"Cannabis addiction"? Really people? It is a mental addiction, not physical. Just like its mentally addicting to have something sweet after dinner. If one cannot overcome "cannabis addiction" (which is all in their head) on their own, and/or does not have the power to do so, I really question that persons ability to do anything on their own in life. WILL POWER!

Nothing's changed in the 60-odd years that I've been smoking weed, then. There's still the (mistaken) perception that you can get addicted to cannabis.

Kids would do far better to chuck the prescribed rubbish out of the window, ditch the booze and roll a J.

'Well as I mentioned in a previous comment, I quit 'buying' weed & alcohol last April due to the rip-off price, not for health reasons. However if a friend offers, I'll accept, so where's the addiction??

I think the direct cause of addiction stems from stress & anxiety, I use for that now just a cup of tea. The ceremony of making & drinking tea is a good enough psychological distraction.

Nothing wrong with the occasional smoke or drink, but the frequency is up to the individual, not the nanny state.

"...according to addiction institute Trimbos..."
This couldn't be something like trying to ensure and increase market demand, could it?
There is no such thing as cannabis addiction.
All of this 'war-on-drugs' nonsense is just a smokescreen for the Abrahamic religions' ongoing repression of gnosis.

Cannabis is not physically addictive, the stats fail to show how many of the cannabis users treated for addiction were forced to enter court ordered treatment because maybe they had a few plants in their garden or some other victim-less crime.

Here we go... The "shock/horror" statistics to back up the cannabis persecution for when the racist reasons fail; but look how many people are addicted to alcohol! People here could buy cannabis as easily as they can buy alcohol, but now they persecute cannabis users? These are very interesting statistics if they are a true representation, because despite the threefold increase, cannabis addiction is showing to be by far the least problematic.

"Is marijuana addictive? Yes, in the sense that the most of the really pleasant things in life are worth endlessly repeating". Other than that, cannabis is not addictive! Cannabis is a healer, of mind, body and spirit.

In other words:
Non-alcohol related addiction: ~0.02%
Alcohol-related addiction:~10-14%
Conclusions?

@Anne Onymous, cannabis is no race. So the persecution of cannabis can hardly be labeled "racist".

a certain percentage of people anywhere will be 'addicted' to something - food, alcohol, work, sex, television, facebook, cannabis, sports, etc. the percentage stays about the same, the drug of choice among the 'addicted' may change. as has been already said here cannabis is not really addictive (neither is facebook for that matter), its all in your mind

When I worked in The Netherlands 20 years ago, I started smoking cannabis which helped me to stop drinking and also helped me sleep at night. If it wasn't for cannabis, I would probably have been dead in a few years from alcohol poisoning. I have met some people since then with mental health problems who say that cannabis has caused them problems, but I would say that they are in a minority compared to the large numbers of people who suffer the consequences of alcohol. What they don't mention in these statistics is that 62% of suicides are alcohol-related due to severe depression induced by alcohol. That to me is much more worrying.

@ Broseph, It seems obvius to me you have never had/or known anyone who had an addiction.
If you did you would have realised by now that WILL POWER is a myth!
You are correct in saying addiction is all in the head but so is this thing, will power, which you seem to believe is real.
Will Power is about as effective as Positive Thinking.

The worst thing about alcohol & cannabis is the guv controlled media that continue to spread false information (LIES), not the substances themselves.

The same applies to big pharma and it's deliberate cancer cure cover-up scandal, duh!

The numbers here speak VOLUMES about the most problematic vice in the Netherlands. Hint: it ain't cannabis, it's alcohol BY FAR. Yet the Dutch are still laser-focused on criminalizing marijuana. Pathetic!

A measly 11,000 residents sought help with cannabis addiction in 2010 while 1, 400,000 Dutch people are considered "heavy drinkers." Ugh...

DO NOT call it cannabis addiction. there is certainly a dependence that is attainable but people DO NOT fiend for cannabis, nor do they go out and rob people just to support their habits. it's all reefer madness and i'm tired of dealing with everyones ignorance. get educated, assholes.

Two things: Firstly there has been a coffeeshop "die-off" policy by Gov for over a decade that has more than halved the number. So that policy drives weed users in NL to buy from "street-dealers" - they get strong weed for half the coffeeshop price through these organised criminals - great policy Gov! Secondly, addiction in the new millennium has become a big fat joke as the psychiatrists rules have been re-written to trivialise real addictions like to cocaine and heroin. Among my drug services clients none had been able to stop the hard drugs after two weeks on them. Weed addiction is not even close to hard drugs.

@Mark - People don't steal to feed their habits? you need to meet my bro in law. The guy can't go without the stuff. If he doesn't have the money to buy his next joint, he'll steal it (from whichever family member he can, even grandma) and if he can't steal it, he gets aggressive. Sounds like an addiction to me, even if its only mental.

Psychological addiction is dependence too and can be just as devastating as physical addiction. Anyone who's ever smoked a few joints knows how luring that siren call is.
When a drug is strong enough there is always a serious risk of at least psychological addiction and cannabis is no exception.

@Donaugh:....Can we take it from your comment that you have zero will power, and you know a number of weak willed selfish addicts ?

Why are then figures for alcohol related addiction and fatalities never published alongside the so called cannabis addiction figure ? The numbers for for alcohol related problems way outnumber the small minority of 'problems' with cannabis. Government preachers - get this in perspective !

Right! Weed addiction has tripled in 10 years. No evidence weed use has tripled, or potency has tripled, or anything like that. Looks like the statistics are faked. Looks like another fake excuse to treat weed like it is heroin or cocaine - another excuse for the Wietpas. Pure politics!

I have recently started a site, the info you offer on this site has helped me tremendously. Thank you for all of your time & work.

Passivity and detachment are characteristic of cannabis use. It slowly renders the private hazy world of the user into a real, meaningful worl, while the real, outside world in which others live is experienced as stressful and strange. Don't deny the negative effects of cannabis use please.
Renée

Cannabis addiction? Does this mean I am "addicted" to tea and coffee if I consume these drugs on a regular basis?

Maybe our governments have enough money to outlaw everything that we habitually use.......