There’s a lot of wild talk out there when it comes to growing weed. We try to debunk some of the main marijuana myths and hand you some solid facts about cannabis instead. That way, even if we don’t improve your growing accuracy, at least we’ll boost your cannabis trivia knowledge to help impress your friends at parties!
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Uncovering The Facts About Cannabis
For centuries, all information related to cannabis consumption and cultivation was shrouded in a haze of mystery by default. Legal constraints, popular myth, and the ill-conceived international war on drugs all contributed to an overall sense of obscurity and taboo on all things dank and skunky.
We see it as our responsibility to help debunk some of the greatest and most persistent myths about cannabis. You will notice that many of these myths appear to be politically motivated somehow, probably intended to scare people away from a plant that has been praised, consumed, and enjoyed for millennia.
So without further ado, here are three persistent myths about weed, along with the relevant facts about cannabis to set the record straight.
Popular Myths About Weed: Death By Weed?
For decades, since long before the arrival of the internet in fact, there have been rumours about so-called “death by weed”, suggesting that consuming cannabis can actually kill you. This is an established marijuana myth, as there have never been reports about anyone dying from weed, period. For as long as we know, the total cases of cannabis deaths per year has been zero.
Even though any substance – including water and oxygen – will become toxic and even fatal at some point depending on overall volume ingested, there is just no way anyone could smoke or munch themselves to death. The sheer amount of cannabis, THC, or any other of its constituent cannabinoids required for a fatal dose would be too enormous to consume in a single session, or even a single day. As a matter of fact, our own physiology would prevent us from ever taking and toking so much: we would pass out on the floor long before death by weed became even remotely possible.
Some claim that even if this is true (which it is), consuming cannabis could cause severe brain damage that would be severely crippling if not entirely lethal. This is yet another clear example of pervasive myths about weed. Studies have demonstrated that even though cannabis can cause short term effects on memory, attention, and emotional states, these effects have never been proven to cause permanent brain damage.
The opposite could actually be one of the most positive facts about cannabis instead: various cannabis compounds are being studied for their potential merits in treating various brain conditions, including presently incurable neuropathology such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease!
Is Weed a Gateway Drug?
Another popular myth about cannabis is closely linked to the Gateway Drug Theory, also called Stepping Stone Theory by some. This theory suggests that use of relatively harmless substances like cannabis increases the likelihood of people switching to ‘harder’ and more harmful drugs such as heroin or amphetamines, for instance.
Multiple studies have demonstrated that this hypothesis is incorrect. Even if certain statistics show correlations between use of cannabis and use of other (illegal) substances, the theory is overly simplistic and ignores various social, biological, and political mechanisms at work.
Just like other myths about weed, including the lazy stoner stereotype discussed below, the Gateway Drug Theory should be consigned to a history marked by the unfounded persecution of people enjoying the recreational and medicinal potential of a plant that has been with us for ages – and which is likely to outlast our species with casual ease.
The gateway drug model could still apply to other substances, even if it is merely a myth when it comes to cannabis. The recent opioid crisis, for instance, has given rise to speculation that synthetic (prescription drug) opiates like fentanyl could act as a gateway towards abuse of other opiates such as heroin. Interestingly, medicinal cannabis has been suggested as an alternative for the abundance of opiates prescribed by doctors today.
So in addition to the fact that cannabis addiction is a hotly contended topic to say the least, weed could even help stop addiction epidemics that cost many thousands of lives every year.
So is weed a gateway drug? Science says it isn’t, and the opposite may in fact be closer to the truth. Perhaps it is time we added some new cannabis facts to replace some old myths about weed: marijuana could actually be a gateway towards safe and natural pain relief, instead of the stepping stone conservative pundits have long claimed it to be…
Facts And Myths About Weed: The Lazy Stoner Stereotype
Of the many myths about weed, few have been so prominently highlighted in popular culture as the lazy stoner stereotype. Media caricatures of cannabis consumers generally portray some sort of scruffy, lazy numbskull interested only in cartoons and the inside of the fridge. If you feel the whole thing once more smacks of propaganda in the war on drugs, that’s because you’re right – in part at least.
We will be the first to admit that cannabis ingredients such as THC can make anyone feel relaxed to the point of lethargy, especially the type of heavy bodybuzz associated with strong indica weed strains. This is hardly the whole story, however: there are many types of cannabis that produce entirely different effects.
Various sativa-heavy strains are bred, grown, and consumed specifically for the energizing, uplifting highs they produce. If you want an example, try one of our refreshing hazy sativa strains such as Lemon Haze seeds.
The type of high that debunks the lazy stoner stereotype is often fuelled not just by cannabinoids like THC or CBD, but by a whole auxiliary army of terpenes and other organic compounds such as flavonoids. Linalool, for instance, is just one example of an uplifting terpene, which is also found in lavender. Caryophyllene is another fine example, and the list goes on with over 100 different terpenes currently identified in weed strains.
The complex biochemical interplay that causes your high is a nuanced and delicate affair that involves dozens of different substances. Did you know, for instance, that cannabinoids can mutually influence, boost, or dampen each other’s mental and physical effects? Terpenes and flavonoids have the same ability, commonly known as the entourage effect.
Today’s cannabis market offers such a staggering variety of strains that the old and speculative lazy stoner stereotype is definitely headed for the scrapyard. We have plenty of uplifting, mood-improving, creativity-inspiring and fatigue-busting strains to prove our point – and that’s a well-established cannabis fact that nobody can deny!
