November 27, 2025 • 18 mins
Holiday tables can be loud and the myths about cannabis are often louder. We wanted to arm you with clarity, compassion, and receipts. So we take on four of the most persistent stereotypes: the “lazy stoner,” the forgetful lightweight, the gateway narrative, and the idea that cannabis users are unhealthy or addicted by default. Using current research, historical context, and stories from our own kitchen, we separate temporary effects from enduring traits and show how intention, dosing, and education change everything.
If you’re heading into family conversations, we’ve got your talking points and your calm. Bring curiosity, share evidence, and cook with care. Subscribe for more chef-tested edible recipes, culture deep dives, and science you can trust, and leave a review to tell us which myth you’re ready to retire next.
Join the waitlist at JoinBiteMe.com/challenge - Music by Alexander Blu
Visit the website for full show notes, free dosing calculator, recipes and more.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (02:44):
What happens when you take a love of food, a
passion for culture, and a deepknowledge of cannabis and you
toss them all into one bowl?
You get Bite Me, the podcastthat explores the intersection
of food, culture, and cannabisand helps cooks make great
edibles at home.
I'm your host, CertifiedGangier, TCI Certified Cannabis
Educator, and I believe yourkitchen is the best dispensary
(03:05):
you'll ever have.
Together we'll explore thestories, the science, and the
sheer joy of making safe,effective, and unforgettable
edibles at home.
So preheat your oven and let'sget ready for a great episode.
And you may be asking, Margaret,what are we talking about today?
And I'm really glad you askedbecause I had to change some
things up today.
So this is episode 327.
(03:28):
And if you're just joining usfor the first time, we are
talking about stonerstereotypes, and we are
debunking them one stereotype ata time because these are the
things that will not die.
They seem to take so long.
I live in a place I'm fortunateto be in Canada.
I am Canadian and I have enjoyedlegal cannabis for seven years
(03:49):
now.
Is it seven years?
I think so.
And there is still a ton ofstigma and stereotypes around
cannabis.
And so I thought, you know, thismight be a good time to take a
minute to talk about some ofthese myths, where they come
from, and perhaps share thesewith folks who may not be so
cannabis-friendly.
Because let's be honest, thisepisode is coming out on
(04:11):
Thanksgiving Day in the UnitedStates.
And while I am in Canada, I havemore American listeners than
Canadian listeners.
And I appreciate you all.
And I know that Thanksgiving canbe an interesting time when
you're getting together withfriends and family that you
might not have seen in a whileand may also have different
opinions than you about a numberof things.
(04:34):
So I thought this might be agood time to talk about some of
these stereotypes and, you know,just bust some myths.
And if I'm also being completelyhonest, I had planned something
else for this episode.
Yep.
I wanted to make a fudge recipebecause I saw one in a magazine
that I thought looked delightfuland very festive.
(04:55):
We're getting into that time ofyear.
We get this is being recorded atthe end of November.
I had tried to make this beforeand it didn't turn out, which
was a surprise to me.
I know what I did wrong.
It was a surprise to me becauseI've made fudge lots of times.
And I one of the reasons I likemaking fudge is because it's
(05:17):
easy.
Not this time.
So I had to put that one in theback burner.
I'm going to revisit it, seewhat I can do to perhaps salvage
what I've already made.
But all those lessons learnedwill be shared with you at a
later date.
In the meanwhile, we're going tohave to pivot.
And that is the great thingabout being a small independent
(05:37):
podcaster.
So I can do whatever the fuck Iwant.
And it's a really great place tobe in.
What did they look like?
(05:58):
What did they sound like?
Like, whoa, dude, did she everlike just like look at your
hands?
Right.
Like that guy, the one with thevacant stare, the permanent
grin, and a vocabulary of aboutfour words.
For decades, that's kind of beenthe go-to image of a cannabis
user.
We've seen it all in said movie.
You can probably think of morethan one if you've watched any
(06:20):
stoner movies.
Maybe you haven't, but the lazy,unmotivated, junk food hoarding
character.
That's what we're talking aboutright here.
But what if I told you thatcharacter is just as mythical
as, say, a unicorn?
What if I told you the personwho uses cannabis could be your
doctor, your favorite author,the CEO of a Fortune 500
company?
(06:41):
Today we're taking a deep diveinto the most persistent stoner
stereotypes and holding up tothe light of science and
history.
