Why does someone depend on hash?

Many have tried to smoke cannabis. Most people do it many times. But not all. They are still smoking. And even. And even. And even.

Some have learned that the drug takes control of their lives.

It's all about cannabis. They start smoking every day and have trouble stopping.

Camilla, 13, wondered, "Why do you rely on hash?"

Dependence has several causes

The researchers explain why: There are several reasons why a person is unable to quit:

• brain: If you are trying to smoke hash by thinking that you are comfortable, just thinking about the drug can cause the triggering of a substance in the brain, called dopamine. Dopamine gives an increased need for smoking again and again.
• Even drugs: If you have mental problems or have problems at home or at school, it may seem that the problems disappear when you smoke cannabis.
• friends: If you have friends who speak positively about hashish and perceive it to be harmless, the risk of addiction increases.

Hash can trigger happiness in the brain

We now turn to the researchers' explanations, one at a time. We start in the brain.

If you sometimes smoke cannabis and drink it, memories lead the brain to distinguish a chemical called dopamine when you think about drugs. Dopamine increases the desire to smoke.

Dopamine is a signal – also called neurotransmitter – that sends a message between brain cells indicating that something is going to feel good. Dopamine makes us happy and motivated.

When we fall in love, think of something that tastes good, is sexually excited, or is anxious to see something, we get dopamine secretion in the brain.

– Dopamine helps us appreciate things. The substance tells us that we want more than we feel good, "said Morten Hesse, associate professor at the Center for Drug Research at Aarhus University.

"It's a learned answer: the brain learns that something is nice – for example smoking hash – and then it produces dopamine," Hesse explains.

Dopamine gives an unstoppable need

Dopamine is pure chemistry. That has nothing to say about what starts production, whether it's good for us or not. If the brain has sometimes experienced that it is good to smoke hash, it produces dopamine when it smokes.

According to a Center for Drug Research study, some addicts begin to break down when they smoke: "After a while, they start to become paranoid and save money on medication.

Nevertheless, they probably continue, probably because the brain separates dopamine when they think about it – it happens completely mechanically if it was good the first time.

Dopamine, therefore, creates a need that may seem stronger than the thought of negative consequences.

– When dopamine is triggered, signals are transmitted between brain cells to indicate that there is something to add. It's not necessarily good, but you want it, "says Hesse.

Waiting gives dopamine

If you smoke cannabis regularly, your brain may start to become dopaminergic when you are reminded of hash, for example during a conversation, a movie or an odor.

That's what Jakob Linnet, head of the gaming legislation clinic tells the Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at Odense University Hospital. He is a doctor and a psychologist.

– Dopamine causes the brain to think that smoking cannabis could be a good thing. Then there are many who continue, even if they really decided to quit, he continues.

Jakob Linnet and his colleagues studied the mechanisms of gambling dopamine.

It's not the game itself or the drugs you depend on, he says. It's rather the boost of dopamine that comes when you think about the gain or the effect of the drug.

Thoughts are derived in weaning

The expectation of precipitation can therefore cause a victim's brain to trigger dopamine. Dopamine provides a huge desire to smoke.

"When we treat people for addiction, for example hash, we work with the thoughts associated with them.We rinse and look what they thought when the urge arose," says Linnaeus.

"When we are aware of the thoughts that create the desire, we can work to divert our thoughts, for example, you can do anything you want," he continues.

Even if you stop smoking hash, you may want to stay, but your brain continues to trigger dopamine when it becomes a booster of the substance, says Linnaeus.

Some heal themselves with cannabis

The brain mechanisms that we do not control create dependency.

But why all those who try to use a rash, what adds?

First of all, everyone does not like the first time. Therefore, the brain does not release dopamine when they think about it.

Secondly, psychology around addiction is more complicated. We are now the second leading cause of addiction: some people consume medicinal herbs.

If you have mental problems, family conflict or school problems, there is sometimes an increased risk of becoming an addict after using tobacco – because precipitation gives the feeling that problems are disappearing.

"If you do not have other tools to handle problems and negative feelings, cannabis or other substances can become a strategy," says Linnaeus.

Problems come back

Drugs, of course, do not solve problems. But the brain can make people believe that the hashrus eliminates negative thoughts and mental pain.

"Most playthings describe that they are in a bubble and their minds calm down when they play.The same thing happens when a thief smokes," says Linnaeus.

– You feel better because dopamine is triggered. Dopamine raises your mood, so you feel that the problems come from far away.

The problems come back when the noise decreases, then the addict wants to smoke again to make them disappear.

Cannabis cultivation can increase the risk of abuse

Young people with social problems who start smoking cannabis are at high risk of becoming addicted, says Morten Hesse.

"Very aggressive and impulsive young people – those who create problems, struggle and shrug – become more and more dependent," Hesse says.

So we arrived at number three of the list of reasons for addiction: friends!

If you are part of the hay crop, your consumption may become out of control.

"Many young people already had positive expectations of cannabis before trying it," says Søren Holm, an abuse consultant, who wrote a doctoral dissertation on cannabis consumption. hay by the young.

"They think that hashing makes them more social, more relaxed and allows them to better understand what they did not know before," he continues.

Eventually, hay can become so important in the community that it can be hard to let it down.

– Many who develop abuse begin to perceive hash as part of their identity. They are looking for associations where there is a lot of smoke and a lot of hay. I call it a cannabis crop, says Holm.

Morten Hesse also mentions that cultural norms and communities are essential to the development of cannabis abuse.

"Cannabis is a substance around which we have a culture, and it abounds in the idea that we become more creative and more relaxed," said Hesse.

Summary: This should be noted

Summaries: Hash addiction is located mainly in the brain, which distinguishes a substance that increases the urge to take this drug if you have tried it for the first time.

If you have social problems at home or at school and your friends smoke a lot of hay, the risk of addiction increases.

• So: Know that your mind starts trading with hash after smoking sometimes. Then your brain risks to tie the drug to something good and therefore started to trigger dopamine.
• Also know that if you smoke, stay away from something difficult. Then there is a greater risk that you become addicted. Instead, ask for help to manage the problems differently.

© Videnskab.dk. Translated by Lars Nygaard for research.no.