The Truth About Marijuana
Myth #1: Marijuana use has been scientifically proven to be really harmful.
Fact #1 In 1972, after reviewing the scientific evidence, the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse concluded that while marijuana is not entirely safe, its dangers had been grossly overstated. But in 1999, based on thirty years of scientific research, editors of the British journal Lancet (the British equivalent of New England Journal of Medicine) concluded that the smoking of cannabis, even long term, is not harmful to health besides the effect of smoke in the lungs.
Myth #2: Marijuana has no medicinal value.
Fact #2 Marijuana has been shown to be effective in reducing nausea induced by cancer chemotherapy, stimulating appetite in AIDS patients, and reducing intraocular pressure in people with glaucoma.
Myth #3: Marijuana is highly addictive.
Fact #3 Most people who smoke marijuana smoke it only occasionally. A small minority of Americans --less than one percent - smoke marijuana on a daily or near-daily basis.Marijuana is not physically addictive.
Myth #4: Marijuana leads to harder drugs.
Fact #4: There is no proof of this claim. While some hard drug users also smoke marijuana, there is no proof that marijuana usage is followed by increased drug usage. This all falls on the person, not marijuana.
Myth #5: Marijuana impairs memory and cognition.
Fact #5 Marijuana produces immediate, temporary changes in thoughts, perceptions, and information processing. The cognitive process most clearly affected by marijuana is short-term memory. In laboratory studies, subjects under the influence of marijuana have no trouble remembering things they learned previously. However, they display diminished capacity to learn and recall new information. This diminishment only lasts for the duration of intoxication.
Myth #6: Marijuana causes crime. Under the influence of marijuana, people become irrational, aggressive, and violent.
Fact #6 Every serious scholar and government commission examining the relationship between marijuana use and crime has reached the same conclusion: Marijuana does not cause crime. The vast majority of marijuana users do not commit crimes. Almost all human and animal studies show that marijuana decreases aggression.
Myth #7: Marijuana can cause infertility and retards sexual development in adolescents.
Fact #7 There is NO evidence that marijuana causes infertility in men or women. Most studies of humans have found that marijuana has no impact on sex hormones. In those studies showing an impact, it is modest, temporary, and of no apparent consequence for reproduction.
Myth #8: Marijuana is more damaging to the lungs than tobacco.
Fact #8 Moderate smoking of marijuana appears to pose minimal danger to the lungs.
Myth #9: Marijuana use is a major cause of highway accidents.
Fact#9 There is no compelling evidence that marijuana contributes substantially to traffic accidents and fatalities. In driving studies, marijuana produces little or no car-handling impairment - consistently less than that produced by low to moderate doses of alcohol and many legal medications.
Myth #10: You can overdose on marijuana .
Fact #10 There is no lethal dose of marijuana. You cannot die from smoking to much.Unlike other drugs.
