When we started biting our nails over the rise of AI, most of us assumed the incoming robot coup would be a little more exciting than bots lying about cannabis on Twitter. Dubious sources with warm blood and Wi-Fi have done just as much to pollute the discourse around the plant, too: It cures cancer, COVID-19 (coronavirus), it’s laced with fentanyl, Monsanto’s making GMO pot, and of course, every word from Alex Berenson’s mouth to start.
In an industry already rife with misinformation and lacking in widespread clinical research, how does anyone separate fact from fiction?
Defining “Fake News”
“When we use the term in papers, ‘fake news’ is news content that’s completely fabricated but presented as if it’s from a legitimate source… like the pope endorsing Trump,” says Gordon Pennycook, an assistant professor of behavioral science at University of Regina and co-author of a recent paper on stopping the flow of bogus claims on social media.
“Fake news”, “false news”, “alternative facts” – plain old “lies” if you prefer to be straightforward – whichever rings true for you, Pennycook says it helps to draw a distinction between misinformation and disinformation. Misinformation refers to any piece of info that, for one reason or another, is simply incorrect. Disinformation is deliberately false; including everything from phoney news websites meant to mimic real ones (like the now-defunct ABCnews.com.co, and anything else produced by Paul Horner), to “satire” sites with a questionable commitment to the medium. “Like a headline that’s presented as if it’s not a joke, but at the end of the article it says it’s ‘satire’,” explains Pennycook, adding that most readers only engage with headlines before sharing an article. In fact, one study indicated that a worrying amount of content shared between users on social media platforms hasn’t even been clicked.
“Alternative Facts” Hurting The Cannabis Community
While the cannabis community has perhaps one of the richest histories of what we’d now deem fake news (cue Anslinger and co.), modern myths and blatant lies about the plant have made for a colder reception as legalization dawns in many states.
Editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Endocannabinoid Medicine, Dr. Jahan Marcu says not a day goes by that he doesn’t scroll past some bold, disreputable claim making the rounds in headlines and shared posts. “Every day, I open any social media [platform] and there’s something new.”
Marcu says the conversation around cannabis has been so saturated with faulty information that some of the simplest truths about the plant have been twisted. “The biggest one is that CBD is non-psychoactive in how it stimulates cannabinoid receptors,” says Marcu, also the director of experimental pharmacology and behavioral research at the International Research Center on Cannabis and Health. He says many producers have taken liberties with the lack of scientific consensus on the subject of pot, and have contributed to an image of CBD being non-intoxicating and useful in everything from bottled water to acne creams. “I’ve seen so many graphics from the big companies that attribute the benefits of THC to CBD. If it’s altering your cognition in any way, it’s psychoactive.” Marcu points to the many consumers who’ve testified to feeling relaxed or relieved of their anxiety, saying any substance that makes those changes in the body can’t realistically be called “non-psychoactive”.
The say-anything culture around pot leaves the door open for all sorts of head games. “Another is ‘doobies make boobies’,” says Dr. Ian Mitchell, an emergency physician at Royal Inland Hospital in British Columbia and a consultant at Medical Cannabis Resource Centre who recalls a curious tactic by Canadian police as legalization reared its head up north. “Telling male students that growing breasts is a side effect of cannabis.”
Mitchell’s found himself rubbing his temples time and again over the willful ignorance and outright fabrication that permeates the culture; most recently taking slight at the Canadian Medical Association for signal-boosting the Trump-borne assertion that cannabis can be (and frequently, is) a vehicle for hard narcotics like fentanyl. “It’s never happened even once,” Mitchell assures. “They’ve had samples sent off… it’s a physical impossibility to lace cannabis with fentanyl [to get high]. Burning it incinerates the fentanyl entirely.”
