5 of the Biggest Myths About Cannabis

Let’s get it straight.

The campaign against cannabis traces its roots back decades before “Tricky Dick” himself, none other than former U.S. President Richard Nixon, went ahead and declared war on drugs. The crusade was actually first led by Harry Anslinger, a United States government official who once served as the first commissioner of the U.S. Treasury Department's Federal Bureau of Narcotics.

While many of Anslinger’s claims from the 1930s are now known to be false and openly racist, his push to criminalize cannabis led to misconceptions galore — many of which people still amazingly insist are true today. Thankfully, owing to countless studies, growing usage and legalization, those stereotypes are slowly breaking down.

Here, five of the biggest myths about cannabis.

1. Cannabis is a gateway drug.

Perhaps the biggest myth often associated with cannabis is that it leads to the usage of harder drugs. Sure, it may be true that many illicit drug users started with cannabis and alcohol, correlation does not equal causality. Are we clear? In fact, some research has revealed that medical cannabis can help reduce the use of other drugs as a substitute for opioid-based medications and pharmaceuticals. And as far as being linked to drug abuse or the use of illicit drugs, there’s zero conclusive evidence that cannabis is related at all.

2. All cannabis makes you high.

Consuming some cannabis produces a high effect. That much is true. Still, not all cannabis is psychoactive. Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is one of over a hundred cannabinoids identified in cannabis and is the principal psychoactive constituent. However, cannabidiol, or CBD, doesn’t produce any kind of high. Moreover, CBD can often help counter the psychoactive effects of THC.

3. Cannabis makes you lazy.

Of course, the quote-unquote lazy stoner stereotype has persisted for ages, but guess what? There hasn’t been any truth to it found. Study after study comparing groups where half were cannabis users and half never touched cannabis have concluded no significant difference when it came to motivation or energy levels. Believe it or not, a “lazy stoner” might just be a lazy person!

4. Cannabis changes your brain.

There has been no compelling data showing that cannabis alone causes structural changes to the brain. We repeat, no compelling data. A recent study from the University of Louisville further demonstrated that long-term and heavy cannabis use didn’t kill brain cells. Quite the contrary. Antioxidants that are neuro-protective have actually been found in the cannabis plant, meaning cannabis may be helpful in promoting the growth of new brain cells.

5. Cannabis is addictive.

We covered the “lazy stoner” stereotype. Now let’s discuss the “pothead” one, which has long supported the idea that increased cannabis use promotes dependency. That’s simply not true for the majority of users. A small percentage of users — less than 10 percent, to be precise — consider themselves dependent on cannabis. Here’s the thing: that number is far less than the number of cigarette smokers dependent on tobacco and drinkers dependent on alcohol. Addiction is more common with younger users, but compared to alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs, cannabis use is significantly less habit-forming.

See more of Blissed on our Instagram Page @beblissed.

This article was written by The Blissed Team.

This article was published August 6th, 2019.