Marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug in the U.S. The main active chemical in marijuana is THC. Dozens of names are used to call marijuana including pot, ganga, weed, grass, herb, smoke, and many others.

Subscribe to a FREE Supplement Research Update newsletter. Twice a month you will receive an email with reviews of several studies on various supplements and natural medicine topics, including marijuana and natural ways to combat potential lung damage and other harms, and their practical interpretation by Ray Sahelian, M.D.

Marijuana Side Effects
Short-term marijuana side effects include memory and learning problems, distorted perception, and difficulty thinking and solving problems. Many people notice euphoria, relaxation, a sense of wellbeing, sleepiness, increased appetite, and better music appreciation. Others may not like the effects and could experience unpleasant thoughts and paranoid feelings.
   Long term side effects of heavy and regular marijuana use include lung disease, chronic cough, mucus, nasal congestion, lack of motivation, decrease in sexual desire, a few extra pounds, and potentially various types cancer. However, one study listed below shows no link between marijuana smoking and lung cancer. Heavy and regular consumption of tmarijuana triggers psychosis and schizophrenia in a small number of people. MRI tests show patients given the active cannabis compound tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) have reduced function in the inferior frontal cortex brain region. This area is associated with controlling inappropriate emotional and behavioural responses to situations.

Marijuana and heart attacks
Marijuana have a shorter life expectancy after suffering a heart attack. Dr. Kenneth J. Mukamal of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston found that marijuana users have a poorer prognosis in the years following a heart attack. Marijuana triggers a spike in resting heart rate, as well an increase in blood pressure. At the same time it speeds heart rate, creating a greater demand for oxygen, it can also limit the body's ability to use oxygen, the researchers explain. Marijuana smoke exposes users to carbon monoxide. American Heart Journal, March 2008.

Marijuana - remember not to smoke daily
People who regularly smoke marijuana may find their memories growing hazy over time. In a study of long-term and shorter-term marijuana users, researchers in Greece found that both groups performed more poorly on tests of memory, attention and other cognitive abilities than a comparison group who'd only occasionally used marijuana. Long-term users - who'd smoked four or more joints per week for at least 10 years - showed the greatest deficits. It's quite likely that these cognitive problems are reversible after a period of abstinence. Source: Neurology, March 14, 2006.

Marijuana Withdrawal
Some marijuana smokers develop a cannabis use disorder and seek treatment for their marijuana use on their own initiative. A less well-known consequence of daily, repeated marijuana use is a withdrawal syndrome, characterized by these symptoms: irritability, anxiety, marijuana craving, decreased quality and quantity of sleep, and decreased food intake.

Marijuana and Bladder Cancer
Heavy pot smokers could be putting themselves at risk for developing bladder cancer. Marijuana smoking might be an even more potent stimulant of malignancy than cigarette smoking. Head and neck and lung cancers have been tied to marijuana use, and there is evidence that these marijuana-associated malignancies may strike at an earlier age. To determine if marijuana use might also be associated with bladder cancer, researchers evaluated 52 men with the disease who were all younger than 60 years, along with 104 age-matched controls. Among the men with bladder cancer, 88 percent were habitual marijuana smokers, compared with 69 percent the controls. The average quantity of marijuana use also was higher in the men with bladder cancer. The cancer group clocked up an average of 48 joint-years per patient -- i.e., the individuals smoked the equivalent of 1 joints a day for 48 years, or 2 joints a day for 24 years, etc. -- while the comparison group reported an average of 28.5 joint-years. Tobacco use was also heavy among the study subjects, with more than 90 percent of the men in either group using tobacco, making it impossible to identify any link between cigarettes and cancer risk. Marijuana could be more cancer-promoting than tobacco given its longer half-life (up to 60 hours versus 12 hours) and the fact that marijuana is smoked without a filter and held longer in the lungs. SOURCE: Urology, January 2006.

Marijuana and Lung Cancer
There have been conflicting reports regarding the risk of lung cancer with marijuana smoking. I present both studies.

