health
Smoked Marijuana Jeopardizes the Physical and Mental Health of Everyone
The Federal Drug Administration has studied smoked marijuana for over 30 years and concludes that it is a high toxic, addictive, cancer-causing weed. It has the potential for great harm and no accepted benefit. It cannot be prescribed by a licensed medical doctor. The primary chemical responsible for the “high” is known as THC (Tetrahydracannabinol).
Marijuana by the numbers:
- Today the potency of THC is at least 3 times more toxic than in the 1970’s. (ONDCP – marijuana potency project.)
- There are 483 chemicals in marijuana and when smoked or ingested there are 4 to 5 times more tars and cancer causing agents than in tobacco cigarettes.
- In 2006, there were 290,563 marijuana-related emergency room visits, more than for all drugs combined.
In 2009, the California Office of Environmental Health and Assessment Science listed marijuana as a cause of cancer. It is also known to cause respiratory and reproductive problems, mental illness, birth defect and irreversible brain damage…especially for young people.
“We’ve known for centuries that smoked marijuana is harmful to mind and body. Most concerning are the long-term mental health effects marijuana has on habitual users and the developing brain of a young person. Smoked marijuana also causes birth defects, respiratory and reproductive problems, including birth defects.” (Dr. Forest Tennant)
Fatigue, paranoia, possible psychosis, memory problems, depersonalization, mood alterations, urinary retention, constipation, decreased motor coordination, lethargy, slurred speech, and dizziness. Impaired health including lung damage, behavioral changes, and reproductive, cardiovascular and immunological effects have been associated with regular marijuana use.
Regular and chronic marijuana smokers may have many of the same respiratory problems that tobacco smokers have (daily cough and phlegm, symptoms of chronic bronchitis), as the amount of tar inhaled and the level of carbon monoxide absorbed by marijuana smokers is 3 to 5 times greater than among tobacco smokers.
The short term effects of marijuana use include problems with memory and learning, distorted perception, difficultly in thinking and problem-solving, and loss of coordination. Heavy users may have increased difficulty sustaining attention, shifting attention to meet the demands of changes in the environment, and in registering, processing and using information.
National Highway Safety and Transportation Association (NHSTA)
