De acordo com " O Caminho para Duna " no qual encontramos uma versão alternativa (e altamente resumida) do Dune, com personagens diferentes, mas um cenário muito parecido, a strong implicação parece ser que o vício é quase imediatamente, especialmente quando se encontra uma fonte de maior qualidade pela primeira vez.
Jesse absorbed the startling comments. He tasted the pleasant burning of spice in his mouth and lungs from the saturation underground, from the cups of spice coffee he'd just finished, from the pure sample he'd tasted. Deep inside himself, he already felt an undeniable twinge of longing, not yet a craving but an insistent whisper that suggested how sweet melange would taste right now. Yes, he could envision it becoming an all-consuming personal need.
Quanto a saber se é possível quebrar o vício da especiaria, a resposta parece ser um firme "não", a menos que seja relativamente jovem para começar e não esteja tomando doses mais altas regularmente.
Despite warnings to keep awareness of addiction low key, it was never more than an eyeblink away from Odrade and she felt the accumulated resentments. Mental preparations as an acolyte (firmly impressed in the Agony) had been eroded by Other Memory and accumulations of time. The admonition: “Withdrawal removes an essential of your life and, if it occurs in late middle age, can kill you.” How little that meant now.