There are many assumptions about marijuana and how it can affect people. Many people believe that the consumption of the drug can lead a person to permanent mental illness, that weed is worse on the lungs than tobacco, that the substance is a gate way drug, or that the drug is highly addictive.
Most people who smoke marijuana smoke it only occasionally. A small minority of Americans, less than 1 percent, smoke cannabis on a daily basis. An even smaller minority develop a dependence on marijuana. Some people who smoke marijuana heavily and frequently stop without difficulty. A moderate smoker of marijuana shows to have less damaging lungs than a tobacco user would. Tobacco and marijuana are similar in a way that they do both contain a number of irritants and carcinogens, however the amount in tobacco is significantly more than cannabis. Marijuana smokers unlike tobacco smokers inhale much less smoke. Since the risk of serious lung damage is less there haven’t been any reports solely based of lung cancer based on the use of marijuana. In a large study presented to the American Thoracic Society in 2006, even heavy users of smoked marijuana were found not to have any increased risk of lung cancer. Unlike heavy tobacco smokers, heavy marijuana smokers exhibit no obstruction of the lung's small airway. That indicates that people will not develop emphysema from smoking marijuana.
The myth that most people seem to hear all the time is that marijuana is a gateway drug. People believe that the substance is very dangerous because it leads users into using other drugs and abusing them. Marijuana is not a gateway drug. Cannabis is no more dangerous than the consumption of alcohol. People who consume alcohol are just as likely to try other drugs as to someone who was smoking marijuana. Alcohol can impair someone’s judgment making them just as accepting to other drugs.
People need to stop listening to myths and realize that marijuana is not as harmful as many portray it to be. If the society began to understand the drugs true effects they wouldn’t be so negative and against the idea of legalization. As time passes more people are becoming more informed and open to the idea.
http://www.drugtext.org/sub/marmyt1.html
http://www.druglibrary.org/special/goode/mjsmokers2.htm
http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana/factsmyths/
The common misperception of society is that if you use Marijuana or drink Alcohol they serve as gateway drugs and you will eventually try cocaine, heroin, or methamphetamine. Although some people do eventually resort to engaging in those addictions it is not always the case, some people smoke marijuana and will never engage in other illicit substances. However, because the reality is that people usually progress in their addiction, meaning they start off by smoking marijuana or drinking alcohol and not directly shooting up heroin, people tend to believe that they are gateway drugs because of the progression. Further education needs to be given to society in order to show the difference between a gateway drug and trends of users.
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