I used this chart as one of my main arguements of why marijuana should be legalized a couple years ago in a public speaking class in which I debated on why marijuana should be legalized.
Dependence: is defined here as how difficult it is for the user to quit, how often they relapse, the percentage of people who become dependent, and the degree to which people will use in the face of evidence of it’s negative effects.
Withdrawl: is the presence and severity of withdrawal symptoms.
Tolerance: Is how much of a substance a body continually needs to achieve the same effect that was originally produced.
Reinforcement: Pertains mostly to the likelihood that the user will use the drug again especially in preference to other substances.
Intoxication: in this context intoxication is associated with the social and personal damages the substance causes.
I am having trouble finding my original source for this graph, but it originally came from a group called safer sensible Colorado who put a bill up to legalize marijuana in the state in 2006. This reaserch was government funded of course.
