Marijuana Myth-busting: Does Cannabis Really Make You Lazy?

We’ve all seen the stoner flicks that propagate the stereotype that pot makes people lazy. You know the scenes – a few puffs off a blunt, then the camera cuts to a scene of a grungy couch filled with shiftless bros who can barely speak, wearing baggy clothes covered in Doritos.

This persists, in part, because, as with many stereotypes, there is a modicum of truth to it. Most of us have witnessed the phenomenon of getting stoned and melting into the couch, or have even done it ourselves at some point. But being lazy is not the same as being stoned. Besides, there is a greater truth, although it gets almost no representation onscreen: cannabis can be part of a healthy, active lifestyle, and is actually a preferred substance of some of the most productive, successful people in the world.

The notion that cannabis makes people lazy has been perpetuated by decades of misinformation, stoner movies, and outright propaganda. It’s high time we laid this myth to rest.

If cannabis made people lazy, Steve Jobs might’ve just ordered a pizza and played some video games instead of revolutionizing the way we interact with technology and paving the way for countless innovations to follow. Elite athletes wouldn’t be banned from participating in the Olympics for the plant, because they never would’ve made it off the couch and onto the track in the first place.

In fact, research indicates that cannabis can, in certain cases, even be motivational. A 2016 study published in Frontiers in Public Health suggested that cannabis use is associated with increased physical activity. And cannabis has long been reported by users to enhance focus, creativity, and productivity when used intentionally.

So, while cannabis can certainly be enjoyed in a laid-back way that lends itself to relaxation (yes, sometimes with snacks and a movie), to say it inherently makes people lazy is not only inaccurate, it’s dismissive of the many ways it is integrated into active, driven lifestyles.