Myth: Weed is a gateway drug.

My personal opinion on this is that alcohol is actually a gateway drug. Although in cases like this, opinion is irrelevant, we need facts. The fact is that weed is one of the most common drugs in South Africa, so most people are exposed to it before anything else. Kids that use marijuana are statistically more likely to go onto use other types of drugs. This doesn’t necessarily mean that weed causes the use of other drugs. A report by the Institute of Medicine stated that they found “no conclusive evidence that the drug effects of marijuana are causally linked to the subsequent abuse of other illicit drugs.”

Myth: Weed is Addictive.

This is quite a tough and albeit, controversial one. While there is no definitive proof that weed is physically addictive, we all have that friend who “just can’t function without weed maaan!”

If there is a level of addiction from using weed, it has a lot to do with an individual’s mental state of mind. It’s not just about willpower; it’s possible to become dependent on weed. Generally this only happens to a small percentage of heavy users.

Research suggests that around 9 percent of heavy weed users become “clinically” dependant at some point. This is drastically low if we compare the dependency level to 25 percent cocaine users and 24 percent heroin users.

Myth: Weed kills brain cells.

This is probably one of the post popular myths about marijuana out there. Many people still compare weed to recreational drugs like alcohol and cigarettes. These drugs have been shown to cause brain damage in long-term users. The interesting thing here though, weed doesn’t seem to pose the same threat.

With decades of back-and-forth studies, the Journal of Neuroscience reported in 2003 on the effects of marijuana on the brain. The result was in fact, that weed did not kill off those precious brain cells. Great news for tokers!

Myth: You can overdose on weed.

I laugh at this myth. In order to overdose on weed you would have to take almost 40,000 times the normal dose of weed, at once! How would you even smoke that amount? If you could construct a bong that’s the size of a skyscraper and be able to inhale the smoke from the inside, then all things considered.

If you do end up smoking a bit too much, and by this I mean a lot! Then can you expect mild symptoms of sleepiness, nausea (greenies) and sluggishness. The best thing is to have a piece of chocolate or a glass of orange juice. The sugar helps.

Myth: All weed produces the same high.

The fact is that there are two major strains of weed, Sativa and Indica. Sativa is associated more with cerebral effects or a head high. Whereas an Indica strain, is known for producing more relaxing and sedative effects for users. This makes it quite tough to predict an exact reaction that a person will have to each of these plants.

There are so many different strains of weed out there that carry their own range of effects. These are passed down through their genetics. To say that all weed produces the same high, is not completely accurate due to the many variables that play a part. Researchers continue to explore the differences between these strains, including the levels of CBD and THC that each contain.

Myth: You can get high from eating raw weed.

No, you can’t get high from popping a bud into your mouth and swallowing. In order to get any effect from consuming marijuana, it needs to be heated. It can also be heated and combined with fatty substances like butter to make something called cannabutter. To be consumed orally.

The munchies are just a myth.

All of us who have used weed know that the munchies are most definitely not a myth. But there’s more to this stereotype than we think.

In a study performed on mice which aimed at proving or disproving this myth, scientists found that weed does cause hunger by “hijacking” a part of its brain – the hypothalamus. This is the part of your brain responsible for hunger, sleep, libido, and more. When the scientists injected cannabinoids in a specific part of the hypothalamus, they found that the neurons responsible for hunger and libido were working harder under the influence of cannabinoids. The end result? Hunger.