Hacker News Reader

Comment by noasaservice | Hacker News Reader

So many problems with that "study".

"marijuana dependence" - there is no chemical dependence with cannabis. None. Nada. Zilch.

> smoking tobacco was just because of inhaling smoke

The danger is inhaling burnt plant matter along with the slew of crap companies spray on tobacco. Straight tobacco has a VERY DIFFERENT taste and "cleaner". Still not great for you.

And most cannabis is vaped these days. In that way, it's with the THC oil with terpenes. And that profile is very different than burning plant matter, since in a vape it's vaporized oils (and some metal from the ceramic/metal filament).

View on HN

> And most cannabis is vaped these days.

I'm not sure if that's the case. Anecdotally, I see very little vaping and a large amount of smoking in a state where it's not legal recreationally. In another state where it is legal recreationally, I see a healthy mix of vaping and smoking and I can't say that I've seen one more than another there. I wonder if someone has collected numbers for this, I would be interested to see.

> "marijuana dependence" - there is no chemical dependence with cannabis. None. Nada. Zilch.

I don't know what it's called but if I stop smoking then the next few days I have appetite and sleeping issues.

As observed in other comments, physical dependence is not the only kind.

So it's in line with chewing fingernails, eating chalk, blowing bubbles in bubblegum, and "habits".

Lets be clear what this "psychological dependence" is.

What you seem to be confused over is how poorly we talk about addiction.

Alcohol and Benzos can kill you, so when people talk about physical dependence, they usually mean them. I feel like this is often used to obfuscate the fact that because ____ can't kill you it must not be addictive.

Then there is psychological addiction: Anything that makes you "feel good" and "want more" falls in this category.

So amphetamine, weed, sweets, and coffee, for example are generally cited as addictive because they are easy rushes to feeling good irrespective of their harm.

Where cannabis gets deserved flack is that proponents are downplaying the harm and addictiveness by comparing it to "chewing your nails"

Here is a very good source that illustrates the benefits and harms of medical cannabis.

https://accpjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pha...

More like, alcohol dependence? It provides a profound mental effect that is easy to become an addiction perhaps, so different from blowing bubbles.

This is pretty obvious, and it takes a certain strained logic to ignore it. I suspect folks who over-react to the suggestion that strong chemicals can become a detrimental habit, have perhaps some vested interest in believing it.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com