Marijuana 1s
not harmless

> Debunking the myths around pot

Cazzy Lewchuk
Opinions Editor

 

believe that marijuana is significantly
less harmful than most drugs
out there are. It is especially less
dangerous than alcohol and cigarettes,
both substances that kill thousands
each year, yet are still legal.

Despite marijuana’s relative safe
use—particularly in moderation—it is
not a harmless drug. It does not have
the same physiological effects that other
substances do, as it is impossible to die
of a weed overdose, and it does not have
the physical effects that cause addiction.
However, it does have many unpleasant
side effects, both short and long-term.

Perhaps the most damaging aspect
of pot is the fact that it’s (usually) a form

of smoking. While it does not contain
the many, many harmful chemicals
that cigarettes do, pulling smoke into
one’s lungs is still not a healthy thing
to do. Over time, it can and does cause
breathing problems, damage to the
lungs, and futher issues for those with
respiratory conditions such as asthma.

While marijuana is not physically
addictive, dependency and psychological
addictions are very real. Many
can get addicted to the feeling of
being high all the time. People with
addictive personalities are particularly
likely to get hooked on pot.

Marijuana can be, and frequently is,
used for medicinal purposes. Although
I'd bet most of the “medical marijuana”
dispensary customers are not solely using
the product for health reasons, weed can
genuinely treat many conditions. On the

other side, marijuana is seen by some
as a miracle drug and proper substitute
for actual medication. For example, it
may behave as a painkiller and aid the
side effects of chemotherapy, but it is
not an alternative for the actual cancer-
fighting drugs, nor the chemo itself.
On a recreational and medicinal
level, the social stigma has clouded
knowledge on weed’s side effects. It
remains illegal and a social taboo,
leading to a lack of education. Facts
matter in determining weed’s effect
on society, and restricting access
to information helps no one. Many
studies on pot’s long-term effects on
the body and in its potential medicinal
uses have been deterred due to the
drug’s social and legal standing. The
fact that marijuana’s full side-effects
are not yet fully known should be a

Let he without a problematic
fave cast the first stone

> Guilty by association... or not

Rebecca Peterson
Humour Editor

 

He: something I’ve been thinking
a lot about recently: It’s really easy
to get annoyed when people you like
don’t hate the same people you do.

I remember this used to really
bother me as a kid, because honestly,
everything bothered me when I was a
kid. It’s part of why I’m on medication
now. Even so, as with most decent
writers and comedians, I’ve had
my share of bullies, and I couldn't
understand why other kids in the class
who weren't bullies were friends with
such assholes. Could they not see that
the eight-year-old girl that called me a
freak was filled with unspeakable evil?
Were they blind to the hellfire burning
deep within that third-grader’s eyes?

Tread a lot of books—specifically,
a lot of Lord of the Rings and Harry
Potter, over and over—so | had a pretty
clear-cut sense of good and evil. I
figured good people were good people
and evil people were evil people. So
when good people went to evil people’s
slumber parties and signed their
grade seven yearbook, my worldview
was thrown entirely for a loop.

Thankfully, I became older, wiser,
and—as previously mentioned—
medicated, and I developed a healthy
zen about the whole thing. “One man’s

asshole is another man’s bestie,” I mused.

 

Image v via nymag.com

Felix Kjellberg

After all, I’ve had friends with asshole
friends, and I have, arguably, been that
asshole friend. In all our interconnected
social networks, it just doesn’t make
sense to drop good people out of your life
because they occasionally have bad taste.

I think this is a principle most of us
can get behind, so here’s where it gets
tricky: applying it to public figures.

I was recently disappointed by a
YouTuber I like after she posted a video
in which she called herself a “huge fan”
of YouTuber, real name Felix Kjellberg,
PewDiePie in response to public
criticism for an absurdly racist “practical
joke” he played in January. I’m not here
to argue over Felix Kjellberg’s actions,
whether they were racist (they were) or
if he deserved to be cut from his deal

with Disney because of them (he did). I
have never been a fan of Felix Kjellberg,
but I have been a long-time fan of the
YouTuber supporting him, and it hurt
that she didn’t seem to understand

the very real pain that people suffered
because of his “joke,” especially in
such a turbulent time. She received

a lot of criticism for her comments,
criticism that she joked about and
brushed off instead of taking seriously,
which was also frustrating to watch.

On Twitter, however, I saw
another favourite YouTuber of mine
talk about the matter, someone who'd
met Felix Kjellberg a few times. All he
said was that he didn’t support Felix
Kjellberg’s actions, but that when he'd
met the man in person he seemed like
a “nice guy.” Suddenly this YouTuber
was inundated with messages from
various anonymous internet people
calling him a “literal Nazi,” among
other things, for essentially saying
something kind about a friend. A shitty
friend, but a friend, nonetheless.

Do I think Felix Kjellberg is
a nice guy? No. I also haven't met
him, but I doubt meeting him
would change my opinion.

I’m certain some of the messages
sent to the YouTubers who didn’t indict
Felix Kjellberg for his actions were well
thought-out and appropriate arguments
attempting to educate rather than
lambast and attack. However, I also

 

cause for concern on their own.

As Canada prepares for legalization,
it is vital that accurate information on
marijuana is available. There are many
ways to invoke harm reduction and
to use pot responsibly. This involves
not only signage and Health Canada
recommendations where weed is
sold, but education in schools as well.
Frankly, I would support this for all
types of drugs, including alcohol. The
amount of misinformation and abuse
that comes from people simply not
knowing the effects of what’s going
into their bodies is truly frightening.

If one is going to use marijuana,
one should know the true side-
effects. Whether youre pro- or anti-
pot, understanding what the drug
actually does is essential before we
make any other judgments on it.

recognize that these YouTubers get
millions of comments every day, ranging
from sweet to bat-shit insane. It’s much
more likely that they’d stand with a
fellow YouTuber, rather than change

an opinion they ve formed from their
own experiences based on the words
from millions of anonymous voices.

I'm still disappointed, of course, just
like I was back when everyone thought
one of my bullies was the coolest girl
on the playground, even as she mocked
my (admittedly horrible) dancing in
front of everyone and tried to convince
the other girls not to shop at the same
stores I got my clothes from. That,
of course, isn’t on the same level as
posting a video using people of colour
to display an anti-Semitic message
worldwide, and as I am neither Jewish
nor a person of colour I know I have
quite a lot of privilege coming in on this
issue. It’s easier for me to try to shrug
off my disappointment and still enjoy
watching videos by YouTubers who do
not actively condemn his actions.

The problem with seeing people
as objectively good or objectively evil
is that very few truly evil people exist.
The world is largely made up of decent
people and less-decent people who do
horrible things sometimes. It doesn’t
excuse these things, or the people who
do them—far from—but maybe we can
cut their friends a break if they seem,
for the most part, to be relatively okay.