Mythbusting Marijuana: Facts You Need to Know

Debunking Weed Myths

There are myths waiting to pounce around every corner regarding everything; it's simply a reality that the information presented doesn't always correlate with facts or is supported by bias. With something as polarizing as cannabis, and the research changing day by day, it's no wonder there is as much misinformation floating around this plant that has positively changed the lives of so many. In trying to de-stigmatize weed talk, we will take you through popular myths about weed and their contrary realities in a bid to present alternative views on these topics. Against cannabis or for cannabis, we should not naively believe what we learned when we were children.

"WEED IS A GATEWAY DRUG"

We've all heard this one. It's because it's one of the most common myths about cannabis. Anti-potsters like to make the argument that pot is a gateway drug, i.e., if you have smoked pot, you will find yourself smoking more harmful drugs. This has, in fact, been researched fairly thoroughly over the years, and there are all sorts of examples and studies proving that this just isn't the case. The National Institute on Drug Abuse stated that "most people who use marijuana do not go on to use other, 'harder' drugs," and that hard drug use has numerous causation factors, such as social environment and upbringing of a person. The Institute's position is that there needs to be further study done to figure out whether there really is any basis for the "gateway drug" label, so it's safe to say no absolute conclusions can yet be made here in the findings on this subject. Using data from a study done by the American School Health Association in 2008, they also found that most users of marijuana never used other drugs, and actually alcohol was more narrowly defined as a "gateway drug."

Also most recently, a 2019 study followed the use of medical cannabis compared to alcohol and other drugs. Surprisingly, approximately 70% of the study's 2,000 study participants indicated cannabis as a replacement for prescription medicines like opioids and antidepressants to treat their ailment. From the subjects replacing cannabis with opioids, 59% of the subjects had completely stopped using the prescribed medication. The rest from the study discontinued the use of alcohol and tobacco, 45% and 30% of the subjects respectively. Research such as this demonstrates the potential of marijuana to be an "exit" drug rather than a "gateway" drug. With there being so many other studies that demonstrate the validity of the role of marijuana in the lives of so many, this extreme stigma is bound to be reduced in the future.

"LEGALIZATION LEADS TO INCREASED CRIME"

But yet again, another common myth is that legalization of cannabis would automatically increase the crime rate in that area. Well, is that true? Taking some information on hand, the Institute of Labor Economics studied the connection between crime rate and cannabis legalization. The last proof came to the determination that there was a "negative and significant relationship between dispensary allowances and property crime rates." Other studies, such as this one, have determined, counterintuitively, that there were more dispensaries which actually contributed to reducing crime in certain areas: This can possibly be attributed to fewer vacant buildings, and enhanced security. Aside from that, in 2018, a study conducted through the National Institute of Justice determined that there were no statistically significant long-term effects on violent crime or property crime rates due to cannabis laws.

In 2019, a study conducted at the University of Washington reported comparative data on legalization of cannabis and violent crime rates. The study revealed that the legalization of marijuana can result in the decrease of violent offenses like aggravated assault, robbery, and homicide. They reported that "violent crime continues to decline despite the MML [Medical Marijuana Laws] and RML [Recreational Marijuana Laws]." It's interesting to read the facts regarding this issue, particularly compared to the decades-long anti-weed campaigns that tout this as one of the major "negative impacts" induced by cannabis.

LEGALIZATION LEADS TO INCREASED ADOLESCENT USE

Another popular theory among the anti-marijuana movement is that legalizing legal adults' access to marijuana raises teen use. But some data studies and research contradict: From 2014 to 2015, a National Survey on Drug Use and Health gathered their information. As Colorado started constructing their legal marijuana economy, a drastic drop of 12% was seen among teenagers, who progressively decreased annually as years went by. Following legalization, most of the other states have seen a decline in teenage use, but not as statistically significant.

Furthermore, a long-term study published in the peer-reviewed journal The Lancet analyzed adolescent marijuana use between the years of 1991 and 2014, and how the 2014 legalization of medical marijuana in some states impacted their use. With all the data in consideration, they stated: “Our findings suggest that passage of state medical marijuana laws does not increase adolescent use of marijuana.”

In arriving at such conclusions, it's imperative that we look at the reality of legalization, and how teens and children are affected by it. Anecdotal, how many teens and kids were you around when you were growing up who got weed from legal dispensaries? Most often, teens who use cannabis illegally get this from friends and friends-of-friends: Local networks and illegal sources, not weed dispensaries. That notion itself is one instance of a logical reason why legalization would not result in greater use by teens.

It actually stems from a myth which resulted from research conducted by Dr. Robert Heath. This was a study conducted on monkeys, which supposedly found that when studying the brain cells of the animal, structural change was found to be determined. Despite fantastically huge doses of cannabis being given to the monkey test subjects, there was no reference to cell death. This was a huge column on this long-standing premise, all the while the facts never lined up with the ideology that anti-weed activists chose and went with. Actually, some of the larger, more controlled studies that were done even negated this study, including those by SRI International's Charles Rebert and Godron Pryor and Dr. William Slikker of the National Center of Toxicological Research. In monkeys' brains treated with repeated doses of cannabis daily for up to a year, there was no physical change. Incidentally, brain injury (and not death of cells) the animals underwent in Dr. Heath's experiments was caused by brain asphyxia caused by oxygen deficiency. At least, it is extremely important to observe facts and not accept everything on the face value.

A great double-study conducted in 2016 traced the effect of teen marijuana use on IQ. In reality, this was considered the "largest longitudinal study of marijuana use and IQ change." This experiment's topic is more sensitive than how marijuana affects adult brains, so this was a great one, to be sure. Though it has been assumed for years that weed affects teens more, there are some who might be surprised to hear that research on the topic disagrees. Based on all of their data, they determined that there is "little evidence to suggest that adolescent marijuana use has a direct effect on intellectual decline."

Conclusion

There will always be the doomsday prophets and weed-bashing activists, but one thing that is certain is that every single one of us has a voice. If you are concerned about cannabis, whether you're a famous influencer or a small-town regular Joe, all of our voices are part of the discussion. When there is credible news, regardless of what it is, we need to ensure that we set aside our biases and consider all possibilities. We would like to know: How does legalization of weed impact you in your life?

Written By IC Glass