Marijuana's main psychoactive ingredient, delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol THC , attaches to the brain's cannabinoid receptors. These receptors connect to nerves in the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thought, concentration, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement. Multiple studies have linked marijuana use with a higher risk of the following psychotic symptoms:.
Teen marijuana use is also linked to an increased risk of depression and suicidal behavior. Inhaling marijuana smoke causes your heart rate to speed up, forcing your heart to work harder. These effects—which start within 15 minutes and can last for up to three hours— increase your chance of a heart attack.
In fact, research shows your risk of heart attack can increase up to fivefold within the first hour after smoking marijuana. The chemicals in marijuana are also linked to an increased risk of heart failure and a heart rhythm disorder called atrial fibrillation.
Frequent marijuana use among young people is even linked to an increased risk of stroke compared with those who don't use the drug. According to a study, heavy marijuana use on a regular basis may reduce bone density. This drop in bone density raises the risk of bone-related health problems, such as osteoporosis, which can increase the risk of bone fractures.
On the flip side, other studies suggest that THC, CBD, and other cannabinoids accelerate bone healing and can make bones stronger after a fracture. While marijuana may be less dangerous than tobacco to lung health, the harmful effects of smoking marijuana shouldn't be ignored.
Marijuana smoke contains many of the same harmful chemicals as tobacco smoke. And like tobacco, smoking marijuana, even infrequently, can cause some of the following symptoms:. According to a review published in , regular marijuana smoking is also associated with respiratory problems such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD and recurrent lung infections. According to a review published in , one study found that marijuana smokers were three times more likely to develop cancer of the head or neck than non-smokers, but that study could not be confirmed by further analysis.
Because marijuana smoke contains a number of carcinogens and three times the amount of tar found in tobacco smoke, it would seem logical to deduce that there is an increased risk of lung cancer for marijuana smokers. However, researchers have not been able to definitively prove such a link.
Even though researchers have yet to "prove" a link between smoking pot and lung cancer, further research is needed, and regular smokers may want to consider the risk in the meantime. Marijuana use during pregnancy can be harmful to a baby's health and cause some serious problems.
Specifically, babies born to those who use marijuana are more likely to be underweight at birth and be born prematurely. Marijuana use during pregnancy can also increase the risk of stillbirth.
Studies also show that children born to mothers who use marijuana during pregnancy exhibit some problems with neurological development. These can include:. There are also risks to the pregnant mother. Marijuana use can increase the risk of anemia, confusion, and forgetfulness during pregnancy. Learn the best ways to manage stress and negativity in your life. One area that the report looked closely at was the use of medical marijuana to treat chronic pain.
Chronic pain is a leading cause of disability, affecting more than 25 million adults in the U. The review found that marijuana, or products containing cannabinoids — which are the active ingredients in marijuana, or other compounds that act on the same receptors in the brain as marijuana — are effective at relieving chronic pain. Another comprehensive review of evidence, published last year in the journal Clinical Psychology Review , revealed that using marijuana may help people with alcohol or opioid dependencies to fight their addictions.
But this finding may be contentious; the National Academies of Sciences review suggests that marijuana use actually drives increased risk for abusing, and becoming dependent on, other substances.
Also, the more that someone uses marijuana, the more likely they are to develop a problem with using marijuana. Individuals who began using the drug at a young age are also known to be at increased risk of developing a problem with marijuana use.
The review published in Clinical Psychology Review assessed all published scientific literature that investigated the use of marijuana to treat symptoms of mental illness. Its authors found some evidence supporting the use of marijuana to relieve depression and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms.
That being said, they caution that marijuana is not an appropriate treatment for some other mental health conditions, such as bipolar disorder and psychosis. The review indicates that there is some evidence to suggest that marijuana might alleviate symptoms of social anxiety , but again, this is contradicted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine review, which instead found that regular users of marijuana may actually be at increased risk of social anxiety. Evidence suggests that oral cannabinoids are effective against nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy , and some small studies have found that smoked marijuana may also help to alleviate these symptoms.
Some studies on cancer cells suggest that cannabinoids may either slow down the growth of or kill some types of cancer. However, early studies that tested this hypothesis in humans revealed that although cannabinoids are a safe treatment, they are not effective at controlling or curing cancer. The short-term use of oral cannabinoids may improve symptoms of spasticity among people with multiple sclerosis , but the positive effects have been found to be modest.
In June , the Food and Drug Administration FDA approved the use of a medication containing cannabidiol CBD to treat two rare, severe, and specific types of epilepsy — called Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome — that are difficult to control with other types of medication. This CBD-based drug is known as Epidiolex.
CBD is one of many substances that occurs in cannabis. It is not psychoactive. The drug for treating these conditions involves a purified form of CBD. The approval was based on the findings of research and clinical trials. A study published in found that the use of CBD resulted in far fewer seizures among children with Dravet syndrome, compared with a placebo.
Dravet syndrome seizures are prolonged, repetitive, and potentially lethal. In fact, 1 in 5 children with Dravet syndrome do not reach the age of 20 years. In the study, children and teenagers with Dravet syndrome, all of whom were aged between 2 and 18, were randomly assigned to receive an oral CBD solution or a placebo for 14 weeks, along with their usual medication. The researchers found that the children who received the CBD solution went from having around 12 seizures per month to an average of six seizures per month.
Three children receiving CBD did not experience any seizures at all. Just by having that conversation, you could do a lot of good. HILL: In , we had two FDA-approved cannabinoids, dronabinol and nabilone, for nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy, and for appetite stimulation in wasting conditions. Last year they added cannabidiol — only one version is FDA-approved — and it is for a couple of pediatric epilepsy conditions.
Beyond the FDA-approved indications, the best evidence is for three things: chronic pain, neuropathic pain — which is a burning sensation in your nerves — and muscle spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis.
There are more than six randomized control trials for each of those three conditions. There are problems associated with some of those trials — sample sizes are small and the follow-up periods are not as long as we would like them to be. HILL: Schedule 1 really means two things. Number one, does it have addictive potential? Cannabis does, clearly.
But it also means that there is no medical value. Funding is a bigger barrier. There are permanent crowd-control ropes in the parking lot and a police detail. A lot of people are profiting from cannabis while neglecting to contribute to the scientific evidence base. HILL: Over 22 million Americans used cannabis last year, and the literature says about 10 percent of those are using medicinally.
I think patients who are interested in cannabinoids should be talking to their own doctors about it, because ideally, their physician should be the one helping them think through the risks and benefits.
The number of ED visits has gone up. I never tried it before. But for a particular dose of pot, we have no clue? HILL: Less of a clue. A typical brownie has milligrams of THC, but a typical serving size is 10 milligrams. Some people will take a bite of an edible and nothing happens, so they take another bite. How acupuncture fights inflammation.
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