As pot activists fight for full legalization, the drug warriors who oppose them have long sought their own elusive grail: conclusive, scientific proof that marijuana poses significant health risks. The only problem? An unshakable dependence on flawed studies. "Much of what we believe in this society about drugs is just bullshit," says Columbia University professor Carl Hart. "And we as scientists have been complicit." Luckily, there's a new generation of researchers pushing back against these oft-repeated prohibitionist canards.

 

MYTH: Pot ruins the teenage brain
This drug-warrior talking point has gained such traction recently that even respectable liberals like New York Times columnist Bill Keller regurgitate it as a self-evident truth. The only basis for this are shoddy reports like a recent international study purporting to link adolescent marijuana use with long-term IQ decline.