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Is Being a Pothead Like Being an Alcoholic?

Discussion in 'Marijuana Consumption Q&A' started by medicated4now, Mar 5, 2013.

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  1. #1 medicated4now, Mar 5, 2013
    First, I LOVE WEED. BUT, I was just thinking... alcoholics drink all the time... potheads smoke weed all the time. I know the level of impairment in both parties lives are vastly different. Potheads can simply don some shades :cool: and go about their days smiling. While alcoholics have serious side effects and, more likely than not, can not function. But isn't the classification the same thing? Potheads (whether they admit it or not) have a hard time doing things without smoking, they want to be high all the time, and do not like when they aren't high (from what I have observed from a pretty large sample of people across the U.S). It is kind of a be all end all thing with pot for most potheads. What do you guys think? Am I just overshooting the target or what?
     
  2. #2 Corrisma, Mar 5, 2013
    That's why being a stoner is so much better. You CAN smoke all the time with no problems. You can go to school/work high as fuck if you choose. Can't be drunk all the time and still function. But yeah, I'd say they are pretty similar, alcoholics and potheads. Both looking for a constant change in consciousness. I think alcoholics may be more along the line of drowning sorrows though, because being drunk all the time kinda sucks and screws everything up. Potheads just wanna be high and happy.
     
  3. #3 well highdrated, Mar 5, 2013
    it's not the same... at all.
     
  4. #4 Jazzyj, Mar 5, 2013
    If you're going by DSM standards, sure. They would both be classified under "substance dependence," and the same criteria apply.

    The difference is level of functioning. When someone is working with a therapist, they are given a GAF (global assessment of functioning) this is a number from 1-100 that quantifies how well you can function in day to day life. Someone that smokes pot very frequently could still be pretty high on the scale, but it's almost impossible to be a severe alcoholic and be high functioning.

     
  5. #5 OneLoveMaryJane, Mar 5, 2013
    In a way if you can't go a day without weed you're addicted like an alcoholic, well not physically but the same pull is there. You obviously wouldn't flail around and do a lot of stupid shit like them though. Alcohol does a lot of damage, brain and body though so if I had to choose one, it would be to be a pothead.
     
  6. #6 ay420, Mar 5, 2013
    [quote name='"well highdrated"']it's not the same... at all.[/quote]

    Not true they both have a level of addiction
     
  7. #7 TokinUp, Mar 5, 2013
    Pretty much the same except weed is not as harmful for youre body and its better for youre mind then alcohol.the addiction is pretty much the same tho.but can you blame us?lol.weed is a hell of a lot better then alcohol
     
  8. #8 well highdrated, Mar 5, 2013

    don't see how that matters...

    have you ever seen anyone suffering from DT's from weed?
    what about liver failure?
    mj poisoning?

    the effects of alcohol on the body are horrible. not to mention psychological effects. alcohol is a toxic poison really and long term use of alcohol will cause an insane amount of health problems... while mj... well, it doesn't really do any of that.
     
  9. #9 OneLoveMaryJane, Mar 5, 2013
    Addiction leads to depression ^
     
  10. #10 well highdrated, Mar 5, 2013

    addiction by itself doesn't have to lead to depression. especially not with weed. you'll probably develop depression if you get high constantly and accomplish nothing.
    that's just losing your life...
    i think in the same way you could be addicted to watching tv, which will likely cause depression if that's how all of your days are spent.
     
  11. #11 SmOkiepokie, Mar 5, 2013
    I love weed just as much as the next guy but I haven't smoked since feb 11th bc I'm trying to get a new job and would love to smoke now but not smoking has been no problem at all.
     
  12. #12 Deleted member 616232, Mar 5, 2013
    Having gone through a 30 day residential treatment center for marijuana addiction, I can tell you that the treatment for alcohol and marijuana addiction is identical. If you choose to give up marijuana and you really are a pot head, it's not going to be easy.

    I did quit for a number of years while I was raising teenagers. I learned a lot about addiction and recovery. My counselors told me that if I managed to stay clean from marijuana for a period of time, I would eventually go back to it.

    And they were right. and I don't care!
     
  13. #13 well highdrated, Mar 5, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 7, 2013
    treatment is not necessary for mj addiction. although it can be hard to kick the habit, the same way you went into treatment you could've gone to a resort with no access to weed and would've "quit" in a month.

    the symptoms of a withdrawal are very different. if you drink daily and then stop abruptly there's a chance of you actually dying (small chance, but it's there)... not nearly so with weed...
    and all other affected areas like heart, brain, nervous system will take a much longer time to recover some pretty nasty symptoms last for a few months and sometimes a few years for really bad cases.
     
  14. #14 Shakashurii, Mar 5, 2013
    No.


    The functioning of an alcoholic and the functioning of a pothead are completely different.
     
  15. #15 OneLoveMaryJane, Mar 5, 2013

    Smoking all day every day... kinda what the title's saying. It definitely leads to depression for both me and a few of my close friends, it can be proven by the effect it has on the brain if you want to argue it... Moderation is key. Watching TV doesn't straight up down regulate your feel good receptors like smoking a lot of weed does. Obviously if you don't get off your ass and do something you're going to get depressed.
     
  16. #16 Deleted member 616232, Mar 5, 2013
    It's true that I could have gone to a resort where there was no pot and I would have been clean for 30 days, but I wouldn't have learned anything. There is a lot to learn about addiction, and it does not matter what your drug of choice is. If you really want to stay clean, there is a lot more to it than simply abstaining.
     
  17. #17 ay420, Mar 5, 2013
    [quote name='"Oregondaisy"']

    It's true that I could have gone to a resort where there was no pot and I would have been clean for 30 days, but I wouldn't have learned anything. There is a lot to learn about addiction, and it does not matter what your drug of choice is. If you really want to stay clean, there is a lot more to it than simply abstaining.[/quote]

    Absolutely agree
     
  18. #18 dickjones1, Mar 5, 2013
    no. alcoholics are intoxicated, weed i don't consider to be an intoxicant. We out here tryin ta function 8) double shift and night class tomorrow with my g pen, whats good!
     
  19. #19 CrazyEighths, Mar 5, 2013
    Coming from a recovering heroin addict, the addiction itself is nothing like a real physical dependence (which alcohol can cause), however, it is a similar mindset and way of prioritizing your life.
     
  20. #20 medicated4now, Mar 5, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 5, 2013
    I see a lot of words like addiction, depression, withdrawal, etc. being thrown around here. I just feel as though there really is no difference between being an alcoholic ( alcohol, has a high potential for mental and physical dependency) and a pothead (weed, which is a far shot from anything like actual addiction). Both end up being the end all be all for the true potheads/alcoholics. It really freaks me out a little bit... to think that I at multiple points throughout my life have been anywhere near being in the same general classification as an alcoholic. There seems to be some undercurrent (or some rumblings if you will) on GC of both denial of some potentially detrimental uses/effects of weed and some acknowledgment of some downsides. Correct me if I am wrong.
     
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