Going online to learn all you can about cannabis may not provide you with the most thorough education, but it will reveal one thing: the information you find online can be contradictory. In fact, it almost always is. It is very difficult to find consensus on any cannabis-related topics other than the actual biology of the plant. But even that is up for grabs with so many questions about species, strains, etc.
So, what’s the deal? Why is online cannabis information often contradictory? Beehive Farmacy, a Utah company that runs medical cannabis pharmacies in Salt Lake City and Brigham City, offers five possible reasons below. There may be others, but these five tell you everything you need to know about the lack of consistent cannabis information online.
1. Scientific Data Is Lacking
At the top of the list is the reality that scientific data is lacking. Sure, research into the effects of cannabis on the human body have picked up in recent years, but the amount of available data pales in comparison to so many other things. Take cannabis as a treatment for PTSD. It is a great example.
You will find all sorts of posts promoting cannabis consumption among PTSD patients. But good luck finding concrete information explaining why the drug helps. Post after post discusses what limited research suggests, but no one cites research that definitively proves anything. And without proof, people are left to form their own opinions about PTSD and cannabis treatments.
2. Limited Industry Knowledge
The key components that make cannabis what it is are compounds known as cannabinoids. Unfortunately, the cannabis industry doesn’t know as much about cannabinoids as it leads people to believe. There are plenty of self-proclaimed experts purporting to know everything there is to know about cannabinoids despite their total knowledge being quite limited. Things get even more dicey when you throw in terpenes.
3. Recreational and Medical Distinctions
It is easy to find contradictory information when you are comparing both recreational and medical consumption. Recreational users have one perspective while medical users have another. Their perspectives may overlap at times, but they remain separate more often than not.
Different perspectives lead content producers to take different angles with the information they offer. For bad or good, this opens the door wide open to personal opinions overwriting provable facts.
4. Ignorance Among Lawmakers
It is nearly impossible to discuss recreational marijuana and medical cannabis without getting into the legal aspects. Remember that cannabis is still a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law. The thing about federal and state laws is this: politicians often display their own ignorance when discussing legal issues. Yet if a politician says something, it is automatically assumed to be true.
5. The Issue Itself Is Political
Wrapping everything up is the reality that cannabis has become a political issue. Perhaps it shouldn’t be. Maybe it should never have become political. But facts are facts. Wishing cannabis were not so political doesn’t change the fact that it is.
Politicians on both sides of the debate use the cannabis issue to appeal to constituents. So do political action committees, lobbying organizations, industry representatives, and even users themselves.
The unfortunate thing about politics is its tendency to corrupt truth. People get so blinded by political ideologies that they are willing to stretch the facts, or ignore them altogether, in order to stand their ground. The result is a plethora of contradictory information that could leave any cannabis-curious person scratching their head in confusion.
And now you know why online cannabis information is contradictory. It shouldn’t be this way, but it is.
