Is marijuana bad for you?
- Thread starter SonCamKu
- Start date
Inconclusive.
It's a drug, abuse is always a concern.
The current state of medical knowledge in terms of long term side effects as I understand it is as follows:
Mental:
An inconclusive correlation with mild depression, no greater than background on severe, no greater than background on suicide.
An inconclusive correlation with increased probability of schizophrenia for those genetically predisposed.
Respiratory (from smoking):
At worst, equal to tobacco consumption but largely inconclusive.
Cancer:
Marijuana may be carcinogenic, but right now the body of knowledge is inconclusive.
Reproductive effects:
There is evidence that seems to point out use while pregnant can lead to developmental disorders, specifically in the vein of 'deficit' disorders (ADD, ADHD, Delinquency, Cognitive performance) basicly the same sort of side effects as alcohol but apparently less pronounced.
It's a drug, abuse is always a concern.
The current state of medical knowledge in terms of long term side effects as I understand it is as follows:
Mental:
An inconclusive correlation with mild depression, no greater than background on severe, no greater than background on suicide.
An inconclusive correlation with increased probability of schizophrenia for those genetically predisposed.
Respiratory (from smoking):
At worst, equal to tobacco consumption but largely inconclusive.
Cancer:
Marijuana may be carcinogenic, but right now the body of knowledge is inconclusive.
Reproductive effects:
There is evidence that seems to point out use while pregnant can lead to developmental disorders, specifically in the vein of 'deficit' disorders (ADD, ADHD, Delinquency, Cognitive performance) basicly the same sort of side effects as alcohol but apparently less pronounced.
I've been smoking weed almost everyday for 35 years and I haven't had any health issues related to smoking weed. I also know several people that been have smoking longer than I have, with no apparent issues as well.
I know it's anecdotal, but I can only speak about my experiences.
As long as alcohol and tobacco are legal, there is absolutely no reason why marijuana should be illegal.
I know it's anecdotal, but I can only speak about my experiences.
As long as alcohol and tobacco are legal, there is absolutely no reason why marijuana should be illegal.
By that logic, almost no drug should be illegal, considering that alcohol is one of the worse ones.\AkaDad said:
Also, they tried banning alcohol. People literally started murdering each other in the streets over it.
I mean, if there's any evidence that people absolutely should not be allowed to handle addictive substances without extreme oversight, prohibition is it.
Ya, I spoke about this with a girl I know who is studying marijuana in cancer. She says that it's fine if you're only taking it occasionally but that it can have a few negative effects if you abuse it.
If my mother is any evidence on the subject I'd say no.
I only smoked Marijuana for about a year in my teens, I didn't really have a problem with it, I just ended up joining the Navy and decided I didn't want to get a BCD to keep up an "illegal" life style so I stopped using it and never went back to it.
My mother on the other hand is 62, shes a survivor of the 60s and a true old school hippy feminist who's smoked pot every day of her life since she was probably around 14 years old if my assessment of the various stories I've been told by my aunts and uncles and my mother are true.
Medically she has some mild arthritis and thats about it, but our family has a genetic history of adult onset arthritis so its not unexpected, the marijuana actually helps her cope with it quite well. Physically she looks about 15 years younger than she actually is, shes still working every day and has worked every day of her life since I was born.
Granted one case study does not establish medical facts, but given as I've watched my mother be a casual daily user of marijuana since I was old enough to realize what she was doing, and even at 62 she's still as mentally and physically with it as shes more or less always been....I can't really say I think marijuana is bad for you, I think its just a case of whether you're bad for marijuana or not, because biological and neurological responses do vary, wildly, and often.
I only smoked Marijuana for about a year in my teens, I didn't really have a problem with it, I just ended up joining the Navy and decided I didn't want to get a BCD to keep up an "illegal" life style so I stopped using it and never went back to it.
My mother on the other hand is 62, shes a survivor of the 60s and a true old school hippy feminist who's smoked pot every day of her life since she was probably around 14 years old if my assessment of the various stories I've been told by my aunts and uncles and my mother are true.
