Cannabis Australia: People Down Under don’t want to accept their marijuana addiction

The director of the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre at UNSW, professor Jan Copeland, revealed that a recent online market survey of 4,500 Australians showed more than half of those smoking cannabis struggle to control their use. Still people continue to believe that they can never become dependent on marijuana.

According to Copeland, more than 200,000 Australians struggle with cannabis addiction every day and the widespread misconception that marijuana is not addictive makes it difficult for them to seek help. People become addicted without them knowing.

“Personally, I didn’t believe cannabis was addictive until very recently. Even when I was smoking 30 cones or more in a day, I thought ‘I can give this up whenever I like.’ It was affecting my weight, my mental health and my motivation, I had no idea how much weed was holding me back,” said father of three Jason Hameister in a press release.

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Hameister believes that the downsides of cannabis use never form a part of a national conversation due to the perceived social acceptability of marijuana. He started using cannabis at the age of 14, mainly to help with his anxiety. Even though he was initially impressed with marijuana’s effects, he soon realised that the drug was not addressing the underlying cause of his problem but was actually making it worse.

Hameister’s addiction worsened and got to a point where he manipulated his whole day just to smoke a joint every hour. Copeland said that stories such as that of Hameister are more common than people realise.

“Of course, the majority of experimental and occasional cannabis users don’t go on to become dependent, just as we see with alcohol. But the misconception cannabis is a harmless, non-addictive drug means many people who need help are not getting it,” Copeland added.

Heavy cannabis use and addiction is a big issue in Australia. The worst part is that people don’t realise they need help to get off their addiction. The online survey of 4,500 Australians revealed 37 percent of the respondents were using five grams of marijuana or more per week. This may have serious health consequences and they may be having problems with their use.

Around 36 percent of the respondents believed marijuana is non-addictive and a further 15 percent revealed that the misconception that cannabis is non-addictive stopped them from seeking help.

Hameister has been off cannabis for three weeks and is now pushing the public to start a conversation around cannabis use. He has urged cannabis users to ask for help. Without the support of his friends and family, it would have been difficult for him to quit. Hameister has signed up for the New York marathon and is looking forward to a healthy future.