Cannabis Problems

Because the government has always been so vocally against cannabis seeds and growing marijuana, many myths and legends surrounding the drug to make it look more dangerous. Here are some of the most memorable myths related to marijuana:

Marijuana is a gateway drug

What we have here is a lazy interpretation of statistics. This misnomer is based on the fact that cannabis is the illicit drug most popular around, and as people who have used less popular, harder drugs are likely to have tried marijuana as well.

If you still doubt it, consider this: since cannabis was partially legalized in Holland in the 1970s, the use of heroin and cocaine have decreased considerably. If cannabis was a gateway drug, then the legalization of it would cause an increase in these hard drugs, not a drop!

Cannabis is a drug more dangerous than tobacco

While it is true that smoking cannabis contains about the same amount of carcinogens as a similar quantity of tobacco smoked, a comparison is pointless because of the relative use. Even if a smoker can easily work their way through 10-20 cigarettes a day (and often much more), it is very rare to find someone who smokes marijuana in a quantity that same approach.

A UCLA study in 1997 supports this further and says that even prolonged use of marijuana does not cause serious lung damage. The meat, salt and milk products have a higher risk of cancer than the wives humble, and those still anxious to remember that all cancers and respiratory risks can be avoided through the use of cannabis in cakes !

Cannabis contains more than 400 chemicals, which proves that it is dangerous

This is a half truth - yes, that cannabis can contain many chemicals, but this is a very frightening number. Not all chemicals are deadly, and put it in perspective coffee contains 1500 chemicals, while the rat poison contains only 30. The message from this? The number of chemicals in a product is unrelated to how it is dangerous!

The slang term "420" is police code

This is simply untrue. 420 (pronounced "Twenty-Four") is not police radio code for anything, and is not related to the criminal code. It is not because of Hitler's birthday (April 4), the date of the Columbine school shooting (which was old terminology before that date) or the number of active chemicals in marijuana. The term actually comes from San Rafael High School in the 1970s, when some students found themselves at 4:20 pm after class. The code was developed in order to talk openly about their plans without alerting their parents for drug use!

Today, the code is so well known that this does not work as a strategy. Some people use the term "420 friendly" to show their acceptance of marijuana use, and April 20 became the Pot Smoking Day in honor of the students - who are now in their 50s.

Brain Damage Cannabis / reproductive system / immune system

All these claims have been made to cannabis on the back of a science rather fragile. Let's tackle these one by one:

• The accusation of the brain damage was the result of an experiment by Dr. Robert Heath from late 1970. It claims to show brain damage in rhesus monkeys as a consequence of marijuana. However, it was reviewed by a committee of eminent scientists in 1982 and has been found that significant weaknesses: the sample was too small (only four monkeys), he has no control bias and experimental critical identifies incorrect structure normal monkey brain damaged! Subsequent studies have shown no signs of brain damage.

• The assertion that damages marijuana reproductive system is low.