The Effects Of Long-Term Marijuana Use

Marijuana or cannabis use does not affect lung health a new study has shown. A research study based on publicly available data has found that recent marijuana use causes airway inflammation, but that moderate lifetime use does not cause significant changes in lung function. The study is the largest cross-sectional analysis of the relationship between marijuana use and lung health so far.Researchers at Emory University studied data from the 2007-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The data included survey questions and spirometry, a screening tool physicians use to look for pulmonary disease. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducts spirometry tests to measure lung function by recording the volume of air a person can force out of his or her lungs (forced vital capacity) and the volume of air forced out in the first second (forced expiratory volume).The study, published in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society, analysed more than 5,000 adult survey participants with data regarding recent marijuana use and symptoms. It said 59.1 per cent reported using marijuana at least once in their lifetime and 12.2 per cent reported using marijuana in the previous month.Marijuana use in the prior month was associated with increases in self-reported respiratory problems such as coughing, wheezing etc. but not with significant changes in measures of lung function as measured by spirometry.Smoking on average one joint per day was not associated with decreased lung function in nearly 3,000 participants. So far, the studies do not conclude on whether the coughing and wheezing, or bronchitis like symptoms are long lasting.In another study by Professor Wayne Hall, director of the Centre for Youth Substance Abuse Research at the University of Queensland, it was found that one in ten marijuana users become dependent on the drug. The study, undertaken from 1993 to 2003, also concludes that youngsters using cannabis on a regular basis were twice as likely to drop out of school compared to non-users.Regular marijuana users can experience psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions and disordered thinking. Fourteen in 1,000 regular cannabis users may experience these symptoms compared to 7 in 1,000 non-users. The researchers also believe that 13 per cent of all schizophrenia cases may have been prevented if cannabis was completely stopped.To contact the writer, email: sonali.raj@gmail.com