cannabis

For years, these narratives were happily passed from homes to offices, to schools and every part of the society in a bid to prevent the society from having anything to do with the substance. As expected, the media is the best platform to use for this propaganda, and they have done their fair share of the job meritoriously in the past years so much that anyone who hears the word cannabis, only thinks of horror, hazard, and negativity.

Any member of the society who uses cannabis in any form is viewed as an outcast and sometimes, highly dangerous to the sanity of the society. It’s important to also stress the fact that individuals who are caught with cannabis are termed criminals by the law and are treated as such on virtually all occasions. Yes, it is that serious.

Looking back and going by the current realities, is it safe to say the society has been erroneous about its stands on cannabis in the past? We think it has been a clear and obvious error, and the mainstream media owes an apology to the public for not carrying out enough research about cannabis in the past before getting on that strong propaganda against it. It’s not just about the ill-treatment those who have dared to use it have suffered, but it is also the fact that the society has been prevented from enjoying a lot of the immense health benefits that come with cannabis for decades. The truth is, some of the ailments that have taken several lives could have been properly taken care of through the use of cannabis. Let us quickly highlight a few of the immense health benefits that come with cannabis below.

Health Benefits of Cannabis

Here are some of the health benefits of cannabis.

Treatment of chronic pain.

Cannabis prevents diabetes according to researches.

It helps in treating depression.

It helps in reducing anxiety.

Cannabis fights cancer.

Cannabis helps in preventing obesity.

Now, these are just a few of the health benefits that come with the use of cannabis in any of its form. We could clearly see that, this substance would have helped in the treatment of a lot of ailments in the past had it been taken more seriously and not victimized needlessly by the mainstream media.

In the light of the current realities, let us look back at five times the media have wrongly bashed cannabis.

5 Times the Media Wrongly Bashed Cannabis

The Use of Cannabis would Increase Crime

One of the most popular propaganda by the media is that the use of cannabis would increase crime rate and threaten the security of the society. Now, how true is that? It must be said that initially, they seem to have a point as they were able to present some isolated cases involving some individuals who use cannabis at the time. However, looking at the bigger picture, this is a blatant lie and it doesn’t even hold in any sense. Cannabis doesn’t make anyone take to crime, especially when taken in the right dosage. Statistics have also shown that crime rates have reduced drastically in states that have legalized the use of cannabis when compared to the rate before it was legalized.

The Use of Cannabis Causes Road Accidents

The media has also said the use of cannabis is one of the main causes of road accidents. They cite hyper activities, anxiety and violent behaviors of the users as the main reasons why they are likely going to be involved in road accidents as against people who don’t use the substance. However, recent studies and revelations have proven those allegations to be untrue. In fact, cannabis helps in reducing anxiety and pressure and helps people in making better decisions. Statistics have also shown in recent years that there is a considerable drop in the rate of road accidents in states that have legalized cannabis compared to states that are still against it.

The Use of Cannabis Makes People Unproductive and Lazy

Another stick the media has used in beating cannabis in the past is that people who use cannabis are outrightly dumb, lazy and unproductive, which is not what the society needs. Now, looking back, this is an utter lie which no sane mind should even believe. It’s possible that some users of cannabis are dull and uninspiring, but it is like that in every part of life, cannabis or not. What is a fact and cannot be ignored is, the use of cannabis actually inspires and don’t make anyone unproductive. As a matter of fact, a lot of people who use cannabis have been found to be creative geniuses. Some of them have come up with great inventions and thousands of them are doing considered geniuses in the entertainment industry and other walks of life.

The Use of Cannabis would lead People to Other Drugs

The media has also said the use of cannabis would be a gateway to other drugs which is bad for the society. We understand the sympathy of the media for the society, but this is also wrong. Now, all substances can be abused when there is no proper information and guidelines as to how to use them, and one abuse leads to others. But, this is not only limited to cannabis and it is just utterly wrong to make this about it. The media itself has prevented the society from knowing exactly how to use cannabis and what proper dosage is good for the users through their full blown war against it. If this has been addresses initially, cannabis would have been like another aspirin or antibiotics since it would be regulated, and we wouldn’t even be talking of it being a gateway to other drugs except we want to make the same case for aspirin or the other legal drugs.

Legalization of Cannabis Paints the Nation in Bad Light

When the conversations about legalizing cannabis fist came up, the media came up with a weak argument that legalizing the substance in any form would portray the country in a bad light. Now, this is coming from a media that has no problem with alcohol, and we are all well aware that cannabis is even better than alcohol in its current form, not to talk of when it becomes regulated and refined. Also, Canada has legalized all forms of Cannabis and we can’t hear of anyone talking ill about the country.

As of the time of writing this article, eleven states in the United States have legalized the use of cannabis already, and we expect a lot more to follow in the coming months as the public deserves the amazing health benefits that comes with it.