What Are The Health Benefits And Risks Of Marijuana?

According to the National Institutes of Health, people have been using marijuana or cannabis to treat their ailments for at least 3,000 years. However, the Food and Drug Administration has not classified marijuana as safe or effective for treating disease, although cannabidiol, a substance found in marijuana, was approved as a treatment for some types of epilepsy in June 2018.

This tension between the widespread belief that marijuana is an effective treatment for a wide range of diseases and the lack of scientific knowledge about its effects has been exacerbated somewhat in recent times by the drive towards legalization.

Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia have now approved marijuana for medical use, and in some states for recreational use as well.

A recent study published in the journal Addiction, Trusted Source, also found that marijuana use is increasing sharply in the United States, although that increase is not necessarily related to the legalization of marijuana in participating states. Nonetheless, this increase in consumption gives cause for great public health concern.

In this article, we delve into the scientific evidence that weighs the medicinal benefits of marijuana against the health risks associated with it to find an answer to the simple question: is marijuana good or bad?

What are the Medical Benefits of Marijuana? Over the years research has produced results that suggest that marijuana may be of benefit in treating some diseases. These are listed below.

Chronic pain Last year, an extensive report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine evaluated more than 10,000 scientific studies of the medical benefits and negative effects of marijuana.

One area that the report carefully examined was the use of medical marijuana to treat chronic pain. Chronic pain is a leading cause of disability affecting more than 25 million adults in the US Trusted Source

The research found that marijuana, or products containing cannabinoids - the active ingredients in marijuana - or other compounds that act on the same receptors in the brain as marijuana, were effective for chronic pain.

Alcoholism and drug addiction Another in-depth research published in the Clinical Psychology Review last year found that marijuana use can help people with alcohol or opioid addictions fight their addiction.

However, this result is controversial; the National Academies of Sciences review suggests that marijuana use actually increases the risk of abusing and becoming dependent on other substances.

The more often someone uses marijuana, the more likely they are to develop a problem with marijuana use. It is also known that individuals who started using the drug at a young age have an increased risk of developing a problem with marijuana use.

Depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Social Anxiety The review, published in the journal Clinical Psychology Review, evaluated all published scientific literature examining the use of marijuana to treat symptoms of mental illness.

The authors found some evidence of the use of marijuana for relief from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

However, they point out that marijuana is not an appropriate treatment for some other mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder and psychosis.

The report suggests that there is some evidence to suggest that marijuana might relieve symptoms of social anxiety, but again contradicts the report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which instead states that regular marijuana users are one have an increased risk of social anxiety.

cancer There is evidence that cannabinoids taken orally are effective for nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy, and some small studies have found that smoked marijuana can also help relieve these symptoms, familiar source.

Some studies on cancer cells suggest that cannabinoids can either slow the growth of some cancers or kill them. However, early studies testing this hypothesis in humans showed that cannabinoids, while safe treatment, are not effective at controlling or curing cancer.

multiple sclerosis Short-term use of oral cannabinoids can improve symptoms of spasticity in people with multiple sclerosis, but the positive effects have been rated as modest.

epilepsy In June 2018, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of a drug containing cannabidiol (CBD) to treat two rare, severe, and specific types of epilepsy - Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome, that are difficult to control with other types of medication. This CBD-based drug is known as Epidiolex.

CBD is one of the many substances found in cannabis. It's not psychoactive. The drug used to treat these conditions is a purified form of CBD. Approval is based on the results of research and clinical studies.

A study published in 2017 found that using CBD in children with Dravet syndrome resulted in significantly fewer seizures compared to a placebo.

Seizures in Dravet syndrome are long, repetitive, and potentially fatal. In fact, 1 in 5 children with Dravet syndrome will not reach the age of 20.

In the study, 120 children and adolescents with Dravet syndrome, ages 2-18 years old, were randomly assigned to an oral CBD solution or placebo, which they received with their usual medication for 14 weeks.

The researchers found that among the children who received the CBD solution, the number of seizures decreased from around 12 per month to an average of six per month. Three children who received CBD had no more seizures at all.

The number of seizures also decreased in the children who received the placebo, but only slightly - the average number of seizures decreased from 15 per month before the study to 14 per month during the study.

The researchers say this 39 percent reduction in the occurrence of seizures is strong evidence that the drug can help people with Dravet syndrome, and that their study provides the first rigorous scientific data to support it.

However, the study also found a high rate of side effects related to CBD. More than 9 out of 10 children treated with CBD experienced side effects - the most common being vomiting, fatigue, and fever.

The Epidiolex package insert warns of side effects such as liver damage, sedation, and thoughts of suicide.

What are the health risks of marijuana? At the other end of the spectrum, there is an abundance of studies that have found negative associations between marijuana use and health. They are listed below.

Mental health problems Daily marijuana use is believed to worsen existing symptoms of bipolar disorder in people with this mental health problem. However, the report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine suggests that there is limited evidence of an association between marijuana use and the development of bipolar disorder in people with no history.

Moderate evidence suggests that regular marijuana users are more likely to be suicidal, and there is a slightly increased risk of depression among marijuana users.

Marijuana use likely increases your risk of developing psychosis, including schizophrenia. However, a curious finding in people with schizophrenia and other psychoses is that previous marijuana use is linked to better performance on learning and memory tests.

Testicular cancer While there is no evidence of an association between marijuana use and an increased risk of most cancers, the National Academies of Sciences found some evidence of increased risk for the slow-growing seminoma subtype of testicular cancer.

Respiratory diseases Regular marijuana smoking has been linked to an increased risk of chronic cough, but it is "unclear" whether smoking marijuana worsens lung function or increases the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or asthma.

A 2014 study examining the link between marijuana use and lung disease suggests that it is plausible that smoking marijuana could contribute to lung cancer, although it was difficult to establish a clear link between the two.

The authors of this study, published in the journal Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine, conclude:

"There is strong evidence that habitual or regular marijuana smoking is not harmless. A warning against regular heavy marijuana use is appropriate."

"The medicinal use of marijuana in low cumulative doses is unlikely to be harmful to the lungs," they add, "but the dose limit needs to be defined. Recreational use is not the same as medicinal use and should not be recommended.

So is marijuana good or bad for your health? There is evidence to show both the harms and health benefits of marijuana. Yet, although very comprehensive, up-to-date reviews of the scientific studies evaluating the drug's benefits and harms have appeared in recent years, it is clear that more research is needed to fully determine the public health effects of increasing marijuana use.

Many scientists and health organizations - including the American Cancer Society Trusted Source (ACS) - support the need for more scientific research into the use of marijuana and cannabinoids to treat disease.

However, there is an obstacle to this: marijuana is classified by the Drug Enforcement Administration as a List I controlled substance, which impairs research into marijuana and cannabinoids by imposing strict requirements on researchers working in this field.

If you live in a state where the medical use of marijuana is legal, you and your doctor must carefully weigh these factors and their relationship to your illness and health history before using this drug.

While there is some evidence of using marijuana for pain relief, you should definitely avoid marijuana if you have a history of mental health problems.

Remember to always speak to your doctor before starting any new medication.