Marijuana: Myths, Facts, and Questions -

Marijuana is probably one of the most controversial topics discussed on BasilMarket, so I've taken the liberty of putting together a little blog to address some of the debate surrounding it. I will attempt to be as unbiased as possible, and I will cite non-Wikipedia sources as much as I can. Hopefully this will put an end to some of the more fruitless debates.

Popular Misconceptions

Marijuana causes brain damage
For a time, it was believed that marijuana damaged the brain based on postmortem examinations of two rhesus monkeys (and later, rodents) that were exposed to THC during laboratory tests. However, the doses administered were up to 200 times greater than the dose that is psychoactive in humans. In a more recent study however, rhesus monkeys were subjected to inhalation of THC that was equivalent to smoking four to five joints per day for one year and presented no evidence of brain damage upon postmortem examination. This indicates that although marijuana does alter the functioning of the brain temporarily, there is no evidence of brain damage. (Source: )

Marijuana is addictive
Firstly, it is important for me to note that calling something "addictive" is a subjective term. MapleStory and potato chips are considered to be "addictive" by many, but I'll explain. Marijuana is generally considered to be something that is only addictive in a psychological sense, meaning that there is no dependency that can be developed, and no withdrawal symptoms for most users (however, there may be some research that suggests chronic users [no pun intended] experience very mild withdrawal symptoms upon ceasing their intake).

For a bit of a point of reference, take a gander at this chart that depicts the Addictive Qualities of Popular Drugs (thanks SyKo).

Marijuana is a "Gateway Drug" and users will inevitably turn to harder drugs to seek stronger highs
The Gateway Drug theory, as it's known, is an old one (it's about 50 years old now). The basis of this claim is that those who are addicted to hard drugs such as heroin and methamphetamine reported that they first started experimenting with marijuana before moving on to other things. In many cases, this is merely an issue of availability and circumstance. Marijuana is abundant and readily available to almost anyone over the age of 12 in the United States. It's no surprise that most people who grow up to become addicts encounter marijuana first. Some people DO begin to consider and experiment with other drugs after using marijuana, but no drive other than their own curiosity is to blame for this.

It is possible to overdose on marijuana
Actually, it IS technically possible (as it is also possible to overdose on water). To achieve this, you would need to consume untold amounts of marijuana, which is for all intents and purposes, impossible. The LD50 of THC (LD50 is the dose that killed at least 50% of rats in laboratory tests) is 1270 mg/kg (male rats), 730 mg/kg (female rats) oral in sesame oil, and 42 mg/kg (rats) from inhalation. To put that into perspective, a "hit" from a pipe is about 1/20 of a gram.

Marijuana is natural, and is therefore completely safe to consume
I put this here because I loathe this argument. I hear it a lot from pro-marijuana advocates, and it's pure idiocy. My counterpoint? Cyanide also occurs naturally.

Debatable Claims

Smoking marijuana causes lung cancer
The reason I listed this as being debatable is because there are studies for and against it. Right off the bat however, I should note that marijuana smoke DOES contain more than THC. It does in fact contain carcinogens, but it has not been definitively linked to cancer causation. There was a new one that just came out of New Zealand in 2008 saying that cannabis smokers have a risk of getting lung cancer that is 5.7 greater than that of non-smokers (Source: ). However, other research done by institutes such as UCLA has found no correlation between cannabis use and lung cancer (Source: ). The Research Triangle Institute in California conducted a study that concluded that THC may actually help to cleanse the lungs and reduce the instance of tumors in the lungs (Source: ).

"1 joint is as bad as X cigarettes"
I hear this factoid all the time, and the numbers are always different. I should first point out that this claim is often misleading, since marijuana smokers aren't smoking 20-60 joints a day, as some smokers would cigarettes. I'd also venture to inquire what exactly the proponents of this fact mean by "worse". Marijuana produces tar of course, but so does ANY kind of material that is burned. Regardless, I have some studies that may shed some light on these claims. You can draw your own conclusions from them:

Marijuana v. Tobacco: Smoke Compositions
Marijuana v. Tobacco: Cancer-causing Agents

Questions and Curiosities

Is it possible to use marijuana without harming the lungs?
Yes. There are two methods, really. The first is vaporization, which works by heating (but not burning) the material so that only the THC is turned into a vapor. This method is quite popular among older medical marijuana patients, or people that have trouble eating. The second way is in fact, eating. Cannabis can be cooked into a wide variety of foods, and a bit of good chef work can actually ensure that just the THC is captured within the food, and not all of the leafy material.

Can marijuana be used responsibly? Will it make my performance as a student/worker suffer?
That's all up to you. Some people can play video games responsibly, and others get hooked on MMOs and stay inside all day grinding. Some people let it take over their lives, and of course there are consequences for those actions. Sometimes they're quite large. I believe that it certainly has the potential to be used responsibly, but it has an equal potential to be misused. Stereotypes are built from the observations of those who have misused it, and people always have stories of how someone close to them got into pot and suffered as a result. Really, it's not the marijuana that's making that person suffer, it's their own willingness to sacrifice certain things in favor of getting high. If you've got an addictive personality, it's like playing with fire.

EenRite Disclaimer: I am in no way advocating the use of marijuana in areas where it is against the law or otherwise. Furthermore, I am not advocating its use to minors or those that feel the need to self-medicate. In this informational guide I've shown that cannabis is not entirely safe, and should not be interpreted as something that is. This was written for educational purposes only.