Your Aversion to Cannabis

Submitted by: Dan

In response to Mary Jane.

I’d say your aversion to cannabis use is based more on the connotations of its illegality than on actual facts. Cannabis has long been touted as a “gateway drug,” when research shows that nearly everyone who’s tried cannabis and moved on to “harder” drugs is an alcohol user as well. Yet for some reason, alcohol is never called a gateway drug. Why is that?

As for addiction, yes, cannabis is habit-forming, and it’s easy to see why – it’s a lot of fun. However, it is not physically addictive, like alcohol, nicotine, or even caffeine (it has a lower rate of addiction than all 3). Rather, it’s habit-forming in the sense that watching TV, using the internet, and watching porn is habit-forming – stopping is simply a matter of personal discipline. Using cannabis does not make you a “slave” to the drug any more than watching movies makes you a slave to the theater.

People’s perceptions of this drug have been subject to constant misinformation by lawmakers and the media, while the facts of science and medicine have largely been ignored. When used responsibly, the risks of cannabis pale in comparison to prescription medicine and legal drugs. But don’t take my word for it. Do some research yourself – you might be surprised.