Marijuana has been demonized within society for as long as i can remember and well before i was born, its given an incredibly unfair wrap in politics, mainstream media and just about any source of information or government related affiliation.
People have been brainwashed over the years to believe weed=bad, but does it? of course not, and finally the mainstream is starting to wake up to that. Places like Colorado are finally legalizing it not only for medical use, but for recreational use too and so far they have seen very little, if any, bad side effects. In fact it is having far more positive effects than negative, raking in hundreds of millions in taxes (though this may seem bad to some) and significantly reducing drug related crime (probably because people aren't being arrested for having a couple buds on them).
Marijuana Myths
There are plenty of ludicrous beliefs circulating about weed, most are so far from the truth its laughable and yet we still see, mostly the older generation and the highly susceptible to bullshit, continuing the circle of lies.
Marijuana kills brain cells
There is no reliable evidence to date to say marijuana kills brain cells, a study from the University of Louisville has confirmed it along with plenty of other studies. In fact there is some evidence that marijuana can help to promote the health of healthy brain cells but this is far from proven as yet.
Marijuana isn't addictive
This one is a little subjective, Marijuana isn't physically addictive like say heroin. It can be psychologically addictive though and this can manifest into physical symptoms. As someone who personally smoked a massive amount of weed a week i can easily say i was reliant on it but definitely not in the same manner as a heroin junkie or an alcoholic.
Most marijuana users are potheads
Pretty far from true, only around 20% of people surveyed smoke marijuana on a consistent(daily) basis, most recreational smokers will toke a couple times a week.
Marijuana is a gateway drug
There is no evidence to suggest marijuana use is linked to use of harder drugs, the problem is most people who are open to trying new things will start with weed and then try other harder substances but that can't be blamed on weed. It is more just the fact risk-taking people are more likely to get high(even though there's 0 risk involved in that)
Why do people hate weed?
As i said above most people are just misinformed when it comes to the magnificent plant that is cannabis. While some people believe it has a negative impact on society those same people won't demonize alcohol use.
A lot of the arguments against marijuana are things like " I don't want potheads on the roads high as a kite" but we don't seem to have a problem with alcohol use and we entrust drinkers not to drink and drive, proven time and time again to be a foolish place to put our trust, but i digress.
The legalization of marijuana would have a dramatic impact on crime reduction and taking money from the pockets of far harder criminals. There is evidence to suggest some Mexican drug cartels rely on weed alone for 50% of their profits and we all know how f***ed up the cartels are. Anything to take money from their pockets is a win to me.
Medical uses
The jury is still out in some aspects of this but there is clear evidence it does have certain useful medical properties.
Marijuana can be used to reduce stress, induce eating and to help fight chronic pain. A far safer and far better alternative to addictive opiods for pain relief it has been proven time and time again to work in reducing pain in long time sufferers. While many people believe ridiculous things about its medical properties there are plenty of real-world proven uses for it in medicine.
Cannabis oil (which contains none of the psychoactive properties of the plant) can be used to treat epilepsy and a range of other seizure inducing conditions. While there is no recreational use for it, it is still illegal in most places for medical use and some people are having their children taken away or being arrested for using it to try and treat their sick kids.
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Long term effects of marijuana
Whilst there are few notable studies on the long term effects of marijuana there is very little evidence it can be harmful. Of course smoking anything can cause damage to your lungs but there is a huge difference in the damage caused from smoking cigarettes to smoking weed, yet we still allow people to buy cigarettes.
There is rumor that marijuana can cause psychotic episodes or result in schizophrenia but there is also plenty of evidence to say that these things are far more likely in people already predisposed to the conditions so we can hardly blame marijuana for it.
Lots of myths circulate about long term damage that cannabis can cause but mostly it is nothing more than propaganda, for example i keep seeing things about how weed can damage your sperm or cause a decline in sex drive, however the only evidence of this is a temporary deforming of the sperm which return to normal soon after someone has stopped smoking.
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The logic (or lack thereof) of prohibition.
There is very little to suggest prohibition works to begin with let alone when we consider the fact many other harmful substances are not only legal but government endorsed. Smoking, drinking, fast food etc etc are all incredibly detrimental to our health and yet we still allow them with essentially no regulation (especially fast food). Yet when it comes to a substance that is responsible for a grand total of 0 deaths worldwide we couldn't possibly allow it to be a free choice for people to make could we?
People die every weekend from drinking, people die everyday from smoking related diseases, and people die everyday from bad food choice related diseases, yet marijuana is looked at so harshly and with almost no logical reasoning.
People need to stop and think, think for themselves and really take a look at the evidence that is around.
I'm not naive, i don't believe weed is some wonder substance that can cure anything from AIDS to herpes, i don't believe there shouldn't be regulation of the industry, but i do believe we should all have the freedom of choice, especially when its something as harmless as cannabis. It's incredibly hypocritical to allow our dangerous drinking culture to continue whilst demonizing something that has so many useful properties. I didn't even touch on things like hemp but i don't want to ramble on too long.
I just think we all need to take a step back and look at things objectively, especially the government. I'm a reformed weed smoker so the legalization of marijuana will have no benefit to me, i just know that it poses no threat to society and should be freely available for those who want it.
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