--- title: "Marijuana Addicts Say Nobody Takes Them Seriously" description: "It's easy to poke fun at the idea of marijuana addiction. But the addiction can be very real – and the stigma isn't doing addicts any favors." date: "2023-08-02" modified: "2023-08-02" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/marijuana-addicts-seriously" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "addiction" - "health" - "marijuana" - "weed" --- # Marijuana Addicts Say Nobody Takes Them Seriously ![It's easy to poke fun at the idea of marijuana addiction. But the addiction can be very real – and the stigma isn't doing addicts any favors.]() *Man with an electronic cigarette sitting on the windowsill at home,relaxing after hard day \Image: Jane Khomi via Getty Images\* We know, we know: it's easy to poke fun at the notion that someone could *really* be addicted to pot. But as [*The Washington Post* reports](), the fact remains that although it poses little risk to most people, cannabis addiction is very real for a minority who say they're badly struggling — and the social stigma around it isn't exactly helping the folks who are struggling with a weed dependency. "It's been frustrating because you’re not taken seriously," a 37-year-old Missouri mother named Courtney recently told *WaPo* of her marijuana addiction. "People say it's not as severe as meth, or alcohol, that it's not that bad. They think it's not an addiction." *WaPo* interviewed numerous people struggling with weed dependency and addiction, and though their stories differ, striking similarities remain. Weed, they say, has cost them an exorbitant amount of money; withdrawal symptoms are difficult and often destructive; and above all else, like other addictions, it's been a controlling force in their lives. "The problems that come up with cannabis-use disorder are very real," a 24-year-old who went only by the initials MB told *WaPo*, confessing that she had stolen money from her family in order to pay for weed. "This was not always something that was talked about." Per *WaPo,* MB attends Marijuana Anonymous, a space designed specifically for those struggling with weed addiction. "We were sort of laughed out of 12-step spaces," she told *WaPo* of her experience with Alcoholics Anonymous. Meanwhile, as *WaPo* notes, the numbers support these folks' claims. According [to The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration](), an estimated 16.3 million people in the United States suffer from some level of cannabis-use disorder — or, in other words, cannabis addiction. And though most cases are seen as relatively mild, roughly 26 percent of all cases are considered moderate, and a sizeable 16 percent are considered severe. (As *WaPo* also points out, a [study]() published in July of last year linked higher levels of THC to the development of cannabis-use disorder.) "It's the second-most common addiction Americans are struggling with," James H. Berry, a psychiatrist and addiction expert at West Virginia University, told *WaPo*, "but nobody hears about it." That all said, some skepticism about weed addiction is warranted. America's history with cannabis is complicated, and weed has often experienced an irrational villainization — seriously, the alarmist posters from the 1940s and 50s were, uh, [*something*]() — before swinging very far the other way, into what some might call arguably less-than-sufficiently-scrutinized territory. "Because there are so many mixed messages in our society about cannabis, I think it's very easy for people to minimize and rationalize problematic use of cannabis," Aaron Norton, a Florida mental health counselor, told *WaP*o. Norton, for his part, told *WaPo* that while he believes that marijuana should be legalized, it should also be strictly regulated. There's also the reality that marijuana offers legitimate medical benefits, and has been used medicinally for [thousands of years](). And as a recreational drug, most folks *are* able to have a casual relationship with the substance. But regardless of how low-stakes the drug remains for most, if we've learned anything from TLC, it's that people can get addicted to, well, anything. From sex to shopping to sugar, a slew of common addictions revolve around actions, items, and substances that are normal pieces of our everyday world. "Addiction is a fact of life," Darren Weiss, president of [Verano](), a cannabis venture that currently does business in 13 states, told *WaPo*. "There are folks who are addicted to caffeine, to sex, to all sorts of different things." At the end of the day, different people have their own individual relationships with substances. Weed can do a lot of good — it can offer some relief for a variety of medical conditions, help users relax and sleep, and [can just be nice and fun](). But a dependency on any substance can quickly turn problematic, and if you find yourself or witness a friend struggling with a reliance that feels like it might be bordering on addiction, maybe don't discount it. "The majority of people who use cannabis products in general can handle it," Adrianne Trogden, a Louisiana addiction counselor, told *WaPo*. "But there are still people who cannot — and they need help." **More on marijuana:** [*Smoking Weed Appears to Make Alterations to Your Genetic Code*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()