Sure, there are benign habits, like caffeine which is arguably beneficial even though it forms a physical dependency. There are also a lot of very harmful habit

Sure, there are benign habits, like caffeine which is arguably beneficial even though it forms a physical dependency. There are also a lot of very harmful habits which are based around "addictive" substances. Personally I had to delete my Reddit account. I started using Reddit as a crutch for boredom and browsing became a default activity for me, something that sucked up every spare moment even if I wasn't actually enjoying it. That was monumentally self-destructive in exactly the same way that people describe their experiences with "addictive" substances. Even now I consciously limit my use of this site. I think that addiction is a purely psychological phenomenon, distinct from (though often paired with) the physical process of dependency and withdrawal. I might even go as far as to say that addiction is a symptom of larger problems, rather than a problem in itself. Anyway, cannabis does not form a dependency any stronger than caffeine, so in that regard I would argue it is even safer than alcohol. As for becoming addicted to cannabis, I don't think that any particular substance is more or less "addictive" than any other. Just my two cents.