Do you smoke weed ?? Then you need to read this!

Do you smoke weed? okay! that's probably not the right question .....Let's just get to this! 

Here are interesting Health facts you need to know about weed!

Did you know that marijuana, cannabis or most popularly known as weed has been used to treat humans for over three thousand years?  This has been well recorded by reputable historic sources.  However, Global medical and health institutions have not deemed the unprocessed plant safe enough or effective in the treatment of any type of medical conditions.

Your body and Marijuana

Long before the Rastafarians, the oldest known written record on cannabis use comes from the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung in 2727 B.C. Ancient Greeks and Romans were also familiar with cannabis, while in the Middle East, use spread throughout the Islamic empire to North Africa. In 1545 cannabis spread to the western hemisphere where Spaniards imported it to Chile for its use as fiber. In North America cannabis, in the form of hemp, was grown on many plantations for use in rope, clothing and paper.

The main varieties are pure or Hybrid …Indica, Sativa and Ruderalis.

With a variety of cannabis strains the potency of marijuana varies greatly. The highest concentration of cannabinoids is found in the flowers of the female marijuana plant. Marijuana is much more powerful today than it was 30 years ago. The average THC levels rose from less than 1 percent in the mid-1970's to more than 6 percent in 2002 to 8.5 percent in 2008.

Now! If you are like me and have smoked weed for years, you would have notice some form of forgetfulness,but is that linked damaged brain cells as a result of prolonged weed usage ? Well, Here is what the experts have to say….

Let us explore facts and not just the well propagated piffle! Let us read what researchers and their studies have to say.....

These are the major diseases associated with the smoking of marijuana, BUT are they facts or just unsubstantiated theories?

In terms of marijuana and its effects on brain cells, or neurons, there is little evidence to suggest that any of the active ingredients in the marijuana plant administered at doses appropriate for human consumption have neurotoxic effects. Drgpolicy.com

Studies in Australia in 2008 linked years of heavy marijuana use to brain abnormalities. This is backed up by earlier research on the long-term effects of marijuana, which indicate changes in the brain similar to those caused by long-term abuse of other major drugs.

“Every study shows that it just doesn’t kill brain cells,” says Dr. Perry Solomon, a retired anesthesiologist and chief medical officer at HelloMD.com.

Results showed that heavy users of marijuana scored significantly lower in memory tests during the first week after quitting. However, their scores returned to normal levels within 28 days, leading the researchers to conclude that even heavy use of marijuana “produces no irreversible mental deficits.” Harvard University 2001.

In 2003, researchers at the University of California, San Diego compiled the findings of 15 previous studies on marijuana and cognitive function. After analyzing results from over 1,000 test subjects, the researchers concluded that marijuana users may suffer from minor impairments in learning and memory, but the effects were only temporary.

Similarly, a 2015 study by researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder looked at brain imaging scans of marijuana users verses non-users. They found that marijuana users did not suffer from any physical changes in major areas of the brain.

To date, no large scale, epidemiological studies exist demonstrating a correlation between THC and cancer. During the early 1980s, Kaiser Permanente studied over 65,000 patients with a ten-year follow-up. About half of these patients, admitted to having tried marijuana.

One hundred eighty- two tobacco related cancers were found but no effects of marijuana use on the risk of cancer.

This study has some important limitations. First, the marijuana smokers were young (15 to 39), their usage was relatively light, and the follow-up period was short. However, Tashkin's (2005) research at UCLA-MC showed increased redness, swelling, and white blood cell count in regular marijuana users. 

The American Cancer Society supports the need for more scientific research on cannabinoids for cancer patients, and recognizes the need for better and more effective therapies that can overcome the often debilitating side effects of cancer and its treatment. The Society also believes that the classification of marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance by the US Drug Enforcement Administration imposes numerous conditions on researchers and deters scientific study of cannabinoids. 

In conclusion, just because there is not a large scale, conclusive study proving marijuana smoke causes brain damage or cancer, does not mean it can be ruled out. Marijuana smoke is linked to short term memory loss even though it’s reversible, and like cigarette smoke, also contains known carcinogens. There is considerable evidence that cigarette smoking is related to lung cancer and many other health hazards. It took decades to demonstrate this.

The widespread use of marijuana for recreational uses is a relatively new phenomenon. With time and more research, marijuana smoke may very well prove to be as lethal as cigarette smoke.

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