Cannabis Addiction: That’s How High the Risk is When Smoking Weed

Opponents of cannabis legalization often cite the dangers of addiction associated with the use of the drug. You can find out what this is all about in this article.

Cannabis – an addiction is possible

Cannabis can be consumed in different forms in different ways.

• Whether you just smoke hash or weed or take cannabis as a cookie, for example, the active ingredients are always the same.
• Cannabis contains two substances that affect the body and the psyche. One is tetrahydrocannabinol or THC for short. The other active ingredient is cannabidiol, also abbreviated as CBD.
• THC is responsible for the intoxication of cannabis use. CBD, on the other hand, does not cause intoxication or happiness. It has analgesic, relaxing and anxiolytic effects.
• The psychoactive substance THC is said to be addictive. While this is possible, cannabis addiction rarely develops.
• Research has shown that around 4 to 7 percent of cannabis users in Germany become dependent on the drug.
• Incidentally, another psychoactive ingredient is much more common than THC – caffeine. It is well known that addiction to coffee can also develop.

Factors that increase the risk of addiction

As previously mentioned, only a small percentage of cannabis users become addicted.

• Cannabis addiction is usually only psychological. In some cases, you may experience physical withdrawal symptoms when you stop smoking.
• These can be, for example, insomnia or anxiety. However, neither psychological nor physical dependence can be compared to an addiction to other drugs such as heroin.
• In any case, if you are dependent on cannabis, withdrawing from this drug is much easier than, for example, withdrawing from alcohol, medication, or heroin.
• It is not known why some people become addicted to cannabis and others do not. What is known is that it doesn’t matter how much, how often, and how long you consume cannabis. There are people who smoke weed regularly for a long time and are still not dependent.
• However, there are some factors that favor addiction. For example, the risk of addiction is greater in people whose parents were addicted to a drug.
• The greatest risk of addiction is when you smoke weed to cope with problems.