Is Daily Cannabis Use Something to Be Proud of?

Westword

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Dear Stoner: Here's an unpopular opinion for you: Celebrating daily cannabis use is stupid, and if 40 percent of users smoke daily, then cannabis is definitely addictive.
Just Being Honest

Dear Just Being Honest: Correction — 42 percent of cannabis users (and 49 percent of Coloradans) reported daily use, according to the national population survey from 2022 that you're referencing and state data from Colorado. And given how much people tend to minimize their consumption habits, that number is probably higher.

The study, published by the Society for the Study of Addiction, compared the daily use of alcohol and cannabis among Americans. According to study author Jonathan Caulkins, as public support for recreational legalization grows and more states experience "policy liberalization," more long-term cannabis users likely "parallel corresponding changes in cannabis policy."

How we view daily consumption of both substances could play a large factor, according to Caulkins, with daily use of cannabis largely viewed as means to relax or improve wellness. In an interview with the Associated Press, he said that comparing cannabis and tobacco users is more apt than cannabis and alcohol.

click to enlarge

A recent study claimed that regular cannabis users in America now outpace daily alcohol users. Colorado residents are ahead of both trends, however.

Jacqueline Collins

Now, on to your addiction point: No legitimate writer, scientist or cannabis activist would argue that cannabis cannot be addictive. Haven't you watched reality TV? If eating air freshener is addictive, then getting high on weed certainly can be. Promoting daily cannabis use, especially smoking, is irresponsible, lazy and, in some cases, dangerous. Recognizing that there are different forms of mental and physical addictions and the medical benefits of cannabis (which are now recognized by the feds, by the way) adds more than a little gray to the situation, though.

Who are you to say that someone suffering from PTSD or chronic back pain shouldn't light up every day when the alternative is much worse? Excessive cannabis use is often glamorized and nothing to be proud of for non-patients, but chill on the victory lap.

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