Is it addictive?

Before joining Leafly, I wrote for a website that connected people with addiction treatment, and shortly before that I began using medical marijuana. It was a constant challenge finding harmony between my close relationship with cannabis and the struggles of our readers, many of whom were diagnosed with a thing called “cannabis use disorder.”

How could I bring myself to write about the risks of marijuana when I used it on a daily basis for my own health, and what negative consequences would my words bring to the legalization movement I was passionate about?

At that ethical crossroads, it eventually occurred to me that my stance didn’t come down to taking one path or the other, but instead understanding the massive gray area between the two. That ambiguity begins with a single word that many spend their entire lives trying to define and refine.

If someone asked you to define “addiction,” what would you say?