8 Common Myths About Marijuana

Although marijuana is becoming more and more popular these days, it’s shocking how little people still know about this precious plant. Unfortunately, weed has been demonized for decades, making people believe that the herb is harmful. In this section, we’ve prepared a list of the most common myths about marijuana to tell you the truth about weed and set the record straight once and for all.

1. Stoners are Unsuccessful and Lazy

One of the most popular stereotypes we’ve all heard from lots of people who don’t support marijuana legalization is that stoners are lazy which leads to an unsuccessful life. In most people’s heads, a stoner is the type of a person who smokes joints one by one, laying on the couch, ordering fast-food, and watching TV all day. However, weed doesn’t have the power to make you feel motivated or unmotivated to do anything about your life. The truth is, it all depends on your decisions and character. If you’re lazy and don’t have enough motivation to live an active and successful life, don’t blame it on weed.

Need proof? There is a long list of world-famous and successful people who are real stoners. Have you ever heard about Michael Phelps? He is one of the most awarded Olympic athletes in history with more gold medals than you could even lift. He’s also known for being a true marijuana enthusiast and he smoked his bongs both before and after the games.

2. Weed is Addictive

I can already see a smile on your face. We’ve all heard many times that weed causes addiction. However, this is one of the most common myths about marijuana, as this plant is not addictive. Many people believe that once you smoke a joint, you can’t stop. But the truth is, among heavy marijuana users, only 9% can become dependent. Of course, it’s easy to fall in love with this nice feeling after smoking weed, but it’s not that you can’t take a break from it. Moreover, we don’t have a single proof that marijuana can cause addiction – if anything, a person can develop “cannabis use disorder.”

3. Marijuana is a Gateway Drug

The second thing you’ve probably heard along with the “marijuana is addictive” myth is that smoking weed leads to other drugs abuse. However, the truth is there is no proof that cannabis is a gateway drug. In fact, it’s becoming more popular in the US to treat addictions with cannabis. Moreover, stoners usually don’t go on to try more dangerous substances, and many of them decide to quit both alcohol and tobacco in favor of the greens.

4. Marijuana Users Are More Aggressive

Although people believe marijuana users are lazy and spend their days on the couch, the plant is also claimed to cause violence and crime. How is that possible? Because in many countries weed is illegal, having a joint makes you a criminal. Thus, many people agree that marijuana users are aggressive criminals. However, there is no link between violent crimes and marijuana. Long story short, smoking a joint won’t make you a dangerous criminal. Moreover, there are many reports showing that cannabis use may lead to lowering rates of both homicide and assault.

5. Weed Kills Your Brain

One of the most repeated myths about weed is that it kills brain cells. Although children shouldn’t use marijuana, the plant doesn’t cause any damage to the brain of an adult. Additionally, CBD, which is a non-intoxicating compound found in cannabis, m support your brains development. Thus, supplementing yourself with medical cannabis may be a great way to support one of the most important organs in your body.

Some of the most extreme marijuana opponents claim weed makes people stupid, but the truth is the plant won’t cause any brain impairment and definitely won’t influence your IQ. Marijuana has both neuroprotective and antioxidant properties, which means it may protect your brain cells against environmental and biological toxins. Moreover, cannabinoids found in cannabis plants support the process of new brain cells development.

6. Stoners Have Memory Issues

The myth is actually partially true, as cannabis may actually lead to some sort of short-term memory loss. However, the effect occurs only when the user is super-baked and has tons of THC in the system and it doesn’t cause permanent memory loss. Moreover, CBD found in marijuana is known for preventing memory loss, as it inhibits catabolic reactions in the human’s brain.

7. You Can Fatally Overdose On Weed

Although this myth is very popular, it’s practically impossible to die after smoking too much marijuana. Of course, you can get baked too much and end up with anxiety or vomiting session, but it’s not very common and you would have to smoke a lot more weed than usually to get such effects.

In theory, it is possible to fatally overdose marijuana. However, you would have to smoke around 40,000 times more herb than usually in your joint, but it would have to take anywhere between 5 to 10 minutes. As you can see, it’s physically impossible. When it comes to using weed, if you smoke too much – you’ll simply fall asleep extremely stoned after eating an insane amount of munchies.

8. Marijuana Causes Cancer

Last but not least, one of the most common misconceptions about cannabis is that it causes lung cancer. The truth is there is no link between smoking weed and having cancer and there are no records of marijuana caused deaths. Moreover, cannabis may actually be helpful when it comes to preventing many conditions, including cancer. As for developing lung cancer, heavy stoners have equal chances of getting sick as non-users.

To sum up, don’t ever believe everything you hear about weed, as there are many more myths about this plant now than ever before. Because of the popularity of both recreational and medical cannabis use, it’s recommended to learn about marijuana as much as you can to help the cannabis community spread the truth about this precious herb. Now that you’ve learned what are the most common myths about marijuana, you can set the record straight next time you hear someone spreading lies about cannabis.