Health risks might be lost in the weeds

November 1, 2018 · 0 Comments

In the hyper-celebration over the legalization of marijuana some health risks may be forgotten. They are:
1. The highest risk of marijuana harm is for youth aged 15-24 because the brain’s pre-frontal lobes are still developing; those parts of the brain responsible for decision making, memory, reasoning, problem solving.
2. Seniors are the next highest risk group; increase of falls and dangerous drug interactions even if it is medicinal marijuana. This is not well understood by seniors.
3. Marijuana causes risk across all ages; Too much marijuana consumption you will experience delirium, psychosis. Second hand smoke can affect children significantly.
4. There’s different potencies in all products – buyer be informed, there are so many varieties with different strengths and amounts, and effects are dramatic.
5. Be careful with edibles – pot brownies and pot gummy bears, pot potato chips, etc. The edible effects kick in an hour or two later, and thus can easily cause over eating of marijuana infused foods, resulting in spikes of visits to hospital emergency rooms.
6. Psychosis now or later is the most serious danger associated with pot smoking; Hallucinations and frightening paranoia can result from marijuana ingestion, increased anxiety after the temporary high is gone.
7. Marijuana smoke is four times as damaging to your lungs as cigarette smoke and marijuana does cause addiction.

Rick Doust
Aurora