It’s interesting to look the propaganda in the eye every once in a while and call it for the B.S. it really is.

Spreading pot propaganda is the modus operandi of all those who are still anti-marijuana. For decades this misinformation has caused many to swallow vile untruths about the cannabis plant.

The latest polls, however, show public opinion on marijuana legalization at an all time high, with more than 60 percent in favor of this reform. So it is obvious that the lies spread against weed have rolled off the backs of those they were intended to influence most.

Now, more federal lawmakers, many of whom were staunchly opposed to legalization in the past, are starting to see the light, as well. But it is interesting to look the propaganda in the eye every once in a while and call it for the B.S. it really is. Here are a few marijuana myths that have been proven false.

Marijuana Is A Gateway To Addiction

For years, marijuana was considered a gateway to addiction. The story was that any one experimenting with pot now could easily end up getting lost to the grips of harder drugs in the future. There was even some noise suggesting that marijuana itself was ultra-addictive. But all of this is untrue. Studies conducted by the federal government find that marijuana is actually no more addictive than caffeine. In fact, the herb has a rate of addiction significantly less than alcohol and tobacco.

RELATED: Is It Possible Cannabis Makes People Smarter?

As for whether cannabis users will eventually go on to shoot heroin in the bathroom of a truck stop somewhere – that’s not likely either. Other studies have shown that alcohol and prescription painkillers are the real gateway drugs. Former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch says so. “When you look at someone that, for example, has a heroin problem, it very often started with a prescription drug problem. Something totally legal. Something in every medicine cabinet. Something you can have prescribed to you in good faith by a doctor,” she said back in 2016.

Stoned Driving Is No Different Than Driving Drunk

There is no doubt that drinking and driving is detriment to public safety. Booze is responsible for killing around 11,000 people each year. But being under the influence of marijuana is not the same as being gutter buzzed on the drink. Researchers from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, who are working to create an app called “Am I Stoned,” a self-assessment tool for people on the fence about whether they’re too high to drive, have been trying to find out how weed might hinder an individual’s performance. But the group is having some difficult pinpointing the affect the herb on “vigilance and judgment.” It seems the test subjects are “generally aware” of just how wrecked on reefer they are.

There is also evidence that longtime cannabis users are typically less impaired behind the wheel than those with a lower tolerance. It is the differences between alcohol and marijuana impairment that has made it so difficult for science to develop an effective testing device to gauge stoned driving. To this day, no device exists.

Marijuana Legalization Won’t Stop Drug Cartels

This myth is being proven wrong in real time. There are fewer than 10 states that have legalized marijuana for recreational use — enough to ramp down the cartel’s involvement with weed. Marijuana trafficking is on the decline, according to a report from the Washington Post. To compensate, drug gangs are now slinging heroin and meth. Marijuana is no longer a lucrative commodity in the underground.

Interestingly, some reports published earlier this year show that American weed is now being shipped into Mexico. It seems the tides have turned, but there is still some illegal marijuana activity happening in the United States. However, these criminal acts stem only from a fluctuation in pot laws from state-to-state. The moment the federal government ends marijuana prohibition, the criminal organizations responsible will be stopped dead in their tracks. After all, no one is out there these days turning a profit on bootleg beer.