I’ve lived with the stigma of cannabis use all my life and as a result, am used to being labeled addict, broken, outcast. What is hard for some people to understand are the ways cannabis enhances and/or expands my life, the way it brings me home to myself.
I look at people with addictions to harder drugs, food or gambling, and see we have nothing in common. While I’m unconventional and prone to asking questions, they are sick and need help. There’s no comparison between us.
Addictive behaviour is classed as the repetition of destructive habits. That’s not how I use cannabis. I work every day, am a published writer, a qualified writing coach, and nutritionist who cares about good food and fitness. I’m ambitious, hard working, resilient and self-reliant. Are they words you’d use to describe an “addict”?
So what am I? Can I really use a “drug” every day and not be an addict?
The short answer is no.
But it’s not so simple.
WHAT IS AN ADDICT?
For starters, let’s consider the concept of “addict.” Up until the 20th century, the term addict was used to label someone who accidentally got addicted to a substance as a result of medicinal use. Between the 1890s and 1920s, the term changed to mean some kind of deviant who shrugged responsibility in favour of drug use.
The idea of the deviant drug user grew steadily throughout the 20th century thanks to the introduction of a global prohibition, led by the United States. However, by now, it’s become apparent that the U.S. approach to the War on Drugs is not effective and certainly doesn’t stop people from using drugs. But the stereotype persists.
Today, we also have a better understanding of the psychological and biological factors driving an addict. Addiction is attributed to a malfunction in the body’s dopamine system, trapping the mind in a loop that propels repetitive behaviour. This system exists in every individual.
A number of theories prevail as to why the dopamine system malfunctions in an addict – may be genetic or caused by childhood trauma. Whatever the reason, what’s clear is that there’s an underlying cause and addiction is a symptom of something else.
The problem with a lot of the treatments for addiction is that they focus on the symptom and put the onus fully on the addict to recognise the problem, and change it. But if the addict could do that they wouldn’t have started using drugs in the first place.
A lot of this thinking is a direct result of the ‘deviant’ ethos infused into the culture from the early 20th century onwards. It’s an ethos that’s deadly, as evidenced by the ever-rising rate of overdoses and the frankly criminal way addicts are treated by the “recovery system.”
OLD ADDICTION NARRATIVE
When I started writing for the cannabis industry seven years ago, I thought it was my moment. I’d finally be able to come out into the light and talk about my life choices in a way that was positive rather than the judgment I was used to. But it never happened.
TO READ THE REST OF THIS POST, HEAD OVER TO MY NEW SUBSTACK: https://jointphilosophy.substack.com/p/why-i-was-forced-to-tell-my-cannabis
The Healthy Hashhead 