Exposing Marijuana's Myths

2 Pages 461 Words

Review of Exposing Marijuana’s Myths


This article demonstrates how the illegality of marijuana is controlled politically as opposed to scientifically. Anti-marijuana reformists use inaccurate facts in an effort to relegate marijuana laws. For this particular report, several aspects of smoking marijuana are tested and confirmed. Its effects on the brain, lungs, immune, and reproductive systems, its impact on personality, development and motivational states, and its addictive potential are some of which are tested.
The hypothesis is tested in various ways and unveils the inadequate theories resulting from ‘controlled groups’ of ‘marijuana users’. The supporting facts in the article are substantially based on field studies as opposed to controlled groups. These field studies are done in areas such as Greece, Costa Rica, and Jamaica where marijuana use is evaluated in a natural environment.
Several of these myths were disproved simply by comparing governmental studies of the general population. Then, separate studies done by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) confirmed the allegations. The findings profoundly contradicted the beliefs of marijuana prohibitionists. These studies clearly showed that: 1. not only is marijuana use NOT increasing, but use has gone down 18% since 1979. 2. The potency of marijuana has stayed primarily the same since 1981, contradicting the claim that potency has increased 30 fold! 3. It is an irrefutable fact that marijuana is used legally or illegally to effectively treat terminal illness pain and discomfort. 4. There have been no clinical or epidemiological studies showing increases in infections due to marijuana use. A study done by UCLA shows that cigarettes are just as harmful (if not more) as smoking marijuana. It is also proven that marijuana is not a ‘gateway to other drugs’. Facts prove that students that used marijuana are less likely to try other drugs at all. Howe...