Top 10 truths about Marijuana

It’s a drug that kills you, makes you crazy, dumb and gives you all sorts of cancers are just one of the few speculations and evaluations of the herb, Marijuana. These speculations do not however, come from a detailed scientific experiment or even from anyone who confirmed such experience after the use of it; rather they can just be taken as false and filthy accusations against it which have been fueled by the government’s lust for oil, and every misinformation societies around the world have been fed about Marijuana. All in all, Marijuana up till now has only been notoriously portrayed for its abuse, addiction and connected to crime and all the people connected to it; however, the wondrous side of the herb and all the beautiful things it can and is able to do for the betterment of the environment and humans has been neglected for various known/unknown reasons, all throughout these years.

So here we have some of the top ten facts and busted-myths about the wonder-herb Marijuana.

10. Marijuana is not the Gate-way drug

Marijuana, as considered by many people is a gate-way drug to other illicit drugs. If it is, then the fact that it is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States, with over forty-two percent of American adults and teens alike having used it at least once in their lives should have turned into hardcore junkies by now. The use of Marijuana alone does not cause people to use hard drugs. However, the law regarding Marijuana does seem to some extent persuade the younger population to go for harder drugs; as every other school or employment firm has a test on Marijuana and not on other hard drugs (as they cannot really be traced), and as marijuana can be traced in a person’s urine for approx eight days or more, just due to the fear of getting caught other illicit & hard drugs are preferred. For majority of the people in the world, marijuana is rather a terminus-drug rather than one that could be a gate-way.

9.Dependence theory

According to a study conducted by the federal institute of Medicine, U.S, in 1999, less than 10 percent of those who try marijuana ever meet the clinical criteria for dependence, while 32 percent of tobacco users and 15 percent of alcohol users do. Dependency is definitely something to avoid, be it anything if not marijuana, dependency on stuffs even like cheeseburgers or the abuse of it could cause unwanted effects on a person’s health, which is something for a person’s intellect to figure out rather than having to enroll a whole new law for it. If dependency is thought to be the problem then it could make one wonder why does tobacco and alcohol still receive government subsidies.

8.. Marijuana, these days are more potent than ever

Source: Whitehouse

Let’s make this clear people, potency is a vastly overstated factor; in addition, potency does not at all relate to the risk of dependence or health impacts on the user. Although the potency has increased somewhat in the past few decades, claims about colossal increase in it are vastly overrated. It’s more like saying the pot that the current generation is smoking is no good compared to the pot their parents were smoking. What this means is potency is not related to difference in health risks and impacts whatsoever and regardless of potency THC, which is a virtually non-toxic element found in the leaves, buds and flowers of the herb Marijuana doesn’t affect healthy cells or organs and does not cause fatal overdose.

7. No Mental-illness is caused by Marijuana

Marijuana in its long history has not been shown to cause any mental illness or the least we can say would be, there hasn’t been one reported case of mental illness being caused by Marijuana in our lifetime or any other lifetime for that matter. If there had been even one, they would tell us for sure, they would boast it all over the T.V. and internet, even the smallest and tiniest of its defects as you now know that they want us to believe that it is after all a deathly drug that can kill us. However, temporary effects of Marijuana could include feelings of panic, anxiety or even paranoia, but like we said they are only temporary and related to the way the person thinks under its influence rather than being the effects of the drug in itself.

6. Marijuana doesn’t Cause Cancer, it cures it

We have heard this several times, through the FDA, T.V shows and various other media sources that Marijuana causes cancer and shouldn’t be smoked for one’s safety. Well, that is as false and irrelevant as to saying excessive drinking and driving wouldn’t kill you. Yes, various longitudinal studies have confirmed that even long-term use of the herb (via smoking) in humans is not at all associated with elevated risk of cancer. More recent studies however, showed that, moderate marijuana consumption over a 20 year period actually decreased the risk and chances of head, neck and lung cancer in users.

