The Myths And Facts About Cannabis

The purpose of this thread is to look at all of the myths that are floating around in society today used as evidence that cannabis poses negative health risks, and also to examine the real facts, not just the propaganda of cannabis.

Myth: Smoking cannabis kills brain cells

This is one of the cards that opponents of cannabis always like to pull, and it is a complete lie. The supposed "scientific basis" behind this myth is complete hogwash. In 1974, Dr. Robert G. Heath reported that he had found evidence that smoking cannabis killed brain cells as a result of his testing on monkeys. What he didn't report is that his method of testing the monkeys is what actually caused the brain cell death. Heath claimed that he gave the monkeys the equivalent of 30 joints per day, but he lied. He strapped the monkeys into chairs with air-tight plastic boxes over their heads, and pumped the equivalent of 63 joints in five minutes into the air-tight box each day for three months. Since the box was air tight, the carbon monoxide from the smoke was not able to escape, so he was basically suffocating the monkeys. The brain cells that were killed as a result of the carbon monoxide poisoning were attributed directly to the cannabis.

There is no actual reliable scientific evidence that suggests that cannabis kills brain cells. If any member is aware of any such evidence, feel free to post it and prove me wrong.

Source

Myth: Long-term use of cannabis causes lung cancer, and cannabis is more damaging to the lungs than tobacco

This is another myth that gets tossed around a lot, and of course it has almost no scientific basis. When a person hears that marijuana contains over 400 chemicals, they assume that that means it is harmful to smoke. In reality, every organic compound is made up of chemicals, so this is nothing special. Since cannabis smoke has more carcinogens that tobacco smoke, people automatically conclude that it poses a greater risk of causing lung cancer. But that is flawed logic, especially when you take into account the fact that there has not been a single recorded case of lung cancer or emphysema from a cannabis only smoker in the history of time.

Source

Myth: Cannabis is addictive

We've all heard it before, and like the other myths, it is false. A daily cannabis smoker can go cold turkey and face no physical withdrawal symptoms whatsoever. The reasoning behind this myth is that there are more people in rehabilitation clinics than all other drugs combined, but what you do not hear is that the majority of those people in clinics are forced to go there as a result of their agreement in their Diversion or Probation program that they enroll into after being charged with possession. Sure, a daily smoker might be a little cranky if he just stops smoking altogether, but that does not signal a physical addiction.

Source

Myth: Cannabis is a gateway drug

This whole 'gateway drug' concept is completely flawed. More people try cannabis than any other drug, so ask a heroin or meth addict if they tried cannabis before they went on to the harder drugs, and naturally they will say yes. Ask an alcoholic if he drank milk before he moved on to beer and hard liquor, and he will say yes. Ask a prostitute if she tried kissing before she moved on to sex, and she (or maybe he) will say yes. I think you get the point.

Source: common sense, and I guess here

Myth: Cannabis makes people lazy

If a person is lazy, they are lazy. Using cannabis as an excuse for your laziness is just plain ignorant and wrong. Many people smoke cannabis daily and have successful careers and a family, so why not argue that cannabis makes you productive? Just because some people that sit at home all day doing nothing decided to spend that wasted time smoking cannabis does not mean the cannabis is what caused the laziness in the first place. In fact:

Among working adults, marijuana users tend to earn higher wages than non-users. College students who use marijuana have the same grades as nonusers. Among high school students, heavy use is associated with school failure, but school failure usually comes first.

Source

Myth: Cannabis has no medicinal value

This is one of the most blatant lies that opponents of cannabis like to throw in people's faces. In fact there are so many medicinal values, that I could make a thread entirely about that. Just to brush over the plethora of medicinal uses though, cannabis slows AIDS wasting, reduces nausea as a result of chemotherapy, stimulates appetites in anorexics, reduces intra-ocular pressure in glaucoma, reduces muscle spasicity in MS, helps to relieve chronic pain, allows insomniacs to sleep (usually the indica strains), and in certain cases and doses has been known to fight cancer (not all the time though).


Source
Source 2: Marijuana as Medicine?: The Science Beyond the Controversy

Myth: You can overdose on cannabis and die

I'm sure after reading the previous myths, you can deduce for yourself that this is also a lie. There has not been a single recorded death from cannabis overdose in the history of time, since it's first recorded use around 2500BC in China. It would take the equivalent of smoking 15,000 joints in 15-20 minutes to overdose from cannabis, which is impossible to do.

Source: Marijuana as Medicine?: The Science Beyond the Controversy
Source 2

Myth: Cannabis causes short term memory loss

OK, score 1 for opponents of cannabis. This is true.

