Addiction - "the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma. "
I don't see how casual recreational use falls under that category.
It's one thing if you feel the need to smoke weed on a daily (or even hourly) basis to maintain a comfortable state of being... it's another entirely if you smoke purely for recreation, and feel no physical or psychological attachment to the act of smoking other than the appeal of the pleasure derived from smoking.
I like backcountry skiing. I do it because I enjoy it. People die backcountry skiing. I don't have the statistics, but I would assume there are more deaths due to recreational backcountry skiing than recreational marijuana usage (direct and indirect, to be fair to those that claim gang related deaths and car crashes). I have weighed the pros (pleasure derived from the act) and the cons (skiing is an inherently dangerous act, the danger of which is increased by skiing out of bounds), and have decided that the rewards are worth the risks. I would think that many casual marijuana smokers do the same, and I think that they should be able to enjoy smoking recreationally (in a safe and well thought-out manner) as people enjoy drinking recreationally.
Would I be a little upset if I could never ski fresh pow again? I should say so. Would I go into violent convulsions and become physically ill if I were separated from it? No.
I think people use "addiction" as a cop out for justifying their shitty habits without having to take responsibility for them. That's all.