This is Stoner StereotypesBreaking Down the Myths.
And I'm glad you're with metoday.
If you've been listening to BiteMe for a little while, thank you
so much.
I'm really glad you're here.
(07:02):
And if you're new, this is a funone.
So let's dive in.
So let's start with the big one: the foundation upon which all (07:06):
undefined
other stereotypes are built.
Myth number one is of course thelazy, unmotivated couch potato.
This is the image of theamotivational syndrome, a term
coined back in the 1960s todescribe cannabis users who
(07:29):
supposedly lose all ambition.
It's the idea that cannabisdrains your energy, your drive,
and your will to do anythingother than watch cartoons.
But when the researchersactually tried to prove this,
they've consistently come upempty-handed.
A major study from theUniversity of Cambridge, for
example, found no difference inmotivation for rewards, apathy
(07:52):
levels, or pleasure-seekingbetween cannabis users and
non-users.
More recently, a fascinatingstudy in April 2024 published in
Social, Psychological, andPersonality Science, gave us an
even clearer picture.
Researchers found that whilebeing high might make someone a
little less orderly or a bitmore impulsive in that moment,
(08:15):
it does not fundamentally killtheir ethic or their inner
drive.
The will to succeed is stillthere.
So the study's lead author putit pretty perfectly.
He said, and I'm paraphrasinghere, these things can detract
from getting stuff done, but wedidn't find it made them less
hardworking or responsible.
(08:35):
And that I think is a crucialdistinction.
Feeling a bit fuzzy for a fewhours is not the same as
inherently being a lazy person.
And maybe that stereotype haspersisted for so long because
there's just lazy people in theworld who also happen to smoke
cannabis, which is somethingcompletely different.
And honestly, the anecdotalevidence is pretty overwhelming.
(08:57):
So let's play a little game.
I'm going to list some peopleand you can tell me what they
have in common.
I am going to give you a hint,of course, that uh I think we
already know the answer to this.
Uh Carl Sagan, the brilliantastrophysicist who guided us
through the cosmos and wroteunder pseudonym Mr.
(09:18):
X, Steve Jobs, the visionaryco-founder of Apple, Lady Gaga,
a global pop superstar andprolific songwriter.
So, what do these three folksall have in common?
They are all titans in theirfield and they have all used
cannabis.
And so the idea that cannabisautomat automatically makes you
(09:40):
lazy is not just wrong, it'sinsulting to the millions of
ambitious, successful, andhardworking people who also
happen to enjoy it.
And I would also point to forfurther evidence to bite me the
show about edibles.
If you go back and look at theback catalog of all the guests
that I've had on this show, I'vehad scientists, I've had PhD,
(10:07):
educated researchers, I've hadengineers, uh, doctors.
Have I had a doctor on here?
I am actually next week, staytuned.
I am, I will be having aveterinarian, which is an animal
doctor, business people, chefswho are extremely successful.
There's been all kinds of peopleon this show that I've had the
(10:30):
opportunity to interview.
And that one common third, ofcourse, is that we all love
cannabis.
And I could also point to thefact that if cannabis made you
lazy, I would not be putting outweekly episodes for the last six
years.
So I am the anti-stereotypemyself.
Okay, so let's go on to mythnumber two: the forgetful
dumbstoner.
The like, I mean, maybe maybeyou've seen Dude Where's My Car.
(10:54):
That's that kind of stereotype.
The person who walks into a roomand immediately forgets that
they're there or why they'rethere.
And look, we have to be honest,there is a kernel of truth here.
THC, the main cycloactivecompound in cannabis, can
temporarily interfere with thebrain's ability to form new
short-term memory.
That's why you might lose yourtrain of thought, mid-sentence,
(11:15):
or forget a great idea you hadfive minutes ago.
But the keyword here istemporary.
This isn't permanent braindamage.
Think of it like this (11:23):
when you have a few drinks, your
coordination is impaired, butyou don't assume you've
permanently lost your ability towalk in a straight line.
Once the effect wears off, yourbrain's normal memory function
returns.
We never question that when itcomes to alcohol, and yet we
question that when it comes tocannabis.
In fact, some researchers arguethat this temporary disruption
(11:44):
of linear thought is exactlywhat can lead to enhanced
creativity.
