How Long Does It Take To Be Addicted To Drugs?

Whenever we discuss drug addictions, people often look at the issue as a long term - multi-year problem which continues to escalate out of control as time goes by. However, this might not be the true story.

We set out to find just how long it takes for a drug addiction to take hold of an innocent user, and therefore how long you have to be involved in drugs to indeed be called a drug addict. Our findings may actually surprise you.

Drug Addiction is not Time Based

The first thing you need to realize is that a drug addiction is not at all based on the amount of time that you use drugs for (even though there is a direct correlation). It is instead based upon the following measures:

  • Your physical dependence on drugs.
  • The level of psychological dependence on drugs.
  • The amount of bodily damage that the drug use has done.

The combination of these factors is what makes up a drug addiction, and therefore if you can break an addiction down in to these three categories, you can gauge the extent of the individual situation, and therefore base decisions off that.

Addicted From the First Puff

Of course, marijuana is not the only drug that you can be addicted to - but the title of this paragraph does point out a very valid fact. Addiction doesn't start after 1 week or 25 puffs. It can start from the very first episode of exposure to a particular drug.

This should ring alarm bells for people who thought that they were completely immune to the addictive effects of mainstream (but illegal) drugs. The fact of the matter is that you are unable to determine the level of addiction to a particular drug until you are actually experiencing the effects of the addiction.

The Best Way to Avoid Drug Addiction

Unlike other illnesses out there, drug addiction can only be acquired through one means - trying and using a particular drug. This means that if you avoid a drug completely, you have absolutely no chance of being addicted to it - because of the way that the brain signals the pleasurable feelings that are experienced with drug abuse.

So, what is the best way to avoid a drug addiction? It's by avoiding drug entirely, and staying clean.