Addiction

Addiction

I thought I would get this out there to those who have criticized my use of addiction in Good Girl. First and foremost: addiction is an issue that plagues every family- it taints and destroys lives. Since the Blended series for me is my first venture from anti-reality into reality, I thought it best to deal with everyday issues that affect us all. If this isn’t your type of read… Don’t read it. I’m not forcing my stories on anyone. Same as I don’t force my cerebral f*ck known as the M&M series on anyone, either. My stories are NOT for everyone, and I’m okay with that…

Secondly: as to whether or not it is possible to become addicted to marijuana (most seem to forget that Willow is dealing with an alcohol addiction as we debate over whether or not you can be addicted to pot, and no one on the planet will say alcohol is not addictive. So I’m sorry if Willow is having a craving. *shrugs*).

Any substance, any action, anything is addictive. Chemical dependency and coping mechanisms through repetitive action. Is it repetitive? Is it a chemical? If the answer is yes, then yes, you can become addicted.

A few of my betas commented on this, whether or not Pot could be addictive. While the main character is struggling with drug and alcohol use, Willow is NOT the source of the addiction in the blended family.

I will stress this: if you can get addicted to food, sex, hugging your teddy bear, washing your hands, Chap-stick, your morning cup of coffee, cigarettes, alcohol, why can’t you become addicted to pot? It’s a substance. It’s something someone takes as not only a coping mechanism but as a drug. Marijuana is called a DRUG, correct? Did I miss that somewhere? I guess the newest legislation spouting how Pot is not addictive and only a gateway is probably to blame. But since alcohol addiction runs rampant, lung cancer is at a all-time high from cigarette smoke, and both are legal….

Ask me about the mother of headache I get without my Diet Coke, and then tell me that my character cannot be addicted to a substance she used several times per day for 6 years. If you removed one thing from your routine that you have performed for nearly a decade, how off would you feel? Now add the fact that the chemicals have altered your body’s chemistry….

I have no idea if these comments stem from people who smoke weed and feel as if I am judging. I am not. It is personal responsibility on your end whether or not you want to imbibe. Recreational use is not the abuse I was showing with Willow- so if you take offense…. I’m sure I pissed off some heroin users later on in the book, too. The Blended series is about a family coming together to overcome the issues within their family, drug addiction just happens to be one of them. My largest goal was to show that enablers were just as at fault as the drug abuser. Note the use of Abuser versus User- yes, there is a difference between use and abuse. Ask someone addicted to food about overeating versus someone eating as fuel. I also have no idea if these comments are coming from someone who has never been around drugs, either. But to say you cannot get addicted to pot is like saying you can’t get addicted to anything else, either.

Excuse me while I refill my glass of Diet Coke. I mustn’t have a headache. And later, I will count while I do everything I do during the day or risk an anxiety attack. But then again, I guess I will allow someone else to tell me if that is a problem or not.