By quieting the brain's rigiddefault mode network, cannabis
may allow for more common ornovel connections to be made.
What's known as divergentthinking.
It helps you connect the dots inways you might not have
otherwise.
It's not about being dumber,it's about thinking differently.
(12:07):
And that's the key.
And also, let's all be honesthere as well.
Those short-term lapses inmemory may have nothing to do
with the cannabis.
It could be related to justnatural aging, perimenopause.
There's probably other factorsin there as well.
But those are two things,natural aging and women going
through the transition, that canaffect your short-term memory as
(12:31):
well.
I mean, how many times have youput your glasses on your head
and then like been like, wheredid I put my glasses?
And done that when you weren'thigh.
I should also note that thatnatural aging thing is a big
thing.
As of late, my father, who Ilive with, has been known to
say, I think I'm starting tolose my marbles.
(12:53):
And at the age of 94, I tell himmaybe he needs to be a little
gentler with himself because heis definitely likely
experiencing some of theage-related memory loss that
comes.
So keep smoking your cannabis,keep doing your crossword
puzzles too.
SPEAKER_01 (13:09):
Honest.
Honest.
If you were being honest with meand honest with yourself, I'm
afraid you'd tell me an entirelydifferent story.
SPEAKER_00 (13:20):
Cannabis is the gateway drug.
Ugh, I used to hear this all thetime when I was in high school
in those drug assemblies and thepresentations we got from local
police officers.
It's perhaps the most damagingmyth of all, the idea that the
smoking of a joint is the firststep to an inevitable path to
heroin or cocaine.
And this is pure propaganda,born in the 1930s.
(13:44):
You may all know a man namedHarry Ann Slinger, the head of
the Federal Bureau of Narcotics,and he needed a new crusade
after alcohol prohibition ended.
He latched onto cannabis using aracially charged rhetoric and
fabricated stories, his famousgore files, to create a public
panic.
But from the very beginning, hisown government's research proved
(14:06):
him wrong.
In 1944, the New York Academy ofMedicines LaGuardia report found
no evidence that cannabis led tohard drug use.
In 1972, the government's ownSchaefer Commission came to the
exact same conclusion.
They debunked the gateway theorycompletely.
So why does it persist?
Because of a simple logicalfallacy, confusing correlation
(14:29):
with causation.
It's true that most people whouse hard drugs have also tried
cannabis.
But guess what?
They have also all had a glassof milk.
They have all eaten bread.
They've all tried a sugarysnack.
The vast, vast majority ofpeople who try cannabis never go
on to use harder substances.
The real gateway isn't asubstance.
(14:51):
It's factors like poverty,trauma, mental health issues,
accessibility.
People start with what'savailable.
And in a fascinating twist,modern research is now exploring
cannabis as an exit drug, a farsafer alternative that can help
people get off dangerous drugsand highly addictive opioids,
harm reduction, if you will.
And I do talk about that in myinterviews with Amanda Ryman on
(15:14):
the show, one of the examples ofan incredibly accomplished woman
in her field, a PhD, aresearcher, an advocate who also
uses cannabis.
Now, finally, let's talk aboutmyth number four, the unhealthy
addict.
This stereotype cannabis usersin with the most tragic images
of addiction, suggesting they'reall physically dependent,
unhealthy, and unhygienic.
(15:35):
Let's be responsible here.
Cannabis use disorder is real.
It's defined by a person usingmore than what they want to, and
it causing significant problemsin their life.
About 9 to 30% of users maydevelop some degree of it, but
that number needs some context.
For comparison, about 15% ofpeople who drink alcohol develop
alcohol use disorder.
(15:57):
15%.
And let's think about how widelypervasive alcohol use is.
So that's a pretty big number.
For heroin, it's about 23%.
Nicotine, this probably won'tsurprise anybody who has ever
had to quit smoking cigarettes,and I am in that category.
Whopping 32% of users becomedependent.
(16:19):
I'm surprised actually thatnumber's not higher because
nicotine is so incrediblyaddictive.
By any measure, cannabis issignificantly less addictive
than many legal substances,legal substances, not to mention
things like caffeine that weconsume every day.
And also, I read a book byMichael Pollan.
I have offhand the name of thatbook eludes me.
(16:39):
It was not how to change yourmind, which I also read,
excellent book, but one that hedid on some of the common
substances that rule our lives.