Medically she has some mild arthritis and thats about it, but our family has a genetic history of adult onset arthritis so its not unexpected, the marijuana actually helps her cope with it quite well. Physically she looks about 15 years younger than she actually is, shes still working every day and has worked every day of her life since I was born.
Granted one case study does not establish medical facts, but given as I've watched my mother be a casual daily user of marijuana since I was old enough to realize what she was doing, and even at 62 she's still as mentally and physically with it as shes more or less always been....I can't really say I think marijuana is bad for you, I think its just a case of whether you're bad for marijuana or not, because biological and neurological responses do vary, wildly, and often.
Oh good, the shit storm hasn't begun, I still have time to find a seat.
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I agree with this, the War on Drugs has been an utter failure in the West, but then if you look through history, any prohibition has always been a failure. It requires a more intelligent approach than just saying "No", but politics and intelligence tend not to mix well...AkaDad said:
I don't think "IS marijuana bad for you?" is the right question... Rather, it should be "CAN marijuana be bad for you?" And, the obvious answer is Yes, it can be be bad for you, but anything can be bad for you when not taken in moderation. After all, what are the three things we need to survive? Air, water and food? Oxygen toxicity [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen_toxicity], Water intoxication [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication] and Obesity [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity].
Chronic use makes it hard to sleep without it, causing somewhat of a dependency; that usually lasts only a few days to a week though. Smoking anything is bad for your lungs, but there are other methods of ingestion. It might be linked to anxiety but that's a difficult thing to prove; some people use it because they already have anxiety, but that can lead to a dependency on it. It probably effects your attention span with chronic use. Marijuana is just a very non-threatening drug with no apparent life-threatening side effects.
Are we allowed to admit to using marijuana on these forums, or are we going to see a bunch of mod wrath directed at this thread?
Are we allowed to admit to using marijuana on these forums, or are we going to see a bunch of mod wrath directed at this thread?
I've been smoking for 20+ years. I've smoked both recreationally and for therapy related to hodgkins. The only negative effects I can report are a marked propensity to over eating at times, and having a pretty decent tolerance to it.
Otherwise, nada man. If you're up here in washington state or out in colorado, enjoy it with respect and do so responsibly.
Otherwise, nada man. If you're up here in washington state or out in colorado, enjoy it with respect and do so responsibly.
Exactly. I was pretty much going to post exactly this, but you beat me to the punch. EVERYTHING can be deadly to you if you intake too much of it.madwarper said:
Smoke weed in moderation, and there shouldn't really be anything to worry about. At the very least, take comfort in the fact that it can't possibly be as detrimental to your health as smoking cigarettes or drinking is.
Interesting - I'd find it pretty surprising if driving while high on weed wasn't as bad as being drunk. I certainly wouldn't feel safe doing it. I think it would be difficult to quantify what constitutes 'the same amount' of inebriation for a fair test.MarsAtlas said:
As for addiction, I can certainly say I'm addicted, in that I have almost no self-control around marijuana at all - if it's in the house, I'll smoke it, and I'll probably smoke it a lot; and if it *isn't* in the house I think about it often and get regular cravings. On the other hand, I have no *physical* ill-effects from abstention, and I can (and do) go months or years without smoking, despite the cravings. So speaking entirely from personal experience, it is definitely possible to be psychologically addicted.
Interestingly, I'm not addicted either to marijuana *or* to tobacco, but only to the two in combination. I get no urge whatsoever to smoke either of them on their own.
I don't know a lot about the physical health effects other than that it's bad for you lungs; but I do know that people who tell you it isn't habit forming are deluding themselves. It is absolutely habit forming, and with a long term, heavy habit you get to where you don't feel right without it. I love pot, but I don't lie to myself about it anymore. I very rarely hear a stoner being honest about this, but they sure do get cranky if the supply is dry for a bit.