There is chemical addiction and there is psychological addiction. Weed might not be chemically addictive but it can sure be psychologically addictive which is true with most stoners.
I’ve always explained it like: if porn and gambling can be addictive, how can weed possibly not be?
Because a lot of them probably have undiagnosed ADHD or Autism and don’t realize what they’re trying to help by doing it or why it’s helping.
As a guy with ADHD and had a medical license before getting diagnosed… yup. Pretty much.
Prolonged use of use of weed can reduce you brains motivation system which is something that people with ADHD already have a problem with. Long term use of weed may be risky idea for someone with ADHD. source: my doctor who gave me my medical card and my psychiatrist
Though I did read a thing that did say people with adhd do have a higher occurrence of marijuana use, despite its negative effects on their symptoms (with potential permanent impacts for users under 25)
I drink coffee everyday. I will rise my cup of Joe to the stoner. I get you bro.
Thing is, caffeine is physically addictive. Weed is not.
But you can make a habit out of anything.
- Llewellyn ( @Llewellyn@lemmy.ml ) 1•1 year ago
Weed has psychological withdrawal effects https://lemm.ee/comment/913303
So does breaking a nail chewing habit. Brains are funky things.
Cheers! I’d like to pass on this info though, for anyone who enjoys both like myself:
Caffeine drinking potentiates cannabinoid transmission: interaction with stress effects - Neuropharmacology 2009
Our data suggest that the cannabinoid system is implicated in the psychoactive properties of caffeine and in the ability of caffeine to reduce the pathological consequences of stress. Chronic caffeine assumption sensitized GABAergic synapses to the presynaptic effect of cannabinoid CB1 receptor stimulation by exo- and endocannabinoids. The synaptic effects of caffeine were slowly reversible after its removal from the drinking solution. Furthermore, although exposure to caffeine for only 24h did not produce measurable changes of the sensitivity of cannabinoid CB1 receptors, it was able to contrast the down-regulation of CB1 receptor-mediated responses after social defeat stress.
I copied the rest from bloommedicinals.com, just the relevant bits. Also added the links to the studies and the pages with additional descriptions.
TL;DR:
- Low levels of caffeine can help to maximize the effects of THC, but too much caffeine can lessen the impact of your cannabis
- Caffeine and THC can both increase dopamine levels, but too much at once can trigger anxiety, agitation, and paranoia
What Happens When You Smoke Weed and Drink Coffee?
Since coffee and cannabis may offer so many health benefits on their own, you might think it’s safe to assume that enjoying a little bit of weed with your coffee would be okay. The reality is … it might be safe for most, but not for all. Here’s why.
THC and coffee can boost the amount of dopamine in our systems. Although dopamine can promote feelings of happiness and euphoria, too much of it at once can trigger anxiety, agitation, and paranoia. In addition, both caffeine and THC can both increase your blood pressure and heart rate.
This is why many doctors advise that those with heart conditions and those at risk of heart arrhythmia or stroke, should not mix caffeine and THC. So, if you’re new to mixing coffee and cannabis, it’s important to consult your doctor to make sure it makes sense for you. If it does, begin with lower amounts of coffee and cannabis than you would normally consume on their own. Then if needed, you can increase your dosage slowly.
Back in 2014, a study was conducted to measure the effects of mixing caffeine and cannabis on squirrel monkeys. The results of this study were published in the Journal of Neuroscience. (also described here)
The monkeys were given the ability to self administer cannabis whenever they wanted. All they had to do was to pull on a lever. When the monkeys were given low doses of a substance similar to caffeine, they seemed less likely to reach for the THC. But, when they received high doses of caffeine, they seemed to reach for that lever more often.
Then in 2018, a study led by Marilyn Cornelis at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine seemed to back up these findings. This time, the study examined the effects of mixing cannabis and coffee on humans. It found that the more caffeine people consumed, the less cannabis their body was able to metabolize. (also described here)
So, although small amounts of caffeine can help your THC go a long way – too much caffeine can lessen its effects.
Why? My guy, have you seen the world? Have you seen how people treat each other? If you don’t smoke I don’t know what the fuck you’re doing, but if it’s to be “a moral and upstanding citizen” I both laugh and cry at your blissful ignorance.
I don’t like smoking.
Marijuana is absolutely physically addictive as much as people want to say it isnt. Mind you im someone who smokes the minute they leave work until they go to bed. So im not here to push any kind of anti-marijuana view point, but i do think we as stoners should be honest. Everyone i know who stops smoking weed has two very common side effects.
- They have a lot of trouble getting to sleep
- Wild/fucked up dreams.
I understand that this is a side effect of lack of REM but you cant say these aren’t physical withdrawal symptoms. Research is needed, but just because we all want it to be legal, doesn’t mean we should ignore the facts.
Marijuana is absolutely physically addictive as much as people want to say it isnt.
