Marijuana is legal in New Jersey, the state in which I reside. Because of this, many of my peers have become increasingly intrigued by the substance. The vast majority of them argue that it is not addictive and not harmful. However, a fascinating aspect of this course, PSYC 3380, was about drugs and their addictive nature. As I learned from the course material, cannabis is a psychoactive drug, meaning it is a chemical substance that alters mood and behavior. The changes that my friends who use cannabis feel are psychologically addictive. That is why I strongly believe cannabis IS addictive and harmful.
I believe my friends disagree with me because when they think about addiction, they perceive it to be synonymous with alcohol or opioid addiction. So, since they do not experience any physically dangerous withdrawal symptoms, like they would with alcohol/opioids, for example, they think cannabis and the other two aforementioned substances could not possibly be compared.
However, weed impacts the brain’s reward system. So, when my peers incessantly use weed, they put themselves at risk for making their brains rely on cannabis to feel content. Just because the withdrawal from cannabis is not physical does not mean it is not real; one can become mentally dependent on weed if there is too much THC in their bloodstream. Being dependent on a substance is not a behavior I consider “not harmful.”
Furthermore, all of the points I stated above are backed up even more in the article Marijuana addicts share how weed took over their lives by Max Harrison-Caldwell, a writer from The San Francisco Standard. Harrison-Caldwell describes first-hand accounts of individuals whose lives were derailed by their cannabis addiction. For example, the opening story is about a man named Zach. He started smoking weed when he was a high schooler, just having the “pretty standard SoCal stoner experience.” However, he was smoking from vapes with such a high THC concentration that he was making himself sick. Zach was suffering from cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome caused by his smoking addiction.
According to that same article, the number of people reaching out to crisis centers in an attempt to help with their addiction to cannabis is rising at an alarming rate. Harrison-Caldwell argues that it is very likely this is because of the accessibility to weed in the places where it is legal. And I agree. Many of my peers who suck on their vapes like it is a source of oxygen are underage and are able to access the substance from greedy vendors/dispensaries who do not care if their customers are underage/ if their products are going to those who are underage.
The act of using cannabis, whether in the form of a vape, cart, or edible, for many of my friends started as an act of appearing cool. But how cool is a life-altering dependency?
References
Harrison-Caldwell, M. (2025, April 27). Marijuana addicts share how weed took over their lives. The San Francisco Standard. https://sfstandard.com/2025/04/27/san-francisco-cannabis-weed-addiction-chs/
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