Posts Tagged marijuana effects

Study: Marijuana Use Does Not Damage Lungs

Posted by Drug Free in Marijuana Use and Abuse on January 15th, 2012

A 20-year study done in the US suggests that marijuana does not cause any long-term damage to the lungs of those who smoke the drug. Unlike cigarettes that have long been proven hazardous to one’s respiratory system specifically in the lungs, light marijuana use is surprisingly safe as far as the lungs are concerned.

marijuanaThe study is one of the first to dispel the information that marijuana smoking carries risks such as lung diseases for those who use it.

Yet senior author of the study Stefan Kerzer says that the warning is still up for heavy weed smoking as health risks associated with the activity is still difficult to determine.

“Marijuana is still an illegal drug, and it has many complicated effects on the human body and its function. In our findings we see hints of harm in pulmonary function with heavy use, and other studies have shown that marijuana use increases a user’s likelihood of a heart attack… and impairs the immune system’s ability to fight disease.”

The study spanned the years 1985 to 2006 with 5,000 participants aged 18 to 30 from four cities in the United States. Researchers were not able to record any lung damage to participants who smoked pot once in a daily basis for the last seven years.

“With up to seven joint-years of life-time exposure, we found no evidence that increasing exposure to marijuana adversely affects pulmonary function,” the proponents of the study claimed.

Comparing the data gathered from marijuana smokers to that of tobacco users, tobacco users’ lungs deteriorated over the years while that of pot smokers even showed slight functional improvement.

Marijuana is considered the most common type of illicit drug abused by more than 16.7 million Americans aged 12 and older. At present, medical marijuana laws are in effect in 16 states which make marijuana a legal substance in these areas.

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Research Suggests Marijuana Laws Help Control Traffic Deaths

Posted by Drug Free in Marijuana Use and Abuse on November 30th, 2011

A new study done by professors from the University of Colorado and from the Montana State University showed that the legalization of medical marijuana have controlled traffic deaths and reduced beer sales. Traffic deaths were down by 9% and beer sales at 5%.

medical marijuanaProfessor for Economics from the University of Colorado in Denver Daniel Reese and assistant professor of economics from the Montana State University D. Mark Anderson became co-authors of the study which shows the benefits of legalizing medical marijuana.  “Our research suggests that the legalization of medical marijuana reduces traffic fatalities through reducing alcohol consumption by young adults,” said Rees.

The study is the first to relate medical marijuana to traffic deaths. The proponents of the study collected data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, and from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System.

They studied records of 13 states which legalized medical marijuana from 1990 to 2009. They were able to find out that traffic deaths decreased as sales of alcoholic beverages went down for drivers 20 to 29 years old in the said states. Further studies explained that drivers who are under the influence of alcohol tend to take more risks in driving. They underestimate the effects of alcohol in their driving skills which results to road accidents. Marijuana users who drive, on the other hand, refrain from taking such risks avoiding driving accidents.

“I think this is a very timely study given all the medical marijuana laws being passed or under consideration,” Anderson said. “These policies have not been research-based thus far and our research shows some of the social effects of these laws. Our results suggest a direct link between marijuana and alcohol consumption.”

Rees and his team said that although they are not making any recommendations, the results of their study should also be taken into consideration before any policy is tackled for pot legalization.

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Fat-Rich Foods and Marijuana Trigger Similar Effects

Posted by Drug Free in Marijuana Use and Abuse on July 13th, 2011

Here’s another reason why we should limit our intake of fatty foods. In a new study, it was found out that fat-rich foods can produce the same effect as marijuana which makes people overeat.

The findings were the results of a study headed by Professor Daniele Piomelli, a pharmacology instructor at the University of California, which will be published this week in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) journal.

burger and friesPiomelli has long been studying the effects of “endocannabinoids” in the body. In his research, he found that fatty foods signal the body to release a feel-good chemical which has similar effects as marijuana. This will result to a drug-like feeling driving a person to overeat on fatty foods, like fries and chips.

“This is the first demonstration that endocannabinoid signaling in the gut plays an important role in regulating fat intake,” says Piomelli in a feature on The Independent. While fatty foods create this effect, sugary and high-protein foods were not found to do the same.

In recent years, doctors have found out that the body can produce its own cannabinoids which brings the same effect when a person hits on marijuana. They called such chemicals in the body as endocannabinoids which, with just the right triggers, makes the body produce some reactions in the nervous system that could block or reduce a person’s sensations of pain and anxiety, like marijuana does.

