The White House just released a study on the potency of marijuana. It's more potent than it's been in 30 years, and twice as potent as in 1983. People often don't think that using marijuana is enough to justify getting someone drug addiction treatment. However, as can be attested to by the many people who have used marijuana and gone on to take other drugs, nothing could be further from the truth. Now, with nearly double the effect being created, getting into a drug addiction treatment center is more important than ever.

Marijuana is known to cause disassociation - a withdrawal from family, school, work, and life. Really, when you're high, you just don't care. It doesn't matter what's happening in life because it's just not being taken seriously. However sincere a person taking drugs seems to be at times, you can't expect it to be followed up with action that would demonstrate that sincerity.

Now the problem is even worse. The higher potency marijuana is causing more physical problems - with the respiratory tract, for example - and young people who use marijuana are now twice as likely as others to be depressed. The study also showed a 40% increase in the risk of developing 'mental' problems. It's not quite clear what that means, but both the depression and the 'mental' problems could lead to the use of prescription drugs. Prescription drug addiction has reached epidemic proportions in the U.S. (and other countries) and prescription drugs are even harder to stop taking than some of their illegal counterparts.

Getting drug addiction treatment for marijuana could save years of misery in the future.

Also disturbing was the comment made by the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse who was worried that if the increase in potency continues (which is a very real threat) it could also lead to drug addiction - i.e. addiction to marijuana.

She related drug addiction to the severity of withdrawal symptoms - but withdrawal is a relatively minor part of drug addiction. Although withdrawal symptoms are definitely a deterrent to those trying to get off a drug, drug addiction is much more complex than what the person feels for the first week or so as they're going through withdrawal. The 'addiction' end of things relates to the reason the person prefers to be stoned rather than living life without drugs. That's where the drug addiction treatment comes in and, without it, it's less likely the person will quit regardless of the severity of withdrawal itself.

As with all drugs, other than antibiotics and other drugs that are handling a purely physical condition that might otherwise be dangerous, it's important to get someone who's using marijuana into a drug addiction treatment center as soon as possible if they have any trouble whatsoever getting and staying off the drug. The alternative could be worse than the effects of marijuana: It could also involve taking other drugs that could be deadly and, even worse, prescription drug addiction.