If young people are hearing that marijuana is fun and harmless because it’s natural, then they’re missing the facts. Marijuana contains over 400 different chemicals, is highly addictive and is more potent today – with 300% more THC than 1970’s marijuana.

Marijuana contains up to four times the amount of tar as tobacco, and can wreak havoc on your teen’s brain development and future. Using marijuana can affect the amount of oxygen getting to their brain, can make it harder for teens to feel good when they aren’t using marijuana, and can impact their athletic, educational or career opportunities.

The Myths

1. “Marijuana is a plant. It’s natural, how harmful can it be?”
2. “Marijuana cures disease”
3. “Marijuana is not addictive”
4. “Weed is much safer than drinking alcohol.”
5. “Marijuana is not a gateway drug.”
6. “Marijuana calms me down and helps me focus.”
7. “You can’t overdose on weed.”
8. “I am a better driver when I smoke pot.”
9. “You used marijuana.”
10. “It won’t harm my lungs”

The Facts

1. Many plants, including marijuana, have medicinal properties. But that doesn’t mean that in order to derive those medicinal benefits, we should smoke or ingest its raw, crude form to derive its medicinal benefits. After all, we don’t smoke opium to get the benefits of morphine. Using marijuana can produce adverse physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral changes. Marijuana use can harm the lungs, impair short-term memory, verbal skills, and judgment, and can also distort perception.
2. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved marijuana to treat any medical illness. The American Medical Association does not recommend smoking marijuana as a cure or palliative for any diseases (marijuana does not cure cancer).
3. Marijuana is addictive. A user may feel the urge to smoke marij ...