What do you think about when you hear the word, “Marijuana?” Does it send your brain to a far away place and time, to a flower power VW Bug with a hippy dude wearing circular glasses, giving a peace sign? Do you picture a blinged out Snoop Dogg, possibly smoking a blunt with his homies at his Cali pad? Or, do you think of those new goofy neighbors in your dorm, who always have that skunky smell drifting from beneath their door? Whatever you think about in relation to the purple purp, these dank nuggets are loved by many but still hated on by the law.
Directly following last week’s drug, which was tobacco, weed shows a stark contrast to the carcinogen-filled poison sticks that are legal today. Inhaling smoke is not good for any human’s lungs, but there are many differences between the two that are worth exploring and understanding.
According to Drugpolicy.org, here are some common myths about marijuana:
MYTH 1) Marijuana can cause permanent mental illness.
This is actually not the case. According to the site, “There is no convincing scientific evidence that marijuana causes psychological damage or mental illness in either teenagers or adults.” Some users can feel panic, anxiety, or paranoia, however. This is rare or usually amplified for those who already suffer with similar issues. “Marijuana does not cause profound changes in people’s behavior.”
MYTH 2) Marijuana is highly addictive. Long-term marijuana users experience physical dependence and withdrawal, and often need professional drug treatment to break their marijuana habits.
“Marijuana does not cause physical dependence. If people experience withdrawal symptoms at all, they are remarkably mild.” In fact, most people who have ever gone to treatment centers for marijuana were referred as some sort of repercussion for getting caught with the drug, rather than because they found their own need to seek help. Also according to the site, most people who use marijuana only use it occasionally.
MYTH 3) Marijuana is more potent today than in the past. Adults who used marijuana in the 1960s and 1970s fail to realize that when today’s youth use marijuana they are using a much more dangerous drug.
It is actually quite foolish for people to think that a drug has gotten so much stronger in fifty or so years when this plant has been cultivated for medicinal purposes by cultures for thousands of years. According to the website, this data is based on small samples that the DEA has used to calculate this theory. “Potency data from the early 1980s to the present are more reliable, and they show no increase in the average THC content of marijuana.” THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) is the main psychoactive substance found in cannabis, according to Wikipedia.org. “There has never been a documented human fatality from overdosing on tetrahydrocannabinol or cannabis.”
Has there ever been a human fatality from cigarettes? How about alcohol? That question basically answers itself. More people have died from accidentally choking on buttons than from marijuana. Now the reader might be thinking to themselves, “Well just because weed is safe, doesn’t make it right.” Well, who decides what is right and what is wrong? Look at the current debate about gay marriage, for example. One group (or governing body) has decided that gay marriage is illegal in many places. Is it right for this group to decide what happens to other people, when most likely it has nothing to do with them personally?
In the gay marriage debate, as well as with weed, there is data that shows something against what many people believe. It is detrimental to ignore the side sticking up for their beliefs. Freedom always comes sometime at a later date, and people will think back in disbelief that things were that way in the past (Hello civil rights movement). But that’s beside the point.
MYTH 4) Marijuana causes crime.
Every study has lead to the same conclusion: Marijuana does not cause crime. The only crime that marijuana users usually commit is the act of having the substance to begin with. “Almost all human and animal studies show that marijuana decreases rather than increases aggression.” Take a look at a high kid on couch. How ready does he look to rob a bank?
MYTH 5) Marijuana use can be prevented.
Can you picture your fifth grade health teacher shaking her finger at you, warning you about the dangers of drugs? According to this site, “Anti-drug campaigns in the schools and the media may even make drugs more attractive.” In a twisted way, this is sort of funny. This just means that schools today need to change the way that they talk about drugs with their youth. By building up drugs like marijuana to come from somewhere as dastardly as Hell’s gardens, it actually might make them more attractive to students. By showing them the real facts about drug use and how it slows down your life by replacing productive activities with unproductive ones, it may actually have some impact on them. And it doesn’t come from Hell’s gardens, but actually God’s gardens. It grows in its usable form straight out of the ground!
There is a lot more to marijuana usage than what’s listed here, but at least this article has been able to make an impression on those who think that it should be in the same category as other drugs such as tobacco, cocaine and heroin. Smoking weed can make you slow and stupid, but it won’t turn you into some violent fiend ready to slit throats because you have to have your fix.
[The Clock does not condone drug use. Article is for informational purposes only.]