DEPENDENCE vs ADDICTION in Cannabis Users

Is Pot Addictive?
The answer to this question has eluded mankind for nearly one hundred years!

Prior to that, marijuana was not illegal, nor considered an addictive or harmful substance; at least, not by the U.S. government’s standards. Alcohol was the bane of society in the early 1900’s as prohibitionists marched in the streets, many of them quietly addicted to Opioid Tonics freely available from the corner druggist.

As with anything, the answer to the question depends on the presumed definition.

Addiction is a psychological state in which the object of addiction can be any number of drugs, actions, or substances. Calling cannabis addicting in this context is NOT telling the truth, but is a trick of semantics in a society where food has become the most common and dangerous addiction.

Dependence is a physical state in which the object of dependence causes enough physical distress as to make the user continue their addiction even through obvious deleterious consequences. Nicotine has been cited as causing the greatest dependence in humans.

Cannabis does not cause physical addiction or create a physical dependence. There are no dependency-causing chemicals in Cannabis. Any physical discomfort felt by a cannabis user on cessation is psychological.

Although Cannabis can cause psychological addiction, so can any substance or human action: Prohibiting marijuana for a psychological addiction is like criminalizing dice for gambling disorders.

Unlike opiates (Heroin, Morphine), cocaine (Crack), benzos (Xanax), nicotine, and alcohol, Cannabis carries no risk of physical addiction, and has no substances that create a physical addiction. A psychologically addicted user may report anxiety upon "withdrawal"; any "withdrawal" symptoms are purely psychological. Although many studies have proved this, the argument of addiction is one of semantics and medical terminology, as well as ICD-9/10 (Diagnosis) coding.

Cannabis cannot create the condition of "drug dependence"; however, cannabis can create "drug abuse", as can a can of hairspray and a package of bath salts.

Prohibition has not stopped the use, recreational or medical, of marijuana. Cannabis is freely trafficked into the United States from Mexico by violent, dangerous and warring cartels. Although billions have been spent, US Federal forces such as the DEA, INS, and ICE have been unsuccessful in stopping the influx of low-grade cannabis into the United States. This “Schwag” has no medicinal value, and is cheap and widely available and easy to get, especially for the young. Even IF the Feds got their way, and all of the progress in medical cannabis was reversed, the cartels will assure that their brand of blood stained pot is on American streets. Wouldn’t it be better if the sick, suffering, and dying had access to clean, quality Cannabis, safely and transparently available, and prescribed specific to symptomology?

 
 
The Green Association for Sustainability
K. Rojas,
BLS, MLS, CPC

DEAR REP. GREEN, I SUPPORT YOUR NAY VOTE ON BOEHNER’S DEBT BILL

A letter to My Representative
Re-tweeted this evening:  Congress Sucks. 
Short, simple, to the point, and right now, probably about all you need to say.  But who can keep the outrage from spilling out? 
You already know that I can’t!
I wrote it after many Notebook scribbles and news searches, hours of blog surfing and comment reading, as we paced through the day in Boehner’s clutches.  I wonder if his fellow Republicans are angry about being brow-beaten into changing their votes.  Some even made conciliatory comments as to why they wimped.  In the end, it was wasted time. 
Boehner is intent on making a name for himself, of being the next “Newt”.  He is flush with power, and will only be happy if the bill has his name on it.  Pandering to the Tea Party faction may get him temporary fame; historically, elite factions rarely last longer than a generation, and few are looked upon favorably.  At one time, McCarthy was popular among some people.  So was Hitler.   
DEAR REP. AL GREEN (Dem.- District 9 Texas)

I am writing IN SUPPORT of YOUR RECENT NO VOTE on John Boehner's Debt Limit Bill. Boehner, drunk with Power at winning the Speaker seat, and is blackmailing President Obama by holding the Congress and The American People hostage.  
Thankfully, the Senate also realized that those who can least afford it are asked to do the most.  The argument that reinstating the Bush tax cuts will hurt new job growth, reminds me of a similar failed Republican policy of the 1980’s:  The “Trickle Down Theory”.   The Corporate CEOs and small business owners who support the Boehner plan are counting on no one remembering the tragic results of that policy.
Stay strong in your support for a passage of an increased debt limit.  How the Budget is to be paid should be decided when the budget is passed.  Not when the bills are due.
Respectfully,

K. Marie Rojas