Although both marijuana and tobacco smoke are packed with cancer-causing chemicals, other qualities of marijuana seem to keep it from promoting lung cancer. The difference rests in the often opposing actions of the nicotine in tobacco and the active ingredient, THC, in marijuana, says Dr. Robert Melamede of the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs. Whereas nicotine has several effects that promote lung and other types of cancer, THC acts in ways that counter the cancer-causing chemicals in marijuana smoke. Lab research indicates that nicotine activates a body enzyme that converts certain chemicals in both tobacco and marijuana smoke into cancer-promoting form. In contrast, studies in mice suggest that THC blocks this enzyme activity. For more information, see lung disease.
     Marijuana smoking does seem not increase a person's risk of developing lung cancer. University of California Los Angeles researchers had expected to find that a history of heavy marijuana use, like cigarette smoking, would increase the risk of cancer. Instead, a study which compared the lifestyles of 611 Los Angeles County lung cancer patients and 601 patients with head and neck cancers with those of 1,040 people without cancer, found no elevated cancer risk for even the heaviest pot smokers. It did find a 20-fold increased risk of lung cancer in people who smoked two or more packs of cigarettes a day. The results should not be taken as a blank check to smoke marijuana, which has been associated with problems including cognitive impairment and chronic bronchitis.
     Dr. Sahelian comments: The jury is still out whether marijuana smoking causes lung cancer, but if you are a smoker, it would help tremendously if you took frequent breaks from smoking.

Smoking a joint is equivalent to smoking 20 tobacco cigarettes in terms of lung cancer risk. Studies in the past have demonstrated that marijuana can cause cancer, but few have established a strong link between cannabis use and the actual incidence of lung cancer. Marijuana could be expected to harm the airways more than tobacco as its smoke contains twice the level of carcinogens, such as polyaromatic hydrocarbons, compared with tobacco cigarettes. The method of smoking also increases the risk, since joints are typically smoked without a proper filter and almost to the very tip, which increases the amount of smoke inhaled. The marijuana smoker inhales more deeply and for longer, facilitating the deposition of carcinogens in the airways.

Marijuana Receptors
Since the discovery of an endogenous cannabinoid system, research into the pharmacology and therapeutic potential of cannabinoids from marijuana has steadily increased. Two subtypes of G-protein coupled cannabinoid receptors, CB(1) and CB(1), have been cloned and several endogenous ligands (endocannabinoids) have been detected during the past 15 years. The main endocannabinoids are arachidonoyl ethanolamide (anandamide) and 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG), derivatives of arachidonic acid, that are produced "on demand" by cleavage of membrane lipid precursors. Besides phytocannabinoids of the cannabis plant, modulators of the cannabinoid system comprise synthetic agonists and antagonists at the CB receptors and inhibitors of endocannabinoid degradation. Cannabinoid receptors are distributed in the central nervous system and many peripheral tissues, including immune system, reproductive and gastrointestinal tracts, sympathetic ganglia, endocrine glands, arteries, lung and heart. Properties of CB receptor agonists that are of therapeutic interest include analgesia, muscle relaxation, immunosuppression, anti-inflammation, antiallergic effects, improvement of mood, stimulation of appetite, antiemesis, lowering of intraocular pressure, bronchodilation, neuroprotection and antineoplastic effects. The current main focus of clinical research is their efficacy in chronic pain and neurological disorders. CB receptor antagonists are under investigation for medical use in obesity and nicotine addiction. Additional potential was proposed for the treatment of alcohol and heroine dependency, schizophrenia, conditions with lowered blood pressure, Parkinson's disease and memory impairment in Alzheimer's disease.

Marijuana and Fertility
The likelihood of a good outcome of fertility treatment is reduced if either the man or the woman uses marijuana. Couples should not use marijuana for at least six months before starting fertility treatment. Long term marijuana use over a woman's lifetime reduces the number of eggs that can be retrieved and the number of embryos that can be transferred. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, February 2006.

Marijuana and Hepatitis C medications
Recovering drug addicts who are infected with hepatitis C virus may stick to their medications better if they are allowed to use marijuana. Smoking or eating cannabis may help them tolerate the side effects of the antivirals, which can clear the virus but often cause fevers, chills and muscle and joint aches.

Marijuana Law in Alaska
April 2006 -- Alaska's law on marijuana possession is considered the most liberal in the country — but its governor wants to change that, saying pot has evolved into "a dangerous drug." Republican Gov. Frank Murkowski argues that recreational use of pot should no longer be protected by Alaskans' right to privacy. He's pressing the Legislature to restore criminal penalties for marijuana possession. Residents are now allowed to keep up to 4 ounces in their homes. The intent is to trigger a constitutional challenge and ultimately overturn the landmark Alaska Supreme Court decision that legalized the use of small amounts of marijuana. The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska is poised to mount such a challenge should the law be enacted. The state's highest court concluded in 1975 that Alaskans' constitutional right to privacy outweighed any harm that might occur from using a small amount of marijuana in the home. State legislators set that amount at 4 ounces in 1982.

Marijuana law in New Mexico
April 2007 - New Mexico doctors are allowed to prescribe marijuana to help some seriously ill patients manage symptoms, including pain and nausea, under a bill signed into law by Gov. Bill Richardson. "This law will provide much-needed relief for New Mexicans suffering from debilitating diseases," Richardson, a Democratic candidate for U.S. president in 2008, said at the signing ceremony. "It is the right thing to do." New Mexico is the 12th state in the United States to endorse the use of marijuana for medical uses.

