From Reefer Madness to legalization, the perception of marijuana has changed drastically over the decades. With the seemingly unstoppable march toward nationwide decriminalization and legalization moving along steadily, there's a lot of false information floating around about everyone's favorite Mary Jane, whether you pass on grass or are a seasoned smoker.
False: Marijuana screws with your brain, makes you crazy, and causes lung cancer
If you smoke weed, you're running the risk forgetting everything you know, becoming psychotic and getting lung cancer. At least, that's what the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) wanted you to believe, before being forced to remove these and other false facts from their official website in February 2017.
After a legal petition was filed by the non-profit advocacy group Americans for Safe Access, the DEA removed various misleading statements thought to violate the Information Quality Act—a quality-control measure aiming to ensure federal agencies publish correct information. In addition to claiming marijuana causes irreversible cognitive decline in adults, is a gateway drug, and is a primary contributor to psychosis and lung cancer, the now-removed document in question also claimed, according to Detroit Metro Times, the "legalization of marijuana, no matter how it begins, will come at the expense of our children and public safety. It will create dependency and treatment issues, and open the door to use of other drugs, impaired health, delinquent behavior, and drugged drivers." Additionally, the claim that "marijuana causes tumors in various parts of the body" was also removed.
That sure was a lot of false facts in one document. Either they need better fact checkers, or they're … dare we say … lying to us. Shame on you, DEA!
False: Marijuana is a gateway drug
they're … dare we say … lying to us. Shame on you, DEA!
False: Marijuana is a gateway drug
The sticky idea that trying Mary Jane once is the first step down a long and dark path of drug abuse has been perpetuated long before the days of D.A.R.E. counselors showing up to lecture your fifth-grade class. Sure, it makes sense on a very basic level—someone smokes weed, likes it, and decides they want to try harder drugs. And yes, there is a definitive correlation between smoking marijuana and using other drugs. But, as Maia Szalavitz points out in TIME, "correlation isn't cause," arguing against the claim that, because "a person who smokes marijuana is more than 104 times more likely to use cocaine than a person who never tries pot," marijuana is therefore a gateway to cocaine. By that reasoning, Szalavitz posits in her article, riding a bike must be a gateway to joining the Hell's Angels, or childhood lullabies must be a gateway to being a Grateful Dead fan. One simply does not cause the other.
In a Congress-commissioned report, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences concluded "there is no conclusive evidence that the drug effects of marijuana are causally linked to the subsequent abuse of other illicit drugs." Furthermore, as backed up by the report, if one insists on calling marijuana a gateway drug simply because it precedes the use of harder drugs, cigarettes and alcohol—both of which are legal—must be considered more pertinent gateway drugs than weed, as statistics show underage smoking and drinking more than likely precedes puffin' on the ganja.
Besides, we all know that spinning around in circles as a child until you're dizzy is the real gateway drug.
False: Stoned driving is as bad as drunk driving
It is a common misconception by those who've never gone on a journey—Dazed and Confused-style—that driving under the influence of marijuana is just as bad as driving under the influence of alcohol. As science and experience shows, that's simply not the case.
Though smoking marijuana does impair psychomotor skills, the impairment is not "severe or long-lasting." According to a review of the scientific evidence by NORML, drivers who've indulged in the devil's lettuce tend to be more self-aware of their impairment—and probably the cops—and therefore tend to drive more slowly, though often taking longer to respond properly to emergency situations. (Quick thinking has never been the stoner's strong suit.)
Comparing stoned driving to drunk driving is a bit like comparing your pothead friend to the local drunk. The individual under the influence of marijuana is likely to be more introverted and self-aware, while the intoxicated alcohol imbiber is almost certainly more extroverted and … well … sloppy. Think about it this way: who is more likely to pick a fight with a stranger, and who is more likely to give said stranger a high five for being "an all-around chill dude?" These behaviors are paralleled behind the wheel of a car. Studies indicate that high drivers focus their attention on situations that may require a response, resulting in slower and more careful—though not necessarily safer—driving, while drunk drivers exhibit riskier behaviors in proportion to their level of intoxication, such as blowing through stop signs or speeding through town. There's a reason nearly 10,000 automotive deaths are caused by alcohol each year.
While driving under the influence of any impairment isn't condoned, it is clear that drunk driving is, by far, the greater of the two evils.
False: Marijuana causes a lack of motivation
We all remember that guy in high school who smoked a lot of weed and never really ended up doing much with his life, right? You know, the one everyone in your hometown calls a "burnout." People who smoke weed must all end up like that guy.
Even if you don't believe this judgmental statement—and we really hope you don't—the stereotype perpetuated by television, movies, and some of your high school buddies is that the typical stoner is a bit of a couch potato, needing to peel their atrophying muscles off the couch to walk to the kitchen and grab some munchies, which they probably don't have because they're too lazy to go to the store. And while some potheads are lazy, so are plenty of straight shooters. Likewise, plenty of weed smokers go on to become ultra-successful, just like that your square classmate who never did anything cool but runs a Fortune 500 company now.
