Is weed ADDICTIVE?

[flubdub]

Is it addictive physically (like cigarettes, or heroin) Or is it all in the head?
If someone has smoked it everyday for 15 years (heavily everyday, until the last 12 months where its once a night), and wont stop, are they addicted?

The only reason he doesnt smoke it during the day is because hes at work.
At weekends, despite on MANY occasion asking him not to smoke it in the day, because my 3yo is usually with him, and apart from the fact I dont want him breathing it in, I dont want him thinking its normal. But he still does smoke it, maybe once a day on a weekend. I never know about it really because hes ouside.
I (stupidly, I think) gave him an ultimatum a wile ago, and said me or the weed. He said he'd stop, but just went to his friends house to smoke it every night instead, so I gave up.
I have told him that it will come between us, but hes gets mad saying that Im over-reacting over such a small thing. Its completely normal to him, because hes done it for so long, and all his friends do it.
When I said the other night, that Im not 100% sure he'd pick me over the weed, he said I was being silly.
He makes me feel like I control eveeything he does, because the weed would be the last straw for him I think. He loves it.

Don't be sorry TMM- I've gone past that and out the other side I think...!

Just focusing on being as self sufficient as I can.

For what it's worth things have vastly improved for me/us because I reached the point of asking DP to leave, and meaning it.

'Heavily' to once a night sounds like a fair jump, why did that come about?

All v familiar!

"So would you make a deal out of someone going out to the garage every night, for say, 20 mins, and coming back in stoned?
And by "stoned" , I mean, he really doesnt act or look any different, it just chills him out a little. This person has had bad depression for a while, which fluctuates up and down, and theres a 4 week old baby in the house"

in response to this - no. I wouldn't leave someone who did this. The vast majority of Dope smokers do not get addicted in the same way other drug users might. Many many people function well, have good jobs, have children and still smoke it without it adversely effecting tehir lives or the lives of other's.

If a person has managed to cut it down to once a week then I would say good for them.

you dont 'cut' weed ! lol

when its grown hydroponically they can enhance the thc content to v high propertions and make it v potent indeed. worlds apart from the stuff in the sixties. and in amsterdam you can get it 'laced' with cocaine etc.

but it doesnt get 'cut', as in 'watered down' so to speak, like, say, a powder.

no such thing as a self respecting drug dealer.

X-posted. If he's already ignoring your wishes to smoke then I think that says it all. I'd leave without a second thought, harsh as that may sound. If a drug truly fits into someone's life without a single problem, that could be ok, but if it's coming between him and his family and he won't even admit it's a problem then there's nothing you can do.

Cannabis gets a huge amount of bad press while this country is flooded with cocaine. I know that's another topic but we're all being influenced by this media campaign against cannabis. There are far worse problems that the police seems to be ignoring.

Used moderately cannabis can be less harmful than alcohol. Depends on the person, too, though as some have said. Some people are affected badly by it.

People take their children to the pub (family pubs) and no one says anything about a few drinks. Used responsibly it shouldn't be a problem. If you really looked into this, you'd find far more problems with children of alcoholic parents - and alcohol is legal.

Because I didnt want him being stoned all the time when we had children. Hes done a lot of drugs in the past (not while hes been with me), so when we bought a house together, it was a new start after a lot of shit.
His friend comes round at half 10 at night sometimes asking to borrow weed. People turn up all the time, and he'll just drop everything and go to the garage with them - which just leaves me sat in the living room on my own at night. Its not a nice feeling.

beaniesteve - I beg to differ. As the partner of someone who did this until a matter of weeks ago let me inform you that it has affected me and our relationship extremely badly.

That's shit flubdub. I know how worthless this makes you feel.

flubdub - sounds like he's putting the dope above his family and you shouldn't have to settle for that.

" By anotherfatty on Mon 19-May-08 15:32:08
no such thing as a self respecting drug dealer. "

knee jerk reactions to things are rarely helpful imo/e .

I agree nappies. Silly comment.

In answer to your question, I think there are differing views on whether weed is addictive but there are two key points.

Firstly, there seems to be a consensus that it is not physically addictive in the classical sense in that there are few, if any, withdrawal symptoms on stopping (unless nicotine is being given up simultaneously) It is generally accepted, however, that there certainly can be a pyschological dependency on weed in which users become reliant on it. Secondly, the level of dependency is impacted both by the individual (their mental state etc.) and the type of weed being smoked - for example, someone with a history of mental health problems who uses skunk is more likely to develop a dependency than someone who doesn't who only smokes cannabis resin (or something low in TCH).

The situation you describe is something of a grey area. Many people who smoke dope, be it regularly or as one-offs, are absolutely fine (myself included) and treat it the same as having a glass of wine or beer. On the other hand, some people do develop dependency on it - I don't know anyone who has, but then subjective perspectives aren't always best criteria. To me, smoking for 20 minutes a night and getting 'chilled out a little' doesn't sound like a dependency any more than someone having a beer each evening to unwind but in his case, with his background and without knowing what he's smoking, maybe it is.

What I would say is that as with anything, if people are putting their vice of choice ahead of people they care about, there may be an issue but I think here, what he's using is colouring the picture. If someone had written "his mate comes round at 10.30pm every night to take him for last orders leaving me sat at home etc...." I think people would say he's being a twat, rather than he's an alcoholic. That may well be the case in this situation - that he's an insensitive twat rather than an addict.

It is mentally addictive, which is often worse than physical addiction.

I do find it funny people thing weed is 'cut' with other drugs, there is no chance, dealers don't do freebies no matter what you read or hear.

Hi umberella - I dont have CAT im afraid, but would like to talk to you.

In the situation you describe, I probably wouldn't leave the person. I'd rather they where having a spliff a night than a six pack of beers tat's for sure.

Some people can function normally while enjoying regular but low level weed smoking. That's very different from actualy stoners who's whole life revolves around the stuff.

Weed isn't 'cut' with anything else lol, although hash can be.

But cestlavie, people with alcohol dependency often just have one beer or glass of wine which makes them all the harder to reason with. It's not the amount, it's the absolute refusal to stop - even for a limited time.

and Umberella, as someone who also lives with someone who does smoke it, all I am saying is that it is very possible for it not to be addictive or for it to be a huge problem within a relationship or for a family.

There are about a million more damaging drugs out there. The one worry I would have would be the tobacco but so far as moderate use of marijuana goes (Which is what this sounds like) it's not as devestating as people seem to think it is.

Oh, and weed was one of the reasons I left my exH, but he smoked all the time, was permenantly stoned, and if for some reason he wasn't stoned he was violent.

Oh I hate that Lazy Drink VS drugs argument!

Yes, its moderate - but tbh, it isnt the actual drug .
Its the refusal to stop.
Its the dropping me, and going outside to smoke it whenever his friends turn up.
Its the, not wanting my children to think its normal.
Its the blatant ignoring of me when Iv asked him not to smoke it infront of my 3yo (even though hes outide).
Also, I dont know what its doing to his head. Hes been very depressed for a long time, although not too much lately, but i think thats because of the baby.

TMM: you're absolutely right. As I said, it is possible that he does have a dependency but the amount being used and the manner of it's use (i.e. small amount, at home, outside of working hours) doesn't in itself suggest a dependency. I'm honestly not sure that if we were discussing someone having one pint a night that we'd be expressing concern about them having an alcohol dependency.