Ahhhh, my favorite plant. But in all seriousness, after thinking about the tobacco studies we did in class, I started to think about the same concept, but with cannabis. Just as in the 1950’s people refused to believe anything negative about tobacco, this era may reflect the same thing about marijuana. There is a lot of controversy surrounding the issue of marijuana, so my question is simple; is marijuana bad for your health?
What is marijuana?
To investigate the effects of marijuana, I wanted to start off by clarifying what the drug actually is. Marijuana is a green, leafy substance that is usually smoked out of cigars, joint papers, or other glass pipes (see x). One of the main ingredients in cannabis is THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol which essentially gives its users the “high” that they seek when smoking it (see x). While it is usually smoked, marijuana can be made into tea or can even be drained of its oil to be made into edibles that people can simply eat. (x)
Marijuana use and its effects
According to an article by Daniel Cressey, the only thing that scientists are sure about when it comes to marijuana use is its short-term effects (see x). The drug can impair your memory and coordination while also causing you to feel paranoid (see x). When smoked, cannabis can also increase your chances of respiratory problems and lung cancer (see x). While scientists have found many correlations surrounding the use of cannabis and health problems, they have no concrete evidence of the drug negatively effecting anyone’s body in the long-run. In other words, there is no evidence that correlation equals causation as they have been unable to find any evidence of a mechanism. (see x)
A study done in New Zealand in 2008 found that smoking marijuana can increase your chances of having lung cancer by 8% (see x). But after a meta-analysis, Cressey concluded that no other studies have found similar results, so this study stands alone (see x). This hence means that the study’s conclusion is wrong since other scientists failed to replicate the results (just like Leibovici’s study in his British Medical Journal paper regarding the fact that prayer shortens hospital stays that we studied in class).
The article goes on to say that researchers have found correlations between the use of marijuana and doing poorly in school or having altered brain development, but these are soft endpoints and it is therefore hard to blame marijuana for these things (see x). After reading this article I was able to conclude that there is no way to tell that these studies haven’t suffered the Texas sharpshooter problem since these scientists are so desperate to find any links between marijuana and negative health outcomes. There can be any third variables that contribute to these negative results. (x)
Conclusion
As marijuana becomes legal in more and more states, scientists will be able to conduct more experiments and produce more accurate results surrounding this controversial topic but for now it is safe to say that marijuana doesn’t have any detrimental effects on anyone’s health. The only thing we are sure about, is that it can impair your memory and coordination while also causing you to feel paranoid, as these are known effects of smoking weed. Ultimately, it is your decision whether you want to participate in using the drug and one thing is clear; even though scientists found concrete evidence that tobacco is bad for you and can have detrimental long-term effects, some people continue to smoke it and the same may be true for cannabis, even though it is not nearly as detrimental (yet anyway).
