3 Stupid Things People Say About Cannabis

3 Stupid Things People Still Say About Cannabis from CannabisNet on Vimeo.

The cultivation of lies about marijuana has been widespread for many decades now. Marijuana opponents used false information to spread fear and create a stigma, all of which has been an uphill challenge to fight for and one that we continue to do every single day until now.

Keeping marijuana illegal is still a priority in the war on drugs. Despite all the evidence that marijuana heals, it’s still classified as a Schedule 1 drug, alongside heroin. Half of the country already wants to legalize marijuana although myths about pot are still being spread in some circles. Aside from that, some people still hold these myths true because… well, it’s all they’ve ever known.

Cannabis lowers IQ and kills your brain cells. There are no studies that prove this at all; in fact there are several that actually prove how cannabis can protect the human brain and helps fight neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

The whole myth about pot lowering your IQ stems from just one study in New Zealand. The researchers discovered that among the subjects who began using marijuana before they turned 15 had a slightly lower IQ level at 38 years old compared to other subjects who began using pot after 16. Dr. Meyers, lead researcher of the study, attributed this difference to the early use of marijuana. The study was critiqued by many other researchers after it was published because Dr. Meyers had failed to take into account other factors that may have led to the decrease in IQ. A rebuttal paper was published in the same journal a few months later, stating that marijuana use has no impact on IQ and instead attributed the decrease in IQ to socioeconomic factors.

The stereotype of a lazy, unproductive stoner doesn’t help either.

stoner sterotype

There are thousands of scientific studies proving that marijuana is good for you and won’t harm your mental health. As long as you are a responsible user, there is absolutely no reason why you should be worried about the effects of pot on your brain.

Pot is addictive: According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 9% of people who use marijuana end up becoming addicted. But doctors know the truth: they’ve countered this statement many times over and have confirmed that it is indeed misleading.

But before we go any further, let’s take a look at what being “addicted” means: According to Medicinenet.com: An uncontrollable craving, seeking, and use of a substance such as alcohol or another drug. Dependence is such an issue with addiction that stopping is very difficult and causes severe physical and mental reactions.

The problem is actually much bigger than that: there is a serious issue with the way these cases are being reported. The so-called “science” behind this statistic is based on terrible reasoning, and people still can’t come up with solid evidence today that marijuana is addictive in the same way that other addictive substances are (alcohol, tobacco, heroin, cocaine, etc). But being realistic, let’s not deny that there are indeed individuals who do develop an unhealthy relationship with pot. However, for the vast majority, this just isn’t the case. Ask any regular smoker to quit for a few days and they won’t suffer any side effects or withdrawals. At worst, patients will only experience the return of symptoms that pot was helping them cure.

Cannabis is a gateway drug: This is the most famous of all marijuana myths. Opponents of cannabis want you to believe that when you start “experimenting” with pot, it will lead you down a crazy spiral of trying other illegal drugs and just… never stopping.

alcohol verse marijuana

Again there is no scientific evidence to this. In fact people are turning to cannabis as sort of an “exit” drug, one that will help them address their addiction to opiates. States that have legalized marijuana have also seed a 25% drop in opioid addiction. Even insurance giant Medicare is saving $165 million a year in insurance in states that have legalized cannabis. With these figures, we can no longer deny the positive impact that access to medical marijuana is making.

In addition, the real problem here lies in correlation instead of causation. Just because a person is more likely to use other drugs if they already using pot doesn’t mean that cannabis is the bad guy. People who are doing drugs for the sole purpose of altering their state of mind will want to find more than one way of doing so.

Marijuana will make you fat. I know some people who are more afraid of getting fat than anything else in this world, so perhaps this myth does actually work.

It is true that certain strains of cannabis can get you hungry. This might seem like a minor inconvenience for someone who doesn’t want to gain weight or actually wants to lose a few excess pounds. But for the cancer patient whose chemotherapy treatments rob them of their appetite, or for the person suffering from an eating disorder, the ability of marijuana to induce hunger can be miraculous. These are just two out of a myriad of situations where illnesses can make you lose your appetite, making it difficult to feed your body with the nutrients it needs to heal.

There are many other ways to go about it if you want to enjoy the benefits of cannabis without getting the munchies. Choose the right strain or experiment with another method of administration.

Three Stupid Things People Say About Cannabis

What are the other crazy cannabis myths that you’ve heard? Share with us in the comments below!