Loads and loads of successful people have smoked pot, and we're not just talking about the obvious ones, like Wiz Khalifa and the pizza-grubbin' Ninja Turtles. Former presidents like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have toked "a time or two"—with the latter having "inhaled frequently." Funny guys Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart have never shied away from their bong-ripping experiences, and Bill Maher has unsurprisingly "tried marijuana … about 50,000 times." Legendary athletes like LeBron James and Michael Phelps have taken some bong hits to the face, while uber-rich Michael Bloomberg enthusiastically enjoyed indulging in some dank buds. The list goes on and on. And on. And on.
In all seriousness, if you ever hear someone say marijuana makes you lazy, just show them the photo of the greatest Olympic champion in history ripping a bong. Or Barack Obama. That should just about put an end to it.
False: Marijuana prohibition protects kids
Some people believe the prohibition of marijuana protects children from its influence. Those people are wrong.
Kids are smoking pot more than ever, according to The New York Times, who claimed that, in 2011, one out of every 15 high schoolers was smoking weed on a daily basis. In 2012, CBS reported that kids smoke more pot than cigarettes. Roughly 70 percent of teens and adolescents believe there is no great risk in smoking weed once a month, according to VICE News. Given the number of kids smoking pot, and the use of marijuana being illegal under US federal law, it seems obvious that prohibition—more than ever—does little to protect underage individuals from the potentially harmful substance.
Conversely, it's possible that the legalization of marijuana decreases the rate of teens using it. After Colorado passed Amendment 64 in 2012—effectively legalizing weed and treating it similarly to alcohol—usage by teens took a slight decline. It may not be fair to say that this would be the case in all parts of the United States, given various factors and cultural differences across the country, but it nonetheless serves to reinforce that the prohibition of marijuana fails to stop children from using the drug.
So call your local representatives, tell them to legalize it, and remind them to think of the children!
False: Marijuana is legal in Holland and Portugal
Ever had the bright idea, while stoned in your friend's basement, of moving to the Netherlands or Portugal, just so you can smoke weed without the hassle of cops and whatnot? Well, you can—but it's not technically as legal as you think.
In the Netherlands, cannabis is not legal, despite what many people commonly believe. The Dutch just officially turn a blind eye, having no interest in enforcing laws against shops and cafes. Growing your own plants, selling on the streets, or importing weed are all illegal offenses in the Netherlands.
Portugal is another story altogether, often being incorrectly known as the country where all drugs are legal. Drugs in Portugal are not, in fact, legal—rather, personal use is decriminalized, punished with fines instead of jail. So smoking pot isn't really going to land you in prison. Growing and selling weed, however, definitely will.
So, if you're planning on moving to Holland or Portugal to smoke some weed in freedom, go ahead. Just know that it's not quite as free as your one friend who spent a semester backpacking around Europe and making hostel-friends-for-life led you to believe.
False: Prisons are full of people convicted of marijuana possession
Given the recent rhetoric by popular left-wing politicians like Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, it's easy to assume that prisons are bursting at the seams with marijuana offenders. This, however, is simply not the case.
In fact, according to the book Marijuana Legalization: What Everyone Needs to Know, US prisons barely have anyone in them for simply possessing marijuana. According to the text, in 2012, about 40,000 prisoners nationwide were in on marijuana offenses, and half of them were there due to additional crimes as well. Most of those there solely due to marijuana were there over distribution: "Less than 1 percent of state and federal inmates are serving time for marijuana possession alone—and in many of those cases, the possession conviction was the result of a plea bargain involving the dismissal of more serious charges." These numbers are in stark contrast to what many people believe, having been led by legalize-it campaigns to assume a significant portion of the war on drugs is the war on marijuana.
Still, if you don't live in a state that's down with trees, we recommend you steer clear of the fuzz when sparking a joint.
False: Marijuana is highly addictive
fuzz when sparking a joint.
False: Marijuana is highly addictive
First of all, marijuana is addictive. Coffee is also addictive, as are cigarettes. Alcohol can certainly be addictive. What is not true, however, is that marijuana is highly addictive, like crack, amphetamines, or prescription painkillers—though this is what the Drug Enforcement Agency would like you to believe.
According to TIME, only 10 percent of individuals who smoke marijuana become addicted to it—if we define addiction by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders model, which describes addiction as "the compulsive use of a substance despite ongoing negative consequences, which may lead to tolerance or withdrawal symptoms when the substance is stopped." 10 percent is relatively small, especially when compared to the percentage of users dependent on tobacco, heroin, cocaine and alcohol—all of which exhibit higher rates of addiction than marijuana. In addition to the comparatively lower rates of addiction, the Institute of Medicine's report "Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base" found that "marijuana dependence appears to be less severe than dependence on other drugs"—so you're not going to find someone shaking and puking on the bathroom floor because they can't get their weed fix. A heavy marijuana user trying to kick the habit might get a bit irritable, sure, but just tell them to go do some yoga and chill out.
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