Kevin Sabet always acts like if someone consumes marijuana, in any way, in any amount, then that person is an addict and needs rehab. That’s a point that many prohibitionists make. Never mind the pesky fact that many of them are supported financially by the drug rehab industry. Marijuana opponents will always tout the high number of people in rehab for marijuana as proof that there is a marijuana addiction problem in the United States.
The problem with that claim is that a vast majority of people in drug treatment for marijuana aren’t there voluntarily, and usually are forced into rehab as part of a court ordered program. Tom Angell recently covered this on Marijuana.Com:
A familiar talking point deployed by supporters of marijuana prohibition focuses on the seemingly large share of people in drug treatment who are seeking help for a cannabis use disorder.
A new federal study sheds some light on how meaningful — or not meaningful — that claim really is.
Nearly 52 percent of people in drug treatment primarily for marijuana were referred by the criminal justice system, according to the latest Treatment Episode Data Set, which was released last Thursday. Fewer than one out of five people in treatment for marijuana checked themselves in voluntarily or were referred by another individual.
I know A LOT of marijuana consumers, and not one of them has ever voluntarily went to rehab for marijuana. On the flip side, I have dozens if not over 100 friends and family members that have been forced into rehab for one reason or another. The drug treatment wasn’t cheap, and since all it focused on was marijuana (requiring urine tests at every ‘class’), it was completely ineffective because every one of them started consuming marijuana again the second the urine testing was done.
And rightfully so, because they didn’t have a marijuana addiction problem, they just had a marijuana prohibition problem. Marijuana makes every one of their lives better, as they will all be quick to tell you.