How to explain it? is it an addiction that grows slowly, or is it a consequence of people being dissatisfied with their lives. I also wonder if cannabis, when fully legalized, will replace alcohol as our "drug of choice".
The good news is, if one surrenders, he or she can suspend the progress of the disease.
"Smoking marijuana is more dangerous than smoking cigarettes, experts say. The tar in joints contains a much higher concentration of the chemicals linked to lung cancer compared with tobacco tar. And smoking marijuana deposits four times more tar in the lungs than smoking an equivalent amount of tobacco, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse."
http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/20/health/marijuana-versus-alcoho...
One thing we can expect with legalization is that consumers will be better informed about those alternatives.