In November 1996, California became the first state to legalize medical cannabis. (Many) politics and (some) physicians promised us breakthroughs in better health. Thirty years later, how are we really doing? Men’s Health decided to find out in this special report package.
KEVIN HILL, MD, the guy when it comes to this stuff. He’s the chief of the Division of Addiction Psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. We talked to him about all the questions you probably have about weed and addiction.
MH: You can be addicted to weed? Most people who use cannabis don’t develop a cannabis use disorder or cannabis addiction. But there has always been a subset of individuals who do.
Five years ago, the data indicated about 10 to 30 percent of adults develop a cannabis use disorder. Now the published data says 30 to 35 percent. With the rise in potency, we’re seeing a rise in the number of users who are developing problems.
MH: Does cannabis use disorder differ from other addictions? Hill: It affects a lot of the same neurotransmitters that other substances of abuse might affect. If you use cannabis, you’re going to have a surge in dopamine.
Similarly, if you use opioids, you’re going to have a surge in dopamine, but the scale of it is different. It’s why a lot of medications we use to treat addictions operate on common pathways. MH: Is there a genetic risk of developing a weed addiction?
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