200,000 ADDICTED TO POT

More than 2.7 million Australians smoke almost $5 billion worth of
cannabis each year, with about 200,000 heavily dependent on the drug.

But there is little awareness of cannabis addiction and governments
spend almost nothing on helping people with drug-related problems.

Dr Jan Copeland, of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, led
a trial which found it was almost impossible for heavy users to quit.

"We are a nation that likes its pot," Dr Copeland said. "There are
millions of Australians who smoke the drug and use it quite
responsibly, but there are a small percentage who become heavily
dependent on cannabis."Of the 273 heavy users (who smoke it about
eight times a day) in the study who wanted to quit, only 10 per cent
who completed extensive counselling had been able to.

Adding other surveys' data to its own, Dr Copeland's team estimated
200,000 people were heavily dependent on cannabis.The heavy users
studied, who spent about a quarter of their income on the drug, became
withdrawn and made cannabis the main focus of their lives.General
health problems and significant psychological problems were reported
by 83 per cent; 69 percent of the sample were male, with an average
age of 32, and most held full-time jobs.

They had begun smoking cannabis at 15, had done so for an average of
almost 14 years.

The team found that many suffered depression and blamed cannabis for
poor concentration and memory, social isolation and lack of motivation.