Mitchell sees the effects of disinformation in all its shades when he discusses cannabis with patients. “People have been made to believe it causes lung cancer the way tobacco does, which is not supported by evidence.” Mitchell also calls out the attractive marketing ploy of the sativa/indica distinction, which famed cannabis researcher Dr. Ethan Russo called the tactic “total nonsense and an exercise in futility”, urging the scientific community to drop the schtick altogether for the sake of progress and, in some cases, safety.
Higher up the chain of hogwash, the FDA was quick to point the finger at THC-containing vape products at the start of 2019’s vaporizer scare that left many Americans hospitalized, prompting a hasty generalization: “Do not use vaping products that contain THC”. The advice was soon after refuted when research indicated that vitamin E acetate found in shoddy vaping products was more likely the culprit for EVALI.
Cutting Through The Confusion
Pennycook says crowdsourcing has shown promise in stemming the stream of fake facts, with ongoing projects like the Blacklist that collect and curate sensationalist, often clickbait-ish headlines to promote discussion about them within the cannabis community. Assistant professor of media analytics and communication at Elon University, Dr. Kathleen Stansberry says such efforts can go both ways, however.
“Most user generated news sites rely on users both to submit stories and to police content, which means the content on a site is only as good as its users,” she cautions. The administrators of The Blacklist remain decidedly anonymous, which she says makes it difficult to discern any qualifications. “Based on the success of the site and accuracy of the news they share though; it appears they’re well-versed in the cannabis business.”
How To Recognize Fake Cannabis News
High Times spoke with the experts above to build an easy-to-use guide for telling fact from fiction when it comes to fake cannabis news.
1. Be wary of police sources. “One way to know it [might be fake] is if it’s coming from police,” Mitchell advises. Conventional authorities have statistically had little issue with lying to dissuade cannabis use, so approach police sources with extra caution.
2. Read beyond the headline. Easy though it is, don’t turn off your brain when scrolling through your choice of cannabis content. Read the content through till the end. Especially on social media, Pennycook says that when news content is mixed with pictures of dogs and food, it demands a less critical mindset that leaves space for that story about how CBD’s cured cancer to sneak in.
3. Look for a GMP certificate on products. The spirit of fake news lives on in products that oversell their efficacy or don’t do proper testing. “At the minimum, try to find a GMP [Good Manufacturing Practice] certificate,” says Marcu. GMP designations show that a product’s been tested by third parties in a lab setting. “If they’re not doing research into their own products, they’re doing it on you, the consumer.”
4. Investigate the author. “Most credible news sources have a byline,” Stansberry notes. If you can see who’s produced it, give their name a click and see what other sorts of stories they’ve published. If you can’t, that may be a red flag.
5. Read laterally. One of the best tools against disinformation is what Pennycook calls “lateral reading”: “Check out the website, then see if other websites are confirming the same thing,” he suggests. “It’s hard to reconstruct a universe of information.” Take it from only one source, and you’re more likely to get duped.
6. Look for scientific affiliations. With cannabis and its derivative products, Marcu suggests looking for “any company that has an institutional affiliation with scientific boards.” He says if a company doesn’t have a qualified medical advisor, they may not be holding their claims to evidence-based standards. “Use Google Scholar to see if any of these people are published in the field,” he says, stressing that peer-reviewed research is a must.
7. Be aware of your biases. “Check your own biases, and be aware of what you bring to a story,” Stansberry says. Everyone has a pundit in their head, so remember they’re there and try to read the item as objectively as possible.
8. Remember the golden rule. “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t true,” Mitchell says. Cannabis is many things; but to spare us all another snake-oil phase, consider that the sensational is often just that – sensationalized.
Nice article, thank you. Saddened you mentioned “curing cancer,” as part of the fake news, yet did not expound on it – leaving the reader to think cannabis does not treat cancer, when in fact, it does. While cannabis does not “cure cancer, ” myriad studies, globally, combined with many anecdotal stories (including mine) have shown that cannabis is an antioxidant, creates homeostasis in the body, causes cancer cell death, and puts cancer into remission. Would be nice to have the “curing cancer” bit removed from the story, unless you are going to show absolute proof it does not. With great respect.
