Above the Influence? How About the Truth RE: Marijuana

As part of my/our ongoing quest to combat misleading, incomplete, or down right bad “facts” about marijuana, I recently found myself perusing the cannabis page at Above The Influence.

While I generally support the intention behind what the folks over at Above the Influence are trying to do (prevent and reduce drug use in children/adolescents), I think they are providing an anachronistic and biased perspective on marijuana.

I’m not going to lead a huge crusade against this site as I honestly do not think that children should be using any drugs, cannabis included (outside of medical application). But we all know from our own youthful escapades that a good portion of our kids will likely experiment with something or other. I, for one, would much more prefer catching my sons toking on a J in the tool shed than doing just about any other substance out there (including alcohol and tobacco). Ideally, they won’t really dabble in any substances until they are over 18 and have cleared the hurdles of high school and college acceptance, but I can’t really get too upset if they get curious earlier, much like I did.

I want to start by saying that most of what Above the Influence has to say about cannabis isn’t terrible, even the parts I don’t like very much aren’t purposefully specious, but they are using very biased sources to get their data (like drugabuse.gov) and I don’t believe it does anyone any good to spread bad information. The “war on drugs” and the staggering failure of the D.A.R.E program should prove, hands down, that fear tactics and harsh consequences are not very effective combating drug use.

To that end, here are three sections from Above the Influence about which I would like to comment.

First bone to pick:
“frequent marijuana smokers can develop many of the same respiratory problems as tobacco smokers, such as daily cough and phlegm production, more frequent acute chest illness, and a greater risk of chest infections.”

As a daily and longtime cannabis smoker, I can say with confidence that their claim is simply not true. To be fair, I do notice a small increase in phlegm production and a slight cough that occurs in the several minutes after smoking but which quickly fades. To wit, I would claim that my cannabis smoking actually keeps me healthier than I would be without it. Prior to my pot smoking days, I had literally crippling insomnia, anxiety, and rage issues and my health was in total disarray. Enter pot, stage left. Now my health is robust and my sleep cycles have almost normalized. Since starting to smoke cannabis (about 12 years ago now) I have had no major illnesses and maybe 2-3 minor colds. No chest issues or infections and no drop in my respiratory function.

Second Bone to pick:
“Marijuana has the potential to cause problems in your daily life, or make existing problems worse. It limits your brain’s effectiveness, slows down thinking, and impairs coordination and judgment.”

This statement is largely relative. I have been pondering what problems cannabis has caused in my life and what problems it has made worse. I can’t really think of much. But I can think of a ton of problems that cannabis has helped with (depression, anxiety, anger, insomnia, etc). There was one time as a young man that I stared at a corn dog in an AM PM for about 7 minutes straight until my friend pulled me away and we walked to the beach. That’s not really a problem, though. Sure, cannabis does have an impact on your brain, but I grow tired of only hearing the negative side of this issue. The nature of that impact and its severity vary wildly between each person. There are literally too many famous musicians, actors, athletes and other smart, successful people who like to smoke weed out there for me to even write down. Let’s ask Michael Phelps how much pot slowed him down en route to becoming the most highly decorated Olympian of all time. Cannabis, like basically everything else in life, is about moderation.

Third Bone to pick:
“When marijuana use becomes daily, or nearly daily, alterations to the brain can lead to an inability to perceive any negative impact”

I fully understand that what follows could be seen by the naysayers as evidence to support the tail end of this claim, but I honestly don’t percieve any negative impact. I was exceptionally cautious when first becoming curious about cannabis. I delved deep into the science and very slowly worked my way up to a daily habit. I believe in honoring our bodies and taking full responsibility for our own health/wellness. The reason I quit drinking alcohol and smoking tobacco, the reason I exercise and eat nutritious food is because I subscribe to the notion that our bodies are our vehicles and, like a vehicle, the harder you drive it, the faster it breaks down. It would be utterly anathema to my lifestyle and beliefs to use any substance whatsoever that jeopardizes my health or wellness.

This leads me to my ultimate point. I don’t want children to be getting stoned, but I also don’t want them growing into adults who think that cannabis is the devil and turn their back on a much safer and potentially beneficial element in their lives than any other “drug” out there. I want to represent a new approach to cannabis where we can look at it for its potential to really better our lives, which is a conversation that is sorely missing from our narrative.