I mean it scientifically isn’t though. Physical addictions don’t just give you psychological withdrawals, they are physical. Your body becomes dependent on them to maintain homeostasis.
Cold turkeying drugs like opioids and benzos can kill you.
Just because the withdrawal symptoms aren’t as bad doesn’t mean they don’t exist. I said this before, research is needed. Going off of whats been said over the last 50 years of prohibition seems silly to me. And i for sure use marijuana to keep me in homeostasis. We need to stop saying psychological withdrawal doesnt have roots based in brain chemistry. I think everything we have begun to learn about mental health shows what little we actually know.
There’s withdrawal but of the four drugs i have been physically addicted to (caffeine, weed, nicotine, and SSRIs) it’s the only one I can cold turkey in under a week and feel fine.
Agreed, this isnt a lesser of two evils argument. I absolutely believe weed is easier on the body then most other happy juices we love to use. But misinformation is misinformation, and i think people who want to use weed should be informed of possible side effects. The more we understand about it, the easier it will be to get it legalized.
Dude those “withdrawal symptoms” are a joke compared to any other drug.
That said, I don’t know a single person who identifies as a stoner that isn’t completely and utterly mentally addicted. And the drug is so subtle, stoners rarely try to stop.
Cocaine, even a 2 day bender is incredibly hard on your body. If you’re a person with any kind of responsibilities in your life, you’ll be strongly incentivized to reconsider the habit in no time.
But weed, it’s meh. Most users can restrict their use to when they’re not at work, so it’s fine.
Which makes it more dangerous.
I’ve watched so many promising futures flushed down the toilet by weed. Motivation? gone. Real hobbies? Indoors in front of a screen only. At its worst, I’ve seen friends totally withdraw from socializing almost entirely. Social anxiety combined with the escape of being high was enough to dampen and deny the very real human need to connect with others.
Every single one of these individuals went through some form of depression that was was extended and exacerbated by escapism and addiction in the form of excessive marijuana usage.
I know that’s not everyone. There are people who use it in a healthy, balanced way.
But there are also a ton of people who get heavily addicted because it dampens the pain of something they’re going through. And that pattern can make it a lot harder to make progress and work through whatever that person is dealing with.
Anyone who’s spent any time around stoners knows this is true. And yeah, for a lot of people, it’s a gateway drug. I’ve seen plenty of buddies in college jump from weed to xans to oxy. It’s ruined lives. It made my best friend drop out.
And yeah, these people clearly already had issues. But that’s how drug addiction works. It preys on people who are going through something and it makes a bad situation way worse.
Weed can do the exact same thing. Doesn’t matter if it’s not physically addicting.
This comment hit the nail on the head. It’s no big deal to spend an evening after work getting high and watching movies. But then it becomes every evening. Now you can’t deal with daily life if you don’t get to smoke between work shifts. Maybe you show up to work high to take the edge off. Now you’re high all the time and being sober feels weird. Spending all your time just sort of floating in a dream because being high is your default state now.
Everything becomes more effort so you just stop bothering. Playing an instrument? This requires too much focus. I’m gonna go lay down on the couch. Socializing? I’m too high to drive, I’ll stay home today (man I’m so freaking lonely). It really truly is a trade-off where you sacrifice a fulfilling life for an easily tolerated one. At some point you start to realize this and increase your intake to try to make those uneasy thoughts go away.
Does this sound anecdotal? That’s because it is.
I was hopelessly addicted to cigarettes. It took torturous willpower to quit.
I can smoke weed now and then and never crave it.
But sure, my experience is anecdotal.
Honestly, I use it about once a week. I have friends who get drunk more frequently then that. I can see why people would use it every day but they shouldn’t imo.
People react differently to all substances, the real test for addiction is if you can stop doing it for say, 3 weeks in a row, not how often you do it… You can do it once a month and still be addicted but as long as you can stop for 3-4x longer than you usually would, you’re probably not
I’d say that’s the correct take on drug use. Are you trying to argue that you’re not addicted?
I’m in this picture and I don’t like it.
(I’ve stopped spreading the “not addictive” BS, but am still very addicted)
- fugepe ( @fugepe@lemmy.ml ) 1•1 year ago
Pray, it’ll give you the strength you need
Because before it my ADHD made it functionally impossible to sleep, since when I’m not on the meds my mind runs too hard and when I am on the meds I can’t sleep either because they’re prescription meth, but weed solves that problem and I enjoy sleeping.
What does Weed with ADHD feel like?
Here’s a balanced take from someone with moderately bad ADHD who very rarely smoked weed (so, not biased).
A mild high feels like a bad ADHD day, but then I had a fewer symptoms after the high is gone. Trace amounts could get me mostly symptomless without any real feeling of “high”, but I’m so lightweight that would be less than what most people call “microdosing”.
