I know someone* who is starting to smoke pot more heavily, and I’m getting pretty worried. I know I can scare them off it by telling them what it does to your body, so I need some facts on how pot messes up your body.
*It’s not me by the way, I have severe asthma and smoking pot would just be stupid and probably deadly to me.
from what i know, and im sure someone much more knowledgable will be around soon, the affects of smoke are similar to those of ciggarette smoke, except for three major differences.
smoke doesn't contain all the additives found in ciggarettes, as it comes right from the ground.*
You keep the smoke in your lungs for longer, worsening the affect
and most importantly,
Of course, you also become a brain-baked loser who does nothing but sit around on his couch eating Cheetos all day then goes to school and makes jokes about because he thinks hes cool…
*This is assuming you know your dealer. Occasionally, a dealer will dip in formadelhyde or some more dangerous , at which point it becomes much, much more dangerous.
rriiiiiight so im on a school computer and they appear to have edited out every instance of the word % - " so when it looks like it should be there, it should.
wow this thing is good. ok its editing out marijjuana.
From what I’ve been able to tell, there’s little credible evidence that pot smoking is much worse for you pysiologically than heavy smoking (of tobacco cigarettes). The physical effects are similar: elevated risk of lung and throat cancer, emphysema and other lung-related disorders. There is no real evidence that it “kills brain cells” or causes any other pemanent mental incapacity. There is some evidence for a very rare condition called “marijuana psychosis”, which may be associated with VERY heavy use. The most damaging effects are likely phsycological, rather than physical, since a dependancy can result which is similar to that of alcoholism, in the effect it can have on one finanancially and socially. I’ll try to find some reputable sources, but it’s a difficult thing to research, since there’s so much exaggeration and hyperbole on both sides of the issue.
Since my only experiences with Cannabis sativa have confirmed that I have an extremely bizarre reaction to it – irrational paranoia – I think it’s advisable to let someone else speak to the psychological effects. Please note that the following discussion relates to the physiological and psychological effects of smoking pot; it is not intended to encourage anyone to break laws against doing so, and should not be construed in such a way.
From what I understand, it’s a vasodilator, not a particularly strong one, but one nonetheless. There are a few medical conditions for which this is bad news. On the other hand, it’s a near-specific for the disease glaucoma, in which vision is lost or severely diminished by extremely high pressures in the “humors” of the eyeball. It is also a moderately strong analgesic – and is often prescribed, in areas where medical marijuana is accepted, for patients with severe chronic pain, particularly terminal cancer patients, as being the analgesic of choice – acetaminophen and/or the NSAIDs in less-than-toxic doses not being strong enough, and anything stronger than pot being effectively a knockout drug, pot will allow the patient to function moderately normally (if slightly stoned) by alleviating the debilitating effect of constant pain.
It functions psychologically as a euphoriant – and this has both good and bad effects. For someone having a difficult time dealing with stress, moderate use may be beneficial where legal.
But the reverse side of that is also commonly true – one can build up a psychological addiction, using it as a crutch to get through life, abandoning any sense of reponsibility or self-acceptance and escaping to where one can feel like he has no cares. This is perhaps the most dangerous, because it’s the most insidious, psychological effect of pot smoking.
I know you didn’t ask about psychological effects – but that set of truisms needs to be stated, bluntly. That does not mean that every pot smoker has abandoned any sense of reality or any such BS – it does mean that one needs to be alert and cautious regarding that insidious effect, because it does happen to some pot smokers.
And I reiterate that this is dealing with a “what if” world in which legalisms do not apply – the statements above would be valid if it were completely legal and sold OTC everywhere, or if it were completely illegal in all possible uses.
Here’s one cite .
Another (resonably balanced) review: here
I don’t know that scare tactics would have worked on me when I was in high school and started smoking pot. I knew how many people smoked and knew that I had never heard of a single catastrophic outcome due to smoking. But I was working my way into medical school and knew to keep it in line and keep my rear in gear.
A better approach may be to express your concern about what the marijuana does to the person you know. I.e., does it make them lazy? Unproductive? Probably. You can’t really be out conquering the world if you’re at home snarfing down oreos.
In my mind pot is like alcohol: probably harmless in small quantities. But neither one is a good idea before work, or all weekend long, or all the time…
Let’s not forget that, like it or not, this is an illegal substance. If your friend is busted, a drug conviction will follow them around forever. This can severely impact their ability to get any kind of good paying job. I work in a security sensitive area at my job, and if I ever got busted, I would lose everything. All in all, I feel that the risk is not worth it and a rather good reason to resist the temptation to try it.
