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May 29, 2024 · Marijuana use can have negative and long-term effects: Brain health: Marijuana can cause permanent IQ loss of as much as 8 points when people start using it at a young age. These IQ points do not come back, even after quitting marijuana. Mental health: Studies link marijuana use to depression, anxiety, suicide planning, and psychotic episodes.
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Feb 16, 2024 · Cannabis is the most commonly used federally illegal drug in the United States, with an estimated 61.9 million people using it in 2022. 1 Cannabis use may have a wide range of health effects on the body and brain. 2 Click on the sections below to learn more about how cannabis use can affect your health.
- Overview
- Respiratory system
- Circulatory system
- Central nervous system
- Digestive system
- Immune system
People report various physical and psychological effects from cannibas. This may include impacts to your immune system, eyes, circulation, breathing, memory, and judgement.
The flower of the cannabis plant is used for its recreational or medicinal purposes. The stalk or stem of the cannabis plant is used for industrial purposes (e.g., hemp fiber). The seed of the cannabis plant is used for food and household purposes (e.g., hemp seed or hemp oil).
Cannabis is also known as pot, weed, and dozens of other names.
While many people smoke or vape it, you can also use cannabis as an ingredient in food, beverages, tinctures, or topicals.
Different methods of ingesting cannabis may affect your body differently. When you inhale cannabis smoke into your lungs, the compounds immediately enter your bloodstream and quickly make their way to your brain and other organs. The effects may onset within seconds to minutes.
When you eat or drink cannabis-containing products, the compounds need to first pass through your digestive system and liver before reaching your bloodstream. The effects may onset within minutes to hours.
Much like tobacco smoke, cannabis smoke is made up of a variety of toxic chemicals, including ammonia and hydrogen cyanide, which can irritate your bronchial passages and lungs.
If you’re a regular smoker, you’re more likely to wheeze, cough, and produce phlegm. You’re also at an increased risk of bronchitis and lung infections. Cannabis may aggravate existing respiratory illnesses, such as asthma and cystic fibrosis.
Cannabis and COPD: Is there a link?
Cannabis smoke contains carcinogens, which could theoretically increase your risk of lung cancer.
THC moves from your lungs into your bloodstream and throughout your body. Within minutes, your heart rate may increase by 20 to 50 beats per minute. That rapid heart rate can continue for up to 3 hours.
This places extra oxygen demand on your heart. If you have heart disease, this could raise your risk for a heart attack.
One of the telltale signs of recent cannabis use is bloodshot eyes. The eyes look red because cannabis causes blood vessels to expand and fill with more blood.
THC can also lower pressure in the eyes, which can ease symptoms of glaucoma for a few hours. More research is needed to understand whether THC can offer long-term benefits for glaucoma.
The effects of cannabis extend throughout the central nervous system (CNS). Cannabis is thought to ease pain and inflammation and help control spasms and seizures. Still, there are potential long-term negative effects on the CNS to consider.
THC triggers your brain to release large amounts of dopamine, a naturally occurring “feel good” chemical. It’s what gives you a pleasant high. It may heighten your sensory perception and your perception of time.
This dopamine cycle may also explain why as many as 30 percent of cannabis users develop cannabis use disorder. Severe cannabis use disorder, or addiction, may be relatively uncommon, but it can occur.
Symptoms of cannabis withdrawal may include:
•irritability
•insomnia
Smoking cannabis can cause some stinging or burning in your mouth and throat while you’re inhaling.
Cannabis can cause digestive issues when taken orally. While THC has been shown to ease nausea and vomiting, in some people long-term heavy use can paradoxically cause nausea and vomiting.
An increase in your appetite is common when taking any form of THC, leading to what many people call “the munchies.”
This can be a benefit for people who need to gain weight or increase appetite, such as people with cancer receiving chemotherapy.
Studies involving animals have shown that THC may adversely affect the immune system by suppressing it.
This could theoretically make you more susceptible to infectious diseases. However, for people with autoimmune conditions who have an overactive immune system, this may be a benefit.
Further research, and research in humans, is needed to fully understand the effects.
Keep reading: What is medical cannabis?
- Ann Pietrangelo
Apr 26, 2024 · Other effects of marijuana use include: 2,3. Altered sensory perception (such as an increase in sensitivity to sound). Changes in the perception of time. Mood changes. Impaired body movement. Impaired cognition and memory. Increased heart rate. Bloodshot eyes.
Jan 12, 2024 · Need more weed to get the same high. Have issues with learning, attention, or memory. You could also grow physically dependent on marijuana. Your body could go into withdrawal, leaving you cranky ...
Mar 1, 2024 · The Bad. In addition to minor side effects that many users joke about—such as short-term memory loss—recent studies have linked marijuana to adverse health outcomes involving the lungs, heart ...
Apr 12, 2019 · Cannabis can affect the body in many ways. It can provide pain relief and a feeling of calm, but also increase lung irritation, impair memory and judgment, and cause eye redness. Many effects of ...
