# Is pot addictive?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pot-addictive/133263
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [October 21, 2002, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pot-addictive/133263 "2002-10-21T17:21:21Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@petsm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/petsm)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2002, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pot-addictive/133263/1 "2002-10-21T17:21:21Z")
High:
Did a quick search on addiction and did not find the answer.
If yes, then how much and long do ya have to smoke it to become addicted and what is withdrawal like?
It seems as though it is possible to smoke all day every day for 10 years and then just stop???
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### Author:  [@scotth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotth)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2002, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pot-addictive/133263/2 "2002-10-21T17:57:45Z")
It is not considered addictive in any physical way. There is some claims that it is mildly psychologically addictive.
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### Author:  [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2002, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pot-addictive/133263/3 "2002-10-21T19:18:02Z")
There has been surprisingly little real research on this subject.
Anecdotally, I know people who were unable to quit smoking pot even when they had _very_ good reasons to do so, but whether they were experiencing physical or psychological addiction I cannot say.
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### Author:  [@roadrunner70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roadrunner70)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2002, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pot-addictive/133263/4 "2002-10-21T19:22:28Z")
I smoked for years back in my younger day, and quit cold turkey with no physical withdrawal, but some psychological.
I guess it depends on the individual.
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### Author:  [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2002, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pot-addictive/133263/5 "2002-10-22T01:15:51Z")
As someone who smoked pot nearly every day (whenever I could get my hands on it) for nearly 20 years, I can unequivocally say:
No. 🙂
My evidence: when I didn’t have it, I never suffered withdrawl symtoms. And as a former cig smoker, I recognize withdrawl symptoms.
However, that is only my opinion. I imagine it is possible for someone to be addicted to it. Whether one can differentiate between a physical and a psychological addition is a whole 'nother question.
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### Author:  [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2002, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pot-addictive/133263/6 "2002-10-22T02:08:41Z")
Two articles from [WebMD](http://www.webmd.com):
[Kicking the Habit](http://my.webmd.com/content/article/1674.50403) (By Ronald Pies, MD)
> [@](#):
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> Pot smokers who quit often report stomach pain, along with anxiety and irritability, researchers at the New York State Psychiatric Institute found in a study published in the February 1999 issue of _Psychopharmacology_. In unusual cases, chronic marijuana users may also become aggressive during withdrawal, according to a study from McLean Hospital published in the April 1999 issue of _Psychopharmacology_.
[an article discussing health risks associated with marijuana](http://my.webmd.com/content/article/1685.52117) (By Ken Goldberg, MD ) - this article doesn’t mention anything about withdrawal symptoms.
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### Author:  [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2002, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pot-addictive/133263/7 "2002-10-22T03:54:55Z")
Whether it was intentional or not, I liked that “High:” instead of “Hi:” thing. It’s like you’re just stating the fact that your high right from the get go. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Cooper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cooper)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2002, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pot-addictive/133263/8 "2002-10-22T04:04:03Z")
It is not addictive in the same way nicotine is, but then very little is.
For myself, I found it very hard to quit even after I knew it was necessary that I do so. Symptoms of withdrawal for me were an upset stomache and anxiety. Those symptoms didn’t last very long, but it was a very long time before I was comfortable being sober. It was probably six months before I felt like “myself before the pot”.
I wasn’t able to smoke pot reasonably, but many people are. When I smoked pot, I would spend my whole day thinking about getting high. Even if I was getting high all day. I don’t think you can ever tell who will get hooked on which drugs.
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### Author:  [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2002, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pot-addictive/133263/9 "2002-10-22T11:05:06Z")
I had no problem stopping, and I smoked every day.
To counter what WebMD said, _Abstinence Symptoms During Withdrawal From Chronic Marijuana Use_, by Elena M. Kouri and Harrison G. Pope, Jr. of McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School in “Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology”, 2000, Vol. 8, No. 4, 483–492 said:
> [@](#):
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> Although marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States, it is not established whether withdrawal from chronic use results in a clinically significant abstinence syndrome.