Is Marijuana Recommended for Healthy Life? An Appraisal

Increasingly, numerous countries are permitting the use of marijuana for therapeutic purposes. But its effect on human health is still poorly understood. And the few medical studies are already outdated. The issues surrounding dosage, potential side effects, and usage methods are still unresolved. Opponents of legalization claim the effect of marijuana on mental health and believe that it is a direct route to the use of heavier drugs. But no systematic research has been conducted on this issue either. The Witness briefly recounts an article by Malcolm Gladwell in The New Yorker about whether marijuana is really safe for health, what doctors say about it and what are the prospects for further, more detailed research.

Medical Experts Conclude

In early 2017, a group of experts from the US National Academy of Medicine published a report on the effects of marijuana on human health. It has 468 pages, but does not provide definitive answers about either the medicinal effects of cannabis or the potential risks. The main reason is the insufficient number of medical studies and trials. "We have evidence of the use of marijuana as a pain medication, but very little is known about the efficacy, dosage, methods of use, or side effects.

The dose-response ratio is the first thing pharmaceutical companies figure out when testing a new drug on humans. For some drugs, the dose-response curve is linear: a double dose creates a double effect. For others, it is non-linear: a double dose can increase the effect tenfold. There have been practically no such studies on marijuana, because until recently it was virtually universally banned.

How Marijuana is Used

It is also important how cannabis is used. It can be smoked, steamed, eaten, or applied to the skin. How the method of consumption affects the effect is still unclear. The scant information on this issue is based on research from the 1980s and 1990s, when cannabis was not as powerful as it is now. Thanks to recent advances in plant breeding and cultivation methods, the average concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, the main psychoactive substance in marijuana) has increased by more than 20 percent.

As for cannabis, according to the author of the article, at best, "we will gradually learn more about the real consequences of its use and adapt as needed." As a worst-case scenario, he cites excerpts from the book "Tell Your Children" by Alex Berenson, a former investigative reporter for The New York Times.: The truth about marijuana, mental illness, and violence."

Mental Illness

The first of the issues that Berenson raises is the connection of marijuana with mental illness. Legalization lobbyists argue that cannabis use is a response to mental illness, not its cause. One of the rare definitive conclusions from the National Academy of Sciences states that "the use of marijuana may elevate the risk of developing schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders; users are exposed to broader risks if frequently used."

The book presents the views of Eric Messamor, a psychiatrist with expertise in neuropharmacology and schizophrenia treatment, with his assertion that THC is very prone to influence anti-inflammatory processes in the brain and consequently results to nerve cells and blood vessels damage.

Harm to Society

Berenson's second question follows from the first. Delusions and paranoia, which often accompany psychosis, can sometimes cause aggressive behavior. And if cannabis is linked to psychosis, should we expect an increase in marijuana use to be accompanied by an increase in violent crime? Clarifying this question is still farfetched. But Berenson cites statistics on the increase in murders and assaults in Washington State, which in 2014 was the first in the United States to legalize recreational marijuana. Although it is difficult to trace a direct cause-and—effect relationship here, Berenson believes it confirms that marijuana use does not have a calming effect, but rather provokes aggression.

Marijuana Legalized

And the third question that Berenson raises is whether marijuana can contribute to the transition to the use of heavier drugs, such as opiates (morphine, heroin, methadone). In this case, statistics are not in Berenson's favor: the first wave of marijuana legalization took place on the west coast of the United States, and the first serious surge in opioid addiction occurred in the central states. Therefore, "Berenson, acting as the devil's advocate, focuses on research in which cannabis leads to opioid use."

In Conclusion

The conclusion of the National Academy is that we simply don't know enough, because there hasn't been any systematic research on this subject. However, "the scientists' uncertainty is hardly more encouraging than Berenson's panic."

At the moment, cannabis seems to belong to the category of substances that society permits but at the same time condemns. The same attitude exists, for example, towards alcohol and cigarettes. And the ambiguous approach of officials to such issues is best illustrated by the situation with electronic cigarettes. For example, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is confident that there is a "path to traditional tobacco use" for children and adolescents. On the other hand, in Britain, smoking e-cigarettes is widely accepted as a safer option for smoking adults who do so simply to satisfy the addiction from nicotine intake.