"Whatever mixture of genetics, temperament, trauma, and environment leads someone to use cannabis daily, such frequency almost inevitably results in addiction, that seemingly mysterious bending of the will and reward toward continued cannabis use despite adverse consequences. For example, money might be rewarding as a means to buy more cannabis, but no longer be very rewarding in and of itself. Or being high might become more desired than good grades or excelling at sports. The mind bends toward getting high as its preferred state."
"Once this brain/mind change has occurred, no act of will can reverse it. No logic or factual information can change the reward center back to status quo ante. Only abstinence from the drug can reset the reward center and thereby restart age-normative motivation. However, even with abstinence, the reward center will remain primed to respond vigorously to cannabis if it is consumed again."
Daily or near-daily cannabis use during adolescence can substantially disrupt normal brain and psychological development. Heavy, frequent use commonly produces addiction by altering reward circuitry so that obtaining and consuming cannabis becomes the predominant motivational goal. Addiction reduces the rewarding value of other activities, undermining school performance, sports, and future-oriented incentives. Volitional effort and factual information cannot restore the prior reward balance; sustained abstinence is required to reset reward function, although the reward system remains sensitized and vulnerable to reactivation on re-exposure. Heavy adolescent use is present across grade levels and can derail developmental trajectories.
Read at Psychology Today
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