Marijuana Myths: Busted WSJ Team

Myth: Marijuana is an addictive drug.

Fact: Marijuana is not physically addicting. Medical studies rank marijuana as less habit forming than caffeine. The legal drugs of nicotine and alcohol can be as addicting as heroin or cocaine, but marijuana is one of the least habit forming substances commonly used today.

Myth: Today’s marijuana is more harmful today than it was many years ago due to higher potency

Fact: There is no medical evidence that shows high-potency marijuana is more harmful than low-potency marijuana. Marijuana is actually one of the least toxic substances known to man. High-potency marijuana is actually preferable because less needs to be consumed to obtain the desired effect. Therefore the amount of smoke entering the lungs is reduced, lowering the risk of any respiratory health hazards. Claiming that high-potency marijuana is more harmful than low-potency marijuana is like claiming wine is more harmful than beer.

Myth: Smoking marijuana can cause lung damage and even cancer.

Fact: The chance of contracting cancer from smoking marijuana is minuscule. Tobacco smokers typically smoke 20+ cigarettes every day for decades, but virtually nobody smokes marijuana in the quantity and frequency required to cause cancer. Cancer risks from common foods such as meat, salt, and dairy products far exceed any cancer risk posed by smoking marijuana. Respiratory health hazards and cancer risks can be totally eliminated by ingesting marijuana in baked foods.

For medical studies regarding Marijuana’s affect on Cancer CLICK HERE!

For medical studies regarding Marijuana’s affect on Lung Function CLICK HERE!

Myth: Marijuana contains over 400 potentially dangerous chemicals

Fact: It is true that marijuana contains over 400 chemicals. But do not be misled. Coffee contains 1,500 chemicals. Rat poison contains only 30 chemicals. What does this all mean? There is no correlation between the number of chemicals a substance contains and its toxicity. Do not be fooled by these misleading statistics.

Myth: Marijuana is a gateway drug

Fact: The U.S. government’s statistics show that over 75 percent of all Americans who use marijuana never use harder drugs. Marijuana is currently classified at a “Schedule 1 Drug”, labeling it in the same category as heroin and ecstasy. Schedule 1 drugs are labeled as possessing no medicinal value as well as having a high potential for abuse.

For medical studies regarding Marijuana and Gateway Theory CLICK HERE!

Myth: Marijuana is a significant cause of emergency room admissions.

Fact: The U.S. government reports that marijuana-related emergency room episodes are increasing. The government counts an emergency room admission as a marijuana-related episode if the word marijuana appears anywhere in the medical record. If a patient tests positive for marijuana because he/she used marijuana several days before the incident occurred, if a drunk driver admits he/she also smoked some marijuana, or if anyone involved in the incident merely possessed marijuana, the government counts the emergency room admission as a “marijuana-related episode.” Less than 0.2% of all emergency room admissions are actually “marijuana related.” Again, do not be misled by these statistics.

We hope you found this information useful,

The Weed Street Journal Team

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