Piomelli’s research can be most useful in creating a drug that will help block the reception of endocannabinoids in the body’s system to discourage overeating and prevent obesity. A good way to combat this effect is by considering a 2003 study from the Georgia Institute of Technology which tells us that 50 minutes of vigorous running on a treadmill or by riding a stationary bike can give a “runner’s high;” the sense of well-being that is beneficial for the body.

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Marijuana May Aggravate Situation for MS Patients

Posted by Drug Free in Prescription Drug Abuse, Tobacco Abuse on March 31st, 2011

According to Dr. Anthony Feinstein, who conducted studies on effects of marijuana to patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), medicinal marijuana does not work in cases of people who have nerve damaging autoimmune diseases.

medical marijuanaIn a study published last Monday, multiple sclerosis patients should avoid marijuana to keep their situation from being heavily aggravated. Although there are states that have legalized the use of marijuana for medical treatments, it’s one that persons with the above mentioned illness should not welcome.

There have been tests that show those with MS did worse on psychological tests if they smoked marijuana. While marijuana might help those infected with other chronic diseases, and it may have treated symptoms and alleviated pain for some patients, it works negatively for those with MS. The study might not prove that marijuana can hasten mental decline, but Feinstein hopes it would be enough to discourage people from seeking this kind of therapy.

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society puts 400,000 Americans with MS. Despite having about one in every six of them smoking marijuana, his study is considered a pioneer in taking into account the effect of the drug on patients. “There are just no data on the topic,” Feinstein, a psychiatrist at the University of Toronto, told Reuters Health.

To offer some insights on the matter, he and his colleagues made a research by having two groups of 25 patients each with MS, with one group allowed to use marijuana regularly while the other group remained non-users. All other factors controlled (age, stage of disease, etc.), their results showed that after 12 hours of marijuana therapy, almost two-thirds of the marijuana users were cognitively impaired and performed poorly on psychological tests. On the other group, only one-third of them had the same conditions.

Although Dr. Feinstein admits that reactions to treatments are still on an individual basis, he suggests that people with MS be prioritized in the continuing study of cannabis medical treatments before everything becomes too late.

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Marijuana Use May Affect Men’s Sexual Function

Posted by Drug Free in Drug Addiction on February 18th, 2011

There may have been marijuana users that claim enhanced sexual desire when using the pot, but new reports are coming out that suggest marijuana could bring sexual dysfunctions among male users.

marijuana menThere are early findings that the penis contains receptors for marijuana’s active ingredient and that young men should think twice about the long-term effects before developing a penchant for pot use. “It’s a strong message to our younger generations and younger men,” Rany Shamloul, a physician in the University of Ottawa and Queen’s University in Canada as well as in the University of Cairo, said.

Marijuana use is widespread among men who are at the peak of their sex life. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime puts 162 million people all over the world are using marijuana each year, and 22 million use it daily. Long-term effects are therefore very important fields of study as there could be millions affected in the future.

It is natural for pot users to focus on the upside rather than the downside. Sharon Johnson, a professor of social work at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, has published a study in 2004 in the journal of Archives of Sexual Behavior that marijuana users experience pain during sex and have slightly elevated risks of inhibited orgasms.

“What we are really missing are clinical studies,” Shamloul said. “We are stuck with only animal studies and molecular studies, and some clinical studies done in the ’60s and ’70s, most on a very small number of men… We need well-designed, placebo-control studies examining marijuana’s effect in both the short-term and long-term.”

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Marijuana Danger Facts for Teens

Posted by Drug Free in Alcohol Abuse, Drug Addiction, Raising Healthy Kids on May 4th, 2010

Can marijuana cause harm (illness or death) to the user?

The components of marijuana are not toxic enough to cause an illness or death. It has even been used as a form of medication in a number of states in the US. However, if we talk about using marijuana with other drugs or using marijuana while or shortly before doing activities that require focus and coordination, such as driving or operating a heavy machine, then marijuana can be dangerous and can even cause death.

teen marijuanaIs it dangerous to drink alcohol and smoke marijuana at the same time?

Drinking too much alcohol can cause serious illness or death. Throwing up is the body’s way to get rid of poison. Smoking marijuana suppresses the body’s need to purge when the blood alcohol content reaches dangerous levels. That is why binge drinking and marijuana smoking make a dangerous combination.

Does using marijuana always lead to abusing other more dangerous drugs?

Marijuana has been referred to as a gateway drug, a label which many marijuana advocates strongly oppose to. Many drug abusers may have started with marijuana, but only a small percentage of marijuana users actually move on to using other more dangerous drugs. What marijuana users should be concerned about is not how it can lead to further drug abuse, but what its effects are to the brain even when taken without other drugs.

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