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Marijuana: 5 Myths, 5 Risks, 5 Facts,
5 Unanswered Questions

Richard Reams, Ph.D.
Senior Staff Psychologist, Counseling Services, Trinity University, San Antonio

5 Myths

1. Marijuana causes "Amotivational Syndrome."

Fact: The lack of motivation that some heavy users experience can usually be attributed to other factors such as the use of other illegal drugs, the heavy use of alcohol, or depression.

2. Today's marijuana is 10 times more potent than the marijuana that existed when your parents were in college.

Fact: The THC content of marijuana has ranged from 2% to 5% in most samples during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

3. Marijuana is a "gateway drug" (i.e., smoking pot leads to using harder drugs).

Fact: People who "go on to harder drugs" tend to be experimenters. Marijuana becomes one of multiple drugs that an experimenter may try. Most drug users do not begin with marijuana, but start by using tobacco and alcohol while underage.

4. Marijuana promotes aggression and crime.

Fact: Marijuana usually has a calming effect. Most criminals who use marijuana began committing crimes before they began smoking marijuana.

5. Marijuana can make you sterile.

Fact: Although use will not make you sterile, long-term use can affect the reproductive system. (See Risk #4.)

5 Risks

1. Being high impairs the ability to learn new information.

Occasional users experience residual effects on cognitive functioning, including memory, for up to 48 hours after smoking. Habitual users experience ongoing impaired ability to learn new information and, after quitting use, the impairment continues for up to several weeks.

2. Being high impairs visual perception, attentiveness, and coordination.

Thus, being high impairs the user's ability to drive a vehicle safely, contrary to the myth that being high improves driving.

3. The possession or use of marijuana can lead to legal problems and/or suspension from Trinity.

A legal conviction can limit career choices.

4. Marijuana suppresses the production of hormones that help regulate the reproductive system.

Some long-term, heavy male users suffer from a lowered sperm count or impotence.

5. Occasionally, marijuana intoxication is accompanied by adverse psychological reactions.

Some users experience mild flashbacks. A novice user may experience a panic attack, especially if the marijuana is eaten rather than smoked. Use can exacerbate pre-existing psychological conditions.

5 Facts

1. No one has ever died from an overdose.

Although this is true, marijuana is not "safe," as the 5 Risks of Marijuana section indicates.

2. Marijuana can be physically addicting.

After quitting use, habitual marijuana users can experience physical withdrawal symptoms that are similar to, but usually milder than, those suffered by smokers who are quitting the habitual use of tobacco.

3. More than 400 chemicals enter the body when marijuana is smoked.

Several of the chemicals are psychoactive and THC is the most psychoactive. With the exception of research on THC, little or no research has been conducted on the effects of the other chemicals on the body.

4. About 30% of THC and its psychoactive metabolites may remain in the body a week after smoking.

This is why learning new information can be impaired for a day or more among occasional users and a week or more among habitual users (see Risk #1). Other mental and physical functions may also be subtly affected as well.

5. The remnants of a single large dose of THC may be detectable up to three weeks after ingestion.

The random drug testing that many employers use may detect marijuana use many days after use.

5 Unanswered Questions

1. Can marijuana be psychologically addictive?

Some users say they have become psychologically dependent, but no well-controlled studies have been done to examine this possible risk.

2. Can marijuana impair the immune system?

Cannabinoid receptors are highly concentrated in certain immune-system cells as well as in the brain. Researchers have found that THC impairs immune system function in laboratory animals, but the doses were extremely high.

3. Can marijuana damage the hippocampus, a structure in the brain that promotes memory?

Animal research suggests yes, but the doses were extremely high over a long period of time.

4. Can marijuana cause lung cancer?

Marijuana smoke and tobacco smoke are rather similar. One carcinogen, benzopyrene, occurs in greater concentration in marijuana smoke.

5. Do people who regularly smoke both tobacco and marijuana face a greater risk of developing lung cancer, and at an earlier age, than people who smoke tobacco alone?

A study of lung cancer patients indicates this is a possibility.

Major Sources of Information

Buzzed: The Straight Facts About the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy
by Cynthia Kuhn et. al. of the Duke University Medical Center. New York: Norton, 1998.

Available in the Coates Library Reference Area (RM316 .K84 1998) and in the library of Counseling Services

Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts: A Review of the Scientific Evidence
by Lynn Zimmer and John P. Morgan of the City University of New York. New York: The Lindesmith Center, 1997.

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