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Pulmonary Effects: The lungs are the natural target for the
harmful effects of smoked material, and among chronic smokers, chronic
bronchitis and mild airway constriction occur regularly. There are
several known carcinogens in marijuana smoke and certainly more tar -
though no nicotine - and incidental particulates than in tobacco smoke.
But as yet there has not been a single instance of human lung cancer
attributable solely to marijuana use.
The bronchial problems mentioned are somewhat more related to the
act of smoking than they are to the active ingredients in grass, and the
use of a water pipe can eliminate most of them.
Theoretical problems with fungi found in marijuana - Aspergillus,
among others - are repeatedly mentioned in the literature. However,
there has only been one official case of actual Aspergillus poisoning,
and that was in a man whose immune function was depressed as a result
of intensive chemotherapy treatments. Fungi can be killed by cooking
the marijuana before use (100 degrees celsius for 30 minutes), though
in most healthy people this has not shown itself to be a problem.
Marijuana smoke has been shown to inhibit pulmonary antibacterial
defense systems, but the toxin involved is reportedly related to the
smoke itself and not to any psychoactive component in the drug.
I recently spoke with Dr. Tashkin of UCLA, one of the leading
pulmonary specialists in the country, and asked him what the real
risks - long-term - to the smoker were. "We've found changes in the
airways of marijuana smokers which are also found in the airways of
cigarette smokers who go on to develop cancer...it doesn't mean they
will develop cancer. That hasn't been shown to have happened yet,
its just a marker of increased risk we've found in smokers using two
or more joints a day for more than five years. The smoking of
marijuana can lead to pulmonary complications, and that really is
the bottom line. Of course, to find out the real risk we're going
to have to rely on doctors asking their patients as to whether or
not they smoke. We'll have to record that information, and that
information will have to be made available to pathologists, and they
will have to study the results."
Heart and Cardiovascular Effects:
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Smoking marijuana clearly changes the heart function. The most common
and important of which is through tachycardia - a speeding up of the heart
rate that is sometimes accompanied by temporary changes in blood pressure -
and, occasionally, by ventricular fibulation - a condition where ventricle
contractions become uncoordinated.
These effects have been shown to be temporary and reversible and not
problematic in healthy individuals. In certain circumstances, however,
they could lead to serious complications - specifically in people with
heart problems or angina pectoris. Those taking medication for the heart
are recommended to avoid smoking cannabis, since the THC may interfere
with those medications.
The side effects of the speeding up of the heart rate (which also
occur in tobacco smoking, though not to as great a degree) can include
temporary change in body temperature, dizziness on standing and
diminished capacity for exercise.
Smith, David, M.D. and Rick Seymour, M.A., "Abuse Folio: Marijuana," a look
at the nature, use and hazards of grass; High Times, October, 1982
United States Congressional Subcommittee Hearings, "Health Consequences of
Marijuana," 1980
United Sates Department of Health and Human Services, HHS News, May 5, 1987
Unites States Secretary of Health and Human Services/National Institute of
Medicine, Marijuana and Health, "The Relman Report," a study of all known
marijuana research conducted between 1965 and 1980; National Academy Press,
1982.
Wert, Renee, Ph.D. and M. Raulin, Ph.D., "The Chronic Cerebral Effects of
Cannabis Use: Neurological Findings," International Journal of Addictions,
Vol. 21, #6, pp. 605-628
World Health Organization, reports acquired from the United Nations.
Zinberg, Norman, Drugs, Set and Setting, Yale Press, 1984
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