Cannabis still harmful to health: report

[poledriver]

Cannabis still harmful to health: report

Medicinal cannabis effectively treats chronic pain and significantly helps those with multiple sclerosis (MS), a major US report on the health effects of marijuana has found.
But recreational cannabis smoking is likely to increase the risk of schizophrenia and may even trigger a heart attack.

The US National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine has released a 400-page report offering a rigorous review of more than 10,000 scientific research papers published since 1999 about what is known about the health impacts of marijuana and active chemical compounds known as cannabinoids - ranging from pain relief to risks for causing cancer.

As attitudes towards the illicit drug soften in response to use of medicinal cannabis, it's important that Australians are well educated on the harmful effects of its recreational use, says Alcohol and Drug Foundation National Policy Manager Geoff Munro.

A paper published last year in The Lancet Psychiatry journal showed an increasing number of US adults using marijuana as fewer people perceived the drug as harmful.
The National Drug Strategy Household Survey found approval of marijuana use for recreational purposes in Australia rose from 8.1 per cent in 2010 to 9.8 per cent in 2013.
"There is no doubt that marijuana is harmful," Mr Munro told AAP.

"We need a more literate community about the potential benefits and harms of any drug use and cannabis is just the same. The fact that it can be used for medical purposes to relieve pain or other debilitating conditions doesn't mean that it is safe or without harm and I think that is the debate we need to have," Mr Munro said.

WHAT THE CANNABIS REPORT FOUND

- Therapeutic Effects: Patients treated with medicinal cannabis more likely to experience significant pain reduction.

Substantial evidence that oral cannabinoids effectively reduced muscle spasms related to MS and nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy.

Cancer: No evidence linking smoking cannabis to increased cancer risk associated with tobacco use.

Heart Attack: Some evidence suggesting cannabis smoking may trigger a heart attack. More research needed to determine risk of heart attack, stroke and diabetes.

Respiratory Disease: Regular smoking of cannabis associated with more frequent chronic bronchitis episodes, chronic cough and phlegm production. Unclear if cannabis use linked to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or asthma.

Mental Health: Likely to increase risk of developing schizophrenia, other psychoses and social anxiety disorders. Also increases risk of developing depression. Heavy users more likely to report suicidal thoughts than non-users.

Psycosocial: Learning, memory and attention impaired after immediate cannabis use but limited evidence suggesting such impairments continue after the cessation of smoking cannabis.

From Australian online news site news com au

http://www.news.com.au/national/bre...t/news-story/3b8bc97299c233693027417e4c608f6e

 

[jackie jones]

To be honest, I feel like I am schizophrenic when I smoke weed, and it does not take much. It is awful.

I adore the plant and believe in its medical applications, however its true magic is in its ability to chill people out. Simple as it ever was. I know people who would be unbearable to deal with if they did not get high.

 

[burn out]

Well I guess its good news they still cant link it to COPD, im guessing if it caused COPD they would have found a link by now. Heart attack stuff is scary cause i have had some episodes of elevated heart rate on cannabis and a really thought I was going to have a heart attack recently whenh I smoked cannabis after chewing coca leafs earlier in the day. No more mixing it with coca for me. But I have been smoking so many years now and my heart seems generally ok.

 

[Burnt Offerings]

Nothing new here.

The link between cannabis and the development of previously-latent schizophrenia in those already predisposed has been well-known for a while now

 

[iksaxophone]

Interesting. I had bronchitis for the first time this fall, following two years of smoking two or three times a week. Perhaps that is why...or maybe it was working long hours outdoors in cold weather.

 

[Egzoset]

Salutations PoleDriver,

...Australians are well educated on the harmful effects of its recreational use, says Alcohol and Drug Foundation National Policy Manager Geoff Munro.

Actually this is all the enlightment which i personally retained from what was heard of Aussie "science" not so long ago:

​

On another hand such forum activity only remains a hobby for me and it's a declining one, i don't get paid to relay the "news" anyway.

Good day, have fun!!

 

[poledriver]

Stoner Sloth is a legend.