Great article, love the style of writing. I Wholeheartedly agree with lateral reading and making sure different sources are saying the same things about cannabis. I’m working with an outlet called friendly aussie buds which are reporting on cannabis culture in general in Australia
In the spirit of keeping everything transparent in media outlets, I would love to know your thoughts on our process down under and would be glad if you could let us know if we got anything wrong!
Because we associate reading with intelligence,its easy to assume that written information have intelligent meaning and truth to it.
I love the ending rule, The golden rule. “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t true,”. Being honest we get to hear a lot of myths about medical marijuana. And fake news for sure. Which could be ignored but the majority believes them. I really like the article and appreciate at least people are making efforts to lift up the repute of medical marijuana.
Because people have not experienced the magic of marijuana they do nothing better than creating fake news. Even professionals and well known experts believes in wonders of marijuana. https://mdberry.com/12-leadingexperts-share-top-3-health-uses-of-medical-marijuana/
Great article I must say. While people over hype cannabis and marijuana related products, it is no doubt that facts will always remain facts.
It’s no secret that cannabis is an effective treatment for a variety of ailments, including pain, anxiety, depression, epilepsy, cancer and many more. It also has many other benefits – it can help with addiction recovery, improve sleep quality and reduce inflammation. Cannabis also has some surprising side effects like increased sex drive and improved fertility.
At smokedblunts.com , we have written an “ultimate guide” to industry’s product.
Check out “The Complete Guide to Cannabis CBD Marijuana Hemp Seeds and How They Can Help”
https://smokedblunts.com/the-complete-guide-to-cannabis-cbd-marijuana-hemp-seeds-and-how-they-can-help-you/
we do have very affordable guns going out real stop by to purchase from us without any license and we do door to door services and our guns comes with accesories very easy to use cause we have a safety manual and tips how to use a gun for new customers and we mostly accept payment via bitcoin
firegunsshop.com
glock 19
glock 17
glock 45
glock 26
glock 40
glock 43
glock 9
glock 23
glock accessories
glock airsoft
glock armorer
glock apparel
glock attachment
glock and balls
glock armorer school
glock austria
a glock 9
a glock 40
a glock gun
a glockenspiel
a glock 22
a glock 18
a glock with a drum
glock bb gun
glock blue label
glock backpack
glock box
glock base plate
glock bullets
glock bb gun with drum
glock beanie
b glockner portsmouth ohio
glock b&t chassis
glock b&t stock
b&t glock usw-g17
b&t glock usw-g17/20 rh holster
b&t glock mags
glock center 4 all
glock carbine
glock case
glock chart
glock concealed carry
glock channel liner
glock customer service
glock caliber
glock c models
glock 18c
glock c porting
glock 23 c
glock c more mount
glockenspiel c
glock c 26
glock drawing
glock definition
glock drum mag airsoft
glock diagram
glock disconnector
glock decal
glock disassembly tool
glock dry fire kit
die glocke schiller
die glocke zeitung
die glocke book
die glocke bremen
die glocke swatch
die glocke model kit
die glocken von rom
die glocken stürmten vom bernwardsturm
glock extended mag release
glock emerald
glock extended slide lock
glock extractor
glock ejector
