Meds Lies About Pot and Other Reefer Madness

[momofthegoons]

There's a ton of misinformation out there about Marijuana. And being armed with the truth is the best way to negate some of the nonsense. I found this article, "The 5 Biggest Lies About Pot - And How to Rebut Them," and thought it would be a good idea to have a thread negating some of the untruths we come across.

The lies covered in this article:

Consuming marijuana lowers intelligence.
Legalizing marijuana spawned the opioid epidemic.
Cannabis smoke exposure is more damaging to the lungs than tobacco smoke.
States that have regulated the marijuana market have experienced a surge in violence.
Marijuana legalization is linked with a rise in traffic fatalities.

 

[BD9]

Most of these lies and rhetoric were spread in the 1930's by Harry Anslinger the father of anti marijuana propaganda. This angel of a human being handcuffed Billie Holiday to her bed while she lay dying.
Most of his rhetoric was based on racism and fear mongering.

He cited and manipulated many news stories to try get his message out. All were disproved but that didn't stop these wrong and archaic lies from being spread.
Anti marijuana people still quote some of his lies.

 

[CarolKing]

A Big Thing Marijuana Opponents Warned You About
Posted by CN Staff on March 21, 2017 at 09:24:33 PT
By Christopher Ingraham
Source: Washington Post

​

Washington -- A state-run survey of 37,000 middle and high school students in Washington state finds that marijuana legalization there has had no effect on youngsters' propensity to use the drug.
The Washington State Healthy Youth Survey found that the 2016 rate of marijuana use was basically unchanged since 2012, when the state voted to legalize marijuana for recreational use. In the survey, researchers used the measure of “monthly use,” asking students across all grade levels whether they'd used the drug within the past month.

Read More...
(5 Comments)

 

[Vicki]

If cannabis lowers intelligence, how was I able to pass the Mensa test? :)

 

[His_Highness]

My favorite MJ mis-information campaign was the commercials that played just prior to the general election. There were several commercials showing edibles in candy and cookie form that, according to the commercial, would be sold in a storefront that looked like a neighborhood corner/candy store. The kicker was the commercial stating these 'stores' would be next door to schools. Not even sure how they could live with their lying selves.......

 

[herbivore21]

The most ridiculous myth that I hear going around is that cannabis makes people lazy and unproductive. These people have clearly not stopped and thought about cannabis' obvious usefulness as a medication for insomnia and the even more obvious benefits for reducing laziness and increasing productivity when you have had restful sleep, rather than insomnia!

I have almost as many job titles and occupations as I do disabilities (and that is a lot). That I am gainfully employed (arguably over-employed!) is a testament to my cannabis use, not in spite of it!

 

[momofthegoons]

This article adds a few more 'lies' to the pile and rebuts them.

Marijuana is a gateway drug.
It's as dangerous as LSD or heroin.
It makes you lazy and unsuccessful.
It's highly addictive.
Legalization will lead to mass pot usage.

And the biggest lie of them all........

It has no medical use.

 

[BD9]

This is maddening and contradictory.
This is an article on the NIH (National Health Institute) website that says CBD may relieve pain, lower inflammation and decrease anxiety. More importantly the article states; CANNABIS KILLS cancer.

Some of the same people that are perpetuating these lies also say;

https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/cam/patient/cannabis-pdq

The main active cannabinoid in Cannabis is delta-9-THC. Another active cannabinoid is cannabidiol (CBD), which may relieve pain, lower inflammation, and decrease anxiety without causing the "high" of delta-9-THC

Cannabis and cannabinoids have been studied in the laboratory and the clinic for relief of pain, nausea and vomiting, anxiety, and loss of appetite

Cannabis and cannabinoids may have benefits in treating the symptoms of cancer or the side effects of cancer therapies. There is growing interest in treating children for symptoms such as nausea with Cannabis and cannabinoids, although studies are limited.

Cannabis has been shown to kill cancer cells in the laboratory.

Most of the above are all things we in this forum community have known for a very long time.

 

[dorkus_molorkus]

The biggest lie I ever heard about cannabis was from Tyrone down the street from me.

