When tossing about the question of good for you or bad for you, I'm willing to go out on a limb here and say that any drug that's good for you at the appropriate dosage can be bad for you when you consume too much of it. Even vitamin C can kill you in high doses. That's right, KILL you, not just make you sick. Eating Polar Bear liver can be lethal for that reason. It's high in concentrated vitamin C. As far as THC goes, in the right doses it's probably more beneficial than harmful, but over indulgence can surely be harmful, even if it's just as a result of causing one to sit on the sofa eating high carb snacks for too many hrs./day/week and so on. While it may reduce or eliminate some health issues, it could easily be inducing others if one is "zombied out" and eating all the wrong foods as a result of having consumed too much THC. Not sure, but that may be why the Cherokee believed it to be poison. Anything that could rob an individual of all-important mental sharpness/focus would most likely be labeled the same by them. Laying on one's back on the ground counting clouds (or sheep) didn't contribute anything beneficial like food, water, firewood or protection from enemies, so it would be safe to assume that anything other than moderate use was frowned upon except maybe for occasional ritualistic use. LOL