Substance use marijuana: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia

Although more research is needed and will continue to be done with the widespread legalization of cannabis for medical use, the only uses that have seen a vast confirmation are chronic pain, nausea and vomiting, and tight or stiff muscles caused by MS. People with these health conditions saw relief from their chronic pain because of the common pathway that leads to the worsening of their symptoms and the effect that cannabis has on neuropathic pain. Hemp comes from the Cannabis sativa variation of the plant and is widely used for industrial purposes, although the seeds have been cultivated as a food. Hemp contains bast fiber and its physical properties are different from other types of cannabis plants.

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The NCCIH Clearinghouse provides information on NCCIH and complementary and integrative health approaches, including publications and searches of Federal databases of scientific and medical literature. The Clearinghouse does not provide medical advice, treatment recommendations, or referrals to practitioners. Throughout the rest of this fact sheet, we use the term “cannabis” to refer to the plant Cannabis sativa. A summary about cannabis concentrates, how they are made, how they are used, and the health effects. Extremely hot showers and topical capsaicin cream have been found to relieve symptoms of CHS, but exactly why this occurs is not known.

United States Drug Enforcement Administration

1. Nevertheless, cannabidiol marks a notable exception as the first FDA-approved drug containing a purified substance derived from marijuana.
2. Although, there have been an increasing number of emergency room visits involving marijuana edibles.
3. Other countries to do so are Canada, Georgia, Germany, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, South Africa, and Thailand.
4. The use of marijuana for medical reasons could be a turning point when it comes to battling diseases and the opioid crisis that has plagued the country for decades.

Cannabis sativa, also known as hemp, is a species of the Cannabinaceae family of plants. Cannabis contains the chemical compound THC (delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol), which is believed to be responsible for most of the characteristic psychoactive effects of cannabis that leads to the “high” that is experienced when cannabis is consumed. Drugs.com provides accurate and independent information on more than a review on alcohol 24,000 prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines and natural products. This material is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Data sources include Micromedex (updated 7 Jul 2024), Cerner Multum™ (updated 14 Jul 2024), ASHP (updated 10 Jul 2024) and others. Marijuana is by far the most commonly abused or used substance in the U.S.

Australian medicinal cannabis growers warn of untested imports and users let down by labelling ‘loophole’

Since the 1970s, the potency of illicit cannabis has increased, with THC levels rising and CBD levels dropping. Cannabis,[a] also known as marijuana[b] or weed among other names, is a non-chemically uniform drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various traditional medicines for centuries. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main psychoactive component of cannabis, which is one of the 483 known compounds in the plant, including at least 65 other cannabinoids, such as cannabidiol (CBD). Cannabis can be used by smoking, vaporizing, within food, or as an extract.

There is a strong relation between cannabis use and the risk of psychosis, though the direction of causality is debated. Physical effects include increased heart rate, difficulty breathing, nausea, and behavioral problems in children whose mothers used cannabis during pregnancy; short-term side effects may also include dry mouth and red eyes. Long-term adverse effects may include addiction, decreased mental ability in those who started regular use as adolescents,[3] chronic coughing, susceptibility to respiratory infections, and cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome. In addition to minor side effects that many users joke about—such as short-term memory loss—recent studies have linked marijuana to adverse health outcomes involving the lungs, heart, brain and gonads. For example, heavy marijuana consumption seems to increase the risk of clogged arteries and heart failure, and it may impact male fertility. Smoking weed likewise can lead to chronic bronchitis and other respiratory ailments (although, unlike tobacco, it hasn’t been definitively tied to lung cancer).

Over 94 million Americans have admitted to using cannabis as a recreational drug at least once in their lifetimes, with 11.8 million young adults admitting to using in 2018 alone. Adolescents using cannabis are four to seven times ketamine effects of ketamine more likely than adults to develop cannabis use disorder. THC resembles a naturally occurring chemical in your body called anandamide. THC can “work” as anandamide and fit into anandamide receptors in certain parts of your brain.

THC in marijuana is strongly absorbed by fatty tissues in various organs. Generally, traces of THC can be detected by standard urine testing methods several days or more after a smoking session. Although these findings support the idea of marijuana as a “gateway drug,” the majority of people who use marijuana don’t go on to use other “harder” drugs. It’s also important to note that other factors besides biological mechanisms, such as a person’s social environment, are also critical in a person’s risk for drug use and addiction. Read more about marijuana as a gateway drug in our Marijuana Research Report. Marijuana use has also been linked to other mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts among teens.

Yet despite increasing studies in the area, more research is needed to determine the public health implications of rising cannabis use fully. Research suggests a causal link between long-term cannabis use and an increased risk of testicular cancer. With decades of legal and social opprobrium fading fast, marijuana has become an extremely popular commercial product with more than 48 million users across the U.S. Health concerns, once living with an alcoholic: tips for life with alcohol use disorder exaggerated, now often seem to be downplayed or overlooked. For example, pregnant patients “often tell me they had no idea there’s any risk,” says University of Utah obstetrician Torri Metz, lead author of a recent paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association on cannabis and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Smoked in blunts (cigar emptied of tobacco and filled with marijuana, and sometimes mixed with additional drugs).

Use within any federal land, national park or monument is still illegal. Be sure to check all rules before use, especially in areas that may be under federal law. Human fetuses exhibit the cannabinoid receptor type 1 in the nervous system as early as 14 weeks of gestation, and animal studies suggest cannabinoid exposure may lead to abnormal brain development. As reported by de Moraes Barro and colleagues, babies born to adolescents who used marijuana during pregnancy have shown adverse neurological behavior effects of the newborns in the first 24 to 78 hours after delivery. Effects from marijuana use will be variable from person to person, depending upon strength and amount of marijuana used and if the user is occasionally or chronically exposed to THC. Negative side effects can be magnified in older people or younger people, novice users, and those who use high-strength THC products.

In the present decade, cannabis abuse has grown more rapidly than cocaine and opiate abuse. The most rapid growth in cannabis abuse since the 1960s has been in developed countries in North America, Western Europe and Australia. Cannabis has become more closely linked to youth culture and the age of initiation is usually lower than for other drugs.

The move comes after a recommendation from the federal Health and Human Services Department, which launched a review of the drug’s status at the urging of President Joe Biden. Beshear’s letter focused on marijuana’s medical uses, with Kentucky’s medical cannabis program set to begin Jan. 1. Kentucky lawmakers passed the law in 2023, legalizing medical cannabis for people suffering from a list of debilitating illnesses. Beshear signed the measure and his administration has since crafted program regulations. That alarming portrait bears little resemblance to the plaintiffs in this case.

Check the laws in each area, as differences exist for quantity allowed, plant growing, and retail sales, among other factors. Shortly after smoking marijuana the heart rate increases drastically and may remain elevated for up to 3 hours. This effect may be enhanced if other drugs, such as stimulants, are taken with marijuana. Reaction time may be impaired while driving under the influence of marijuana and can be especially dangerous.

Cannabis use is likely to increase the risk of short-term psychosis and long-term mental health conditions, such as schizophrenia. Fortunately, legal reforms are also gradually making it easier to study marijuana’s health effects by giving U.S. scientists more access to the drug and a wider population of users to study. Although much research remains in “early stages,” the number of studies has finally been increasing, says Tiffany Sanchez, an environmental health scientist at Columbia University. As new results accumulate, they offer a long-overdue update on what science really knows about the drug.

This means that the desired effects differ from person to person and from type of cannabis used. Hemp seeds are rich in protein, magnesium, and fiber and are often sold as a health food. They can be added to smoothies and salads, or transformed into a dairy-free milk alternative.