So let's review: It is physically impossible to overdose on cannabis, cannabis does not kill brain cells or cause lung cancer, it is not a gateway drug, it is not physically addictive, it has countless medicinal uses dating back to ancient China, but it does cause short term memory loss.

Tobacco and alcohol combined kill HALF A MILLION people every year, and they are legal. But, since cannabis' only real harmful effect is that it causes short term memory loss, that is reason enough to fund an impossible to win War on Drugs. An estimated $500 BILLION has been spent fighting the War on Drugs, at an average of $40 billion per year. It is a war that several presidents have admitted cannot be won, yet we continue to spend taxpayer money to fund it. Sure, not all of that money is spent solely on fighting cannabis, but it is the most widely used "illicit drug" in the world, so common sense tells us that the majority of that money is spent fighting cannabis use.

I hope that this thread has helped to open your eyes on the more popular myths about cannabis that are thrown around nowadays, and feel free to post any harmful/negative effects that you feel cannabis poses to the human body.

Also, a question many of you are probably asking yourselves is "Why do you call it cannabis instead of marijuana?" Well, the word marijuana comes from the Mexican word "marihuana", which means intoxicating plant. This name was given to the cannabis plant to help add to the propaganda at the time that it was made illegal, and this association at that time gave it a negative, racist connotation, as if Reefer Madness didn't make it look bad enough already.

Hey buddy,

Completley agree on all point, I have studied cannabis use in depth and when you learn all the real facts about it, you will see how much the government lies.

The only gripe I have is cannabis smoke does cause cancer. Anything that you light on fire and inhale the smoke is carcinogenic and will cause cancer. Now this can be avoiding if ingested or use of a vaporizer, which takes the burning and carcinogens away.

I read a study not too long ago where heavy, and I mean heavy use actually increases brain function. I'll try and dig it up to show you so you can see the actual results of the study.

Also, another interesting study I read was that if your a smoker and smoke cannabis, it will actually decrease the chance of getting lung cancer. Again, I'll try and find the research paper for you to read.

Thanks for the facts about cannabis and helping people see the truth.

Pred...

reply to post by predator0187


I would love if you posted those links, that'd be a great addition.

Also I understand that the concept of burning and inhaling anything sounds like it would cause cancer, but this is not the case for cannabis. Don't you think if even a single person got any form of cancer from smoking only cannabis, that all of the organizations like above the influence that are against it would jump all over that? They would use that person as the poster child about why you shouldn't smoke it.

Studies show marijuana increases brain growth.

Study shows marijuana cuts cancer growth tumors in half.

I'll try and find some more soon. There is much more positive than negatives. And my sources are all big ones with proper studies. The cancer growth one is from Harvard.

Pred...

reply to post by predator0187


That is amazing. Everyday people are condescended for smoking cannabis; yet as you put it, it has more positives than negatives. I cannot wait until the day that every single person, or at least a huge majority of the people, actually learn the facts before opening their mouths. But that will probably be at least another 30 years at the rate we're going.

Some things that struck me as odd in the first article:

McKim warns that marijuana disrupts memory and cognition. “These effects can be long-lasting after heavy use,” he said. “This makes it difficult to succeed academically if you use it excessively.”

Completely false IMO, unless the person somehow manages to cut class after every hour and smoke profusely to the point where they are extremely high 24/7, but even then I don't think that they will have trouble succeeding. The only thing that might keep them distracted from learning is the paranoia from actually being high in a school environment where that is frowned upon, not actually being high. As long as they're taking notes, do their homework, and study for tests , I don't see how they will succeed any less than the next student.

[But] there is some evidence that marijuana smoke might cause cancer

There is also some evidence that cannabis cuts lung cancer tumors growths in half, so I'm a little skeptical about this. Until I hear about the first person to get any form of cancer from smoking only cannabis, I will never believe this.

Great articles. That lung cancer tumor one is dated 2007! You would think that something that big would be all over the news, huh? Makes you wonder what the REAL agenda of TPTB/MSM is all about. I can't wait until the next ignoramus tells me "Don't you know smoking weed causes lung cancer?", and I'll proudly reply "Actually, the American Association for Cancer Research found that THC cuts lung cancer tumor growths in half, so you are spewing pure verbal garbage without any factual basis"

Above all of your sources, the end of your post caught my eye the most. The movie "Refer Madness" was propaganda specifically aimed at the racial tensions of the times. I remember watching that movie in my English class in 9th grade (almost 15 years ago). I had a very progressive English teacher that came in to long term sub for the original teacher. Anyway, we watched that movie to discuss the effects of propaganda on the masses at the time. The movie basically boiled down to the fact that African Americans smoked it, and if it continued to be legal, they would rape the white women, break into your homes, steal your things, etc. There was no scientific or factual evidence to support any of the claims, and I guess you could say it was the precursor to the "War on Drugs."

