3 Marijuana Myths, Debunked – Benzinga – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

This article was originally published on The Fresh Toast and appears here with permission.

You have heard them and they are #fakenews. Today, some of the GOP actually confirmed one was just a myth!

How they get started is one thing, but why they continue is another. Fake News has become a cry in the last few years, but some myths just continue to live in, even before the digital world.  No swimming for an hour, cracking your knocks, 24 for a missing person, etc…all out there…all long dismissed. Now, here are 3 marijuana myths that have been debunked.

Marijuana Is The Gateway To Addiction

According to science, the majority of people who use marijuana do not go on to use other, “harder” substances. Alcohol and nicotine prime the brain for a heightened response to other drugs and are, like marijuana, also typically used before a person progresses to other, more harmful substances.

Studies conducted by the federal government find that marijuana is actually no more addictive than caffeine. In fact, cannabis has a rate of addiction significantly less than alcohol and tobacco.

As for whether cannabis users will eventually go on to shoot heroin in the bathroom of a truck stop somewhere – that’s not likely either. Other studies have shown that alcohol and prescription painkillers are the real gateway drugs. Former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch says so. “When you look at someone that, for example, has a heroin problem, it very often started with a prescription…