More and more U.S. states are legalizing marijuana for medical and recreational uses. The latest, Illinois, legalized recreational marijuana when Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the Illinois Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act on June 25, 2019. Currently, most states have some form of legalization, whether it’s full legalization such as in Washington and Colorado, or medical legalization in states like New Jersey and Florida. There remain only a few holdouts where the substance is fully illegal, including Alabama, Tennessee and Idaho.
Cannabis has already become a booming business in states where legalization has been in effect for years and the trend seems on pace to continue. So with so much talk of marijuana out there, it’s time to separate the facts from the fiction. Here are 39 of the most surprising and unusual facts about marijuana:
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1. It has a low rate of dependency
According to a study, “9 percent of those who try marijuana develop dependence.” Compared to other substances like cocaine and heroin, marijuana dependency is low. However, marijuana is also much more widely used than other substances.
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2. A lot of us have tried it
Even with all the confusion around laws and its history of illegality, researchers say that 42% of Americans have tried marijuana.
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3. It’s considered safer than alcohol & cigarettes
Multiple studies have found that marijuana is safer than both alcohol and cigarettes.
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4. Alaska always gets forgotten
We tend to think of Colorado and Washington when we think about legal weed, but both Alaska and Oregon legalized recreational marijuana use and possession just a few years later.
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5. It may have cancer fighting powers
Scientists at California Pacific Medical Center studied a compound derived from marijuana and discovered that it may
prevent metastasis in some aggressive cancers. The scientists were studying CBD, the substance in marijuana that is non-psychoactive.
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6. Arrests continue despite legalization
Despite pushes for legalization, there are still a lot of arrests made in the U.S. for marijuana possession. In
2015, 650,000 people were arrested because of violations related to marijuana. That’s 40% of drug arrests in the country and one arrest every 50 seconds! And these arrests are still disproportionately focused on black and Latino communities.
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7. Legal marijuana is less potent
Illegal marijuana tends to be stronger than legal marijuana. This is partly because legal marijuana is more carefully measured for consistency and potency.
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8. Negative cognitive effects haven’t been proven
While there are conflicting reports on the effect of marijuana on teenagers, in adults negative cognitive effects like changes in memory, perception and thoughts tend to be temporary. There is currently no evidence that marijuana use, even among heavy users, will permanently damage an adult’s memory or cognition.
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9. It’s completely legal in North Korea
Despite North Korea’s strict stance on other drugs, marijuana is not even considered a drug in the country.
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10. The founding fathers grew hemp
In the 1700s, both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew hemp and in the 1800s marijuana was sold in some drugstores for relief of migraines and menstrual cramps.
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11. It was legal until the early 1900s
Marijuana started to get banned in the U.S. in the early 1900s. The 1930s saw the country’s first drug czar, Harry Anslinger, who started to make claims that marijuana turned youth into homicidal maniacs.
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12. Uruguay was the first country to legalize
In 2013, Uruguay became the first country in the world to allow its citizens to grow, sell and consume marijuana legally.
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13. People have been sentenced to life in prison
The ACLU has tracked multiple cases where people were sentenced to life in prison without parole for marijuana possession. In one case, the person possessed 32 grams of marijuana (that’s just over an ounce). In another, they acted as
a go-between for the sale of just $10 of marijuana.
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14. Dispensaries outnumbered Starbucks
In 2010, legalization produced such a boom in Colorado that medical marijuana dispensaries outnumbered Starbucks stores by a ratio of 3 to 1.
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15. It’s a growth industry
In 2015, legal marijuana was the fastest-growing industy in the U.S., with a market of $2.7 billion.
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16. It turned one man into a bat
James Munch served as the U.S. Official Expert on “Marihuana” from 1939 to 1962. During that time he testified under oath that marijuana had turned him into a bat.
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17. It’s been around a long time …
The earliest recorded use of cannabis is from China in 6,000, B.C., when cannabis seeds were used for food.