Kudos to you for all of the factual information about the cannabis plant. If only some big name scientists would stick their necks out and show all of the positive effects of this plant, perhaps it could slowly be less demonized in the media.



Peace be with you.

-truthseeker

reply to post by truthseeker1984


I've actually only seen snippets of Reefer Madness, but I would love to watch it and get a taste of the propaganda of the time.
For anybody that wants to watch it

The film speaks for itself, but I'm only 10 minutes in, and already the 'Doctor' has made the claim that "marihuana" is more deadly and harmful than opium, heroin, and coc aine. It's amazing that so many of the "facts" that people throw around as reasons why you shouldn't smoke cannabis are honestly derived straight from the film. One myth I forgot to include in the OP was that you drive poorly when you are under the influence of cannabis, and around 26:00 minutes in is where that lie probably got its foundation from. Addiction is another myth that seems to have formed from this film, there are many examples in the film where they refer to people as "Marihuana addicts". More blatant propaganda: 29:00, they are going over violent crimes where the person was under the influence, one of them involved a 16 year old doing a hold-up, another involved a person killing his entire family with an axe while UTI. This is most likely where the myth that people are violent UTI came from, but this is probably one of the less believable one's nowadays. Still though, occasionally in cannabis debates I hear the opposition say that people are violent under the influence and commit crimes. Even more propaganda: Jim in the film starts doing poorly in school after he smokes cannabis, yet another misconception that gets tossed around today. In conclusion, this is without a doubt the most misleading, lie-filled film ever to be created, and I would rather we show our children the most graphic pornography than this biased propaganda.

It's amazing how ignorant and uninformed people can be, especially when you consider the massive amounts of information out there that completely debunk their "facts". They probably have a mental defect where their brain represses any information that counters their beliefs that cannabis is evil, because you would literally have to live in a cave far away from any technology or people to believe some of the BS that certain individuals who are counter-cannabis believe. This is one of the most destructive, history changing films ever, and I can only imagine what society would be like if we were never introduced to this propaganda.

Great post. I could add a few hundred pages to the discussion, but you've covered the basics and the essential bits quite admirably. I'll just add a few links/studies here which are applicable. There are many, many more studies on cannabis and it's incredibly medicinal and therapeutic effects. Before I continue, I want to point out a fact of which most are ignorant: Your brain has and always has had a neurotransmitter system called the endocannabinoid system. It's just like the serotonin and dopamine systems. Weed intoxicates you and has psychological effects because it contains THC, which is a cannabinoid also. It's very similar in its shape/structure to the endocannabinoids (cannabinoids produced naturally and regularly by every person's brain/body) and so it "locks in" to the receptor site, causing things to happen. All drugs are drugs because of this fact - they are similar in structure to existing neurotransmitter systems in the human brain.

On to the studies...

Cannabinoids promote embryonic and adult hippocampus neurogenesis and produce anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects - www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...
So this study tackles two main ideas - neurogenesis and the effects of cannabinoids on neurogenesis. Neurogenesis is the creation/growth/maturation of brain cells, which science until recently did not even think was possible. We now know that it is indeed possible and happens all the time. This study demonstrates the positive effect of cannabinoids (including THC and the other chemicals in cannabis) on neural cell growth as well as a couple psychological effects (anti-anxiety, anti-depressant). There are very few things known to man to promote neurogenesis. Very, very few. You won't keep the brain cells around unless you USE THEM, though - you have to learn and think in order for the new brain cells to get used and be integrated into your neural network. But weed actually increases the growth of these cells, you just have to use em or lose em.

The Multiplicity of Action of Cannabinoids: Implications for Treating Neurodegeneration - www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...
This study shows how cannabinoids can affect the degradation of the brain. Neurodegeneration health issues include oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, and cerebral ischemia - all of which are quite serious and debilitating. Cannabinoids, like those in weed, effectively mediate these disorders and reduce symptoms. I didn't look for it, but there is another study related to Alzheimer's disease and a type of protein malfunction which causes it, and how THC and cannabinoids can stop this clumping from even starting in the first place, making pot a preventative cure for Alzheimer's. You'll have to research that one yourselves, though.