And he talked about open to thebook with caffeine.
Caffeine being the most widelypervasive drug in the world and
the only one we routinely giveto children.
So let that sink in.
(16:59):
I didn't even start drinkingcoffee myself until my late 30s,
and now I can't imagine goingwithout it.
I could give up cannabis for atolerance break.
I'd be a lot more hard-pressedto give up the coffee.
The headaches I would get, justthinking about the headaches I
would get from that, is probablyone reason why I might just
continue drinking it.
In any case, I feel like I havea healthy relationship with
(17:21):
coffee, but it just goes toshow.
And what about overdose?
This is pretty critical.
There has never been in all ofrecorded history a single
confirmed fatal overdose fromcannabis alone.
It's just not possible forhumans to consume enough to
cause a fatal overdose or afatal outcome.
Now you can certainly have aterrible time.
(17:42):
Anybody who's used cannabis forany length of time knows that if
you take too much, you canexperience a green out.
When I was in high school, wecalled it Caspering.
I'm definitely aging myselfthere because you, instead of
looking green, I thought youlooked really white, like Casper
the Friendly Ghost.
Anyway, and that's when you'refilled with anxiety, paranoia,
nausea.
(18:02):
You can feel pretty awful.
An edibles overdose can be evenworse.
Panic attacks, like all the restof it.
But it's not life-threatening.
You will come down, you willsurvive, you will not have any
permanent damage.
So the conversation aroundcannabis has been clouded by
fear and misinformation fornearly a century.
The lazy stoner, the brain-dead,forgetful fool, the gateway drug
(18:24):
user.
These are not reflections ofreality.
They are the ghosts ofpropaganda.
And the truth is, there is nosingle type of cannabis user.
There's doctors and lawyers,artists and engineers, parents
and grandparents, people fromall walks of life, using it for
a multitude of reasons.
Relaxation, creativity, medicalrelief, or simply to enjoy a
(18:45):
different perspective.
So the next time you hearsomeone use the word stoner,
maybe pause and ask them, whichone do you mean?
The astrophysicist?
The tech billionaire?
The Grammy-winning musician?
Or your friendly neighbor downthe street?
That's it for this week, myfriends.
(19:06):
Thanks for listening.
This has been StonerStereotypes, Debunking the
Myths.
And I hope this helps you haveconversations with some of the
people you might be spendingsome time with.
And until next week, my friends,I am your host, Margaret.
Stay hi.
SPEAKER_01 (19:24):
It's like making 10 times more higher than the
crossbreak and the pineapplespreads, man.
What happens when you take a love of food, a
passion for culture, and a deepknowledge of cannabis and you
toss them all into one bowl?
You get Bite Me, the podcastthat explores the intersection
of food, culture, and cannabisand helps cooks make great
edibles at home.
I'm your host, CertifiedGangier, TCI Certified Cannabis
Educator, and I believe yourkitchen is the best dispensary
(03:05):
you'll ever have.
Together we'll explore thestories, the science, and the
sheer joy of making safe,effective, and unforgettable
edibles at home.
So preheat your oven and let'sget ready for a great episode.
And you may be asking, Margaret,what are we talking about today?
And I'm really glad you askedbecause I had to change some
things up today.
So this is episode 327.
(03:28):
And if you're just joining usfor the first time, we are
talking about stonerstereotypes, and we are
debunking them one stereotype ata time because these are the
things that will not die.
They seem to take so long.
I live in a place I'm fortunateto be in Canada.
I am Canadian and I have enjoyedlegal cannabis for seven years
(03:49):
now.
Is it seven years?
I think so.
And there is still a ton ofstigma and stereotypes around
cannabis.
And so I thought, you know, thismight be a good time to take a
minute to talk about some ofthese myths, where they come
from, and perhaps share thesewith folks who may not be so
cannabis-friendly.
Because let's be honest, thisepisode is coming out on
(04:11):
Thanksgiving Day in the UnitedStates.
And while I am in Canada, I havemore American listeners than
Canadian listeners.
And I appreciate you all.
And I know that Thanksgiving canbe an interesting time when
you're getting together withfriends and family that you
might not have seen in a whileand may also have different
opinions than you about a numberof things.
(04:34):
So I thought this might be agood time to talk about some of
these stereotypes and, you know,just bust some myths.