glock extension
glock extended slide release gen 5
glock extended barrel
glockstore
e glock na cintura
glock e trainer
glock e tool vs gerber
glock e trainer review
glock e trainer amazon
glock e lacoste
glock e tool uk
glock front sight tool
glock fade
glock flashlight
glock field knife
glock firing pin
glock forum
glock front sight
glock f1
f-glock
fn glock
glock f 19
glockner f
f&f glock slide
earl f glock
fssg glock
f&f glock 34 slide
glock guns
glock gen 5
glock g43x
glock g43
glock gen 6
glock g45
glock g44
glock gel blaster
glock hashtags
glock hoodie
glock holsters
glock hat
glock history
glock holster with light
glock hellcat
glock hoodie black
glock h&k
c&h glock plate
t h e glock
h&r block
christoph h. glock
c&h glock
t h e glock swimmer
ffd-h glock
glock in my lap lyrics
glock in my rari
glock in my lap
glock instrument
glock instagram
glock images
glock in hand
glock iwb holster
i glock in my rari
glock i dot sights
glockachu i choose you
glock i. my lap
glock i trust
glock i beretta
i gotta glock in my rari lyrics
i hate glocks
glock jacket
glock jobs
glock jones
glock jibbitz
glock jump suit
glock jamming
glock jokes
glock jones turnt up
gaston j. glock style lp
h j glock
j frame glock
j frame vs glock 43
j frame vs glock 42
j frame vs glock 26
j frame or glock 26
gaston j. glock style germany gmbh
glock knife
glock keychain
glock knives
glock killer
glock knuckle
glock knives for sale
glock kit upper
glock kaboom
k glock net worth
k glock songs
k glock barrel
glock k bar
h&k glock
mod k glock
mod k glock slide
glock logo
glock laser light
glock light
glock locking block
glock leg
glock long slide
glock line up
glock list
glockenspiel
glock l mount
jacob l glock
jacob l. glock m.d
l&m glock
gina l. glockner
melanie l glocker
l shaped glock trigger
glock meaning
glock magazines
glock models
glock mos
glock mp3 song download
glock mag extension
glock model chart
glock meaning in hindi
m. glock logistik gmbh
glock m series
glock m&p
glock m&p 9mm
glock m&p shield
glock m series pistols
s&w glock
glock m 22
glokknine
glock nerf gun
glock nine rapper
glock news
glock numbers
glock neo noir
glock no safety
glock nuclear garden
glock n roses
glock n spiel
glock n roses 43x
glock n roll
glock n roll sodom
glock n roll lyrics
glocked n loaded
glock origin
glock optic cut
glock oem magazine extension
glock oem slide parts kit
glock or sig
glock outline
glock on bed
glock od green
o glockenton text
oh glockenton
glock o clock
glock o’clock meme
glock olight
glock o.e.m. minus connector sp00721
glock olight holster
glock o matic
glock price
glock pistol
glock parts
glock p80
glock png
glock pistol brace
glock parts diagram
glock perfection hoodie
p glockner
glock p stamp
glock p 80 review
glock p 22
glock p-tap
glock p 44
glock p 40 warhawk
glock 19 gen 5
glock 18
glock 19x
glock 17 gen 4
glock 19 gen 4
glock 10
glock q vom grunwald haus
q series glock 19
q series glock 43x
q series glock 43
com q glock camuflada
balança q glock
q-series stealth glock standard
glock q es
glock recoil spring
glock rear sight
glock range bag
glock rmr
glock red dot slide
glock rumors 2022
glock rifle case
glock rail
r glock mods
r glock 43
glock r 17
glock r model
glock r kay song download
glock r lee ermey
big r glock 19
glock switch
glock slide
glock song download
glock sights
glock serial number lookup
glock sizes
glock song
s glock 17
glock s/n lookup
glocks models
glock s/c holster
glock s/n
glockenspiels
s&w glock copy
glock t shirt
glock toy gun
glocktalk
glock training
