Prohibitionists tell us that cannabis causes lung cancer. Scientific research, in fact, the biggest study ever done on cannabis and lung cancer, by Dr Donald Tashkin at UCLA, shows that there is no association at all between smoking cannabis (even heavily and daily) and lung cancer. In fact, people who smoke only cannabis have a lower rate of lung cancer than people who don't smoke at all. What this tells us is that cannabis, even smoked cannabis, exerts a protective effect against cancer. Cannabis is good for your lungs!
Prohibitionists try to tell us that cannabis is not medicine. The scientific research tells us that cannabis can be a useful medical treatment for a wide range of diseases, and there are literally hundreds of scientific studies to back this up. For a listing of studies (over 500 pages) showing the effectiveness of medical cannabis, check out Granny Storm Crow's List. Cannabis is medically good for you!
Prohibitionists tell us that smoking cannabis makes us stupid, lazy and unmotivated. But the scientific research tells us that cannabis smokers work harder and smarter than their non-toking brethren. The Rubin Study in Jamaica , published in the 1970s by Dr Vera Rubin, shows that the hardest workers are the highest workers. Cannabis is good for your motivation!
Prohibitionists tell us that cannabis is a gateway drug. The scientific research tells us that not only is cannabis not a gateway drug, but is in fact an exit drug from hard drug use, which has shown to be invaluable in helping addicts off meth., cocaine and heroin, along with alcoholics and maintainance of abstinence from harmful substances. Cannabis is good for stopping drug abuse!
Prohibitionists tell us that the smoking of cannabis by pregnant women results in lower birth weights and less intelligent babies. The scientific research tells us that toking mothers have babies that are just as healthy, with birth weights just as normal as babies born of non-toking mothers. The research also showed that babies of cannabis smoking mothers scored better on laboratory tests of cognition than babies of non-smoking mothers. Another independent scientific study showed that babies of cannabis-using mothers have a lower mortality rate than babies of mothers who didn't use any drugs at all! The baby mortality rate among non-using mothers was 13.7 per 1,000 live births, while babies of toking mothers had a rate of only 8.9 deaths per 1000 births. Cannabis is good for pregnant mothers and their babies!
Prohibitionists tell us that cannabis causes car wrecks and that legalisation will only increase the toll on our highways. The scientific research tells us that experienced cannabis smokers show no impairment on driving tests. Cannabis makes many of us safer drivers. Cannabis is good for your driving!Prohibitionists tell us that relaxing cannabis laws will result in higher rates of usage in teens. The scientific research tells us that teen pot use rates are lower in the Netherlands, after they decriminalised cannabis, than in the United States with its harsh cannabis laws. Cannabis legalisation is good for teenagers!
Learn all you can about this wonderful plant. Knowledge is power. The more knowledge and experience you have of cannabis, the better able you will be to fight back with the facts when you hear someone tell lies about this sacred herb. Fight Back With The Facts!
(taken from an article written in September 2010 by Steve Elliott)