And if I'm also being completelyhonest, I had planned something
else for this episode.
Yep.
I wanted to make a fudge recipebecause I saw one in a magazine
that I thought looked delightfuland very festive.
(04:55):
We're getting into that time ofyear.
We get this is being recorded atthe end of November.
I had tried to make this beforeand it didn't turn out, which
was a surprise to me.
I know what I did wrong.
It was a surprise to me becauseI've made fudge lots of times.
And I one of the reasons I likemaking fudge is because it's
(05:17):
easy.
Not this time.
So I had to put that one in theback burner.
I'm going to revisit it, seewhat I can do to perhaps salvage
what I've already made.
But all those lessons learnedwill be shared with you at a
later date.
In the meanwhile, we're going tohave to pivot.
And that is the great thingabout being a small independent
(05:37):
podcaster.
So I can do whatever the fuck Iwant.
And it's a really great place tobe in.
What did they look like?
(05:58):
What did they sound like?
Like, whoa, dude, did she everlike just like look at your
hands?
Right.
Like that guy, the one with thevacant stare, the permanent
grin, and a vocabulary of aboutfour words.
For decades, that's kind of beenthe go-to image of a cannabis
user.
We've seen it all in said movie.
You can probably think of morethan one if you've watched any
(06:20):
stoner movies.
Maybe you haven't, but the lazy,unmotivated, junk food hoarding
character.
That's what we're talking aboutright here.
But what if I told you thatcharacter is just as mythical
as, say, a unicorn?
What if I told you the personwho uses cannabis could be your
doctor, your favorite author,the CEO of a Fortune 500
company?
(06:41):
Today we're taking a deep diveinto the most persistent stoner
stereotypes and holding up tothe light of science and
history.
This is Stoner StereotypesBreaking Down the Myths.
And I'm glad you're with metoday.
If you've been listening to BiteMe for a little while, thank you
so much.
I'm really glad you're here.
(07:02):
And if you're new, this is a funone.
So let's dive in.
So let's start with the big one: the foundation upon which all (07:06):
undefined
other stereotypes are built.
Myth number one is of course thelazy, unmotivated couch potato.
This is the image of theamotivational syndrome, a term
coined back in the 1960s todescribe cannabis users who
(07:29):
supposedly lose all ambition.
It's the idea that cannabisdrains your energy, your drive,
and your will to do anythingother than watch cartoons.
But when the researchersactually tried to prove this,
they've consistently come upempty-handed.
A major study from theUniversity of Cambridge, for
example, found no difference inmotivation for rewards, apathy
(07:52):
levels, or pleasure-seekingbetween cannabis users and
non-users.
More recently, a fascinatingstudy in April 2024 published in
Social, Psychological, andPersonality Science, gave us an
even clearer picture.
Researchers found that whilebeing high might make someone a
little less orderly or a bitmore impulsive in that moment,
(08:15):
it does not fundamentally killtheir ethic or their inner
drive.
The will to succeed is stillthere.
So the study's lead author putit pretty perfectly.
He said, and I'm paraphrasinghere, these things can detract
from getting stuff done, but wedidn't find it made them less
hardworking or responsible.
(08:35):
And that I think is a crucialdistinction.
Feeling a bit fuzzy for a fewhours is not the same as
inherently being a lazy person.
And maybe that stereotype haspersisted for so long because
there's just lazy people in theworld who also happen to smoke
cannabis, which is somethingcompletely different.
And honestly, the anecdotalevidence is pretty overwhelming.
(08:57):
So let's play a little game.
I'm going to list some peopleand you can tell me what they
have in common.
I am going to give you a hint,of course, that uh I think we
already know the answer to this.
Uh Carl Sagan, the brilliantastrophysicist who guided us
through the cosmos and wroteunder pseudonym Mr.
(09:18):
X, Steve Jobs, the visionaryco-founder of Apple, Lady Gaga,
a global pop superstar andprolific songwriter.
So, what do these three folksall have in common?
They are all titans in theirfield and they have all used
cannabis.
And so the idea that cannabisautomat automatically makes you
(09:40):
lazy is not just wrong, it'sinsulting to the millions of
ambitious, successful, andhardworking people who also
happen to enjoy it.
And I would also point to forfurther evidence to bite me the
show about edibles.
