Note: To protect their privacy, the students referenced throughout the article wished to be anonymous. They are instead referred to by the pseudonyms “Ben” or “Mary.”
“An addict, any addict, can stop using drugs, lose the desire to use, and find a new way to live,” reads the motto of Narcotics Anonymous, a nonprofit founded in 1953 as a peer-guided resource for substance-abuse recovery, inspiring addicts to take ownership of the choices that led to their addiction by offering them a community where they can heal without shame. “We lived to use and used to live… We are people in the grip of a continuing and progressive illness whose ends are always the same: jails, institutions, and death,” the organization continues. As Narcotics Anonymous emphasizes through their work and platform, life in addiction is suffocating, and life after is liberating.
However, while many may believe that those with a history of hard drug abuse can benefit from such rehabilitation services, marijuana abuse is conventionally viewed in a different light, especially by undergraduate students.
Across American college campuses, weed is often seen as a ubiquitous party drug, a harmless high for students to enjoy. Yet in the wake of marijuana’s legalization and popularization, new questions about the potentially overlooked harms of this substance have resurfaced among both undergraduates and professionals. What are the potential benefits of weed, and can students develop a physical or psychological dependence on the substance that would potentially outweigh its pros?
“Ben” ’27 used marijuana for the first time at the age of 18. “I needed something to get me through college. It would elevate my mood in ways that other things wouldn’t. It was a fun time because I would do it with friends,” he explained in an interview with the Independent.
Familiar with the possibly addictive properties of weed, Ben commented on his belief that the substance affects different people in distinct ways.
“If you’re the type to not be able to self-restrain, or if you have more of a family history of addiction, then [for] sure you need to be careful,” he said. “But if you’re able to self-regulate and use in moderation of a schedule where you don’t build reliance on it, then I don’t think it’s easy to be addicted to it.”
His perspectives align with past medical studies, such as one by the Yale University School of Medicine that explains that several gene variants can increase the risk of cannabis dependence.
Raised in New York, a state with similar marijuana laws to Massachusetts, Ben explained how he felt his home state legislation, as well as policies across the globe, could be improved. “They need to legalize it in every part of the world, and the age of buying should not be 21—[ it should be] 18,” he said. “Access should be more readily available.”
He grounded his perspective in his belief that marijuana has certain key benefits, especially for college-aged youth. “It can bring down their anxiety to make them more sociable,” he said. “I know some people who get crossed and then go to parties. I might be one of them.”
But not all students share this more positive perception of marijuana use. “Mary” ’25 has never smoked weed and believes the drug is addictive.
“I think the culture of it continues to put students in positions where they’re pressured into doing it,” she said. “I think weed has a more recreational association [than other drugs]. For example, there’s the weed holiday, 4/20. It’s also the one you see being used for medical reasons.”
Most of Mary’s friends smoke weed recreationally. “For some of them, it seeps from their social life into their everyday life,” she said. “It completely takes over their conversations.” Still, her postgraduate peers in particular insist that their usage is for harmless fun and allows them to destress from highly stressful careers.
As a Boston resident, Mary is familiar with current Massachusetts marijuana legislation and does not completely agree with the expansion of access to marijuana under the law. “I feel like they’re making it more accessible, which is great for some people, but it also desensitizes people to weed,” she said. “It makes it more accessible to people who could become addicted.”
Similar sentiments are shared amongst professionals. In an interview with the Harvard Gazette, Jodi Gilman of the Center for Addiction Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital described the results of a clinical trial she led that studied patients who obtained medical marijuana for symptoms of pain, anxiety, or depression. “We learned there can be negative consequences to using cannabis for medical purposes. People with pain, anxiety or depression symptoms failed to report any improvements, though those with insomnia experienced improved sleep,” she said. The study also found that those suffering from anxiety or depression, in particular, were the most vulnerable to developing an addiction to cannabis.
Further reservations about weed usage may be tied to the current state of the debate between professionals, consumers, and businesses about safety. Harvard Medical School Associate Professor of Psychiatry Kevin Hill told the Harvard Gazette that the cannabis debate may be exacerbated due to misconceptions about marijuana addiction. “I often compare cannabis to alcohol,” he said. “They’re very similar in that most people who use never need to see somebody like me. But the difference is that we all recognize the dangers of alcohol.”
Cannabis research remains in its infancy. According to Hill, the Food and Drug Administration has only approved for use “cannabinoids, dronabinol and nabilone, for nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy, and for appetite stimulation in wasting conditions. [In 2019] they added cannabidiol.”
As weed consumption among teenagers and young adults increases, there is no clear consensus among adolescents about the substance’s potential harms. In Hill’s view, when it comes to the destructive effects of marijuana, the dose makes the poison. “Well, cannabis is not physically addictive; it’s psychological,” he said. Those who use the most are also at the highest risk of becoming addicted. “When we talk about the harms of cannabis, young people using regularly can have cognitive problems, up to an eight-point loss of IQ over time. It can worsen depression. It can worsen anxiety. But all of those consequences depend upon the dose.”
“Unfortunately, the loudest voices in the cannabis debate often are people who have political or financial skin in the game, and the two sides are entrenched.”
Ultimately, when it comes to answering the question, ‘Is weed dangerous?’ the answer is an unsatisfying ‘it depends.’
As emphasized by students and experts, marijuana usage has the potential to become an addiction for some users.
However, due to still-evolving research on the effects of marijuana usage due to its recent legalization in certain states, the holistic impacts of this drug are not fully known. As time passes, it will hopefully become clearer whether weed will maintain its general perception as one of the most benign of ‘social drugs’ or be known for its long-term negative health consequences, like in the case of cigarettes. For now, scholars and undergraduates alike stress the importance of remaining informed and protective of one’s own health and encouraging loved ones to do the same.
Gilman said, “There needs to be better guidance to patients around a system that currently allows them to choose their own products, decide their own dosing, and often receive no professional follow-up care.”
Adedoyin Adebayo ’26 (aadebayo@college.harvard.edu) is curious about the future of marijuana addiction treatment.