As marijuana quickly becomes more and more socially acceptable, millions of Americans are beginning to understand the lies that they have been told about pot. Here are the five biggest myths about weed that have prevented any kind of legalization movement from getting on a roll.

1. Marijuana Causes Cancer

Many have said that smoking pot and smoking cigarettes is the same thing and, therefore; marijuana must cause cancer, as well. Not only have countless independent studies disproved this, but some have actually found that marijuana decreased tumor growth by as much as 50%. (Sorry, cigarettes will still kill you.)

2. Marijuana Is Addictive

While prolonged use has shown to leave signs of dependence, marijuana does not actually contain a “nicotine-like” compound that causes it to be addictive. (This is similar to being “addicted” to soda.) There are little to no withdrawal symptoms, especially when compared to the withdrawal effects of drugs like cocaine or heroin – or even an alcohol-induced hangover.

3. Marijuana Is a Gateway Drug

Simply put, numerous studies have unequivocally disproved the idea that using marijuana leads to use of harder drugs. Marijuana has actually successfully been used to reduce hard drug users’ dependence on drugs. So, in reality, it is the exact opposite of a gateway drug.

4. Marijuana Causes Brain Damage

Another myth where the exact opposite thing is true: Not only have studied disproved the idea that marijuana damages your brain, they have found that it actually protects your brain from the damage that heavy drinking can cause.

5. Marijuana Has No Medical Uses

The government has often defended its marijuana policy by citing their own studies that say that marijuana does not have any therapeutic effects. Not true. Aside from the uses listed above, marijuana have been proven to have beneficial effects on people suffering from migraines, glaucoma, AIDS, Multiple Sclerosis, epilepsy, stomach disorders, and dozens of other health problems.

And, most recently, even the American Medical Association called for the government to remove its restrictive Schedule 1 status.

Follow the author, Igor Derysh, on Twitter @IgorDerysh

Check Out These Other Posts

Simply looking at Websites isn’t going to make you a good activist of any sort. You have to get out there and fight, damnit! Start petitions, write your congressmen, become a lawyer. You know, do stuff! But in order to know where to begin, these nine sites will get you in-the-know and up-to-date with everything that’s happening in the movement to decriminalize and legalize marijuana. (more…)

Calls for the legalization and decriminalization of marijuana grew louder this week, coming from a highly unlikely group: the police. In a 180-degree shift in position, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division agents, along with police chiefs and elected sheriffs from around the state announced their support for the legalization and taxation of marijuana.

“Weed is good.  Weed is right.  Weed works,” said Dorchester County Sheriff B.D. Squire, spokesman for the group. The change comes after calculating how much tax revenue could be produced by legalizing marijuana.

“There was a half-million dollar bust a couple weeks ago in Berkely County,” said state Agriculture Secretary Hugh Weathers, “if that pot was taxed at anything near the rate of tobacco… well that would be about $500 million straight into the state coffers. Can you imagine what kind of income we’d pull in if it was planted on proper farms and not just in little patches in the woods? We wouldn’t be having a ’stimulus’ debate because we wouldn’t need the money.”

Check out the whole story here!

The prospect of legal marijuana seems an impossible dream to millions of pot smokers across America. No matter how much evidence exists to the contrary, the drug continues to be vilified by the media, demonized by the religious right and described as a ‘gateway drug’ by politicians and law makers alike. Nobody has ever overdosed on pot, nobody has ever died from it, yet smoking a joint continues to carry the same stigma as shooting heroin and snorting coke in the eyes of the government, and often yields the same punishment.

Since the ‘legalize it’ movement has been going strong for decades with hardly any victories to speak of, whenever anyone talks about legalizing pot, the news needs to be greeted with a healthy amount of skepticism. After all, if the government won’t even acknowledge the usefulness of medical marijuana, how can anyone expect it to understand the joys of regular marijuana? (more…)