NYTimes: Are you addicted to weed? – Hemp | weed | marijuana

The New York Times Asks Are You Addicted To Weed? And if it were you, would you even know?

The Paper of the Record calls for it, warning that nearly 6 percent of American teens and adults suffer from a “cannabis use disorder.”

Many valued The New York Times for its reputation for quality journalism. The newspaper’s accuracy, objectivity and editorial decisions have suffered in recent years, especially in the age of social media and the 24-hour news cycle.

From the presidential election to the Covid hysteria to the Russo-Ukrainian war, the New York Times has become a Tumblr blog.

The article “How do you know if you’re addicted to weed?” is not quality journalism. The journalism of their past – like exposing the Iran-Contra affair or exposing the Pentagon Papers – would probably be considered “harmful misinformation” today.

Just look at how they handled the Hunter Biden laptop scandal. Or how they covered the Covid lab leak hypothesis. Search “NYTimes” and “Joe Rogan” and see their jealousy manifest.

The New York Times is no longer the paper of record unless that record writes advertisements for corporate sponsors.

And that’s what the NYTimes article “addicted to weed” boils down to – advertising for anti-anxiety drugs.

NYTimes: Are you addicted to weed?

The NYTimes Asks: Are You Addicted To Weed? And to be fair, this article isn’t as bad as it could have been. It starts with an adult named Julian who has always smoked weed rather than forming friendships or other relationships.

Julian didn’t even think he had a problem until someone suggested he was “a weed addict.” So he searched online for the definition of “cannabis use disorder” and diagnosed himself.

Funnily enough, the “experts” advise against it in almost every other situation.

For example, the Ontario government has launched a “Stop Going Down Rabbit Holes” campaign.

Despite the lack of medical care and overcrowded hospitals, the Ontario government wants you to speak to a professional about common medical conditions (such as whether to apply heat or cold to a sprain) rather than doing your own research.

The NYTimes article “addicted to weed” states that cannabis is addictive like alcohol or cocaine. They admit that it will not lead to death from an overdose like opiates. But it can lead to a “dramatic reduction in quality of life.”

This line needs some nuance, but unfortunately the quoted psychiatrist does not go into detail.

Alcohol, for example, can dramatically affect your quality of life, whether you view your drinking as a problem or not. Mentally you could be fine. But physically, your body is processing a literal poison.

While you could argue that smoking cannabis damages the lungs, cannabis will not physically destroy your body if you consume edibles or extracts. It also doesn’t kill brain cells like alcohol or cocaine.

So how does cannabis cause a dramatic decline in the quality of life?

Signs of Addiction or “Cannabis Use Disorder”

This NYTimes article on “grass addicts” uses the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth Edition) as authoritative text. You might recognize its other name – DSM-5.

But the DSM is made up of cultural conventions, not scientific concepts. A “caffeine use disorder” is not listed, even though 74% of Americans drink coffee daily.

The main reason is that telling millions of Americans that they have a drug problem is counterproductive.

We also normalize daily caffeine consumption. Even if you told 74% of Americans they had a troubled relationship with coffee, they would ask you to mind your own business.

To invoke the DSM-5 as the be-all and end-all of the “cannabis use disorder” discussion is an appeal to authority, a logical fallacy. Because the criteria it provides are not even scientific.

Consider the concept of “loss of control”. No scientific evidence supports it. You might find some conditional evidence in neurobiology, but causality has yet to be proven. You may also find some observational studies to support this.

But the gold standard in science is proof of cause and effect.

The DSM-5 is a culture product. Especially a culture shackled by drug war propaganda.

According to the DSM-5, developing a tolerance to THC and experiencing withdrawal symptoms (which can be as benign as insomnia or irritability) means you are addicted to weed or, to be politically correct, suffer from a “cannabis use disorder.”

What actually causes addiction?

The NYTimes article “Addicted to Weed” quotes Dr. David Gorelick. He said, “Cannabis use disorders occur in all age groups, but it is primarily a disease of young adults.”

What isn’t said is that most people with “addiction problems” are young adults because those problems resolve naturally in their 30s.

The research is conclusive: Most young adults with drug addiction problems recover on their own without the need for formal treatment. They do this in their 30s.

Of course, the NYTimes article “Addicted to Weed” ignores this research. It doesn’t fit the “public health” narrative that some drugs are harmful and are addictive and require treatment. While others (those made and patented by the pharmaceutical industry) are good, healthy and require taxpayer-funded subsidies.

Even if you think of human action as a result of forces beyond our control, one cultural phenomenon—addiction—can be construed as a “disease” of the brain.

But despite the NYTimes’ “weed-addicted” propaganda, little evidence supports the brain disease theory of drug addiction.

The myth persists because there are financial incentives to “treat” addiction as a “disease” rather than what it actually is – a problem with the mind.

In the NYTimes article “Addicted to Weed,” the truth is hidden.

Another psychiatric diagnosis, such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, is also associated with an increased risk [of cannabis addiction].

As one of the doctors says in the article, it is possible to consume daily and not have a “disorder”.

The people who continue to use cannabis despite the negative consequences are people with different problems. They self-medicate with cannabis. And given the possibilities, cannabis will be preferable to opiates or alcohol. Or even SSRIs.

NYTimes: Addicted to weed? Here are your options

So what does the NYTimes article “addicted to weed” recommend? There are no approved medications to “treat” a cannabis “disorder.” But that doesn’t stop psychiatrists from prescribing drugs.

While the article makes reference to cognitive behavioral therapy, it does so in the context of treatment and recovery. Where you strategize to “deal with cravings” or “triggers.”

Instead of fundamentally changing your preferences.

(For example, many of us prefer not to drink coffee later in the afternoon. Most of us don’t deal with cravings or develop coping strategies. We just don’t want to consume caffeine in the afternoon based on our preferences.)

But despite NYTimes attempts to feign pot addiction, reality collapses in the final paragraph: “Julian now very rarely smokes weed – only once every few months when an old friend is around. He doesn’t miss it, he said.”

If Julian’s consumption was a brain disease, how is that possible? Or was Julian’s “disorder” a coping mechanism for stress and anxiety? Could it be that Julian has solved his anxiety issues and now has a take it or leave approach to cannabis?

This would not be possible if it were the pharmacology of the addictive drug. If Julian’s brain was diseased, wouldn’t a “relapse” force him back into chronic use?

Or maybe the brain disease or “disorder” model is bullshit.

feeling addicted? Try some CBD

If you prefer anti-anxiety pills from pharmaceutical companies – that’s your prerogative. And if anxiety is the problem, most people don’t recommend high-THC diets.

Add at least some CBD to the mix.

But don’t let “experts” convince you that you have a disease or disorder.

It could be that your cannabis use is problematic. But that would be a sign of an underlying problem. Some basic preferences that you may not fully understand.

What it isn’t is a disease like cancer or myocarditis. It’s a habit. And for the 6% minority, it’s a self-defeating habit.

So, in that sense, the NYTimes is wrong; you can’t get addicted to weed. Hemp is a flower. And flowers cannot force you to do things against your will.