Control of the cell survival/death decision by cannabinoids - www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...
Here we see that cannabinoids (endogenous or exogenous) can affect the decision of individual cells to keep on living or die. This is very similar to the last study I linked, except that one is more about the degeneration of cells in connection specifically with neurodegenerative diseases. This study is a little more about the natural death and survival of cells, though the research shows that cannabis and related chemicals are valuable tools in preventing neurodegeneration (cells falling apart) AND accelerated cell death (cells getting old and dying a little too fast). Again, these are very similar studies.

There is a TON more on www.pubmed.gov on all medicinal sciences. It's a very nice tool for researchers. Anybody who refuses to accept that Cannabis sativa v. sativa or v. indica (but not v. ruderalis) is a legitimate and quite miraculous panacea has got their head up their ass so far they are breathing stomach acid. There is SO much positive research, and SO little negative research. All the negative research I have seen links negative effects of the drug to the smoking of the drug (which is a silly, dangerous way to administer ANY drug). Lungs are not built to inhale smoke, this is common sense guys. They should do studies with weed without smokers, but with people who eat or vapourize their cannabis. Then the confounding factor of inhalation of burnt plant matter will not skew the results.

I can't remember where I read this, but I would not be surprised if it is true: Alcohol and beer companies give more financial support (and lobbying $$) to anti-cannabis organizations than any other industry. They don't want to see their insanely profitable business go under when people wake up and realize that alcohol is easily a couple orders of magnitude worse for you than weed.

reply to post by tetsuo


Yeah I've also heard from several people that the anti-cannabis organizations like Above the Influence get almost all of their funding from alcohol and tobacco companies. We are just living in a messed up world in a messed up time where it's all about profits, the well-being of people simply does not matter to big corporations. Raking in the money is the important thing, and cannabis is a threat to their profits.

Nice post and very true but, judging by previous discussions, we will inevitably have some come on here to demonise the poor plant.

Being aware of the T&C's. let's just say that a "friend" of mine smokes every day (and hardly touches alcohol at all due to the effect it has on him not just when drinking but for days after) and has a successful career earning over £40k, a lovely partner, three lovely kids who do very well at school and are cared for, plus a nice house in a leafy suburb. Evil, evil drug my arse...

reply to post by stumason


Yeah man, a "friend" of mine gets a 3.4 GPA while only being 16 years old in 12th grade in all advanced classes, and he does this while smoking cannabis daily. He tells me it does not even mildly affect his school performance, if anything, it affects it positively.

Great posts - the bashers will be along soon - be ready my friend!

reply to post by crazydaisy


Any person that bashes cannabis has to be EXTREMELY against tobacco and alcohol, or else they are a major hypocrite. You would be amazed at how many people condemn stoners for breaking the law, then run down to the liquor store and pick up some booze and a carton of cigs.

reply to post by TupacShakur

Any person that bashes cannabis has to be EXTREMELY against tobacco and alcohol, or else they are a major hypocrite

Actually I am one of those who has never smoked tobacco and uses alcohol (wine) in my soups my preferred method of drinking

Given Those facts I should be very against cannabis, I am not. They should have legalized cannabis and hemp (two different plants) a LONG LONG time ago.

Why haven't they?

Because making them illegal is a big money maker and because after prohibition they had to figure out what to do with all the FEDS! Can't fire Elliot Ness

reply to post by crimvelvet


I agree with the gist of your post, but I must say weed and hemp are the same plant. It's just that one has been selectively bred for psychoactive content and the other for industrial use. You can still get high off of industrial hemp if you do an extraction process - I mean you'd probably need like 100 lbs of hemp to to equal the same THC content as one gram of weed, but there it's still the same plant. Just selectively bred for literally millenia to have different purposes. They are both Cannabis sativa v sativa/indica/ruderalis.

To add, I and my friends have long been involved in various psychoactive substances and the horrible addictions which come with them (heroin and coc aine). I would be dead or a junkie still now if it weren't for cannabis, as would most of my friends (some are dead now). The good herb (weed) has never directly negatively affected my life. It has been most therapeutic and medicinal for me. But it's not patentable sooo it is gonna take quite a bit to get it approved for what it does so well. That's why marinol and sativex (marinol is synthetic THC preparation, sativex is natural extracted THC preparation) are prescriptions - they are patentable formulations with copyrighted processes behind them. You can copyright a synthetic or extracted product and formulation, but you cannot copyright the raw plant or say a brownie with the plant cooked in.