glock tool
glock trigger shoe
glock tattoo
glock trigger bar
t glock f1
t glock sights
glock t shirt amazon
glock t-shirts for sale
glocktopus t shirt
glock t shirt design
glockboy t roy
glock usa
glock upper parts kit
glock upgrades
glock urban dictionary
glock undercut
glock upgrade kit
glock usa vs austria
glock upper kit
we glock 18c
we glock magazine
we glock 17 magazine
we glock drum mag
we glock 34
we glock 18c upgrades
we glock 17 extended magazine
we glock 23
glock vs sig
glock vs beretta
glock vs smith and wesson
glock vogue
glock variants
glock vs pistol
glock vs springfield
glock vs cz
glock v sig
beretta vs glock
glock v sig sauer
smith and wesson vs glock
glockenspiel v xylophone
cz vs glock
glock v notch rear sight
taser vs glock
glock with a switch
glock watch
glock with extended clip
glock wallpaper
glock warranty
glock with drum
glock wiki
glock with a scope
glock.wdr
w_glock
w glock.wyd
w_glock gta iv
glock with extendo
glock w a ruler clip
glock xd
glock xd 45
glock x grip
glock xd 40
glock xd 9mm
glock xl
glock xd9
glock xs sights
glock 43 x
glock x 19 review
glock x grip adapter
glock x ray
glock x 43 review
glock x 43 mos
glock x 19 military
glock yba
glock youtube channel
glock yeti
glock year of manufacture
glock you
glock yellow
glock year started
glock young dolph
key glock
key glock net worth
key glock age
key glock yellow tape 2
key glock height
key glock cars
key glock young dolph
key glock twitter
glock zippo
glock zippo lighter
glock zev frame
glock zip up hoodie
glock zev tech tarkov
glock zev magwell
glock zoraki
glock zombie green
dayz glock
jon z glock
19 z glock
glock z tłumikiem
glock z kolimatorem
glock z gwintem
glock z tektury
spur z glockenankermotor
glock 007
glock 07
glock 03374 disassembly takedown tool
glock 00322
glock 01034
glock 0.40 caliber
glock 0 mag extension
romeo 0 glock 43
romeo 0 glock 48
condition 0 glock
80 0/0 glock
glock2. 0
softair glock 0 5 joule
airsoft glock 0 5
1 glock lane lakeland ga
1 glock 19x
glock 1/3 co witness sights
glock 1 pistol range bag
glock 1-16
glock 1-40
glock 1 shot headshot
glock 22
glock 27
glock 20
glock 21
glock 25
glock 29
2 glocks
2 glocks named bonnie and clyde
2 glocks no 22gz
2 glocks no socks
2 glocks lyrics 30 glizzy
2 glock 9s
2 glock 40s 80 problems
2 glocks bone thugs
glock 30
glock 38
glock 34
glock 36
glock 380
glock 32
glock 33
glock 35
3 glocken
3 glocken center
3 glocken center weinheim
3 glocken case
3 glocken center testzentrum
3 glocken spiralen
3 glock safeties
3 glocken testzentrum
glock 43x
glock 42
glock 44
glock 47
glock 48
glock 58
glock 53
glock 51
glock 50 round drum promag
glock 5.7×28
5 glocken resident evil
glock 5 inch barrel
glock 5 gen review
glock 17 gen 5
gen 5 glock 19 magwell
glock 69
glock 63
glock 66
glock 6 inch barrel
glock 68
glock 600
glock 6lb striker spring
glock 6lb trigger spring
6 glock baby
6 glock barrel
6 glock baby clean
6 glock 21 barrel
6 glock 20 barrel
6 glock baby lyrics
6 glock lyrics
6 glock lil loaded
glock 72
glock 73
glock 78 vs 81
glock 78 knife review
glock 80 frame
glock 81
glock 86
glock 89
glock 84
glock 82
glock 86 fallout 4
glock 8794
8 glock barrel
8 glockenspiel breakpoint
glock 8 lb connector
glock 8 inch barrel
glock 8 pound connector
glock 8 lb trigger spring
glock 8 rounds
tlr 8 glock 17
glock 9 rapper
glock 9 gen 5
glock 90
glock 9ine
gloc 9 songs
glock 9 song
glock 9mm 24 round magazine
glock 9mm clips
9 glock pink
9 glock 10mm barrel
9 glock rapper
9 glock prop gun
9 glock magazines
9 glock clip