Cannabis has certainly been through the social ringer over the last century! As a medicine that was celebrated clinically and religiously for thousands of years, the plant only found itself at the center of controversy with the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act in 1937, and then RIchard Nixon’s declaration of War on Drugs in the 1970s.
Fortunately, we’re now past the Reefer Madness days, and patients with qualifying conditions can access medical marijuana in many areas of the United States.
Though many of the stigmas about cannabis have faded away, there are still some antiquated beliefs about cannabis floating around.
In this article, we’ll cover 5 marijuana myths, how they got started, and why they’re just not true in 2021.
Marijuana Myth #1 – Marijuana Makes You Lazy
Laziness is a Character Trait, Not a Byproduct of Cannabis Use
Perhaps the most common stigma surrounding cannabis is that it somehow magically makes you lazy.
While veteran smokers will be familiar with the relaxing sedation that some strains can bring, educated cannabis users will know that cannabis simply does not have the potential to change a person’s character from being productive to lazy.
Cannabis can often give you new perspectives, and help you rediscover old passions, even bring a sense of newness to the qualities of life that you’ve maybe forgotten about, but what it can’t do, is change who you are.
Some people are lazy, some people are not lazy, and there’s no critical component of cannabis that will make you one or the other.
Marijuana Myth #2 – Legal Marijuana Causes Rise in Child-Use
Cannabis Use Actually Decreases Among Teens When Cannabis is Legal
Another myth that is commonly purported with no facts or data is that when states legalize marijuana programs, cannabis use among children goes up.
Even with the number of children using cannabis medically for conditions like cancer, not only is this just simply not true, but it’s actually quite the opposite.
When states legalize recreational marijuana programs, teens are reportedly less likely to use cannabis.
While studies indicate that the likelihood of teen cannabis use drops by about 8% when recreational marijuana programs become law, they also suggest a 9% reduction in the odds of frequent cannabis use among teens when recreational cannabis is legally available.
Whether it’s because of less black-market access to cannabis, more education on teen cannabis use, or for whatever reasons, neither medical marijuana programs nor recreational marijuana programs seem to raise usage rates among teens.
Marijuana Myth #3 – Smoking Marijuana Causes Cancer
Marijuana Cultivators & Cannabis Oil
This myth gets a partial pass, because when cannabis is combusted, such as when smoking, it can create small amounts of toxic chemicals and carbons that are linked to cancers.
These are in arguably smaller quantities, and certainly doesn’t include the hundreds of carcinogens from cigarettes, but altogether smoking definitely isn’t the healthiest way to use cannabis.
Nonetheless, there are no significant links between smoking cannabis and developing lung cancer, and in fact there are many studies that show strong evidence that cannabis may very well help treat certain types of skin cancers, and cannabis may also play a significant role in the treatment of many other cancers.
Marijuana Myth #4 – Marijuana is a Gateway Drug
Addiction is Deep-Rooted and Stats are Relative
Another extremely antiquated belief is that cannabis is a gateway drug to harder drugs such as heroin, LSD, or cocaine.
This is not only far from the truth, but also socially ridiculous when considering the reality of how people use drugs recreationally.
Someone who is going to do a hard drug at some point in their life, likely won’t start with hard drugs.
Someone who uses cannabis may go on to use heroin, but it isn’t because of their cannabis use, it is because they would eventually make their way to heroin regardless of the drugs they used before.
This is easily provable by looking at the stats between cannabis users who go on to use heroin versus heroin use among cannabis users. While many people who use hard drugs will have used or started with cannabis, most cannabis users do not use hard drugs.
Addiction is a complex combination of genetic, environmental, economic, and personal factors.
There are many reasons why addictions can develop, but cannabis users are no more likely to develop addiction to hard drugs because they use cannabis than someone who drives a car will be likely to buy a motorcycle.
Marijuana Myth #5 – There’s Just Not Enough Research on Marijuana
We Need More Research, But There’s Already a Lot
The final myth on our list is one we are proud to announce is just no longer true. A single search for “cannabis” on the National Library of Medicine website will reveal hundreds of thousands of individual pieces on any number of studies, papers, scientific research, and chemical computation.
There have been innumerable studies that have looked deep into cannabis as a medicine, and they’ve conclusively found some really interesting things.
Such as the link between cannabis and decreased inflammation, how cannabis can help with PTSD, or how cannabis may even help with opioid addictions.
Saying that there is enough research on cannabis to fully understand everything about how marijuana works would be far from the truth, as we need deeper scientific and medical knowledge to broaden our perspective. But saying that there isn’t enough research to know that cannabis is a safe, effective treatment for a number of conditions is just not true.
Get Your Georgia Marijuana Card!
In the near future, Georgia will be providing legal access to low-THC cannabis oil for patients with qualifying conditions. In order to purchase the upcoming cannabis-based products, patients can apply for a Georgia cannabis certification.
While we are waiting on dispensaries to become operational, you can apply for your medical marijuana card today and skip the long lines of expected applicants once products hit the shelves.
Reserve your appointment today and get $25 off when we start processing applications!
Feel free to give us a call at (866) 781-5606, and we can help answer your questions about getting medical marijuana in Georgia