Health

Spot-On Memes Highlight Undeniable Facts About Weed Everyone Should Know

July 14th 2017

People have been using marijuana — in all different forms and amounts — for thousands of years. And while we still haven't learned everything about the plant, one fact that has stood the test of time is that it's never caused a fatal overdose.

nevada-marijuanaAP/Brandon Marshall - apimages.com

Even the Drug Administration Administration (DEA), which has historically resisted efforts to loosen federal marijuana laws since its prohibition almost 50 years ago, recently admitted as much. In it's annual "Drugs of Abuse" report, released in June, the agency recognized, "[n]o deaths from overdose of marijuana have been reported."

Legalization advocates and marijuana users probably didn't need that reminder. Memes emphasizing that marijuana use is not deadly have been circulating for some time. 

marijuanaImgur - imgur.com

memeImgur - bluestemprairie.com

weedImgur - marijuanapackaging.com

Despite evidence that cannabis is non-toxic and non-addictive, the DEA has repeatedly declined to reschedule it under federal law. It remains Schedule 1, the strictest category in the Controlled Substances Act that's reserved for the most dangerous and addictive drugs, which have no accepted medical value. Marijuana, which has been identified in numerous studies as a potential therapeutic option for various medical conditions, sits beside heroin, which killed about 13,000 Americans in 2015.

While the DEA has faced criticism for its role in cannabis prohibition, there's been a recent shift in its public messaging at the agency.

highway-patrol-digging-up-marijuana-plantsAP/Ival Lawhon Jr. - apimages.com

In February, the DEA removed several false claims about marijuana from its website — which appears to be a response to a campaign from the legalization advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA). The website no longer features misleading information about marijuana being a "gateway drug" to harder substances, or claims that "cannabis can cause psychosis, lung cancer, and permanent cognitive damage," Leafly reported.

"The DEA’s removal of these popular myths about cannabis from their website could mean the end of the Washington gridlock," ASA Executive Director Steph Sherer said in a statement.

Still, while recognizing that marijuana hasn't led to fatal overdoses and that it doesn't cause permanent brain damage represents a step in the right direction. But from an advocates' perspective, it still falls short in terms of implementing corresponding policies at the federal level.

Check out ATTN:'s latest video on the DEA's new take on marijuana below:

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