List of Misconceptions About Illegal Drugs - Cannabis

Cannabis

For further information about the toxicity of cannabis, see Tetrahydrocannabinol toxicity.

Many misleading urban legends about cannabis exist. Like LSD rumors, many were spread during the 1960s and '70s, and are believed to continuously circulate today. These widespread legends claim that it is easy to overdose on the smokeable variant of cannabis and that it is extremely dangerous and addictive when compared to alcohol and tobacco chemicals, when in fact alcohol and the chemicals in tobacco, the drugs that are claimed to be safer, are actually considered by some psychiatrists specializing in the field of addictive behavior to be more addictive in comparison to cannabis.

Withdrawal from heavy, chronic cannabis use does not usually exceed 3–4 days, but it has the potential to be psychologically addictive. Withdrawal symptoms are generally mild, opposite the effects of use - loss of appetite, insomnia, feelings of uneasiness/anxiety, tension, stomach ache, headache and irritability all being common symptoms. There are studies that show no actual increased risk of cancer from smoking marijuana, even when duration of use is expanded over several years. In fact, some studies indicate THC to have anticancer properties, with studies showing tumor reduction in mice.