10 false myths surrounding cannabis!

There are a lot of myths, both urban and otherwise, surrounding cannabis, and not all of them paint a rosy picture.

This is a shame, as this is not the 1950s and, frankly, so many of these myths are just a rehash, pun intended, of myths that go back years, comments made about cannabis that weren’t true then and which still aren’t true today.

Before commencing this list we’d like to mention our second channel – History HQ- if you enjoy our content and have an interest in history, make sure to check that out. We’ll leave a link in the description below!

The first myth is that cannabis use leads to an increase in crime. Our response to this is a word associated with what comes out of a bull’s backside.

If you want to criminalise cannabis use and then use cannabis statistics to say crime has increased, you might as well criminalise milk and then say milk use leads to an increase in crime.
There is no evidence correlating cannabis use with an increase in crime, though we will not deny that many criminals use cannabis.

However, there is a big difference between causation and correlation.

By the way, what are the figures relating to alcohol use and crime?

Funny how that doesn’t seem like such a hot topic.

Second, cannabis is a gateway drug.

Here we refer you to two oval objects that hang down between a bull’s hind legs to convey our sentiments.

There is zero evidence that smoking cannabis directly leads to taking heroin or crack cocaine, but more a case that cannabis is often the first drug encountered by those with a propensity to drug abuse.

Third, cannabis is an addictive drug.

It’s not, but even if it was, why is nicotine legal, when that is even more addictive, and nobody’s going to say that smoking’s good for you!

The chemicals in cannabis bear no resemblance to those in nicotine, cocaine or heroin that trigger devastating addiction invariably through the onset of chronic withdrawal symptoms.
Fourth, cannabis isn’t addictive at all.

We are all for the truth and not creating a list of myths that conveniently omit negative aspects of cannabis.

While it is not chronically addictive and generally doesn’t trigger horrendous withdrawal symptoms, it has been shown that for some, cannabis is addictive, though one is left questioning if the addiction is psychological or physiological in nature.

By that, we mean, is it the mind or the body that develops an addiction.

Fifth, you can overdose on cannabis.

Now where’s that bull?

Unlike heroin and cocaine, there are no recorded incidents of someone overdosing and dying as a direct result of smoking cannabis, end of story!

Sixth, cannabis smokers are a bunch of lazy layabouts.

Hmmm. We are not a great fan of stereotypes, especially when they are wrong.

Sure, some people just want to curl up and go to sleep after a good smoke, but they probably do the same after a good drink.
Plenty of people use cannabis to help them fully relax, after which they feel refreshed and full of energy.

Certain strains of cannabis have been shown to increase creativity – it’s more a case of horses for courses.

Seventh, Sativa and Indica strains produce very different types of cannabis.
Curiously, it was growers who, accidentally, gave life to this myth.

In truth, two identical plants grown under different conditions can produce two batches of cannabis which have different effects.

So, more accurately, it isn’t the strain that matters, and in a bid to move away from this dichotomy, growers are now beginning to refer to chemovars, meaning chemical variety, which is what really influences the cannabis produced.

Eighth, we have the supposed fact that there isn’t such a thing as a cannabis hangover.

If you smoke heavily at night, chances are you’ll wake up with bloodshot eyes and brain fog.
If there is a difference, it would seem that the amount of alcohol you have to consume to get roughly the same effect as a cannabis high is likely to leave you with a hangover, while to get high smoking cannabis, but then stopping, will more likely see you wake up feeling bright-eyed and bushy tailed.

Nine, you don’t get withdrawal symptoms after regular cannabis use.
Actually, you do, only the symptoms tend to be relatively mild and are not of a severity where you crave a hit to get rid of the symptoms.

Think ‘uncomfortable and restless’ as opposed to ‘distressed and going out of your mind’.
Lastly, the longer you hold your breath when taking a hit, the bigger the high.
Bunkum, balderdash and twaddle, to use three rarely used expostulations these days.
You want a great high, smoke a lot of cannabis -THC enters your lungs almost immediately the moment you inhale, and after that, there’s none left to be absorbed.

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