Due to years of misinformation being passed on by our trustworthy government as well as urban legends conjured up during good times, marijuana has developed its very own cloud of mystery. These days, it is hard to distinguish fact from fiction when it comes to the sweet leaf.
These are a few of my favorite myths I have heard over the years. Be warned that I am not a scientist and I am far too lazy to do any actual research. Simply put, these are things that I have heard and what I actually think of them.
Myth #1: Marijuana Makes You Lazy and Unmotivated
"Go ahead food baby, you can watch whatever. It's nappy time"
This is one that has been pounded into my head ever since my first D.A.R.E session in elementary school. We have all seen the typical stoner pictured as a shaggy dude in tattered clothing who is destined for a future flipping burgers. I actually bought into this one for a while until I started to hear about very successful people who were also stoners. Willie Nelson, Ted Turner, Carl Sagan, Montel Williams, Snoop Dogg, and Richard Branson are just a few people who are highly motivated and successful people while being high. The way I see it, being lazy and unmotivated is a personal problem. It is easy to blame marijuana for these things as one does like to chill when stoned, but it is not the reason you just watched three hours of Rosanne because you couldn’t reach the remote.
Myth #2: Marijuana Causes Brain Damage
Pot doesn't do THIS to people...
We have all heard of the dangers of short term memory loss as well as brain cells dying due to marijuana use. The little research I have done on this subject has told me that there is no conclusive proof of this and the spreading of this lie was all part of the government propaganda machine. Based on personal experience I have to say this is an outright lie. While I can’t be 100 percent sure, I don’t think my 15 years of smoking has affected my brain at all. I guess the only way to be sure is to find a time machine and go back and stop past me from taking that first hit and see what path it leads me on. On second thought, maybe marijuana does affect the brain.
Myth #3: Marijuana Will Make You Go Blind
Two hairy palms coming up!
I remember being told at a young age that smoking the devils weed would make me go blind and possibly make me grow hair on my palms. Even though I thought it sounded a bit far- fetched at the time, there was no way I was going to risk being a blind hairy palmed freak. That would totally ruin my high school life I imagined while watching Saved By The Bell. Kelly Kapowski. Reading this back I think I might be a little confused as to what people told me when I was young.
Myth #4: Marijuana Now Is Much Stronger
Now I have actually researched this because I read some articles that claimed this was all false due to low grade marijuana being stored for too long causing the quality to deteriorate. I trust the science, but I have to go with personal experience here. I live in Heidelberg Germany so I do get prime Amsterdam weed from time to time. Each year there is always a buzz about the cup winner and how it is the ultimate one hitter quitter, but there is always something better coming out the next year. Having smoked some of this stuff, I have to say that weed is stronger these days. I can remember the stuff I was smoking as a teenager and it was nowhere as strong as the stuff I burn now. This will have to be one of those times I turn my back on science.
Myth #5: Dealers Everywhere Put Additives in The Weed
Hippies don't make good scientists.
This is a scary myth that is unfortunately somewhat true. Here in Germany we recently had a big scandal with people putting lead shaving in the weed to up the weight. This is highly unprofessional and very dangerous. I like to think that the toking community is one big hippy family, but the truth is most are in it purely for the money. In order to avoid being affected by this, please only buy from people you know and trust.
Tags: cannabis, facts, hemp, humor, law, marijuana, myths, Reviews
Bob Overstreet
Howdy
I’d like to comment on myth #2 first, it it were true I should be completely brain dead after 40 years of tokin’ but I’m not! Another myth that I still hear today is how weed is so much worse than cigarettes, that one joint is like smoking 20 cigarettes, if that was the case I should have died from cancer a year or so after I started because I also smoked cigarettes for 20 years but finally kicked that nasty habit. I try to smoke 5-10 joints a day depending on quality & plan on tokin’ till the day I die! I think being locked up for doing something as harmless as getting stoned is way more harmful than the drug will ever be. Viva la Cannabis!!
Clayton
We couldn’t agree more!