He said I was getting a 1/2 oz of fire with no stem or seed that I dont need.

I got 11 grams of shitty seedy schwagg.

A crime against humanity if I ever saw one.

 

[herbivore21]

The biggest lie I ever heard about cannabis was from Tyrone down the street from me.

He said I was getting a 1/2 oz of fire with no stem or seed that I dont need.

I got 11 grams of shitty seedy schwagg.

A crime against humanity if I ever saw one.

Take him to the Hague I say!

 

[Baron23]

My favorite MJ mis-information campaign was the commercials that played just prior to the general election. There were several commercials showing edibles in candy and cookie form that, according to the commercial, would be sold in a storefront that looked like a neighborhood corner/candy store. The kicker was the commercial stating these 'stores' would be next door to schools. Not even sure how they could live with their lying selves.......

That was the Arizona anti propaganda commercial, yeah? A truly despicable level of mendacity.

 

[His_Highness]

That was the Arizona anti propaganda commercial, yeah? A truly despicable level of mendacity.

Florida....

 

[Cuckfumbustion]

Marijuana is a gateway drug.

IT is going to be hard to flip the script on that one. If administered properly, is an EXIT drug.

I do know the source of where a lot of these 20+ year old generalizations came from. And how statistical data can be skewed. Fortunately I am surrounded be other vapers who know most of these logical trappings already.
Cannabis and Schizophrenia: Trigger or Treatment?

I've read heard that pot causes Schizophrenia from the original cult film to statistical data that merely counted the amount of people who had the condition AND a history with Cannabis.
There was no coloration being made for those treating their condition.

But this got crossbred with the LSD triggering onset Schizophrenia, but now LSD is being looked into being used as a tool again. But the old myth based on the false correlation outlived the facts.

I got 11 grams of shitty seedy schwagg

Oh it's that chancer Tyrone from down the street again. Sheesh. I've been trying to warn everybody about him.

If H.S.T. was sheriff, you could take your schwagg to his office, slap your 11g of sadbag and raise a shit storm of a complaint . Hunter has a Zero tolerance for rip-off artists. His team would inspect it's purity and 'Seeds and Stems' Tyrone would be dispensed some hippee justice.
I'm trying to be optimistic, but equally skeptical of all the positives of Cannabis. Don't want to mouth breath it and have it partially disproved or the impact being less significant.
Truth is that I have had to come up with a new paradigm for cannabis and to trying to stomp out those older myths out there being perpetuated while simultaneously unlearning my own conceptions.

 

[Prolusio]

I've read heard that pot causes Schizophrenia from the original cult film to statistical data that merely counted the amount of people who had the condition AND a history with Cannabis.
There was no coloration being made for those treating their condition.

\


Sort of related. When I was in University our Prof brought several people into our Psych class for a lecture/presentation type thing where the guests would explain the mental illness they suffered from and tell their stories.

There was a man there who had Schizophrenia among other things; He was 100% adamant that if it wasn't for the single time he had used MJ in his life he would NOT have developed the condition. He pinpointed the night he smoked weed as the cause for his mental illness. That was the night it all changed for him. I found it hard to believe but I definitely can say that HE believes it to be true. He spent a great deal of time "informing" us of the dangers of cannabis.

Despite this man having the genetics, family history of mental illness, other mental health conditions, heavily using other drugs both over the counter and street; he blamed one night with marijuana. But he really believed it..

I found it very interesting that despite having other factors in his life that are known to have a link to the condition he still chose to focus on MJ. I have always wondered; if it wasn't for the propaganda would MJ have affected him so severely for so long? Did the fear of reefer madness change what might have been a positive night for him? I dunno..

But because of the misinformation spread by anti-cannabis propaganda, we'll never know for sure. It tainted the whole experience with negativity and fear from the very beginning so it could never be an honest one for him. To him, as soon as he accidentally smoked the "devil herb", his life was over.