A moderate high…well, probably the same as everyone else (except I would get there for less than most). Then the entire next day it was like I didn’t have ADHD at all.
Beyond that, I only did once and I “greened out”, possibly related/causal to the part where I “very rarely smoked weed”. Greening out with ADHD is like greening out without ADHD I’m sure.
Basically same as the other dude, but no anxiety beyond the norm anyone would have in their daily lives, and no paranoia beyond the legal consequences of excersing what I see as a right yet the state sees as a crime. Were it federally legal it would mitigate that of course, but that’ll never happen because then nobody could use legalization to get votes so we can’t actually go around solving things, now can we? (Bitter? Maybe. Paranoid no lol.)
What do you use? And what’s your dosage? (I know it will vary from person to person)
“Weed.” And I don’t live in a legal state, so dosage is hard to describe I guess. “Some,” not enough to be zombiefied but enough that I feel it, is the best I can do.
I don’t have to.
I want to.
If you can’t ignore the want, that’s an addiction
Well when I don’t have any and can’t get any, I think “if I had a joint that would be nice.” The same way one might want a pizza they can’t afford. But it doesn’t occupy my mind all day, like if I’m out of cigarettes.
Yeah, this is what I told myself for 10 years. But the fact is there were numerous situations where I would think “this would be so much better with weed”.
If I can’t enjoy life’s basic experiences without drugs, there is a problem.
Also pizza doesn’t cause mood swings, memory loss, lethargy, paranoia etc.
There’s withdrawal but of the four drugs i have been physically addicted to (caffeine, weed, nicotine, and SSRIs) it’s the only one I can cold turkey in under a week and feel fine.
yes, I used to have the same experience. regular smoking and then stopping for a bit was fine. but it didn’t leave my mind. It’s not physically addictive, but neither is shopping or video games, or gambling, yet so many people are addicts
Weed is physically addictive. Withdrawal is very mild and only lasts a few days but it can happen with heavy use.
I didn’t experience it until I got into edibles and vaping concentrates and I had used weed regularly off and on for twenty years at that point.
So it takes heavy use, but physical withdrawal is a real thing with weed. But as I said, it’s the only drug I’ve been addicted to I would cold turkey.
Yeah, caffeine cold turkey is unexpectedly tough.
It’s not so bad if you pop a Tylenol the first couple of days, just to get you through the caffeine migraine phase.
Depends on how bad your caffeine addiction is. I tried cold turkey when I had a tooth pulled when I was drinking a pot of coffee a day.
A week in bed on Vicodin and Percocet, didn’t touch that headache and it didn’t improve or go away until I drank coffee.
Oddly, I ate a large bag of mushrooms and got tazed by the cops one night. Ended up in the psych ward. Was able to cold turkey the coffee after that. Not sure if it was the mushrooms or the juice from the tazer.
Yeah, I’m not sure if Vicodin or perc would help a migraine, different pain killers help in different ways. I think opiods are the least helpful when it comes to migraines, if I remember correctly.
I confirm. Taking opioids against migraine gives you still a migraine, but on opioids. Not recommended.
but we’re not talking about migraines.
we’re talking about caffeine withdrawal headaches.
neither of which are 💯 understood but that doesn’t make them the same.
plus, Vicodin has Tylenol in it. so i was taking Tylenol.
Caffeine withdrawal can absolutely trigger migraines, easily.
Not sure about the Tylenol in Vic, but just that opioids in general don’t work well. You can easily Google it.
I don’t drink coffee or tea, but I usually drink caffeinated soda with food. I visited another country a few years back where soda isn’t usually drank except in special occasions like at parties. I couldn’t figure out why I had such a bad headache for the first few days. I thought the caffeine content from soda would be low enough that I wouldn’t have withdrawals. Finally on about day 5 I decided to have tea with my breakfast, and no headache that day. That was when I realized what a caffeine withdrawal headache felt like, and I finally realized why I get headaches if I don’t have lunch at my regular time (when I usually have my soda).
I really wish I could get caffeine free cola, because I don’t even want the caffeine. I just want the cola flavor. But it seems the only caffeine free cola that is sold in stores is also diet, which I don’t like the taste of. They sell caffeine free, non-diet cola online, but at absurd prices.
Not trying to be a dick, but “I don’t like the taste of diet soda” feels like a very minor inconvenience for fighting an addiction you want to shake
I think part of it for a lot of them is they smoke it with tobacco too so it’s just as addictive as regular smoking anyway
You at the demonstrabely false claims competitions:
Jokes aside, I can smoke once a day, once a week or once a month, it doesn’t change much, it’d not like your beloved alcohol
Alcohol 🤢🤮
I smoke weed every day to keep my mind calm. It helps with the anxiety.
It’s an easy answer really. I’m removed
At least for me is like this: If I have weed, I’m smoking the shit out of it all the time. If I don’t have I really don’t care and could be months before ever thinking on buying.