Though it is uncommon, it is possible for people to become addicted to marijuana. The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that between nine and ten percent of marijuana users will become addicted. For those who begin regularly using marijuana as adolescents, it is around 17 percent, and for those who use the drug everyday, it is between 25 and 50 percent. As mentioned in another post, average THC levels in marijuana have been on the rise in recent years, further contributing to an increased likelihood of addiction, especially for those who use concentrated forms of marijuana.
Many still contend that it is only possible to be psychologically, not physically, addicted to marijuana. Even if that’s true, in the long run it can be harmful to one’s mind, body, and life; even a psychological dependence involves changes in the brain. In a recent Vice article, the author gives her personal account of realizing she was addicted to marijuana and the negative impacts it had on her. Another article, an op-ed from the LA Times, gives the personal account of the impact that marijuana had on the writer’s life, and of what she understands now that she has removed it from her life. Both writers realized that there was more to life than what they had and that it was marijuana that was preventing them from attaining those things. Whether it was only psychologically or not, they both dependened on marijuana just to make it through the day, and eliminating it improved their lives. Without it, they were more productive, and focused more on the people and goals they had been neglecting.
For further reading on potential addiction to marijuana:
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/09/is-marijuana-more-addictive-than-alcohol/380183/