There are many false myths that loom over cannabis like a cloud ready to demonize it. Hoaxes often spread in the name of good old unfounded prohibitionism. Today we are here to clarify.
1. Marijuana burns the brain
False .
The fake news favored by prohibitionists. The backbone of the campaign against this plant. "Marijuana burns the brain", they say. On what scientific basis I wonder.
According to Igor Grant, a psychiatrist at the University of California in San Diego: "There is no proof of long-term damage in adults".
Meanwhile, more recent studies are focusing on the imaging of adolescent brain, to discover how cannabis can modify the brain activity of a nervous system still in formation. “The data collected at the moment is still extremely weak,” explains Grant.
However, recent studies done on mice highlight how small doses of THC could slow cognitive decline in the elderly. Instead, in young mice, the administration of THC impaired the ability to learning and memory .
For now, the risk we face is the chronic bronchitis. Respiratory problems are often caused by burning and mixing the herb with other substances, such as tobacco. However, damage is easily avoidable. As? Thanks to the use of a vaporizer .
Vaporization allows the simple heating of the grass without burning it as in the classic joint. Thus avoiding the carcinogenic substances produced by combustion.
2. Marijuana is a "gateway drug"
False.
Flaunted from the rooftops to intimidate and converge the masses towards prohibitionism. Saying that: "Marijuana leads to the use of hard drugs" is one totally wrong theory, indeed. It's exactly the opposite.
Cannabis, in the states where it is legal, is used to get out of addictions.
In the United States, the consumption of opiates, due to the ease with which they are prescribed, has become a real national emergency. Opioid overdose deaths have skyrocketed, peaking in about 2017 47 thousand victims.
As luck would have it, over the years, in several American states, marijuana has been legalized at least for therapeutic use. States in which, opioid deaths, are got out approximately by 35%.
Arriving like a godsend, cannabis has proven to be effective both, as valid alternative to opioids in the treatment of pain, significantly reducing consumption. Be that as it may exit substance for various addictions, including: nicotine, alcohol, cocaine and, indeed, opium derivatives.
3. Cannabis is not addictive
False.
Although many consumers like to think that cannabis cannot be addictive, unfortunately this is not the case. By smoking daily, even if in a significantly lighter way than hard drugs, marijuana creates addiction.
In support of this comes one study, conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which states that about 30% of people who take a constant and excessive use, they can develop a cannabis addiction. Moral? We always favor responsible and adult use.
4. You can die from a marijuana overdose
False.
You don't die from a marijuana overdose. Unlike many legal substances, primarily alcohol and tobacco which cause deaths far and wide, there is no lethal dose of cannabis.
This was confirmed by the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration). In 1988, after a careful analysis, the study reported that: "It is technically impossible" because a consumer would have to take approximately 680kg of marijuana in 15 minutes.
| For further information: "Dying from a marijuana overdose: the whole truth"
5. Cannabis has no medicinal value
False.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Cannabis, since ancient times, has been known for its therapeutic virtues. Even today, its increasingly widespread use in the medical field is confirmation of this. Finally, last December, after 50 years, the UN (United Nations Organization) recognized its therapeutic value. Thus removing cannabis from the list Table IV inside which the narcotic substances are inserted “particularly harmful and of extremely limited medical or therapeutic value”.
