Pot advocate aims to dispel marijuana myths

CALGARY (660 NEWS) – Later this week we will be able to consume recreational cannabis legally for the first time.

A prominent pot activist is speaking up about some of the negative rhetoric being used as we approach the 17th.

One of the big myths about pot is the idea of overdosing.

“There’s no real way to overdose,” Jodie Emery, who has been campaigning for legalization for years, said. She says there is a far less nefarious result if you take too much.

“People who consume too much in the form of edibles or smoking, they end up just having a lot of tiredness, they need to lay down, they might throw up, but they’re completely fine after a sleep.”

She takes issue with some of the steps the Trudeau government is taking.

“Cannabis access is actually beneficial for public health and public safety,” she said, noting the benefits seen for marijuana users recovering from opioid addictions and the lower rate of traffic collisions compared to alcohol use.”

She believes the people in power are only contributing to the paranoia, even through talks about legalization.

“The government is perpetuating that fear. They continue to tell people it will drive you crazy, it will give you schizophrenia, it will lead to carnage on the roads.”

Emery argues marijuana prohibition has been steeped in racist rhetoric since it was implemented.

“Canada’s prohibition is racist in its origins and enforcement. Then we moved it into ‘if you use cannabis and opium you are like the Black Candle’ which is Emily Murphy’s book saying that drugs are a sign of lesser races.”

She notes the disproportionate imprisonment of people of colour in both Canada and the U.S. as a result of years of marijuana enforcement.

“We need to expunge the records of all peaceful, non-violent people who have any sort of criminalization for cannabis.”