Even hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg seems to realize just how dangerous marijuana is for people
Christopher Tremoglie
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It appears hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg’s enthusiasm for marijuana has gone up in smoke. The rapper sent shockwaves throughout the cannabis community by announcing on Instagram that he was “giving up smoke.” He’s been a longtime proponent of the dangerous narcotic but has taken a different stance on the herb in recent months. The announcement by Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Calvin Broadus Jr., was unexpected.
“After much consideration and conversation with my family, I’ve decided to give up smoke,” a post on his Instagram read. “Please respect my privacy at this time.”
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Admittedly, the announcement was very cryptic. Nothing more has been said or added at the time. Yet multiple media outlets published the news, with many putting in headlines that Snoop Dogg “quit marijuana.” Given some of the recent comments he has made, his decision shouldn’t come as a total shock. Earlier this year, he claimed he was going to cut down on his marijuana intake because of health concerns, the Washington Examiner reported. He explained he was doing so because he wanted to see his “grandkids grow old.”
“I’ve changed my ways. I’ve become better,” Snoop Dogg said in an interview when asked about his marijuana reduction.
“Being a grandfather has changed me in multiple ways,” Snoop Dogg said in an interview with MailOnline. “The main way is being concerned with how I live, how I move, the kind of people I’m associated with, because I want to see my grandkids grow old. The only way I can do that is to take precautionary steps as far as how I move, who I hang out with, where I go out, my intake, what am I intaking?”
His admission would seem to reinforce some of the recent studies that showed the harmful health risks associated with using marijuana. Recent studies have found that marijuana was linked to severe cardiovascular threats, including heart attacks and heart failure. Additionally, a different recent study showed that “recent and long-term marijuana use” was linked to changes “in the human epigenome.” This is in addition to previous multiple studies showing the other dangerous ramifications associated with regular cannabis use, including brain abnormalities and IQ loss. Moreover, using marijuana has also been linked to depression, suicide ideation, anxiety, and episodes of psychosis.
Marijuana is a dangerous narcotic, but years of propaganda that rehabbed the image of the drug, propaganda of which Snoop Dogg was a willing participant, have contributed to changing public opinion on the acceptance of marijuana use. But while minds changed on marijuana use, the health risks didn’t. And given all that Snoop Dogg did to help marijuana gain acceptance in society, hopefully his most recent pivot away from the drug will be the first domino to fall in reversing course and bringing awareness to the many valid risks and dangers associated with using marijuana.