1. Marijuana leads to harder drugs.
"There is no scientific evidence for the theory that marijuana is a “gateway” drug. The cannabis-using cultures in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America show no propensity for other drugs. The gateway theory took hold in the sixties, when marijuana became the leading new recreational drug. It was refuted by events in the eighties, when cocaine abuse exploded at the same time marijuana use declined." (MIT.edu)
2. Marijuana kills brain cells.
"Government experts now admit that pot doesn’t kill brain cells. This myth came from a handful of animal experiments in which structural changes (not actual cell death, as is often alleged) were observed in brain cells of animals exposed to high doses of pot." (MIT.edu)
3. Marijuana is ten times more potent and dangerous than in the sixties.
"The notion that pot has increased dramatically in potency is a DEA myth based on biased government data, as shown in a recent NORML report by Dr. John Morgan. Samples of pot from the early ‘70s came from stale, low-potency Mexican “kilobricks” left in police lockers, whose potency had deteriorated to sub-smokable levels of less than 0.5%. These were compared to later samples of decent-quality domestic marijuana, making it appear that potency had skyrocketed." (MIT.edu)
4. Marijuana use causes cancer.
"It's true that marijuana smoke, like tobacco smoke, contains carcinogens. But even hardcore pot smokers typically consume much less pot than tobacco smokers do cigarettes, probably not enough to cause cancer. A 2006 UCLA study concluded that even heavy marijuana use does not lead to lung cancer." (rollingstone.com)
5. Cannabis use causes memory loss and a general reduction in mental ability.
"Tests have shown that cannabis diminishes
short term memory, but only when intoxicated.
No scientific evidence to suggest that it is a long-term or permanent problem when sober." (mhanational.org)
