Smoking Pot is Not Addictive, Claim Scientists

(Photo : D.C. Atty/ Flickr) 

By Ma. Claribelle D. Deveza

More and more governments around the world are focusing their drug policies on the use of cannabis, increasing the drug's bad reputation. However, a study conducted by the International Centre for Science in Drug Policy (ICSDP) has proven that most of the bad effects of pot people hear about from politicians and media outfits have no scientific basis and are in fact, myths.

The media and politicians have been spreading false information about cannabis, claiming that it is supported by scientific evidence, reports the Huffington Post.  

According to New York Daily News, Dr. Dan Werb, director of ICSDP, states: 

"More and more jurisdictions are reconsidering their policies on cannabis, yet the public discourse around cannabis is filled with frequently repeated claims that are simply not supported by the scientific evidence."

These claims are often false, have no scientific basis, or the research behind the claim was questionable, reports the ICSDP's official website. As a result, the scientists from ICSDP decided to test out some of the most popular claims, starting with "Cannabis [is] as addictive as heroin." 

After researching the so called scientific basis of the claim, the ICSDP scientists found that cannabis is not nearly as addictive as heroin. According to NY Daily News, the authors discovered that 1 in every 4 heroin users become addicted, compared to 1 out of 10 weed smokers.

Another popular belief is that smoking weed can actually cause schizophrenia. The ICSDP researchers actually found that previous studies asserting the claim confused correlation with causation. 

Previous studies saw a link between cannabis and schizophrenia, concluding that the drug caused the mental illness. However, the ICSDP revealed that the previous research did not account for the fact that people at risk of schizophrenia smoked pot in order to treat their symptoms.

As for the claim that "cannabis regulation leads to increased traffic fatalities," scientists found research that proves otherwise. According to the Huffington Post, since the regulations of recreational cannabis use in Colorado in 2012, the yearly average of traffic fatalities actually dropped. 

In total, the ICSDP scientist debunked 13 marijuana myths, including "cannabis use impairs cognitive function," "cannabis use lowers IQ by up to 8 points," and the belief that weed is a gateway drug.