Megan Feller smoked pot several times a day and couldn’t eat, sleep or function without it. But at the time, she didn’t see the need to reach out for help.“I didn’t think cannabis was a big deal,” the 24-year-old said. “It was really socially accepted.”This attitude is common. As more states legalize marijuana, use has become more normalized and products have become more potent. But fewer of those who are addicted seek help for it.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementPot use among young adults reached historic levels in recent years, according to a federally supported survey. Daily use even outpaced daily drinking, with nearly 18 million Americans reporting in 2022 that they use marijuana every day or nearly every day, up from less than 1 million three decades earlier.Studies show a corresponding increase in cannabis use disorder — when people crave marijuana and spend lots of time using it even though it causes problems at home, school, work or in relationships. It’s a condition that researchers estimate affects about 3 in 10 pot users and can be mild, moderate or severe.And it’s an addiction — despite the common misconception that that’s not possible with marijuana, said Dr. Smita Das, an addiction psychiatrist at Stanford University.Meanwhile, the drug’s widespread acceptance has fueled a stigma about seeking treatment, said Dr. Jennifer Exo of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation in Minnesota.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“There’s this pervasive belief that you can’t become addicted, it can’t actually be a problem,” she said. “It has to do with this myth that cannabis is safe, natural and benign.”Stronger weed, bigger problemsWhile pot isn’t as harmful as harder drugs, frequent or heavy use has been linked to problems with learning, memory and attention as well as chronic nausea, vomiting and lung problems among those who smoke it. Some evidence has also linked it to earlier onset of psychosis in people with genetic risk factors for psychotic disorders like schizophrenia.And today’s pot is not the same as that of the past.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMany people recall older relatives who “smoked a few doobies and ate some food and fell asleep,” Exo said. “But it’s absolutely different.”More in HealthIn the 1960s, most pot that people smoked contained less than 5% THC, the ingre …