5. Prevailing users in the U.S. even due to stringent policies

The use rates of Marijuana in the Netherlands are a lot similar to the collected data in the United States despite of the very different policies of both the nations. As most Marijuana users might know, Netherland’s drug policy is one of the most non-punitive one in all of Europe. Over 18 Dutch citizens are permitted to buy and use marijuana and hashish in government-regulated coffee shops. This policy resulted in dramatic increase in the number of users. However, a fact that made us wonder was despite America’s stringent policies on the drug, for most age groups the rates of marijuana use in the States is somewhat similar to those in Netherlands. Although, for young adolescents the rates of users are lower than those in United States. The Dutch government remains committed to decriminalization of marijuana and occasionally revises its existing policy of marijuana use in the country.

4. A wonder-herb for various medical conditions

Marijuana has been shown to be very effective in facilitating various medical conditions. In recent studies, marijuana has even been speculated to be more effective than chemo-therapy in curing and reducing the risks of cancer. It is used for various medical reasons like reducing nausea induced by chemo-therapy, stimulating appetite in patients suffering from AIDS and has even helped people with glaucoma to reduce intraocular pressure. Marijuana is also very effective for patients suffering from neurological disorders.

3. Cognitive Impairment

Though short-term effects of smoked marijuana can cause temporary change in thoughts, perceptions and information processing; the only cognitive process affected by marijuana, even that only temporarily is the short-term memory. Users under its influence have no trouble remembering things they’ve learned previously; however they do display diminished capability to learn or recall new information. This diminishment only lasts till the duration of the intoxication and isn’t something permanent, there isn’t any evidence in history as to long term use of marijuana causing memory or cognitive impairment permanently. This diminished capacity to recall new information while intoxicated is quite fun actually if you asks its users, as it takes our attention from all the unwanted stuff in our brain and helps us focus on the here and now.

2. Traffic Accidents and Fatalities

In the history of man-kind and marijuana alike there hasn’t been even one reported death or casualty resulted under the influence of it. Compared to the handling impairment caused by even small doses of alcohol or other substances such as coffee, or many other legal medications; marijuana consumption causes very less or no car handling impairment whatsoever. In contrast to alcohol users who tend to practice risky driving, marijuana tends to make drivers more cautious and aware about their surroundings. It is only for few individuals in many that marijuana may play a bad role in their driving. The overall accidents in the highway are not even slightly affected by the widespread use of marijuana in the society.

1.   Meaningless Prosecutions

Among all the drugs, marijuana has more prosecutions executed and carried out every year in the United States, compared to any other illicit drug. The government there seems to paying a lot more attention to harmless marijuana smokers and users than other relevant issues concerning the country’s economy and other social issues. In 2009 alone, more than 800,000 people were arrested for marijuana related case, the vast majority of them being prosecuted for simple possession. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s annual and Uniform Crime Report, marijuana arrests comprise more than 52 percent of all drug arrests reported in the country. The ones charged for marijuana violations in 2009, approx 88 percent (758,593 Americans) were charged for small amount of possessions, whereas the remaining 12 percent were charged with sale or manufacture.

Final Conclusion: Marijuana, according to the government of United States is a very dangerous drug that could cause various problems for them and the users alike in the long-run. They feel that among all the other drugs and illicit products being illegally brought into and sold in the country, marijuana violations are the ones that should be looked after and paid more attention to. Marijuana was first illegalized in the 1900s saying it made people violent and made them want to kill each other (sighs…) then the law was revised again saying it made them passive and carefree about their work/life; it’s really an insignificant reason if you ask us, F.Y.I it is still unknown as to why the State of America discards the use of marijuana so much except a few speculations that have been made in the past which lack proper evidence. It’s like if you tell a lie again and again and again over a long period of time, people will eventually come to believe it as the truth, and that is pretty much what enthusiasts nowadays speculate what happened and why we are where we are as a society.