this article just supports the blame society that is growing in our country, not a good thing at all.

if a person with mental problems smokes regularly, the weed will most likely get the blame for their condition, regardless of whether any of the symptoms were present before they started using cannabis.

that person probably won't admit that their decision to self-medicate was in bad judgement, but they aren't necessarily at fault because current drug education programmes in schools are biased and uninformative.

similarly, if a criminal (think about your typical teenage chav) is a regular toker, guess what he'll blame his anti-social behaviour on if he's ever caught? the weed of course; rehab is much more cushy than prison.

this leads to a bunch of "addicts" going into rehab for a problem that doesn't really exist. i know it can be somewhat difficult to stop using if you have been smoking heavily for a long time, but anyone can do it with a tiny bit of willpower. there aren't any serious physical symptoms to marijuana withdrawal, it is mostly psychological. it is certainly nowhere near as problematic as real drug addictions (which can be life threatening); if you want to know what addiction really is go talk to someone who has been using crack or heroin for a few years.

it is probably easier to quit coffee than it is to quit weed, and coffee is potentially more dangerous (to people with underlying cardiovascular problems). i'm sure we all know that alcohol is much more dangerous and addictive than cannabis, so i don't need to go into that.

people need to rediscover personal responsibility, and own up when they make mistakes instead of blaming everything on a plant that could help a lot of sick people if it was legalised.

edit: the rebuttal of the independent article by transform was a good read, well done guys!