it, they might believe they can’t sleep without it, but they can.
Someone who has been physically addicted to a substance, such as myself with the substance being alprazolam, knows the difference.
When you are a user of a substance, and your lack of access to that substance or act of quitting use of that substance presents you with a very great chance of literal death, that is when you are addicted.
And even in that state, it is in one’s greatest benefit to endure, find a way to survive the withdrawal, and quit.
If you want to know what true addiction is, take a bunch of benzodiazepines every day at large doses for several years, and then stop. Then you will know.
Do not do what I suggested above. It can kill you. I just said that to illustrate the difference.
I have linked this story several times in various addiction related threads. It’s one of, if not the best, illustration of what actual addiction is.
The substance in this case is alcohol. I do not chose alcohol in particular to make a point versus weed. There are plenty of physically addictive substances out there, alcohol being one of them. The reason I choose this video is because it is powerful. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. It’s just the story of a man and his demon.
For full disclosure, I enjoy small amount of alcohol per year. I really like Abita Andygator. My limit is two. I also enjoy a fresh squeezed margarita, that is my favorite drink, I have to say. Physically addictive substances are okay in small amounts as long as one does not let it take control of ones life. My father was an alcoholic, and my brother is an alcoholic. I am a former drug addict.
To anyone who wishes to know the true nature of an actual addiction, please watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrTlI6seM0A&t=499s