Have I compared my addiction with others' addiction? Is my addiction "bad enough" if I don't compare it to somebody else?

I sometimes think that my addiction is not as bad as others' because after I went to rehab I only smoked marijuana and drank. I didn't do any of the hard drugs like heroin or speed. However I did go through times when I was homeless and very broke and I think the key to this degradation is not the type or amount of drug and drink that I used, but the fact that my use was so compulsive. I was not able to focus on creating a life for myself, I was only concerned with getting my fix. Part of the obsession is the inability to get past the cycle of negative thoughts, and I was trapped in this cycle for a number of years. Even though I did grow as a person in many ways, I was also working against myself. When I was younger I had such terrible trauma that I justified my use in that it allowed me to deal with the abuse slowly and block out the parts I could not deal with. But then when I reached my later 20's I started coming to terms with the fact that I did not have control over my use. I think this was when I started to become really more realistic that although I did not understand my addiction, I knew that I was an addict. Sometimes I think that I have some measure of control over my addiction because I only smoked marijuana and drank after my initial trip to rehab. This last year I traded marijuana for spice and learned that my addiction will work with any substance that is available and offers me the ability to escape from reality, numb myself, isolate and live in my fantasies. When I think about my history I know that my addiction is just as bad as anyone else's because I have all the markers of an addict. I have achieved some things in my life, but could never hold onto them, and I was never able to move past my unhealthy behaviors while I was using.