AS MARIJUANA USE RISES, MORE PEOPLE ARE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR ADDICTION

People are aware of the addictive potential of alcohol, cocaine,
heroin, even gambling. But the perception persists that marijuana
isn't addictive.

The doggedness of this myth may be attributable to the campaign to
legalize the drug, as well as the comparatively subtle costs of
marijuana addiction. But there is virtually no debate among American
researchers, who have been documenting and studying marijuana
addiction for more than two decades. Now, Cambridge University Press
has combined the results of their federally funded studies -- most
already published in peer-reviewed journals -- in a new book called
"Cannabis Dependence."

The book offers substantial scientific evidence of what Marijuana
Anonymous members know firsthand -- that the euphoria induced by THC,
the active ingredient in marijuana, can be addictive. Studies show
that between 2% and 3% of U.S. marijuana users become addicted within
two years of first trying the drug, which is scientifically known as
cannabis. About 10% of those who try it become addicted at some point.

Now, addiction-treatment statistics are showing dramatic growth in
marijuana-related problems. A study issued last month by the
University of Maryland's Center for Substance Abuse Research examined
the drug of choice for Americans seeking treatment for addiction
during the decade that ended in 2003. It found that the percentage of
addicts who cited marijuana as their primary problem more than
doubled to 16% from 7%, while alcohol fell to 41% from 57%. Among
illegal drugs, only opiates ranked higher than marijuana as a problem
for treatment seekers.

Marijuana's rise in the ranks of problem drugs may reflect a big
spike in usage. The number of Americans age 12 and older using
marijuana at least once a month jumped to 14.6 million in 2004 from
10.1 million in 1996, according to the federal Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration, which adds that some of that
jump may be attributable to a change in surveying methods.

To study marijuana addiction, the contributors to "Cannabis
Dependence" -- a group of researchers at universities across the U.S.
- -- published newspaper advertisements offering treatment to people
unable to quit using the drug. Invariably, hundreds stepped forward.
The typical volunteer was a white-collar man in his thirties who
smoked marijuana daily and didn't much abuse alcohol or other drugs.
"Their substance of choice is marijuana," says Roger A. Roffman, an
editor of "Cannabis Dependence" and a University of Washington
professor of social work.

The researchers found that the overall rate of addiction among
marijuana users is slightly lower than for imbibers of alcohol. But
among people who use marijuana daily, the rate of addiction is
significantly higher than among daily drinkers. Addiction is
diagnosed when a person experiences at least three of seven
indicators, such as failure to control usage, preoccupation with the
drug and withdrawal symptoms.

The addictiveness of marijuana is underappreciated in part because
legalization advocates tend to play down the problem. But a bigger
factor may be that marijuana addiction typically doesn't kill, wreck
careers, ruin health or otherwise wreak the sort of tragedies that
make headlines. Although studies suggest that marijuana can cause
neurological and cardiovascular damage, that evidence remains
inconclusive and largely connected to smoking the drug, which isn't
necessary. Marijuana-enriched olive oil can deliver a powerful high.

Yet if marijuana addiction were benign, thousands of Americans
wouldn't be seeking to kick the habit each year. In treatment, many
express a sense of being unable to move forward in their personal and
professional lives while in a constant state of marijuana
intoxication. Often, marijuana addiction damages relationships. Its
illegality can get a user arrested.

Then there are the symptoms of withdrawal: "irritability, anger,
nervousness, sleep difficulty, change in appetite, physical
discomfort," says Alan J. Budney, a University of Arkansas for
Medical Sciences addiction specialist.

The typical absence of dramatic consequences can make marijuana
addiction difficult to break. The memory of brushes with death, jail
and destitution can help keep a heroin user or alcoholic from
relapsing. But the more-subtle costs of marijuana addiction are
easier to forget. Research shows that staying clean is just as hard
for marijuana addicts as for heroin addicts, says Robert S. Stephens,
chairman of psychology at Virginia Tech University and "Cannabis
Dependence" editor.

Initially, meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous
provided little help to a Chicago marijuana addict named Bob, who
asked that his last name not be used for this article. "I would hear
people talk about liver damage, job losses, broken marriages -- stuff
that had never happened to me," says Bob, a white-collar worker in
his late 20s at that time.

On the surface, his life appeared to be well-managed. He was pursuing
a college degree at night and competing in triathlons on weekends.
But his sense of accomplishment was utterly undermined by his
incessant need to sneak off and smoke joints. He even bought a car
expressly for the purpose of having a private place to get high on
his lunch hour in downtown Chicago. For an entire decade, he got high
about four times a day.

Ultimately, he came to realize he was no less an addict than is the
alcoholic or the heroin user. His last toke came in November of 1998.
Soon afterward he started a Chicago meeting of Marijuana Anonymous.

After seven clean years, he says, he still has cravings: "I'll catch
a whiff of pot on the street, and my mouth starts watering."