Addiction

I’ve been playing with the subtle differences between wanting, craving and needing something, and knowing what blurs their lines, considering that individuality means different personal and social motivations for use, as well as varied tolerance levels.

For example, craving the comfort of material possessions, while justifiably gratifying, won’t fulfill one’s need for emotional stability or self-contentment.

Wanting cannabis for recreational or medicinal purposes is different from craving the plant to avoid facing personal responsibilities or deep-rooted mental health concerns.

Needing to date casually when one isn’t ready for the responsibility ties of a committed attachment isn’t the same as wanting sex solely to avoid feeling alone or craving freedom solely to run away from any form of intimacy.

As for the role of environments, alcohol, for example, may help one loosen up in social situations or wind down to relieve tension after a long day, and although increased sociability and mental zen are ideally self-development traits, alcohol may serve a helpful role in those contexts.

At the same time, using alcohol to avoid developing either trait may have them be expressed in ways that aren’t socially positive or personally beneficial, especially in uncomfortable contexts, after which it becomes a fine line between indulging to let loose or wind down and becoming an alcoholic.

Finally, our highly medicated society does reveal a shadow manifestation of Capitalism. Financial greed has justified taking advantage of the vulnerable and pushing agendas to maintain said vulnerability, because there’s less profit in people being able to embrace life’s ups and downs without needing an external substance to depend on.