Note: This post does not promote the use of recreational marijuana in any way whatsoever. The aim of this post is as always, to educate and inform.
You must have started consuming marijuana for many reasons. Maybe you left home to attend college in another city and the new found independence made you experiment with all sorts of things. Maybe you did not and your social circle at school or college persuaded you to go ahead and join in because it seemed so much fun, and being young is about exploring new things first and judging the outcomes later, good or bad. Every person has a different story, a different set of circumstances that he or she swears by and believes in.
You must have started consuming marijuana when you were fifteen or seventeen or eighteen or nineteen or maybe even when you were younger or maybe even you were quite older, say above thirty or forty. Everyone remembers the feeling of excitement, the feeling of indulging in something forbidden. Indeed, the atmosphere while consumption is such that, you were probably in some deserted stretch of road or a field, or a mutual friend’s house with dim lights and strangers of similar age who all looked shady in the beginning but warmed up as time went by.
For the first ten to fifteen times you probably relied on a mutual friend from another social circle so that you could join in during one of their consumption sessions and leave peacefully. Or maybe, you had someone in your own social circle who ensured that the marijuana was ready for your consumption and brought it to you rather than you having to seek it from someone unfamiliar.
Indeed many consumers of marijuana remain in this stage for at least a few years if not months, because they do not seek to indulge themselves in marijuana than what is already being supplied to them from different sources, and the best part for them is that they do not have to pay for it since their consumption is so little in relation to their sources who consume it more than them.
Many factors are at play during this stage. One being, if the person stays with his or her parents. If not, the person is quite free to increase or decrease (usually increase, unless his or her social circle is not comfortable doing so and the person restricts himself or herself) his or her consumption. Another factor is the dosage. For the first ten to fifteen sessions (sessions being consuming marijuana ‘once’ in a day through at least six to seven inhalations through a joint or one to two inhalations through a bong or two to three inhalations through a chillum. Unlike some heavy users who indulge in multiple inhalation sessions multiple times a day), the person does not need to consume much, depending on the device used (joints, bongs, vapes, chillums, pipes) to consume the marijuana. Quality of the marijuana is a factor as well. Indeed, many first time users do not think about this aspect. They should.
The conclusion is that the marijuana user is quite comfortable with waiting for the opportune moment, and does not mind if he or she doesn’t consume marijuana for a couple of weeks. Once a user has passed the threshold of using marijuana for recreational purposes, say for ten or fifteen different sessions, there is a high probability or chance that the person’s body begins to crave the sensations caused by inhaling marijuana. The threshold may vary from person to person. As mentioned previously, some users go many years or months, quite comfortable in using marijuana only sparingly.
However, depending on the profile of select users and their individual circumstances in life, such users begin to crave marijuana after ten to fifteen sessions. From this point on, the user begins to actively source marijuana either on his own by calling a dealer whose contact details can be sourced from mutual friends or buying it from the mutual friend.
At this point the user still cannot be called addicted to marijuana because his dosage would likely not have varied much. He or she would still inhale marijuana during one session in a week or every alternate day or maybe twice in a week and so forth. The main point here is that the user now independently begins to source marijuana on his or her own.
Now is where the addiction threshold needs to be established. From this point on wards, the user should ideally self-diagnose himself or herself with marijuana addiction if –
- He or she begins to inhale marijuana multiple times in a day
- He or she begins to inhale marijuana during her professional hours thinking that would ‘enhance’ his or her quality of work
- He or she begins to inhale marijuana practically every day of the week, right from the first hit after waking up in the morning to a hit immediately before passing out
- He or she begins to feel anxious when marijuana is about to run out and needs to be replenished
- He or she begins to ‘neglect’ social outings or professional duties to satisfy his or her cravings for marijuana
- He or she is not able to do any professional work without a marijuana hit and begins to procrastinate professionally
With all these above points mentioned, the addiction story is even more complex because people are fundamentally different from other people. Maybe, some people swear their professional lives are not affected in any way if they consume marijuana daily and that’s totally fine. The point that we’re making is that, its best if the user if mature enough to understand everything that’s going on around her or him.
After all, the main point is that excess of anything is bad. If you have alcohol everyday, that’s bad. Same with tobacco, same with junk food, same with sugar and sweets, same with emotions, same with everything in life. Do not misuse or abuse. There is a ‘right’ quantity for everything. Life is about multiple things. Use the ‘tools’ given to you wisely to enhance the quality of life rather than immerse yourself in the tools completely to forget about life.
Marijuana Maharaj 