Yep.

Obviously, prohibition with alcohol could have told us that much.  Whether or not a drug is legal has no bearing whatsoever on how addictive it is.  Nicotine and alcohol are proof enough that addictive substances can still be legal.

So what will happen if and when Marijuana becomes legal in the U.S.?

If it comes to pass, then some who are recovering alcoholics will inevitably relapse.  I already know for myself that I cannot use Marijuana successfully, because I tried to do so for a few months after getting out of rehab and staying off of alcohol.  I was doing the infamous “marijuana maintenance program.”  Needless to say, it did not work well.  Eventually I got to a point where I was stressed out and frustrated and I wanted to self medicate.  I could either go spend about 30 to 50 bucks on a bag, or I could spend about 5 bucks on a cheap fifth of vodka.  And on top of all that, the marijuana really wasn’t really getting me to that place I wanted to be at.  It was only “partially” medicating me, whereas I knew what a fifth of vodka would do over the course of an evening.

Many smokers and potheads argue that marijuana should be legal in comparison to alcohol.  They argue that alcohol is much more destructive and claims many more lives.  I used to make this same argument myself in my smoking days.

This argument fails though, because all it does is shift the focus.  Sure, alcohol is deadly and should be regulated in some other way.  Whatever.  We are talking about marijuana here.  Just because alcohol is worse does not let Marijuana off the hook.  Is marijuana addictive?  You bet it is.  And the fact that other, more destructive drugs are legal has no bearing on this.  It is still an addictive drug with the potential to ruin your life.

Is marijuana physically addictive?  Not really.  In some extreme cases, people have shown some mild withdrawal symptoms.  But this is nothing like, say, hydrocodone addiction or even alcoholism.  For the most part, it is just a social and psychological addiction.

If you are trapped in a cycle of getting high with pot, then figure out exactly what you are using the drug for.  Is it to escape boredom?  Is it to socialize with friends?  Is it to medicate your stress and your feelings after a hard day at work?   You can learn a lot if you quit using it for 30 days just as a trial, and see what it is that you were really using the drug for.  Doing such an experiment takes courage, but it can lead you to a path of greater growth.

There are many different rehab facilities to help you rehabilitate no matter what kind of drugs you are using there are heroin rehab centers, alcoholics anonymous centers and people that are trained to help all types of drug addictions.