Stoners have to deal with a lot of stereotypes and myths that are based on old prejudices and outdated information that has since been debunked. Yet, these uneducated myths about stoners persist.
Stoners Are Criminals
Smoking weed in and of itself does not make one a criminal. How many times have you finished taking a dab and thought, “I feel like robbing a bank now,” or “I feel like going out and getting in a fight for no reason!” I’m pretty sure that you have not. That type of behavior is more common with drugs like smack, or even just alcohol. I’ve never been to a party where after smoking a bowl, suddenly everyone wanted to get into a fight. I’ve witnessed this situation with drunk people more times than I can count.
We Smoke Weed Because We Are Unhappy
A common myth about stoners is that we smoke weed because we are unhappy with our lives and are looking for a way to escape from reality. Cannabis doesn’t really allow one to escape from reality in the way that other substances do. I don’t black out and lose an entire evening from smoking weed. I might fall asleep, but that’s about it. Rather than distorting reality, cannabis softens reality; it makes reality a tad funnier, and a lot more laid back.
Stoners Are Aimless And Unmotivated
People who don’t partake, love the myth of the lazy stoner. People who don’t smoke weed picture those who do as doing nothing but sitting around, playing video games and eating chips. Yes, I do enjoy those things, but I do not spend my whole day doing them. Quite a few of us are highly motivated and successful college students, business owners, and devoted homemakers. Sure, there are some unemployed people who happen to smoke weed, but there are also plenty of unemployed people who do NOT smoke weed. Correlation does not equal causation.
We’re Brain Dead Burnouts
One of the most uneducated myths about stoners is that we’re all brain dead burnouts. When people picture a stoner, they probably picture Jeff Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Slater from Dazed and Confused or any character Seth Rogen has ever played. The truth is that cannabis does not kill brain cells. You know what does kill brain cells? Alcohol.
Stoners Only Hang Out With Other Stoners
I’m not gonna lie, I enjoy hanging out with other stoners, but I also have plenty of other friends who do not smoke weed. Them not smoking weed does not make me want to hang out with them less, because we have other interests in common. Stoners do not look down on people who do not partake, and we do not think that we are better or cooler than them. The only time I have a problem with non-stoners is when they pass judgement on myself or others for being a stoner, otherwise, we’re cool.
Featured Image Source: NationalGeographic.com
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What are some more uneducated myths about stoners? Share in the comments!