Debunking Myths: 10 Common Misconceptions About Medical Marijuana Explained by Charlotte NC Experts
North Carolina could get a massive infusion of much-needed state funds by letting medical marijuana be legal. It’s estimated around $15.1 million in revenue from state taxes could help improve roads, aid education, and make our state that much more of a wonderful place to live, work, and play.
Unfortunately, some myths sometimes make things a little confusing. With so much demand for medical marijuana, it makes sense for our professional and experienced team at Charlotte Marijuana Doctor to provide a little expert insight into everything about cannabis as a medical treatment.
What is Medical Marijuana?
First, let’s establish a few finer points. Medical marijuana is not recreational. Making the medical application of this substance legal doesn’t mean you’ll start seeing endless people smoking, vaping, or eating edibles at your local café.
What it does mean is those with incredibly challenging medical conditions like PTSD, chronic pain, or epilepsy get the THC and CBD content prescribed by a licensed medical professional for treatment.
Unlike recreational weed, medical cannabis is specially designed only for symptom relief and quality of life improvement through therapeutic use.
Now, let’s get into some of the more common myths you may come across when speaking with people about medical marijuana in North Carolina.
Myths About Medical Marijuana
1 – Medical Marijuana Isn’t for Medical Use
Plenty of research, from the therapeutic benefits of cannabis on mental health issues to the treatment of chronic pain, exists. Yes, more research about medical marijuana needs to be done, which is why a federal bill (H.R.8454) was signed in 2022 to expand how well this treatment works.
That being said, even a little relief from the symptoms of things like cancer, dementia, Parkinson’s, and more is something many patients seek – especially when you consider the little to no side effects of this substance.
2 – Smoking Weed is Just Like Smoking Cigarettes
It is difficult to measure which substance will have a more significant impact on smoking, but there is one thing for sure – those smoking cigarettes do it much more frequently than those using medical marijuana.
Most major research shows that the relationship is uncertain. What we do know is cigarettes cause around 480,000 deaths per year in the United States. Marijuana comes in at a fraction of that number at around 4,821 fatal occupational deaths (not directly related to smoking). To put that in perspective, there were 178,000 deaths related to alcohol in 2021.
3 – Marijuana Overdoses are Common
There has never been a reported death in an adult due to a medical marijuana overdose. For certain, using more than the prescribed volume of THC in a single sitting can lead to some uncomfortable situations, but this isn’t life-threatening.
Social media likes to spread the myth that overdosing is common with marijuana. However, there is no evidence to support this claim.
4 – Medical Cannabis Means Lung Cancer
Limited to no research has shown there is a connection between cannabis and cancer. While smoking anything too much can lead to some serious lung issues, if you stick to the pre-determined prescription by a qualified team like ours at Charlotte Marijuana Doctor, you should be fine.
This is much different than the poisons in tobacco that will change a cell’s DNA and increase your chances of cancerous tumors.
5 – You Can Get Easily Addicted to Marijuana
Getting addicted to medical marijuana is much different than alcohol or tobacco. For starters, only around 2-5% of users are ever at risk of addiction (that doesn’t mean they are actually addicted).
Secondly, there are many other factors like lifestyle, genetics, frequency of use, and personal susceptibility that play much larger roles in addition to any substance. As far as cannabis is considered, this is a “low to no” risk factor.
6 – Cannabis Leads to Memory Loss
This is both true and false. When you’re using medical marijuana in North Carolina, the THC can “bind” to your short-term memory and cause you to forget certain things due to a “high.” However, once you come back down, those issues naturally fade away.
In fact, medical marijuana has been shown to have a positive impact on neurodegenerative diseases that directly affect memory function. These would be diseases like Huntington’s Chorea, Alzheimer’s, and epilepsy.
7 – Medical Marijuana is a Gateway Drug
This myth is nothing more than a claim by those wanting to slow the legalization of North Carolina medical marijuana. The risk of marijuana leading to other “harder” drugs comes from adolescents using weed and having other familial, neurological, and psychological issues converging together.
Cannabis by itself does not trigger a sudden need for speed, cocaine, or any other form of illegal substance. Most people begin their lives testing alcohol as a substance long before trying medical marijuana, cigarettes, or anything else.
8 – You Have to Smoke Marijuana for Effectiveness
Luckily, this is an extreme myth. Medical marijuana can come in the form of all kinds of easy-to-use methods. You can smoke medical marijuana as a way to alleviate common symptoms of your specific diagnosis, but there are also other options like:
- Tinctures
- Edibles
- Topicals
- Vaping
- Capsules
- Oils
- Concentrates
- And more
It is just as common to visit someone treating PTSD with a CBD/THC gummy edible as it is a marijuana blunt for smoking.
9 – Medical Marijuana will Never Be Legal
Medical marijuana is gaining incredible legal status across the United States. As of this writing, 38 of the 50 states allow medical marijuana, and 24 of those allow recreational use.
We wrote a great article on the legalization of medical marijuana in North Carolina you might want to read but to summarize, there are active bills in front of state legislators poised to be enacted. There is also massive public support for the medical use of cannabis, and even a Native American tribe implementing the fair use of THC on designated land.
10 – Medical Marijuana Increases Teen Drug Use
There was a fantastic study in July 2021 from the Journal of the American Medical Association. It found that there was no significant increase in teen drug use in states where medical marijuana had been enacted.
While there should always be safeguards in place to prevent teenage use of any controlled substance, including alcohol and tobacco, this is a myth without any evidence-based research.
Getting Your North Carolina Medical Marijuana Card
Now that you’ve seen the proof debunking all of the common myths about cannabis, what is stopping you from getting pre-registered for your North Carolina medical marijuana card?
Our team at Charlotte Marijuana Doctor has helped over 25,000 patients get access to the pain and symptom relief they need. Since 2016, we have worked with everything from ADHD to anxiety to migraines, helping everyone from military veterans to aging grandparents get the treatments they need.
Give us a call today or schedule your in-person visit. Our fully licensed medical team will walk you through the simple process of getting your North Carolina medical marijuana card.
The myths around medical marijuana and THC/CBD use are not likely to go away. As long as there are people out there willing to believe the headlines without doing a little research, there will always be miscommunication.
As leading experts in the field, our job at Charlotte Marijuana Doctor is to inform, aid, and ensure all patients get the crucial information they need to explore all possible treatment plans. Give us a call today, and let’s schedule your upcoming visit.
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