Meh, I’ve scared them out of drinking soda as often as they used to because of what I told them.
Marijuana is a crappy drug for glaucoma. It does a mild to moderate job of reducing intra-ocular pressure, and must be dosed every 3 to 4 hours around the clock to reduce it enough to really prevent loss of vision from serious glaucoma. Prescription eye drops are much more effective and longer lasting.
Having said that, I think marijuana can be one beneficial and useful tool in dealing with malignant pain syndromes; i.e. the ones arising from severe progressive diseases such as metastatic cancers or certain wasting diseases like AIDS and varied neurologic problems. I don’t believe it has a legitimate role in treating chronic low back pain, headaches, or fibromyalgia.
Just my two cents.
QtM, MD
From what I understand, marijuana possession is a mild misdemeanor.
The exception seems to be Las Vegas.
Apparently (and I’m not a doctor, so I’d be happy to be corrected), delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active drug in marijuana, binds with cannabanoid receptors in the brain, which increases production of a brain chemical called anandamide. It also affects levels of norepinephrine and dopamine.
Let’s see: I don’t sit around all day; I don’t eat Cheetos; I don’t go to school/work and make jokes; I don’t think I’m cool. You’re pretty much completely wrong about me. You’re pretty much completely wrong about my weed-smoking friends. I wonder how many other people you’re completely wrong about…
Don’t like it? Don’t do it. Easy stuff.
most marijuana smokers consume around a quarter ounce of the plant in a week. that’s 7 grams.
most tobacco smokers consume 2-3 times that amount, per day. one pack of cigarettes is about 20 grams. so, the risk of lung cancer or emphysema as a result of a marijuana consumption is slight. nothing like tobacco.
nicotine, by itself, is a known carcinogen. the way THC and other cannabinoids influence the progression of cancer is not as clear-cut. we do know that they are exceptionally non-toxic, especially when compared to tobacco, alcohol, caffeine and pretty much every other drug out there, illegal or not. i think it would take something like 1/8 your own body weight of pure THC to kill you. decent weed is maybe 5% THC - 50mg per 1 gram. 160,000 times that would be approaching the lethal dose for the average person.
so, the truth is that, physically, it is not at all frightening.
how about…
it mildly impairs coordination and short-term memory.
with alcohol, it severely impairs coordination.
it’s a waste of time.
it’s more expensive than gold.
it can take the place of priority and responsbility.
roughly 50% of employers test for its metabolites.
it is not gone from your system for up to 6 weeks.
This is a false comparison. Cigarettes are normally filtered, which removes much of the tar. Marijuana is generally smoked without filters, with the aim to get as much of the smoke into the lungs as possible, for as long as possible. Additionally, marijuana contains MUCH more plant resins than tobacco does. Add to this the fact that many (if not most) pot smokers also tend to smoke cigarettes, and you’ve got an overall higher risk of lung damage than those who only smoke cigarettes. But don’t take my word for it. Read the results of this study at UCLA:
Bolding mine.
Not entirely bizarre. Paranoia or panic attacks happen in enough people for it to be noted in the literature. In some individuals, it’s invariable or extreme enough to make pot a consistently unpleasant experience. In a larger number, it happens occasionally.
One effect that has been mentioned is appetite stimulation. I don’t believe there are many substances which have this effect - it’s fairly unusual (not unique - megestrol acetate seems to be a prescription drug prescribed as an appetite stimulant). From my own decades-old experience, I always noticed this effect some time AFTER the more immediate effects of marijuana usage for some reason. I’d get stoned, it would wear off, and THEN I’d get the so-called “munchies”. I once ate an entire normal sized apple pie under those conditions, and was still rummaging around looking for something to eat.
Thanks for the correction. My post was intended to weed out the facts, positive and negative, from the wide assortment of propaganda pro and con – obviously I bought into one element of “pro” that wasn’t true.
Ah, that part was intended as a sarcastic reference to those who actually think that.
not necessarily a correlation. how did they determine that? what was the THC content of the marijuana they used? what portions of the plant were smoked? there are too many variables.
i don’t believe it.
if it is truly four times worse than tobacco, a person would still have to inhale a stupid amount of marijuana. 5 ounces per month, 5-10 joints per day(all to theirself!), and at least $125 a week… for 30 years.
I believe that most of the physical affects of smoking tobacco/marijuana can be avoided by using a vaporizer. Hearsay, but it makes sense.