pot/weed/marijuana/mary jane

I've noticed more and more studies coming out saying weed can make mental illness appear faster in people already predisposed.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/health/story.html?id=4243830
And then the comments of others on the articles are always disproportionately rage-fueled rants against pharma or conservative conspiracies. Look, I know more than anybody how many benefits there are in smoking but the unfortunate truth is that it all comes at a price. It may not lead directly to death or brain cell death but it still affects the same dopamine system in your brain as alcohol, cocaine and other mood-altering drugs. And so your brain still changes its physiological structure to adapt to the higher levels of dopamine caused by continuous long-standing drug use, including weed use. So you can't kid yourself, the stuff still affects your brain chemicals and it's not all good. It's that cycle in the dopamine system that eventually leads to addiction. Of course, alot of people can use weed and not have it become a problem but just because it doesn't give you problems doesn't mean it doesn't give problems for others.
And then of course there's the stereotype that no one goes to rehab for marijuana. I thought that too. That's partly why I refused to go to rehab for a year though my psychologist kept suggesting it. Well here I am. I went to rehab because of weed mainly. It is my drug of choice. And when I got there I met others who were there because of weed too. It's not just alcoholics and cocaine users. There were also people there only addicted to prescription painkillers, or speed and ecstasy and gamblers who lost everything, and they don't even ingest any substances. Then when I got out, I found Marijuana Anonymous meetings and at the first one I went to, the speaker explained that he got addicted only to marijuana, and it eventually got so bad he started robbing houses to get the money to pay for his habit.
Conclusion: the dangers of marijuana are statistically small but still very real.