As soon as a drug is taken it begins its attack on
the human body. Not only do drugs cause confused thoughts and actions but the
damage to the human organs can be irreparable. And fact is that this is true
with all drugs including those that are promoted as less harmful.
Let’s take one drug for instance; marijuana. This is
a substance that is promoted more than any other as “safe,” “natural,” and
“non-addictive.” It is the most widely abused illicit drug in the United
States, with more than 16 million people in the country using it at least once
in the past month according to the National Survey on Drug Abuse and Health. It
has been illegal throughout the nation for decades, though increasing numbers
of states are legalizing it for medicinal uses, and Washington and Colorado
recently voted to decriminalize it for personal use and possession. There is an
ongoing debate over how dangerous cannabis is as compared to nicotine, alcohol
and various other illicit and pharmaceutical drugs, but there are several known
health risks associated with marijuana, facts which should be enough to give
pause to anyone considering smoking pot or using cannabis in any other way.
Smoking Pot Is Still Smoking
Americans have for many years now been fully aware
of the grave health risks associated with smoking cigarettes, but tobacco is
not the only type of leaf that is harmful to smoke. The mix of dried flowers,
stems, seeds, and leaves which we know as marijuana can be, when smoked, just
as damaging to the health of the user as tobacco, or even more so. In fact
cannabis smoke contains up to a 70 percent greater concentration of cancer
causing substances than tobacco smoke does.
To make matters worse, someone who is smoking a
joint, a blunt or using a pipe to smoke marijuana will typically take a much
deeper inhalation and hold the smoke in the lungs longer in pursuit of a high,
thereby causing a greater exposure to the carcinogens. Even if a pot smoker
doesn't develop cancer, he or she will be more likely to suffer from a chronic,
phlegmy cough as the body attempts to combat the effects of the smoke, as well
as being more at risk of developing infections in the lungs, leading to more
frequent illness and more days missed at work.
Marijuana Increases Risk of Heart Attack
One of the effects that marijuana has on the body is
to increase the user's heart rate by anywhere from 20% to 100%, and this
elevated level can persist for as long as three hours at a time. Not only does
it cause palpitations, but also arrhythmia, a condition of irregular or
abnormal heart rhythm.
This has the potential to cause significantly greater
problems than the discomfort of a rapid heartbeat. The National Institute on
Drug Abuse (NIDA) reports a study which found that those who use marijuana have
a nearly 500% increased risk of suffering a heart attack within an hour of
using the drug.
Mental
Health Risks
High doses of cannabis have been demonstrated to
lead to acute psychosis in some cases. Even when used in smaller quantities but
over an extended period of time, there is still a risk of developing major
mental health conditions including anxiety, depression and schizophrenia. This
is so widely recognized that there is even a stereotype of the "paranoid
pot smoker."
Not everyone who uses marijuana will experience
these effects, but many do. On top of the fact that the active ingredient in
cannabis, THC , can cause mental
health problems, there is also the risk posed by the possibility that the marijuana has been laced with another
psychoactive drug such as ecstasy or LSD, which dramatically increases the
likelihood of a psychotic break.
And
Addiction
According to estimates reported by NIDA,
approximately 9 percent of those who use marijuana will become addicted, with
even greater numbers—17 percent—among those who start at a young age or up to
50 percent among people who use the drug on a daily basis. Marijuana affects
the user by traveling through the bloodstream to the brain, where it acts upon
cannabinoid receptors. These parts of the brain, many of which influence
functions such as thinking and memory, pleasure, concentration and sensory
perception, are liable to become dependent upon the effect of the drug.
Many of the above problems and health risks with
marijuana also occur with other drugs. In fact many more occur with other
drugs. Things that are most common are liver and kidney problems, certain
cancers, increased risk of STD’s [sexually transmitted diseases] and many, many
more.
The only way to not have these issues is to stay
drug free. Protect your body and health by keeping yourself away from
substances that destroy it and cause long term and permanent effects.
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