Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States. With recent legalization in some states, it is becoming increasingly accessible. Marijuana is often portrayed in media and culture as a harmless recreational substance. However, there are risks associated with long-term and heavy use. This article will provide an in-depth look at how marijuana smoking addiction develops. It explores risk factors, reasons teenagers initially try marijuana, the biological mechanisms that drive addiction, and observable signs of addictive behavior.
Recognizing the factors that place an individual at risk for addiction, as well as how addiction operates at a biological level, makes it possible to identify unhealthy marijuana use patterns and get help before severe addiction sets in. Go on reading to learn more about this complicated topic.
Understanding Marijuana Use
Marijuana can be consumed in various forms, most commonly by smoking dried cannabis flowers or buds in hand-rolled cigarettes, pipes, or water pipes (bongs). Many people also use vaporizers, which heat the cannabis just enough to release active compounds like THC without burning the plant material. Vaporizing is viewed by some as a healthier alternative to smoking. Another popular method is consuming marijuana “edibles” – foods infused with cannabis that are eaten rather than smoked. Common edibles include baked goods, candies, and beverages.
Risk Factors for Developing an Addiction
Not everyone who experiments with marijuana will become addicted. However, certain factors increase the likelihood that recreational use will progress to compulsive use and addiction:
- Genetics – People with a family history of substance abuse disorders have an inherited biological vulnerability to developing addiction themselves. This risk becomes higher if multiple close family members have struggled with addiction. This points to a genetic predisposition that is passed down.
- Early Use – Using marijuana before the age of 18 causes increased risk of addiction later in life. Teenage brains are still actively developing. Marijuana use during this critical developmental window may rewire the brain’s reward pathways and impulse control centers, making addiction more likely. The earlier marijuana use begins, the more profound the effects on still-developing neurocircuitry. The decision to experiment with marijuana for the first time during the teenage years is often driven by peer influence, a desire for stress relief, and risk taking behavior typical of the adolescent brain. Teens with friends who use marijuana are more likely to try it themselves due to peer pressure. Additionally, the academic, social, and emotional pressures experienced by teens may lead them to turn to marijuana to induce relaxation. Impulsive decision making in the still-developing adolescent brain also increases the inclination to experiment with substances like marijuana without considering the impacts.
- Mental Health Issues – Rates of marijuana addiction have been shown to be higher among individuals struggling with mental health conditions like anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Marijuana may initially be used to self-medicate distressing emotional symptoms associated with these disorders. However, over time, it can exacerbate underlying mental health issues. Additionally, some medications used to treat mental health conditions alter metabolism in ways that prolong the effects and toxicity of marijuana. This combination further increases the addiction risk.
Biological Mechanisms That Promote Addiction
With repeated exposure, marijuana initiates changes in brain function that can perpetuate escalating substance use and make drug addiction more likely:
THC Effects
The psychoactive compound tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is primarily responsible for the characteristic “high” produced by cannabis. With repeated marijuana use, THC initiates brain changes that increase substance use and addiction risk over time. Specifically, THC alters reward, memory, appetite and other pathways. This floods the brain’s reward pathway with dopamine, reinforcing the desire to repeat the experience. With persistent use, the pathway adapts by reducing dopamine production, driving escalated intake. Ultimately, the brain craves the dopamine release precipitated by marijuana.
Brain Changes
Additionally, studies show teens and young adults who engage in heavy marijuana use experience observable physical brain changes. Key areas controlling learning, memory, decision-making and emotional control are impacted. For example, MRI scans demonstrate altered neuron structure and connectivity. These changes disrupt self-control capacities needed to refrain from further use, making quitting more challenging despite awareness of problems. The altered reward sensitivity also produces a strong, chronic drive for dopamine stimulation, promoting continued escalating marijuana use in youth despite efforts to reduce or abstain.
Stages of Marijuana Addiction Development
Typically, marijuana addiction develops gradually through a few stages:
- Experimentation and Occasional Use – When people first try marijuana, they may use it only occasionally in social settings. At this early stage, they can take it or leave it.
- Regular Use and Tolerance Buildup – With continued use, some people will start smoking marijuana more regularly to feel its effects. Over time, they build up a tolerance, needing more of the drug to get the same high.
- Dependence and Withdrawal Symptoms – Frequent users can become dependent on marijuana’s mood-altering abilities. When they stop using, they may experience irritability, anxiety, appetite loss, insomnia, and other withdrawal symptoms.
- Addiction and Compulsive Use – In the final stage, people have lost control over their marijuana use, compulsively seeking and using it despite negative consequences. At this point, they have become truly addicted, both physically and psychologically.
Signs of a Marijuana Addiction
For those who smoke weed often over a long period of time, there are certain signs that recreational puffing has turned into full-blown addiction. Let’s go through them:
- You Try Cutting Back, But Can’t Stick to It – If you keep promising yourself “I’m only going to smoke on weekends” or “I’ll take a tolerance break this month” but then find those promises impossible to keep – that’s a major red flag. Breaking commitments to yourself to cut back is a clear sign that for you, weed has gone from fun to compulsive.
- Weed Takes Up More Money, Time and Headspace – If getting high becomes your top priority – if you spend lots of mental energy thinking about it, devote most of your free time to smoking, and spend more and more money on bud – that indicates a dependence has formed. When weed crowds out other interests and responsibilities, addiction may be developing.
- Your Relationships and Performance Suffer – Persistent weed smoking that messes with your ability to succeed at work or school, or harms close relationships, is unhealthy. If people in your life complain about your smoking or you lose jobs because you’re high too often, it’s time to make a change.
- You Need More Weed to Get High – Needing to smoke a lot more marijuana to get the original effects you felt when you first started out is a tell-tale sign of growing substance dependence. This increased tolerance shows your body has gotten used to heavy, regular weed intake.
- You Feel Lousy When You Try to Quit – If you experience mood swings, appetite changes, sleep problems, cravings or other withdrawal symptoms when you stop smoking after heavy prolonged use – that means a physical dependence has set in. Feeling bad when sobering up drives many back to using more weed to feel “normal.”
Getting Help
If you see signs you may be addicted, it’s so important to seek help. This may start with an inpatient detox program to manage withdrawal safely. Ongoing treatment like therapy, support groups or medication can then help address underlying issues and build healthy coping techniques. With the right treatment and support system, recovery is possible – you just need determination and patience.
Prevention Strategies
There are effective prevention strategies to put in place:
- First, schools and communities can offer honest drug education showing the science on weed addiction risk. Role-playing exercises also help kids practice turning down offers.
- Second, reasonable regulations – like age limits, potency caps, advertising rules and access controls – can reduce overexposure and limit heavy use.
- Third, support services for vulnerable groups – like mental health treatment, youth recreation programs or community aid – make it less likely people turn to heavy weed use.
Conclusion
By recognizing the patterns signaling an emerging marijuana addiction, both users and loved ones can catch problematic weed habits early, before severe physiological dependence sets in. And even those with heavy addictions can achieve health and wellness again with proper treatment. But the sooner heavy use is addressed, the greater the chances of quitting successfully.