Marijuana Myth Busting – fact check on cannabis myths and urban legends

https://www.forbes.com/sites/

traversmark/2022/11/05/a-psychologist-busts-3-common-myths-about-recreational-marijuana/

I don’t know about you, but I despise the concept of “fact checkers”. I have no problem with people providing accurate facts about a particular story – but the way “fact-checkers” have worked over the past few years has been highly subjective. You’d think “fact-checkers” would be entirely objective in their analysis – yet the “fact-checkers” have been chronically wrong about a lot of things about Covid, about what politicians said, or anything that deviated by even a few degrees from “officials Narrative”.

Which gives the impression that fact-checkers are just an extension of the establishment designed to challenge any opposing view by claiming it is “wrong” – for example the lab leak theory. For two years you were told you were a racist conspiracy trans hater and Trump supporter when you suggested that “the virus may have escaped from the lab that was specifically working on the virus that we’ve all been exposed to for the past two years.” have endured. It was ridiculous, “anti-scientific,” to question that it jumped from a bat or a pygmy or any animal to humans.

Fast forward two years and the Senate issues a report claiming that a lab leak is the most likely cause of the pandemic. Sure, it’s a “GOP-led committee,” but the evidence in the report is the same evidence that has been proposed countless times by other world experts.

The point I’m trying to make here is that since they obviously have a bias, we can’t think of fact-checkers as fact-checkers – but as propagandists using double-talk to give the impression that what they’re saying actually based on facts.

The reason I bring all of this up is because the “facts” have been misinterpreted for decades when it comes to cannabis. And today I decided to play the role of a fact checker myself (I prefer myth busters instead), analyzing and interpreting the findings of a psychologist who “destroys the myths of weed”.

So let’s take a closer look at what the psychologist has to say.

After the article,

The science is conclusive: THC levels in marijuana are increasing. A recent study published in The Lancet found that this increase in potency comes with a number of serious mental health risks for marijuana users.

The study found that high-potency cannabis use was associated with a four-fold increase in the likelihood of addiction compared to low-potency cannabis use. The research is consistent with the real trend in cannabis addiction treatment, which has seen a 76% increase over the past decade. The CDC estimates that approximately 30% of all marijuana users in the US meet criteria for a cannabis use disorder.
SOURCE: FORBES

The truth of the matter is that no one has ever claimed this to be true. Most cannabis advocates claim, “Cannabis is this least dangerous of the recreational drugs out there. The people who claim cannabis has no inherent “risks” are either ignorant or willfully misleading.

There really isn’t anything on this planet that doesn’t have some “cost” associated with it. However, there are certain things that are “less risky” than others. For example, it’s a well-known fact that cannabis poses “fewer risks” than alcohol. Statistics support this notion, as does looking at the LD-50 of any substance.

Likewise, drinking 1 beer versus drinking 1 shot of whiskey has different risk profiles. For example, 3 beers might not get you as drunk as 3 shots of tequila.

Problems with potency are then a matter of education and not of their inherent risk. Personally, I have used highly potent cannabis on several occasions just so that nothing unpleasant happened to me. Maybe it’s because I’ve used it in moderation, maybe because I understand my tolerance level. In fact, I’m sure if you look at the LANCET study and the filtered age groups, you’ll see that most of the people experiencing side effects from potent cannabis are under the age of 25.

That’s not to say there isn’t evidence that high potency cannabis can induce mental health problems in large quantities. Additionally, regarding what the CDC considers a “cannabis use disorder” is kind of a joke. It’s metrics created by people who don’t smoke that have put cannabis in the same risk category as heroin for the longest time… it only took over 50 years to change that… oh wait, cannabis is still technically considered risky classified as “heroin”. and by definition, if those are the drug categorizations, how are we supposed to take anything seriously from an agency that obviously doesn’t follow science when it comes to classifying these drugs?

Whether you want to pledge responsibility to the DEA or not, the truth is we can’t take any of these “studies” seriously until the federal government gets their shit together.

Marijuana is touted by some as a magical herb that will relieve your anxiety and improve your quality of life. However, science says the reality is more nuanced.

A study published in the Journal of Translational Medicine found that CBD may be helpful in treating symptoms of anxiety, but THC is not. In fact, THC has anxiety-inducing properties.

If you are a recreational user, chances are your marijuana strain has a high THC to CBD ratio. Of the two cannabinoids, THC is what creates the “high” people enjoy.

Be a discerning cannabis user: understand the difference between THC-dominant and CBD-dominant strains. Talk to a mental health professional if you feel your marijuana use is increasing your anxiety in your daily life.
SOURCE: FORBES

Marijuana isn’t “advertised,” it’s reported by people suffering from anxiety disorders. However, these anecdotal reports are given little attention, and when they then create arbitrary rules for the substance in question that do not reproduce similar results, they claim it is wrong.

The truth is that THC can induce more anxiety when taken in large amounts. However, in the right combination, the effects of euphoria can also help relieve symptoms of anxiety. That’s the nature of fear.

When someone is anxious, they are typically worried about “something.” Technically, the euphoric effects of THC can serve to distance oneself from the source of anxiety for a short period of time, which would effectively alleviate feelings of anxiety.

Of course, it would take some creative thinking skills to actually formulate the problem that way – but it seems these academics aren’t very creative.

Pop culture is rife with anecdotal evidence that marijuana makes you a better writer, musician, or artist. Let’s examine this claim through a scientific lens.

A recent study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that while drug users think they are more creative while under the influence, it did not affect the creativity actually displayed.

This is explained by the finding that those under the influence reported feeling happier and consequently had a lower bar for what they considered to be a creative idea. Although the researchers predicted that cheerfulness would lead to higher levels of creativity in those affected, they could not find any objective evidence to support this.

Again, the conclusion is wrong. There are different types of creative processes, and these researchers’ claim that “cannabis does not affect whether someone is more creative” as a result of cannabis, based on their arbitrary definitions of creativity — is incorrect.

For example, one way these researchers measure creativity is to ask a question like, “Think of 50 uses for a pencil that aren’t for writing or drawing.” This definitely requires a certain amount of creativity – but still with logical thinking.

Compare this to writing a song by having a specific beam of light hit your eye through the window. Completely different process.

As a creative person, I can definitely tell you that cannabis helps with creativity. It doesn’t make you more creative, but it does help silence the criticism, self-doubt, and fear of trying, and allows you to connect with the “feeling” in your heart about what you’re doing associate.

If you are painting, writing songs, writing music, writing a book, acting etc. – it can help. When used to find different uses of boring ass shit…you’ll ask, “Why?”

CONCLUSION

I think it’s high time we required some of the scientists to be cannabis users when making claims about cannabis. Experiencing a drug is very different than researching a drug without first-hand experience.

I’m not saying that everything the psychologist said was wrong, but it was very biased. Therefore, these myths are busted!

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