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. Elon Musk, love him or hate him, regularly indulges in weed, yet sets his alarm for 7 a.m. every day, has a startingly intense work ethic, and allows himself just 6 to 6.5 hours of sleep each night. Crazy? Maybe. Lazy? No.
Some gym rats incorporate cannabis into their workout routines, and it’s virtually ubiquitous among professional athletes. If you’re going to call 90% of NFL players lazy, better not say it to their face.
Different cannabis affects different people in a myriad of ways. While it’s true that a heavy indica might activate couch-look in some, sativas are generally more likely to get people moving. More energetic strains produce more energetic engagement, as evidenced by the spotless condition of untold numbers of houses after its inhabitants light up a sativa-dominant strain and spot that broom in the corner.
Why alcohol, which tends to create bodies that appear to be far more comfortable on the couch than at the gym, doesn’t get accused of making people lazy is beyond the comprehension of your humble writer. After all, pot heads are usually thinner than those who don’t partake, with countless fitness enthusiasts using cannabis in pursuit of a six-pack, whereas the only six-pack most alcohol-users rock is the one they just pounded into their beer bellies. The truth is, even among heavy users, 58% of cannabis enthusiasts in a 2021 study report being physically active. And they’re more likely to be employed than the average American.
So, next time you hear someone make the baseless claim that pot makes you lazy, tell them to put that in their pipe and smoke it.
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