Marijuana.com

4/20

I'd call this a controlled addiction.

Addiction, from Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is defined as "compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal; broadly : persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful".

You say you don't have a need, but when you smoke, you feel complete. You say you aren't addicted, yet you say your mind doesn't feel fully quenched until you get high. This seems like a mess of oxymorons, for a lack of a better word.

I am not a doctor, nor an addiction counsuler, but I believe that you have the "compulsive need" to get high. A compulsive need does not mean the need as in "we need water to live", but it is a need built up by repetative use. It is a habit built into an addiction.

The exact definition of need, as quoted from Merriam-Webster, is "of, relating to, caused by, or suggestive of psychological compulsion or obsession <compulsive actions>". Your mind has been so used to getting a high that it has formed an obsession, wanting it, and over time needing it.

The reason why I said it's a controlled addiction, is because it is not at the point where it controls your life completely, you can still be sober, yet at the same time, your mind is wanting to get high.

Hope you understand what I'm saying..

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fuzzyninja

I think I put myself in a trap when I was trying to filter through my scrambled thoughts. Anyways, I don't believe I've formed a dependency on marijuana. I haven't smoked yet today and I don't have a compulsive need to do so. I guess I was explaining the feeling of "high" more than anything. It makes me think "damn, why can't we just always feel like this, the world would be so much better" but at the same time I can understand why you would need to be sober for certain occasions.

Dark...
Yeah, I know. When I thought of that statement I was just like "woah, this is something almost too big for me to put into one sentence" but I like allowing others to discuss they're ideas on a suggested topic.

>> I'd like to hear more about "Do people need to live, or is living an addiction?"

Toking Jedi

Dictionary.com gives these definitions of need (the noun):
1.a requirement, necessary duty, or obligation: There is no need for you to go there. 2.a lack of something wanted or deemed necessary: to fulfill the needs of the assignment. 3.urgent want, as of something requisite: He has no need of your charity. 4.necessity arising from the circumstances of a situation or case: There is no need to worry.I want to make a distinction between addiction and need. An addiction, like you said, involves uncontrollable desire. But a need, is something necessary and required in and of itself. For example, heroin addicts have an addiction because they have an uncontrollable urge to shoot up (or whatever the heck). On the other hand, you and I need to drink water, eat food, and breathe air to live. We don't have uncontrollable desires that stem from uncomfortable withdrawal; on the contrary, we benefit from consuming these substances.

So is life an addiction? My first instinct is to disagree and say that it's not. But let's think a minute. I could argue that it's a need because... well, I have no evidence for that. Ha! Anyway, on the other hand many Buddhists might argue that in fact life is an addiction that one must remove oneself from, because it is all an illusion of desire and sensation, etc. In that spirit I will put forth that what we think of as "life" is actually an addiction that distracts us from the Ultimate Reality.

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