 

[thujone]

It's somewhat misleading to claim "cannabis use" can increase the risk of pulmonary and cardiovascular problems known to be caused by inhalation of smoke and not by cannabis itself. Unfortunately, raising awareness doesn't seem to help. I have known a number of chronic users who had access to vapourizers and still preferred to smoke it. What can you do if people don't care they run the risk of spending their last days having to gasp for each breath? It isn't the quick or painless death that I'm sure everyone, universally, would prefer.

 

[poledriver]

 

[burn out]

It's somewhat misleading to claim "cannabis use" can increase the risk of pulmonary and cardiovascular problems known to be caused by inhalation of smoke and not by cannabis itself. Unfortunately, raising awareness doesn't seem to help. I have known a number of chronic users who had access to vapourizers and still preferred to smoke it. What can you do if people don't care they run the risk of spending their last days having to gasp for each breath? It isn't the quick or painless death that I'm sure everyone, universally, would prefer.

its cuz the vaporizers dont delver the same high, the gods intended cannabis to be smoked or eaten.

 

[Bagseed]

but apparantly "the gods" (lol) intended for humans to come up with vaporizers to vape weed with.

where's your logic now?

 

[Jibult]

but apparantly "the gods" (lol) intended for humans to come up with vaporizers to vape weed with.

where's your logic now?

But then vaporizers start to blow up in people's faces and the Gods laugh at our misery.

 

[thujone]

its cuz the vaporizers dont delver the same high, the gods intended cannabis to be smoked or eaten.

that's exactly what people tell me and yeah it's true but i don't really understand why some people don't find the vape high as satisfactory. i mean if vapes didn't exist i'd probably still toke so i'm not trying to be hypocritical but i still think it's possible to adapt to enjoying the vape if people give it an honest effort and are conscious of how miserable dying from a pulmonary or cardiovascular disease can be. everyone sort of assumes that they will just eat a bullet if it gets to that point but it's easy to think about ending your own life at some point down the line when you're still young.

 

[poledriver]

Yeah there is no way I would go back to smoking weed after using good vapes. I much prefer the high from vaping than smoking.

 

[Jibult]

The only thing I don't like about vaping is how it dries out my sinuses.

I can't resist inhaling through the mouth and exhaling through the nose when I vape, though, and that likely has a lot to do with it... but after I vape anything for a few days, my sinus dries way the fuck out and it's basically a coin toss whether or not I'll come down with some kind of sinusitis while I wait for shit to heal.



That's literally the only thing I don't like about vaping. As far as the high, it always seems like it's lacking.... until I take a two or three more pulls. Then I'm usually right where I wanna be.

 

[burn out]

that's exactly what people tell me and yeah it's true but i don't really understand why some people don't find the vape high as satisfactory. i mean if vapes didn't exist i'd probably still toke so i'm not trying to be hypocritical but i still think it's possible to adapt to enjoying the vape if people give it an honest effort and are conscious of how miserable dying from a pulmonary or cardiovascular disease can be. everyone sort of assumes that they will just eat a bullet if it gets to that point but it's easy to think about ending your own life at some point down the line when you're still young.

except there is very little evidence that there is any significant risk cannabis will kill you from a pulmonary or cardiovascular disease. Its not something id be particularly worried about unless youre a heavy smoker.

 

[Burnt Offerings]

Yeah I think it's definitely questionable how much damage is done simply by inhaling cannabis smoke. Many (most?) cannabis smokers are also tobacco smokers too so that complicates matters, but cannabis smoke taken on its own? The research I've looked at doesn't indicate any correlation between ingesting cannabis smoke and developing lung cancer...haven't seen anything that links it to conditions like emphysema either.

 

[Bagseed]

it probably also really depends on how much you smoke each day. if you smoke 20 cigarettes a day, that's many grams of tobacco. Even if I use weed daily, I use less than half a gram a day, sometimes even as little as 100mg. and not all of that is smoked as I also use a vape. and burnt offerings is right, at least here in europe, most people who smoke weed, mix it with tobacco, and many of those smoke regular cigarettes as well. so it's complicated to say anything for sure.

I also doubt that people who smoke maybe one cig a day (they exist ) have a much higher risk to get lung cancer, but who knows. definitely a subject which calls for much more scientific investigation.

 

[poledriver]

Yeah it is very common in Australia to mix weed with tobacco for smoking.

 

[Egzoset]

Hummm...

Does the study reveal any possible socio-toxic effects from the studies themselves?...

Good day, have fun!!