If you go back and look at theback catalog of all the guests
that I've had on this show, I'vehad scientists, I've had PhD,
(10:07):
educated researchers, I've hadengineers, uh, doctors.
Have I had a doctor on here?
I am actually next week, staytuned.
I am, I will be having aveterinarian, which is an animal
doctor, business people, chefswho are extremely successful.
There's been all kinds of peopleon this show that I've had the
(10:30):
opportunity to interview.
And that one common third, ofcourse, is that we all love
cannabis.
And I could also point to thefact that if cannabis made you
lazy, I would not be putting outweekly episodes for the last six
years.
So I am the anti-stereotypemyself.
Okay, so let's go on to mythnumber two: the forgetful
dumbstoner.
The like, I mean, maybe maybeyou've seen Dude Where's My Car.
(10:54):
That's that kind of stereotype.
The person who walks into a roomand immediately forgets that
they're there or why they'rethere.
And look, we have to be honest,there is a kernel of truth here.
THC, the main cycloactivecompound in cannabis, can
temporarily interfere with thebrain's ability to form new
short-term memory.
That's why you might lose yourtrain of thought, mid-sentence,
(11:15):
or forget a great idea you hadfive minutes ago.
But the keyword here istemporary.
This isn't permanent braindamage.
Think of it like this (11:23):
when you have a few drinks, your
coordination is impaired, butyou don't assume you've
permanently lost your ability towalk in a straight line.
Once the effect wears off, yourbrain's normal memory function
returns.
We never question that when itcomes to alcohol, and yet we
question that when it comes tocannabis.
In fact, some researchers arguethat this temporary disruption
(11:44):
of linear thought is exactlywhat can lead to enhanced
creativity.
By quieting the brain's rigiddefault mode network, cannabis
may allow for more common ornovel connections to be made.
What's known as divergentthinking.
It helps you connect the dots inways you might not have
otherwise.
It's not about being dumber,it's about thinking differently.
(12:07):
And that's the key.
And also, let's all be honesthere as well.
Those short-term lapses inmemory may have nothing to do
with the cannabis.
It could be related to justnatural aging, perimenopause.
There's probably other factorsin there as well.
But those are two things,natural aging and women going
through the transition, that canaffect your short-term memory as
(12:31):
well.
I mean, how many times have youput your glasses on your head
and then like been like, wheredid I put my glasses?
And done that when you weren'thigh.
I should also note that thatnatural aging thing is a big
thing.
As of late, my father, who Ilive with, has been known to
say, I think I'm starting tolose my marbles.
(12:53):
And at the age of 94, I tell himmaybe he needs to be a little
gentler with himself because heis definitely likely
experiencing some of theage-related memory loss that
comes.
So keep smoking your cannabis,keep doing your crossword
puzzles too.
SPEAKER_01 (13:09):
Honest.
Honest.
If you were being honest with meand honest with yourself, I'm
afraid you'd tell me an entirelydifferent story.
SPEAKER_00 (13:20):
Cannabis is the gateway drug.
Ugh, I used to hear this all thetime when I was in high school
in those drug assemblies and thepresentations we got from local
police officers.
It's perhaps the most damagingmyth of all, the idea that the
smoking of a joint is the firststep to an inevitable path to
heroin or cocaine.
And this is pure propaganda,born in the 1930s.
(13:44):
You may all know a man namedHarry Ann Slinger, the head of
the Federal Bureau of Narcotics,and he needed a new crusade
after alcohol prohibition ended.
He latched onto cannabis using aracially charged rhetoric and
fabricated stories, his famousgore files, to create a public
panic.
But from the very beginning, hisown government's research proved
(14:06):
him wrong.
In 1944, the New York Academy ofMedicines LaGuardia report found
no evidence that cannabis led tohard drug use.
In 1972, the government's ownSchaefer Commission came to the
exact same conclusion.
They debunked the gateway theorycompletely.
So why does it persist?
Because of a simple logicalfallacy, confusing correlation
(14:29):
with causation.
It's true that most people whouse hard drugs have also tried
cannabis.
But guess what?
They have also all had a glassof milk.
They have all eaten bread.
They've all tried a sugarysnack.
The vast, vast majority ofpeople who try cannabis never go
on to use harder substances.
The real gateway isn't asubstance.