I need to stop typing, because I'm about to rage at how backwards the whole cannabis law thing is. Ok, tetsuo, calm down, inhale, hold it, exhale... OK all better ^.^

Reply to post by TupacShakur

I'm not going to bash cannabis as I can see that several thousand people make use of it every day and they are completely convinced of these myths and facts. That's fine. I am strongly against alcohol (personal issues) and I do not exactly think smoking cigarettes is the smartest thing either SO with that said I don't think it would take a rocket scientist to know that I am also against things like cannabis. But I am against MY own use of it. If others want it? They can have it. My problem comes up when people who are so in love with it try with all their might try to push it off on to me. Which then it becomes a problem with the people and not the drug. More onto the OP though, what I read was interesting, though it still doesn't attract me any closer to cannabis. Nice thread though!


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

I am the child of an alcoholic and I must say I have seen more families and homes torn apart by LEGAL alcohol than any amount of pot smoking. I have never heard anyone say after consuming "hey, let's fight". No, you just don't do that. With alcohol, you get aggressive and irrational. Seems I have read that the Constitution, or the Declaration of Independance, is written on hemp paper and the original flag that was sewn was sewn from hemp fabric. It takes the same amount of hemp in one acre of marijuana to make the same amount of paper as a whole forest of trees and hemp has two growth cycles per year, and a forest takes a lifetime to regrow. Imagine the number of forests and trees that would be saved and the number of jobs that would be brought to farmers if we were to legalize marijuana even if for just the positive attributes it brings. It has to do with how to manage taxing it. It's not like they have really stopped the use of it or the distribution, so why not take the smart route?Before lead was added to paint, hemp was used. When marijuana was made illegal, lead was then substituted. I will try to find the sources of these points other than my mind and things that have stuck with me for years that I have read and have pointed out to people. I also feel that the unemployment situation we are in is in a dangerous cycle with the whole legalization. If someone is laid off, and can smoke marijuana to eleviate their stress (hey, let's be honest, there are worse things people can do in depression from losing a job...don't want anyone to go mental, so if smoking a joint is the answer, so be it. I'm no here to judge.. just sayin'), then they can't get a job because they are being drug tested and unfortunately THC stays in the body longer than any other drug. Never ending cycle.... again, in SOME cases.. not the WHOLE problem. And back on the benefits.. Have you ever heard of a doctor telling a cancer patient,"hey, I think you need to ramp up your smoking cigarettes and while you're at it, go to the tanning bed more often, or lay out in the sun without SPF." No, you don't. But, you WILL hear of a doctor support a cancer patient smoking marijuana to eleviate their symptoms. If it's soooo bad for us, why would it even be tolorated by the medical profession? Yet, they would urge the person to stop smoke cigarettes IMMEDIATELY.

Originally posted by TupacShakur
In 1974, Dr. Robert G. Heath reported that he had found evidence that smoking cannabis killed brain cells as a result of his testing on monkeys. What he didn't report is that his method of testing the monkeys is what actually caused the brain cell death. Heath claimed that he gave the monkeys the equivalent of 30 joints per day, but he lied. .....

I beg to differ.

Marijuana kills brain cells..................



Cancerous cells, that is



Also, it may cause neurogenesis !!!



Marijana and Neurogenesis

Also, also .... it's probably the best thing you can give someone who's just had a stroke !!!

cb2 & stroke

reply to post by TupacShakur


Hey Tupac ,

Glad I spotted this thread , as I was of the mind to post something on this subject just earlier this evening .

I watched a natgeo program earlier that detailed the pros and cons of cannibis . The title was "Drugged : High on Marijuana" . At least I think that's what it was called . Pretty sure anyway .

Here's a little known fact that you won't here in the mainstream . Your brain actually produces it's own cannabinoids , even if you have never smoked it ! They are called endo-cannabinoids . This was a very informative program . You might be able to find it at natgeo tv.com .

I don't recall them saying anything about braincells being destroyed . They did address the issue of short-term memory loss , but also showed where this was offset by the increased ability to process more incoming data , or something like that .

Anyway , I felt it was a fair and balanced presentation on the subject . If you get a chance you should watch it and see what you think .

Good post .

Edit : They also said it had been around for god-only-knows-how-long and that the chinese started smoking it around 5,000 years ago . Funny , most of what we purchase says 'made in China' , huh ?

reply to post by unityemissions


Hahaha nice use of anticlimax there. At first I was like "OOOOH yeah first scrub of the night to debunk", but you were just taking me for a ride. Cool video