Stuff like heroin, cocaine, benzodiazepine, barbiturates, methamphetamines, and other narctotics are physically addictive. In comparison, there are almost no hallucinogens (like marijuana, LSD, mushrooms, peyote, DMT, salvia) that are physically addictive. People just lump all drugs together because they don't know even basic psychopharmacology.
Marijuana is not physically addictive. You do not go through withdrawal, it does not trigger the same addiction forming neural pathways in your body as other addictive drugs, and it does not have any chemicals in it that are addictive. Now it is psychologically addictive, but so are videogames, sex, and any other types of behavior we engage in on a regular basis. Banning things that are psychologically addictive is the equivalent of the government being people's parent. Its like banning fast food because it "tastes too good."
http://www.spencerrecovery.com/marijuana-addiction.html
Marijuana is not physically addicting. But this does not let users off the hook. Just because a drug is not physically addicting doesn't mean that it is not addicting in any capacity. It is by far one of the most addicting drugs on the market when thought about as emotionally and mentally addicting.
Alcohol IS physically addictive. It does cause you to go into withdrawal once you are addictive, it does trigger addiction forming neural pathways, and it does have chemicals in it that are addictive.
http://www.bma-wellness.com/addictions/Alcohol.html
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Ethanol or ethyl alcohol is a sedative-hypnotic drug that acts on the human brain like other sedative-hypnotic drugs such as the barbiturates and benzodiazepine tranquilizers(Valium, Xanax, Ativan &etc.). All of these drugs can substitute for one another and prevent withdrawal symptoms from each other. Thus benzodiazepine tranquilizers are commonly used briefly to treat severe alcohol withdrawal. Ethyl alcohol, like other sedative-hypnotic drugs in its class, can cause physical dependence in anyone who consumes enough of it for a sufficient period of time. The withdrawal syndrome from ethyl alcohol is identical to that for other drugs in the same class such as Valium, Librium, Xanax, Ativan, phenobarbital and other barbiturates(Nembutal, Seconal, Amytal &etc.). Individuals who have been regularly exposed to any of these drugs may develop the following physical symptoms upon abrupt discontinuation or drastic reduction of dosage:
Physical dependence and withdrawal symptoms from sedative-hypnotic drugs such as alcohol will develop in anyone exposed to the drug long enough, regularly enough and in a sufficient dosage if intake is suddenly curtailed. |
We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine, a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers…Also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of beer, a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls. The only thing that really worried me was the ether. There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an ether binge. –Raoul Duke
It is hard to shed anything but crocodile tears over White House speechwriter Patrick Buchanan's tragic analysis of the Nixon debacle. "It's like Sisyphus," he said. "We rolled the rock all the way up the mountain...and it rolled right back down on us...." Neither Sisyphus nor the commander of the Light Brigade nor Pat Buchanan had the time or any real inclination to question what they were doing...a martyr, to the bitter end, to a "flawed" cause and a narrow, atavistic concept of conservative politics that has done more damage to itself and the country in less than six years than its liberal enemies could have done in two or three decades. -Hunter S. Thompson
