Photo credit: Deviant Art
Myths about weed have run rampant since the days of reefer madness. Fortunately, times are changing and our acceptance of marijuana has paved the way for a better understanding of how it affects us.
Myths about weed have run rampant since the days of reefer madness. Fortunately, times are changing and our acceptance of marijuana has paved the way for a better understanding of how it affects us.
Recently, Dr. Kevin Hill author of “Marijuana: The Unbiased Truth about the World’s Most Popular Weed”, and addiction psychiatrist at the McLean Hospital held an “Ask Me Anything” forum on Reddit. Dr. Hill opened the forum to users who were curious about weed myths. Here are some of the abbreviated highlights from the forum.
A. Major negative effects of long-term use include cognitive difficulties, worsening anxiety, worsening depression, and increased likelihood of expressing a psychotic disorder (not causing one). But we need more long-term studies, and the NIH is planning these studies as we chat today.
A. Yes, deaths may result indirectly from marijuana use – someone may use poor judgment or get in a car accident in part due to their use. These indirect deaths would be hard to measure, though. Just because someone has THC in their system does not mean that THC causes an event to occur.
A. It would be difficult to do these studies for ethical reasons, but I think most agree that exposing the fetus to marijuana is a bad thing. There is some animal research showing that prenatal exposure to THC affects brain development.
Related: Cannabis and Pregnancy
A. I think there is strong evidence supporting the use of mj or cannabinoids for chronic pain, neuropathic pain, and spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis. Early clinical trials of cannabidiol (one of the cannabinoids) for epilepsy are very positive. We need to do more studies of marijuana and cannabinoids as treatments for various medical problems.
A. In the US, when people say “gateway”, they imply a causal relationship. If you use marijuana, you will automatically move on to become addicted to other drugs later. I don’t think of it that way. People who have addiction problems at 25 or 45 often describe initial use of marijuana or alcohol or nicotine at an early age. I think, then, that early use of any of these substances increases the likelihood of future addiction.
A. I don’t think marijuana should be schedule 1. Schedule 1 means 1) addictive– yes it is addictive for some people and 2) no medical value. I don’t think you can say at this point that marijuana does not have medical value.
A. Only about 6% of those seeking treatment for addictions say that mj addiction is their main problem.
Hopefully this AMA with Dr. Hill gave you some more info on popular weed myths. He answers many more questions here.
What do you think about Dr. Hill’s answers? Let us know on social media.
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