The Truth About Pot: Ten Recovering Marijuana Users Share Their Personal Stories

By Joanne Baum and Ph.D. Baum, Joanne

Marijuana users recount the negative effects the drug has had on their lives. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1562461249
• ISBN13: 9781562461249
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Hazelden
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 0.8" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

Very helpful for anyone that thinks they may have an addiction to pot

I've read this book and personally have found it very helpful. I've been smoking pot everyday for almost a decade. I'd be a liar as well as a moron to try to suggest that I don't have an addiction or problem with it. People don't believe that you can become physically addicted to pot because you don't get the shakes or have physical with drawls. They may be right. I'm not physically addicted, it's all mental. I think or used to think everything was better when I was stoned. Sex, movies, food, everything. I used to think that it didn't effect my life and that I could stop at any time. Then I tried to stop. I would think about being stoned all the time. No matter what I was doing, I would think it would be better to be doing it stoned. Addiction creeps up on you. Most people don't get addicted to pot just like most people don't get addicted to alcohol or sex or food. But some people do. To make a general statement that it's impossible to get addicted to pot is ignorant as well as idiotic. When you use drugs and it makes you happy, it sends dopamine to your brain and your body associates the drug with happiness and starts to depend on it whether it's alcohol, pot, vicoden, whatever. There is no community or support for people that abuse pot. marijuana anonymous is a joke. It's basically AA in disguise and if your not into god good luck with that. It was refreshing for me to read these peoples stories and relate exactly to what they were feeling and going through. I don't really relate to alcoholics and drug addicts. they tell these awful stories about hitting rock bottom and your like "I forgot my friends birthday or was going to do something and got lazy and didn't" and they just kind of roll your eyes at you like you don't really have an addiction because it's not as severe. Well- smoking pot is definitely screwing up my life. I used to be fun and social and go out all the time. Now I stay home most nights watching reruns or when I'm out I'm thinking about going home and smoking pot. And for all the people that left negative comments about this book stop saying that's it's impossible to get addicted to pot. Your just making yourself sound stupid. It is not impossible. Educate yourself.

Pot Addiction is not a Myth

I think I'd be safe to assume that those who gave this book a negative rating are probably those who use marijuana on a regular basis and are still in denial about its negative effects on people. Pot is addictive. Whether it's physically or psychologically is not the question...because either way you look at it, it's still a dependency. It's ignorant to excuse a book that is meant to help people out there to quit doing an illegal drug and suggest that it's simply lies told to us by the government. More and more research has been confirmed nowadays stating the effects of marijuana and it's true people...marijuana is lethal. It's lethal by the damage you do to your lungs everytime you take a puff from a joint. It's lethal everytime a person who's high on pot kills another while driving high. It's lethal, every time an addicted mother forgets her baby in a car with the windows up in a 100 degree weather cause she's out buying pot or getting high. Don't become another statistic.

My 2 Cents..

Ok, I haven't yet read this book but I felt the need to respond to other's comments stating that this book is full of lies, and going so far as to say that it is government propaganda trying to turn us all anti-pot. Well, I am not anti-pot by anymeans, but that doesn't mean that pot is harmless. From personal experience I know that yes it can be addictive, perhaps not physically, but most definitely you can become psychologically addicted to pot.. I know because I am.. and let me stress that actually saying "I am addicted to marijuana" is probably one of the most difficult things I have ever done, I and still don't like to admit.. Could it be because of narrow-minded individuals who spout that it pot harmless and you CAN'T be addicted give users a false sense of security, which in turns fuels the addicts sense of denial?! If you have an opinion or believe that this book is a lie, than feel free to post your comments.. if you have scholarly research to support it!! And clearly most of you who are rating this book very low do not.. opinions are meaningless without facts to support them.

A very informative and needed book!!

This book is much needed. Too many people believe that pot is one of the more harmless drugs. The author has worked with and interviewed actual addicts whose primary drug of choice is pot. These are different people but their stories have many similarities. They know what they are talking about, they have "been there". It is certainly true that not everyone who smokes pot will become an addict any more than everyone who drinks will become an alcoholic. But for those that do, it is very devastating, every bit as much as other drugs and very insidious. I do have some basis for what I say from personal experience. My husband is an addict and was in active addiction for about 25 years. His primary drug of choice (and for many years of his addiction the ONLY drug he used) was pot. When I read this book, it helped explain to me what I saw happen in my husband, both during his years of active addiction and now that he is in recovery. His story definitely resembles that of the addicts who share their stories in this book. My son also became addicted, and went downhill rapidly over a 2 year period. Thank the Lord he is also now in recovery but is experiencing many of the symptoms this book talks about as he is recovering. My husband now has over 3 years clean and is a drug/alcohol counselor, devoted to helping still suffering addicts. My son has about 4 months clean after relapsing and going through treatment a second time. I would MOST HIGHLY reccommend this book to counselors, to addicts themselves, and to family members like me who want to understand more about the devastating effects of drug abuse(particularly pot)--or anyone who wants to learn more about the subject! It is very well balanced and informative.

for those who really want to know it all

This book interviewed 10 people who developed problems after smoking pot on a regular basis for a while. They all started off just having fun. Not everyone who smokes pot will become addicted but the statistics indicate that 20% of the people will. You ought to know about that and what can happen. Because pot's side effects are more indisdious and not as extreme as side effects from like cocaine or heroin, people often think the side effects are somethig else and actually smoke more pot to get away from the stuff the pot is causing. This is not Nazi like, it's just a more complete picture. Most pre-teens, teens and parents ought to read this and discuss what's real in this book. Each story is told in the person's own words.