Marijuana: The Health Benefits and Risks

Easily the most widespread recreational drug (that happens to be banned), marijuana (technically known as cannabis, and in its various forms as pot, weed, dope, hash, et al.,) has acquired quite a bit of a mythic aura around it. Depending on who you listen to, cannabis will either cause you to become impotent, disease-ridden, and hell-bound, or else as strong as Superman (without the heat vision.) Taking those preconceptions in hand, let's go on a journey through the truth about this substance.

A short note, though: this article doesn't examine the legality of the drug, or if it were legalized how it should be regulated. The political is far removed from the clinical, and entire books could be written on the subject (hell, entire books could be written on this subject, but I'm breaking it down into easy chunks.) So then, let's begin with the good.

Cannabis is a rather squat planet. Different parts of the plant are used for different purposes, such as fibers or oil, while the drug form of the plant capitalizes on the quantities of THC (delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol). The THC is what causes the high. The short-term physical effects vary from person to person and depend on quantities ingested or inhaled; euphoria, lethargy, muscle relaxation, increased appetites, and an altered state of consciousness; in other words, why people take the drug. These can be considered "good" effects, since to get high is the intended use. But what are the other effects?

Among the possible beneficial effects of marijuana use include the inhibition of peptide aggregation in the brain, a cause of Alzheimer's disease. Studies suggest that marijuana's ability to slow Alzheimer's progression may be superior to current drugs on the market. The drug has also been the base of a prescription painkiller, Sativex, which has been approved in some countries to ease the pain of people suffering from multiple sclerosis. In clinical studies, THC has been found to shrink tumors in small mammals; theories suggest that either the THC stimulates programmed cell death, stopping the growth of cancer cells, or it reduces blood flow to these areas, starving the tumor (or both). A non-psychoactive element called CBD found in marijuana has been suggested to be useful in treating breast cancer. So there's a possibility for the drug to be more commonly used for medicinal purposes.

On the other hand, marijuana use presents several dangers as well, often depending on how the drug is assimilated. Smoking is by far the most harmful. As with smoking tobacco, smoking marijuana means that the user is breathing in the compounds added by manufacturers, or else naturally in the compound. As such marijuana contains numerous carcinogens, compounds known to cause cancer, although whether marijuana actually causes cancer is disputed (once again, see the anti-tumor findings above.) One study found that marijuana smoke contained 20 times more ammonia and five times more hydrogen cyanide and nitrogen oxides than tobacco smoke. Younger smokers/users can suffer from a vascular disease called called cannabis arteritis. According to some studies, using vaporizers removes much of the inhalation of these harmful elements (Sativex works by being sprayed into a cheek or under the tongue, bypassing these issues.)

Aside from smoking, long-term ingestion of marijuana has been found to have possible unintended effects. While marijuana is very hard to overdose on (reports of fatalities from marijuana usually involve other drugs), and it is much less addictive than tobacco or alcohol, the potential for addiction still remains. Some marijuana is seeded with lead or glass beads, used to increase weight or make it appear that the hash has more THC than it actually does. Ingestion of these heavy metals is also harmful. The NIH published a study that long-term, heavy use of marijuana (138 joints for 6 years) results in an increased risk of heart attack or stroke.

In short: marijuana is a drug. And like legal drugs such as OTC (over the counter) and prescription medications to tobacco and "hard" drugs like heroin, meth, and cocaine, it carries some risk of dependency (albeit low) and has clear health risks (albeit sketchy.) Clearly, more research is needed by objective entities to confirm the dangers of marijuana and explore possible benefits treating diseases.

The question this leads to is of course whether or not marijuana should be legalized. It is somewhat hypocritical to allow tobacco to be legal when it is more addictive and possibly more dangerous (although marijuana's mind-altering properties means it would be much more dangerous to use the drug in situations where tobacco is permitted, such as working and driving.) On the other hand, what role should the government play in regulating industries or banning it outright. Proponents of legalization say that some of the above issues ("bad weed" laced with harmful additives, etc.) would be solved if the government allowed the sale to come out in the open, and would benefit from taxes on marijuana sales. But should any government be involved in the peddling of drugs?

If marijuana will ever be or should be legalized is a difficult issue, but I would hope that people are fully educated on the drug no matter where they stand on the issue.