Three substances far more dangerous than marijuana are readily available at your nearest convenience store. Tobacco, alcohol and sugar are all substances that are more addictive than pot, and they’re more likely to make you sick too.
Polling conducted by NBC News and The Wall Street Journal in 2014, revealed that more and more people are starting to agree that pot is safer than “everyday” items like beer and cigarettes. Who would have thought? Nearly half of those polled (49 percent) believed that tobacco was the most dangerous substance, while alcohol trailed behind at 24 percent, followed by sugar at 15 percent. Only a mere 8 percent of people polled felt that marijuana was the most dangerous. Given all the coverage of marijuana’s health benefits, this is hardly surprising.
Hemp is another product that has faced government scrutiny; growing it requires a permit that is basically impossible to get. However, hemp products have managed to remain legal. Hemp supplements can also help to support good health. Mike Adams recently joined forces with Native Hemp Solutions to provide us with a hemp extract that is lab-validated for accuracy. In fact, his very own CWC Labs tests for the CBD content in the products, to ensure that these hemp extracts are 100 percent authentic.
The crack-down on hemp certainly has not been as severe as what we’ve witnessed with marijuana. Cannabis has been wrongfully demonized for nearly a century and our country is just beginning to come around.
Some doctors even agree that alcohol is more dangerous than pot. Dr. Aaron Carroll, a professor of pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine, told CBS News that while he feels the first answer should always be that neither is a “safe” option, he does believe that alcohol is worse.
Carroll said, “After going through all the data and looking at which is more dangerous in almost any metric you would pick, pot really looks like it’s safer than alcohol.” He also goes on to note that most of the crimes committed that involve marijuana have to do with illegal distribution, and there are not a lot of violent crimes perpetrated by pot smokers. Conversely, there are a very large number of crimes committed that involve alcohol as a component. Alcohol is known for contributing to violent assaults, in particular. Carroll says, “It’s far worse than what’s going on with pot.”
In addition to causing less crime, pot also appears to be less addictive. Studies show that only 9 percent of people who experiment with pot will become addicted or dependent on it. In contrast, more than 20 percent of people who experiment with booze will become dependent or abuse it. So, in reality, alcohol is far more likely to cause problems later in life.
The only real reason why booze and tobacco are generally more “accepted” by society is because they’ve been part of our culture for longer. Marijuana is being treated the same way alcohol was treated during prohibition. Prohibition on alcohol ended in 1933; isn’t it time we did the same for marijuana?
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