Marijuana growing
U.S. growers produce nearly $35 billion worth of marijuana annually, making the illegal drug the country's largest cash crop, bigger than corn and wheat combined. The report, conducted by Jon Gettman, a public policy analyst and former head of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, also concluded that five U.S. states produce more than $1 billion worth of marijuana apiece: California, Tennessee, Kentucky, Hawaii and Washington.

Marijuana smoking and lung damage
Users of marijuana (also called cannabis) who vaporize the drug have fewer lung symptoms than those who smoke it.
Based on his research, Dr. Mitch Earleywine, Associate Professor of Psychology at the State University of New York at Albany, says: "The argument that the medical use of cannabis is inappropriate because of its potential to create (lung) problems is now clearly invalid. Regular users of joints, blunts, pipes, and water pipes might decrease respiratory symptoms by switching to a vaporizer."
 

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Marijuana Questions
Q. Are there any antioxidants such as lipoic acid, acetylcarnitine, coq10, or herbs such as ashwagandha that can help reduce some of the lung damage from marijuana smoking?
   A. There are no such studies that I am aware of regarding the use of antioxidants and marijuana smoking. However, it is possible that the use of antioxidant herbs such as the ones you mention above or other ones such as curcumin or a multivitamin complex could potentially be helpful.

Q. Thanks so much for the newsletter, and all the both helpful and insightful articles. I really appreciate them. I want to try your mind power rx product, as I am very interested to see the results! I have a question that needs to be answered first. For a while now I have been using marijuana, not for medical reasons. I want to make sure you understand, I'm not advocating the use of marijuana on your site. That being said, I use marijuana for the effect it has on my mind. Unlike being drunk, marijuana actually clears my thinking, it slows my mind down to pay attention to detail, to reason more profoundly, to be more relaxed, and quite frankly to feel more in touch spiritually. However I do not wish to continue using this natural herb for the obvious reasons e.g., it's illegal! But I appreciate the effects that it produces mentally and spiritually. So my question in a nut shell is this....Does mind power rx produce effects at least similiar to that of marijuana? And in no way does your answer support my or anyone else's use of marijuana. I just trust your opinion and value it highly. Please take the time to research and answer my question! Thanks for all you do, keep up the good work!
   A. Mind Power Rx use leads to better focus, alertness, concentration and clarity of thinking, and perhaps memory. The effects of marijuana are different, in some people it can lead to the effects you mention, in others marijuana can lead to sleepiness, difficulty in concentrating, increase in appetite, and fuzzy thinking. A lot depends also on the setting, time of day, and the type of marijuana used. 

Q. Does niacin help with cleaning ur body of toxins? such as marijuana.
   A. We are not aware of niacin being used for potential harm to lungs and other tissues done by marijuana inhalation. However, it is possible that certain antioxidants could be helpful.

Q. What is the best herb or combination of herbs to effect serotonin or dopamine levels, in a way like marijuana? What natural herb can help "slow" things down?
   A. Marijuana has special receptors it influences in the brain and we are not aware of herbal supplements that influence those receptors. There are several herbs that help with relaxation including kava, valerian, hops and passionflower. One nutrient that effects serotonin is 5-HTP. Good Night Rx has a good combo of all of these and helps to sleep at night.

Q. Could you please tell me the most powerful combination of natural vitamins herbs etc. to produce a effect on an individual similar to marijuana? I realize that nothing can completely mimic marijuana, as it is it's own unique herb. However I am sure that something else or more likely a combination of other things can come pretty close. Could you please help me out?

Q. My husband is a medical marijuana patient (he has chronic pain from an auto accident). It seems to make him feel better in many ways. I am concerned, however, that through marijuana use has developed an insatiable craving for sweets and a bit of short term memory loss. He is 76 years old. Can you advise me as to which nutrients might be helpful? We take a comprehensive multi, CoQ10, fish oil (but probably not enough of it), and I've given him Phosphatidylserine and also Mind Power Rx memory formula. Question: should he try CDP Choline or AlphaGPC choline instead of PS? (what is the difference between those two?). In the book Mind Boosters you mentioned CDP choline as something to try.
   A. It is difficult to predict which nutrients will be helpful before trying. One option is to take Diet Rx which also has acetyl-l carnitine and choline. It can help with mental clarity and also dampen some of the appetite enhancing effect of marijuana use. Please have approval by his doctor and sometimes one has to be careful adding too many supplements.