I think what the original commenter meant by addiction ≠ dependence is that addiction is normally used to refer to a psychological crave to do whatever (play video games, browse Twitter, smoke weed, etc.). Dependence is when you absolutely REQUIRE a substance in order to maintain a base level of function. Such as when alcoholics REQUIRE to drink a certain amount or they’ll have seizures. I’m not psychiatrist, but I would argue that if you needed weed to throughout the day to feel normal, you were probably dependent on it.

The line between dependence and addiction is blurry when it comes to marijuana. Few people experience actual physical withdrawal symptoms when they quit marijuana, though it has been reported. More people, I believe, are simply psychologically addicted to marijuana. For me personally, I make a point to take a tolerance break every March 20 to April 20, and although I am emotionally bummed out sometimes, it doesn’t cause me more problems than that. However, I would say that for me, weed is habit-forming. Sometimes, when I’m done work, I automatically have the thought of “let’s smoke!” and then realize, “wait…I really don’t need to do this.”

Anyway. Back to you. I’m happy to hear this perspective that calls people to take weed more seriously. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a cannabis enthusiast and I love the stuff, but I think society has eaten up the whole “weed is harmless!!!” narrative way too much. No, CBD doesn’t cure everything. I firmly believe that weed is neither a cure-all nor the devil’s lettuce. It should be regulated as a public health issue, but not criminalized like a crime.