My College Kids and Their Friends Say They Cannot Become Addicted

Please respond to these College kids defence for the use of drugs and alcohol. My son, daughter, and many of their college friends go to the hookha bar and smoke the hookha. They say there is no way they can become addicted to nicotine by smoking a hookha, and they want to buy there own hookha.

Furthermore, they profess to have tried numerous drugs, cocaine, pot, and others. They say they cannot become addicted, because they do not have an addictive personality. Thus, they can take or smoke whatever they want because they have already tried many things, and now they know they don't have an addictive personality, they can smoke, snort, and drink however much they want, because they can quit at any time because ..... THEY DO NOT HAVE ADDICTIVE PERSONALITIES.  

I told them all that this is absolutely false, they can become addicted. They say, that I'm wrong, they have studied the facts, they KNOW they do not have addictive personalities because they have not become addicted.

I tell them ......  YET

So I am seeking a professional opinion concerning their position that they cannot become addicted BECAUSE, they know they don't have Addictive Personalties. I really appreciate your opinion.

Alcoholism-and-Drug-Addiction-Help.com Answer

Your kids and their friends are being ignorant in the extreme. ANYONE can become addicted to nicotine, drugs or alcohol. People don't choose to become addicted, it happens unwittingly, and it usually starts recreationally when people think they have everything under 'control.'

Sure, there are people who use drugs or alcohol etc. recreationally without it becoming a problem. But it's treading a fine line, and one can easily get burned if one plays with fire. So it's about being sensible and understanding the risks involved.

Some substances are also more easily addictive than others. Using the likes of heroin and crack cocaine won't take much to become addicted, no matter your personality type. Whereas many more people are able to use marijuana casually without it becoming a problem. But that's not to say you don't get many people with a serious marijuana addiction.

So it sounds like your kids and their friends are trying to be clever. Maybe they're right and their casual experimentation with drugs will never become a problem or lead to addiction. But they can't say they'll NEVER develop an addiction just because they don't have the personality type for it.

Addiction is so much more complex than that. Yes, many people are more likely pre-disposed toward addiction, especially if their parents have had problems with drugs/alcohol. But there are many people who you wouldn't in a million years expect to become addicts, simply because their drug of choice took over their lives before they even knew it. The line between staying in control and losing control is so fine that many don't even realise when they've crossed it.

Hopefully this is nothing more than a phase for your kids. College culture is often about pushing boundaries and experimenting that many grow out of. But plenty do also get badly burned - and the binge drinking, experimenting with drugs etc. that starts during College years, goes on to become a serious problem.

Thanks for your question. All the Best

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