The plant that produces marijuana is the hemp plant cannabis sativa. The pharmacologically active ingredient in marijuana is tetra-hydro-cannabinol (THC).
Marijuana is used to heighten perception, affect mood and relax. It is estimated that about 30 percent of adults in the U.S. use marijuana.
Many people think marijuana is harmless. This assumption is wrong. Signs of marijuana use include red eyes, lethargy and uncoordinated body movements. The long-term effects may include decrease in motivation and harmful effects on the brain, heart, lung and reproductive system. The more often a person smokes marijuana and the longer they continue to smoke it, their chance of developing cancer in places such as the mouth, tongue, larynx or pharynx increases. (See marijuana uses).
The short-term effects of marijuana include:
Regular marijuana use may have many of the same respiratory problems that tobacco smoke produces, such as daily cough and phlegm production, more frequent acute chest illnesses, a heightened risk of lung infections and a greater tendency toward obstructed airways. Among the known or suspected chronic (long-term) effects of marijuana are:
The Public Health Service concludes that marijuana has a broad range of psychological and biological effects, many of which are dangerous and harmful to health, and it supports the major conclusion of the National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine.
Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States. When smoked, it begins to effect users almost immediately and can last for one to three hours. When it is eaten in food, such as baked in brownies and cookies, the effects take longer to begin, but usually last longer.
The active ingredient in marijuana, delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, acts on cannabinoid receptors on nerve cells and influences the activity of those cells. Some brain areas have many cannabinoid receptors, but other areas of the brain have few or none at all. Many cannabinoid receptors are found in the parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thought, concentration, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement.
Within a few minutes after smoking marijuana, the heart begins beating more rapidly and the blood pressure drops. Marijuana can cause the heart beat to increase by 20 to 50 beats per minute and can increase even more if other drugs are used at the same time. The researchers suggest that a heart attack might occur, in part, because marijuana raises blood pressure and heart rate and reduces the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood.
Because of the lower blood pressure and higher heart rate, researchers found that a user’s risk for a heart attack is four times higher within the first hour after smoking marijuana.
Smoking marijuana, even infrequently, can cause burning and stinging of the mouth and throat, and cause heavy coughing. Scientists have found that regular marijuana smokers can experience the same respiratory problems as tobacco smokers do which include:
Marijuana contains more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco smoke and because marijuana smokers usually inhale deeper and hold the smoke in their lungs longer than tobacco smokers, their lungs are exposed to those carcinogenic properties longer.
One study found that marijuana smokers were three times more likely to develop cancer of the head or neck than non-smokers. Many researchers believe than smoking marijuana is overall more harmful to the lungs than smoking tobacco.
The potential of cancer due to marijuana is because of the irritants and carcinogens likely to affect the lungs and other parts of the respiratory tract. In fact, marijuana smoke contains 50 percent to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco smoke. High levels of an enzyme found in marijuana converts certain hydrocarbons into their carcinogenic form, levels that may accelerate the changes that ultimately produce malignant cells. Due to the fact that marijuana users usually inhale more deeply and hold their breath longer than tobacco smokers do, increases the lungs’ exposure to carcinogenic smoke. These facts suggest that with each puff, smoking marijuana may increase the risk of cancer more than smoking tobacco does.
THC damages the immune system’s ability to fight of infectious diseases and cancer due to the adverse effects on the health caused by marijuana. In laboratory experiments that exposed animal and human cells to THC or other marijuana ingredients, the normal disease-preventing reactions of many of the key types of immune cells were inhibited. In other studies, mice exposed to THC or related substances were more likely than unexposed mice to develop bacterial infections and tumors.
If you or someone you know has an addiction to marijuana and needs marijuana drug treatment, please call our toll free number at (877) 714-1320. Someone is available 24 hours a day to assist you in the proper treatment plan to overcome addiction.
