Although the jury is still out on whether medical marijuana offers real benefits for Parkies (mostly because the U.S. government classifies it as a dangerous Schedule 1 drug, alongside heroin and peyote, which severely limits the amount of pot available for medical research), enough places in the USA and elsewhere have legalized recreational and/or medicinal use of the plant to allow researchers and journalists to draw some conclusions.
The New York Times did that recently in an article titled “It’s Time for a New Discussion of Marijuana’s Risks.” When I read it, I was surprised at how non-dangerous marijuana is on many fronts.
Here’s a brief summary of the categories the Times covered:
Does smoking marijuana lead to cancer?
Not really, according to this article. Studies have found that there’s no correlation between smoking pot and lung cancer. The same with head and neck cancers, esophageal cancer, prostate cancer, cervical cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, penile cancer or bladder cancer. Three “limited” studies from the 1990s linked pot smoking with one sub-type of testicular cancer, but the NY Times suggests that this is not conclusive.
Does smoking marijuana lead to heart disease?
Apparently not. To quote directly from the article: “Only two studies quantified the risk between marijuana use and heart attacks. One found no relationship at all, and the other found that pot smoking may be a trigger for a heart attack in the hour after smoking. But this finding was based on nine patients, and may not be generalizable.”
Does smoking marijuana impair lung function?
Again, apparently not in any way that impacts your daily life. To quote directly from the article: “Once you control for tobacco use, the links between marijuana and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease appear minimal. Almost no evidence is available to link pot use to asthma.” (However, a separate review article by the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine says, “smoking cannabis on a regular basis is associated with more frequent chronic bronchitis episodes and worse respiratory symptoms, such as chronic cough and phlegm production, but quitting cannabis smoking is likely to reduce these conditions.”)
Does smoking marijuana affect your ability to drive a car?
In this case, yes. That should be obvious. Driving while stoned is stupid and dangerous. The Times says, “For people who reported marijuana use, or had THC detected through testing, their odds of being involved in a motor vehicle accident increased by 20 to 30 percent.”
Should women avoid marijuana when they’re pregnant?
Again, yes. “Babies born to women who smoke pot during pregnancy are more likely to be underweight, delivered premature and admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit, according to a 2016 systematic review.”
Does marijuana impair cognition?
Apparently yes, but this lasts only 24 hours. Here’s the entire section on this:
Memory and Concentration: There’s moderate evidence, from many studies, that learning, memory and attention can be impaired in the 24 hours after marijuana use. There’s limited evidence, however, that this translates into worse outcomes in academic achievement, employment, income or social functioning, or that these effects linger after the pot has “worn off.”
Does marijuana impact mental health?
This is hard to answer. In a nutshell: “Are people who smoke pot more likely to develop mental health problems? Or are people with mental health problems more likely to smoke pot?”
Conclusion:
The article’s penultimate paragraph wraps up the current state of affairs nicely. To wit:
“We unquestionably need more research, and more evidence of harms may emerge. But it’s important to note that the harms we know about now are practically nil compared with that of many other drugs, and that marijuana’s effects are clearly less harmful than those associated with tobacco or alcohol abuse.”
To read about the relation of marijuana to Parkinson’s disease, click here for the Michael J. Fox Foundation’s page about medical pot.
Update:
Deanna Glass Krywy, who manages the WPC (World Parkinson Congress) Buddies Facebook page, wrote the following comment about my article above:
Interesting reading for sure. Because there are so many different strains of marijuana and each person reacts to it differently just as we do to pharmaceutical medications I feel there will never be a time where a doctor will be able to “prescribe” a certain dose of any strain. It will be rather trial and error by patient. I suffer from pain and anxiety so have actually mixed two different strains both with a high ratio of CBD which works for me. As I order through the medical marijuana program in Canada, I know exactly what I am buying, not like at the now popular “corner stores” where content is not assured.
Deanna also posted this video about CBD:
I use CBD oil, which has eased anxiety and insomnia. 🙂