Debunking Cannabis Myths – Amotivational Syndrome & Lack of Foresight

Debunking Cannabis Myths – Amotivational Syndrome & Lack of Foresight

Why "Pot Makes You Lazy and Unmotivated" Is Proven Wrong, Again. from CannabisNet on Vimeo.

Another study, another problem. It seems that all I do is dispel the bullshit around cannabis. This study focuses on the old myth a-motivational syndrome or commonly known “The lazy stoner myth”. Of course, this time the wording is a bit different however the underlying message remains the same – smoking a lot of weed will make you less motivated and you’ll have a lack in foresight.

So how did the “study” discover these findings?

The study took 57 smokers and 57 non-smokers and asked them to describe a past experience or a future scenario based on a cue word. According to their findings, the cannabis smokers had a harder time imagining a future scenario than their non-smoking peers.

This was all they needed to publish their study. It’s SCIENCE baby!

The problem however, it’s not science. It’s an incredibly small sample group from Australia, conducted by the Australian Catholic University. We’d have to go through the set of question they asked, what the mood of the participants were when they took the tests…did the participants all fast or did they have a meal? Do they drink alcohol or was only cannabis the point of obsession?

You see, whenever you do these type of “survey” styled studies, the answers are subjective to the mood of the participant. We don’t know if they were “cannabis-only” smokers (people who abstain from everything else other than cannabis). There are so many elements in the air, that to take this study seriously would be a joke.

Nonetheless, some people would definitely be negatively affected by chronic chronic-smoking. However, this isn’t true for the vast majority of marijuana smokers.

Statistics tells us a different story…

If we were to look at the median cannabis smoker in places like California and Colorado, you’ll quickly notice a trend that is counter-intuitive to the findings of the study.

Firstly, the average cannabis smokers’ age is 35. The average cannabis smoker within these demographic pools also earn more than the average non-smoker and tend to have more long-term employment than their non-smoking peers.

Does this mean that pot makes you a super busy, high achieving super human? If we were to take the scientific method the previously mentioned study it would. But here in the real world, we know that correlation does not mean causation.

Do cannabis users live more in the now?

Let’s say, hypothetically, that the study was accurate. Let’s say cannabis users don’t have the same ability to envision future scenarios as their non-smoking peers do. Does this mean that they are destined to fail at life?

I think, perhaps…it might also be a good point to consider that cannabis users are more focused on the moment at hand as opposed to “possible future scenarios”.

For starters, nobody knows what the future will bring. To worry and wonder about the potential future scenarios, is like fucking for virginity. It’s pointless. You won’t change a thing!

Along with all this future “worry”, comes things like anxiety, stress and so forth. Does this mean that non-smoking people have higher anxiety than stoners do?

Once again…no.

However, in the real world…cannabis users have the same ability to predict future events and prepare for them. Hell, a few weeks ago I was told that I had to move from my apartment suddenly. My lease expired and the owner wanted to sell.

Within that week, not only did I manage to get packing, load up a car, prepare all my work and deal with clients. I moved to another state where I’m currently in my new place living on the beach. If I was lacking “foresight”, I’d be sleeping under a bridge.

What I hate about these studies

The thing I hate most about these studies is that they sow seeds of doubt. People suddenly now think that there is some sort of science behind these myths, when it’s all subjective. I’m 100% certain that their findings will not be replicable by others.

I dare any other college or university in a cannabis-friendly state to conduct the same experiment, and I’m sure they’ll find different results. Nonetheless, the damage is done.

The “study” is circulating the internet and people are gobbling it up. I’ve seen the study posted on at least five media sites.

Now, some old lady will read this and say, “aha!” while cementing her prohibitionist ways a bit more. I hope, that at least this article will reach that same hypothetical old lady.

Firstly, never believe what you read on the internet unless you have verified the information. Studies in this day and age are as common as toilet paper. Today a study will say stoners are lazy, tomorrow one will come out that claims they are hyperactive.

In the end, people will still continue to smoke cannabis irrespective of what study comes out next.

Why "Pot Makes You Lazy and Unmotivated" Is Proven Wrong, Again. from CannabisNet on Vimeo.