The idea that cannabis is “dangerous” isn’t new and it’s not why it’s been outlawed. The “danger” narrative was and still is the marketing “hook”- Madicyn Marinaro

In the 1930s, Harry Anslinger launched a propaganda campaign that tied cannabis to immigrants and black jazz musicians and then proceeded to demonize them. It was steeped in racism, not science. “Reefer Madness” wasn’t about protecting anyone from a plant — it was about a racist criminalizing of black communities, silencing activists, and giving law enforcement another tool for control of non-white communities.

The demonization of cannabis had another benefit. Cannabis and hemp were quietly threatening the bottom lines of powerful industries including petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals. When hemp was discovered it offered a way to make cheaper paper, more durable textiles, and biofuel. Cannabis medicine was also proving to be a natural alternative to drugs manufactured in a factory. In addition, oil magnates and corporate giants had every reason to push for criminalization. Prohibition protected their industries from from having to compete with hemp. It was a corporate shield disguised as something protecting the health and safety of the public.

“Big Oil”, “Big Pharma”, “Big Tobacco”, and “Big Alcohol” are still here — and they all benefit when people believe cannabis is dangerous. Their motivation to destroy the cannabis market may be even greater today. What we are seeing is with the popularity of cannabis increasing they’ve shifted their tactics. They’re now protecting their interests by moving aggressively to take over the legal cannabis industry. Below are some of the false claims to look out for.

New Narratives
By the 2010s as legalization picked up steam, four claims began circulating:
* THC potency is rising to dangerous levels.
* Cannabis causes Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS)
* Cannabis is addictive.
* Cannabis causes psychosis (Reefer Madness rebranded).

At first glance, these claims seem based on science. Within the cannabis industry they’re repeated by “experts” as if they were established fact. But dig deeper and their claims collapse under scrutiny.

THC Potency
THC testing itself is relatively new and it’s by no means an established science. Recent investigations show labs routinely inflate THC percentages. On top of that, THC degrades over time, making old samples unreliable so we don’t have a consistent or trustworthy dataset to measure against. Comparing today’s flower to cannabis from the 1970s or even the 1990s is misleading because there’s no reliable baseline. So when people claim with certainty that THC percentages have “skyrocketed,” what they’re really giving us is speculation dressed up as science. At this point, it’s more hyperbole than fact.

Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS)
Claims that CHS causes uncontrollable vomiting in heavy cannabis users don’t hold up.  Hyperemesis does happen but blaming cannabis by default because a patient consumes weed is not science. Even the name itself presumes cannabis is the culprit with no proof that it’s true.

Cannabis is Addictive
The claim cannabis is “addictive” does not hold up under science or logic. Decades of research shows that cannabis is not physically addictive. CHS studies have labelled common experiences like irritability,  insomnia, or anxiety as “withdrawal symptoms.” But this implies anyone who stops a daily habit like with caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, screen time, or even compulsive exercising could be identified as an addiction. If cannabis truly met the definition of addiction, CHS patients would show recognizable withdrawal patterns when they quit. They’d struggle to stop, relapse compulsively, or display severe physiological symptoms. Yet no CHS study has documented this.

Cannabis Causes Psychosis
A claim that’s been recycled since the “Reefer Madness” days is that cannabis causes psychosis. Despite decades of constant repetition of this fallacy, science has never established that cannabis causes mental illness. People parroting talking points from the racist days of prohibition should be ignored. If cannabis truly caused psychosis, the rise of legalization would have produced a visible increase in psychosis rates worldwide. But that hasn’t happened. Cannabis use has grown massively over the last few decades, yet psychosis rates have remained relatively stable. Most of these “cannabis danger” claims are merely propaganda pushed by the so-called “Western Medical Industrial Establishment.” The truth is billions of people around the world have used cannabis for centuries without developing any sort of mental illness.

Reefer Madness Rebranded
Today’s cannabis “danger” claims are recycling the same playbook as the Reefer Madness propaganda. They sound scientific at first glance, but the facts are just not there. Disinformation tactics didn’t disappear after prohibition; they just evolved into the more insidious forms that we see today. The purpose of the Reefer Madness propaganda was to demonize immigrants, Black jazz musicians (and Black people in general) and others with the absurd notion that cannabis was the cause was blatantly racist and false. The same thing is happening today. Complex science gets boiled down into the scariest headlines often with a racist connotation. Press releases outpace peer review. Algorithms amplify fear because fear drives clicks.

At the same time why do we never hear a thing about the endocannabinoid system’s miraculous healing role, the lack of any CHS biomarker, the absence of rising psychosis rates despite rising cannabis use, or the global baseline of millions consuming cannabis without any of the public health crises the media is constantly bombarding us with?

Madicyn Marinaro is a passionate cannabis patient advocate and storyteller. After cannabis profoundly impacted her own health, she dedicated herself to amplifying patient voices and challenging misinformation. Madicyn blends a deep understanding of the plant’s culture and history with a gift for authentic connection—whether through community work, digital media, or candid conversations that move the industry forward. She believes real change happens when honest stories are shared, and she uses her platform to highlight integrity, access, and compassion within the cannabis movement. You can follow her ongoing work on LinkedIn and Medium.