Yeah, psychological addiction...yeah, i get it...biggest marketing scam of the detox/rehab industry ever...well, that and these days we all have to be a victim of some sort of pathology. After all, it couldn't be because we like to get high and aren't perhaps the most self-denying people in the world?? LOL
Yes! We should only be using formal medical definitions (DSM/ICD) to discuss addiction/dependency. The lay usage of the term has lost all meaning long ago, being used to describe everything from people's fondness for chocolate all the way to a hardcore heroin habit.
I know others will disagree.....but I often think we have stretched the definition of addiction beyond reason.
Again, in the lay usage, yes. The medical literature is actually very clear and when you follow for example the DSM guidelines to diagnose anything cannabis related, you'll note that it is very, very difficult to establish a diagnosis of a dependency/addiction.
Alcohol, on the other hand, is physically addictive in the classic 'if you drink too much of it too often for too long, then you can die from the withdrawals upon cessation of drinking for much time at all' variety. People really need to understand that alcohol is legitimately incredibly addictive in this sense. Any scientist who researches addiction will tell you this (NOT QUACK REHAB DOCTORS, WHO IN MY VIEW ARE NOT DOING SCIENTIFIC WORK - capitalized to spell out my disdain for this industry).
However, where a lot of people have problems is that they think that an addictive substance will have you hooked from your first try. This is bullshit. Even a very real, very physical addiction is more gradual. You use something without any idea/thought of the consequences and after a little while (a few weeks, a month, a year), you try to stop using the drug and realize that this cessation makes you profoundly sick in a way that you never gotten before (This is crucial, if you get sick from something you used to get before already from a pre-existing illness, then this does not meet medical definition for withdrawals and cannot be held to be evidence of dependence).
Some people can and do develop bad habits surrounding cannabis usage which may distract them from arguably more important things in their lives. I certainly do not and of course many others in this community don't either. Some people develop bad habits with video games too. Or watching the tube, or any number of inane, seemingly everyday things. None of these things are addictions comparable to an addiction with a substance like heroin, cigarettes, alcohol etc. They're just bad habits or pre-occupations
![Two Cents :twocents: :twocents:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/aiFbSrd.gif)
Not to say that these situations cannot become clinically significant in any case, just a different beast to your classic drugs of dependence.