It doesn't really matter what the science says if someone honestly believes the fear like that.. I wonder how many other people have had their lives altered by this deceit. That's why I feel places like the VA are so important to the community and to me. We need stories of real people living their lives freely and happily with cannabis to fight this propaganda. Charts and tests just won't convince some people the same way a smiling neighbour can.

 

[BD9]

Maybe not a lie, but not exact science either.

Here's a recent article saying that marijuana use is associated with heart attacks and stroke. I read the entire article and was almost convinced by their research until I got to a paragraph near the bottom which states;

Because the study was based on hospital discharge records, the findings may not be reflective of the general population. The study was also limited by the researchers' inability to account for quantity or frequency of marijuana use, purpose of use (recreational or medical), or delivery mechanism (smoking or ingestion).

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170309142318.htm

Marijuana use was also linked with a variety of factors known to increase cardiovascular risk, such as obesity, high blood pressure, smoking and alcohol use. After researchers adjusted the analysis to account for these factors, marijuana use was independently associated with a 26 percent increase in the risk of stroke and a 10 percent increase in the risk of developing heart failure.

 

[herbivore21]

Because the study was based on hospital discharge records, the findings may not be reflective of the general population. The study was also limited by the researchers' inability to account for quantity or frequency of marijuana use, purpose of use (recreational or medical), or delivery mechanism (smoking or ingestion).

I actually gave a detailed critique of this article in a certain other online community a while back. This is the problem that we have right now - most of the literature is pre-clinical and far from rigorous by scholarly standards. This is a prime example of this problem!

 

[Sixstringsmash]

My personal favorite is:

It made Elton John gay!

-My aunt

 

[Chicken Charlie]

Sister Mary Ignatius (Catholic school mid 60's) pontificating that marijuana was "witchcraft and sorcery"; and those who chose to imbibe would face the wrath of God and burn in eternal damnation in the bowels of hell. On another subject (masturbation) she elucidated that "pleasuring oneself" would result in the phenomena of hair appearing on the offending hand. Upon observation that there was no evidence of the afore-mentioned I risked the loss of heaven and the pains of hell and thus began a life-long foray with Satan's Lettuce; and preparation for Judgement Day.

 

[CarolKing]

This week in ridiculous cannabis quotes that ignore science is brought to you by Dr. Joe Godfrey, Executive Director of the Alabama Citizens Action Program (ALCAP). Godfrey claims to serve as “Alabama’s moral compass” and the aim of his group is to “protect…children from the dangers associated with immoral behaviors and the temptations they face in life.” Though we like the idea of protecting children Godfrey is either ignorant or disingenuous for claiming keeping cannabis illegal will make it harder for kids to try it.

Studies show legalization actually works to keep cannabis away from children. It is no accident that states that have legalized marijuana have seen child marijuana use decrease. What’s frustrating about opinions such as Dr. Godfrey’s is that they allow stigma and misinformation to proliferate.

We need legalization and we need it now. Only with legalization and regulation will children truly be protected. Give us a chance to prove that.

 

[Baron23]

This week in ridiculous cannabis quotes that ignore science is brought to you by Dr. Joe Godfrey, Executive Director of the Alabama Citizens Action Program (ALCAP). Godfrey claims to serve as “Alabama’s moral compass” and the aim of his group is to “protect…children from the dangers associated with immoral behaviors and the temptations they face in life.” Though we like the idea of protecting children Godfrey is either ignorant or disingenuous for claiming keeping cannabis illegal will make it harder for kids to try it.

Studies show legalization actually works to keep cannabis away from children. It is no accident that states that have legalized marijuana have seen child marijuana use decrease. What’s frustrating about opinions such as Dr. Godfrey’s is that they allow stigma and misinformation to proliferate.

We need legalization and we need it now. Only with legalization and regulation will children truly be protected. Give us a chance to prove that.

There is little I dislike more than people wrapping themselves in the flag of "protect the children" to justify their campaign for imposing their personal views on the rest of us.

I'm sure I will catch a lot of shit for this, but to people like this Godfrey fellow, I often want to say that the USA is not one large nursery for your spawn. Rearing YOUR child is YOUR responsibility.

Cheers