Cannabis use

[Rallydriver]

Does anyone have any experiences of living with a heavy cannabis user?

My partner uses it all day every day.

Is it possible to even be addicted?

Yes, it is very possible to be addicted to cannabis - it is a recognised diagnosis in the ICD-10.

Does your partner’s addiction affect his/your life and daily activity? Do you have children?

I wasn't living with my ex while he was smoking heavily but he was like a totally different person, felt like being with a stranger, I hated it. I ended our rship over it.

He did stop completely afterwards but they need a really good reason to do it, my protestations were not nearly enough.

You have my sympathies OP.

Yes, my Ex partner (DC Dad). He was a very heavy smoker and was most definitely addicted. My BF DS is also clearly addicted, so people who say it's not addictive are talking rubbish. I think it's like alcohol, some people can enjoy it socially, every now and then, others use it all the time and it becomes a way of life.

It totally changed my Ex's personality, he became paranoid and suspicious and it totally controlled his life.

I am one. I use it for pain relief.

End of the day what's worse a raging violent alcoholic or a stoner whose worse trait is eating everything in the fridge and falling asleep?

Can be very dodgy these days, sadly.
Apparently often poorer quality cannabis (weed) is sprayed with the synthetic stuff -spice type of chemicals etc this is often as users want stronger gear you just don’t know what you are buying
Pure cannabis has problems for sure however the raise is cutting with other things to keep customers happy/hooked is a massive problem
If you grow your own at least you know what you are smoking
Else it could be anything

My former housemate used to smoke weed a lot. It seemed to me he was affected as without it, he became edgy and tense.

addicted not affected

One of my ex's was a daily user. Multiple times a day. If he didn't get his high in the morning he got fidgety and hyper until he got his fix. it was annoying.

All day every day?

Well yes it's overwhelmingly likely he's addicted.

Does he want to stop? What's his reason for using all day every day?

Presumably as it's all day every day that means he is unable to work / provide childcare / drive / afford other luxuries on top of that much weed?

He has smoked it for many years and I never really had an issue with it.

He swears it is not addictive (!) but I have noticed now that if he doesnt have any his moods are awful!

I am sure that this didnt used to be the case and he used to just dip in and out of it.

I have never really been interested in it so dont really know how addictive it is etc.

Yes we have children.

I appreciate it is always seen as fairly harmless which is why I never had an issue with it. And that often it is used for pain relief.

It is the moods that are the problem.

As the poster above I am also thinking that strains are stronger and may be cut with other things.

What does he do during these moods?

Is he otherwise working, pulling his weight around the house, taking care of the children, and paying half the bills?

Yes it is addictive. What you describe is the same as being drunk all day every day. I get that the behaviour is different, but he isn't sober is he? Ever by the sound of it. He needs to learn to live his life without being high. Not sure what you can do though.

It's not the fact it's addictive, it's the fact it relaxes you.
Without it your more stressed and don't have that release. What he needs to do is find other ways to relax himself without it.
It's not actually addictive, it's to do with the mind rather than the plant itself.

Thats really interesting thank you.

I couldnt find much conclusive evidence online of whether it was addictive or not.

He is horrible when he doesn't have it moody and aggressive.

www.talktofrank.com/drug/cannabis is a good link to read.

How does your DP behave around other people compared to how he behaves around you (and in turn your DC) at home?.

You can just Google and see that yes it is addictive.

One of the first results is:

“There is no debate that marijuana is both physiologically and psychologically addictive,” says Aaron Weiner, a psychologist and the director of addiction services at Linden Oaks Behavioral Health, a clinic in Illinois. Cannabis withdrawal, according to a 2004 study he cites, can lead to irritability, anxiety, negative mood, loss of appetite and impaired social functioning.

Presumably as it's all day every day that means he is unable to work / provide childcare / drive / afford other luxuries on top of that much weed?

He isn't exactly making your children a priority.

Does he have enough money for it, does he work and pay for it himself, if he didn't buy cannabis that would be more money for bills.

@Eclairesarethebest

I am one. I use it for pain relief.

End of the day what's worse a raging violent alcoholic or a stoner whose worse trait is eating everything in the fridge and falling asleep?

Using it for pain relief is understandable. However in my experience the worst traits of a very heavy cannabis user are worse than eating fridge contents and sleeping. I am currently separated from my partner as his cannabis use impacted our lives in worse ways than that, ie emotionally unavailable, wasted money we didn't have, affected his motivation with work, kids, house and life in general.

It's much the same as smoking nicotine, I think.
Are fags addictive?
Do you need to be locked away in a room while you withdraw, and are sick, and shaky etc?
The answer is no.
Some people just pack up one day, some struggle for years, some manage to cut down and some never beat it, but I'm not so sure about addictive.

All day every day so we're talking probably £600-£1k per month? That's an expensive habit.

A relative smokes several times a day for medical reasons (anxiety, pain relief and appetite stimulant - literally cannot eat without it.) The problem is, although he is rarely intoxicated by it, he still gets withdrawal symptoms if he has no supply - all of the problems that he smokes for in the first place are massively worsened plus a good old dose of irritability on top.

Does your DP see his use as a problem?

Can be highly addictive as you can be smoking almost anything- the weed is very often spiced up to keep the users happy and keen for more the biggest problem is the synthetics that are often added have a google of the effects of spice and other (at one time) legal highs if someone has a load of poor product to sell it is easy to enhance the users believe they are “only” smoking cannabis so all good

My dp is a heavy cannabis smoker. I used to smoke heavily before I got pregnant with dd (10), can't smoke it at all now as it gives me panic attacks. Yes it is addictive, not everyone does get addicted, there are plenty of people who just use recreationally but if he is a heavy smoker then he is most likely addicted. And because of the addiction, yes mood is massively affected when you don't have it. My dp is a pretty unpleasant when he doesn't have any, he's moody, angry and irritable. I generally don't mind that he smokes, I mind that he's addicted and therefore shit when he doesn't have any. He goes to work, does housework, does fun stuff with family etc. The only way it negatively affects our life is when he's crap because he doesn't have it. But that's the nature of addiction sadly. I'm sorry op, it's a shit thing to deal with.

Question for heavy users or partners: do they drive stoned?