(14:51):
It's factors like poverty,trauma, mental health issues,
accessibility.
People start with what'savailable.
And in a fascinating twist,modern research is now exploring
cannabis as an exit drug, a farsafer alternative that can help
people get off dangerous drugsand highly addictive opioids,
harm reduction, if you will.
And I do talk about that in myinterviews with Amanda Ryman on
(15:14):
the show, one of the examples ofan incredibly accomplished woman
in her field, a PhD, aresearcher, an advocate who also
uses cannabis.
Now, finally, let's talk aboutmyth number four, the unhealthy
addict.
This stereotype cannabis usersin with the most tragic images
of addiction, suggesting they'reall physically dependent,
unhealthy, and unhygienic.
(15:35):
Let's be responsible here.
Cannabis use disorder is real.
It's defined by a person usingmore than what they want to, and
it causing significant problemsin their life.
About 9 to 30% of users maydevelop some degree of it, but
that number needs some context.
For comparison, about 15% ofpeople who drink alcohol develop
alcohol use disorder.
(15:57):
15%.
And let's think about how widelypervasive alcohol use is.
So that's a pretty big number.
For heroin, it's about 23%.
Nicotine, this probably won'tsurprise anybody who has ever
had to quit smoking cigarettes,and I am in that category.
Whopping 32% of users becomedependent.
(16:19):
I'm surprised actually thatnumber's not higher because
nicotine is so incrediblyaddictive.
By any measure, cannabis issignificantly less addictive
than many legal substances,legal substances, not to mention
things like caffeine that weconsume every day.
And also, I read a book byMichael Pollan.
I have offhand the name of thatbook eludes me.
(16:39):
It was not how to change yourmind, which I also read,
excellent book, but one that hedid on some of the common
substances that rule our lives.
And he talked about open to thebook with caffeine.
Caffeine being the most widelypervasive drug in the world and
the only one we routinely giveto children.
So let that sink in.
(16:59):
I didn't even start drinkingcoffee myself until my late 30s,
and now I can't imagine goingwithout it.
I could give up cannabis for atolerance break.
I'd be a lot more hard-pressedto give up the coffee.
The headaches I would get, justthinking about the headaches I
would get from that, is probablyone reason why I might just
continue drinking it.
In any case, I feel like I havea healthy relationship with
(17:21):
coffee, but it just goes toshow.
And what about overdose?
This is pretty critical.
There has never been in all ofrecorded history a single
confirmed fatal overdose fromcannabis alone.
It's just not possible forhumans to consume enough to
cause a fatal overdose or afatal outcome.
Now you can certainly have aterrible time.
(17:42):
Anybody who's used cannabis forany length of time knows that if
you take too much, you canexperience a green out.
When I was in high school, wecalled it Caspering.
I'm definitely aging myselfthere because you, instead of
looking green, I thought youlooked really white, like Casper
the Friendly Ghost.
Anyway, and that's when you'refilled with anxiety, paranoia,
nausea.
(18:02):
You can feel pretty awful.
An edibles overdose can be evenworse.
Panic attacks, like all the restof it.
But it's not life-threatening.
You will come down, you willsurvive, you will not have any
permanent damage.
So the conversation aroundcannabis has been clouded by
fear and misinformation fornearly a century.
The lazy stoner, the brain-dead,forgetful fool, the gateway drug
(18:24):
user.
These are not reflections ofreality.
They are the ghosts ofpropaganda.
And the truth is, there is nosingle type of cannabis user.
There's doctors and lawyers,artists and engineers, parents
and grandparents, people fromall walks of life, using it for
a multitude of reasons.
Relaxation, creativity, medicalrelief, or simply to enjoy a
(18:45):
different perspective.
So the next time you hearsomeone use the word stoner,
maybe pause and ask them, whichone do you mean?
The astrophysicist?
The tech billionaire?
The Grammy-winning musician?
Or your friendly neighbor downthe street?
That's it for this week, myfriends.
(19:06):
Thanks for listening.
This has been StonerStereotypes, Debunking the
Myths.
And I hope this helps you haveconversations with some of the
people you might be spendingsome time with.
And until next week, my friends,I am your host, Margaret.
Stay hi.
SPEAKER_01 (19:24):
It's like making 10 times more higher than the
crossbreak and the pineapplespreads, man.
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