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18. … and used for recreational purposes …
The oldest stash of marijuana ever found also came from China. Researchers discovered 789 grams of dried cannabis
“cultivated for psychoactive purposes” in a 2,700-year-old tomb in China.
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19. You can buy weed smoothies in India
In India, Bhang shops sell cannabis-infused drinks like bhang lassi and bhang thandai, particularly during the celebration of Holi.
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20. A marijuana sale was the first online transaction
In 1971 or 1972, the first online transaction happened, well before Amazon or eBay. What was it? Marijuana sold between students at Stanford and MIT.
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21. It’s buried with Bob Marley
Bob Marley was buried on May 21, 1981, along with his red Gibson Les Paul guitar, a Bible open to Psalm 23 and a stalk of marijuana.
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22. It’s almost impossible to overdose on marijuana
Overdosing on marijuana is technically possible, but extraordinarily unlikely. In theory, a smoker would have to consume almost 1,500 pounds of marijuana in just 15 minutes to overdose, making it a practical impossibility.
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23. More popular than Girl Scout cookies?
In 2015, legal marijuana outsold Girl Scout cookies.
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24. Sales could top $12 billion this year …
Sales of marijuana are on the rise. By the end of this year, sales in the U.S. could surpass $12 billion, an increase of about 35% over 2018.
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25. … and those sales are expected to grow
By 2022, yearly marijuana sales in the U.S. could hit $22 billion. This is partly due to more and more states opening medical and sometimes recreational marijuana markets.
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26. Hollywood sign of the times
After California changed its marijuana laws in 1976, prankster Danny Finegood hung curtains over the Hollywood sign to change it to “Hollyweed.” It happened again on New Year’s Day, 2017, when another prankster scaled Mount Lee to change the sign.
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27. One man paved the way for medical marijuana
In 1982, a man with a rare and painful type of bone tumor condition, Irvin Rosenfeld, sued the federal government for access to marijuana medicine – and won, paving the way for others with qualifying conditions. Today, he gets his marijuana from the federal government, picking up 300 joints every 30 days.
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28. Bill Murray told a bad joke … and got busted
On his twentieth birthday, Bill Murray joked about having bombs in his suitcase while in an airport. When agents searched his luggage, they instead found $20,000 worth of marijuana.
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29. Cannabis is good for the soil
In 2017, farmers in Italy started cultivating cannabis in order to decontaminate polluted soil. The plants helped pull heavy metals out of the ground.
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30. William Shakespeare may have smoked weed
A study of pipe fragments from William Shakespeare’s garden revealed traces of cannabis.
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31. Legalization in 33 states & counting
As of 2019, 33 U.S. states have legalized marijuana in some form.
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32. It’s used by ‘high achievers’
A study of 6,000 teenagers in the U.K. found that high-achieving teens were more likely than their peers to drink alcohol and use cannabis.
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33. There was a real Mary Jane
There was a real Mary Jane. Mary Jane Rathburn, or Brownie Mary, baked and distributed marijuana brownies for AIDS patients.
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34. Easter Island had hemp
The Easter Island statues may have moved. How? With ropes made of hemp, the fibers of the marijuana plant.
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35. Women may be more sensitive to THC
Estrogen levels may make some people more sensitive to THC, the active ingredient in cannabis. Female rats
were at least 30% more sensitive to the properties of THC, including pain relief.
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36. It can be used for pets, but use caution
Marijuana may have some therapeutic benefits for sick pets. But proceed with caution. Dogs and cats can also die from marijuana toxicosis.
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37. Some people have allergic reactions
People can be allergic to pot. Experts found that people are sometimes, though rarely, allergic to the pollen or smoke of the marijuana plant.
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38. Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome is real
Marijuana can cause “cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome,” a condition characterized by “cyclic episodes of nausea and vomiting.”
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39. Weapon of war
During World War II, the Office of Strategic Services investigated marijuana as a means of spiking cigarettes and inducing detainees to spill their secrets.
This article was produced and syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
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