Currently viewing the tag: "marijuana"

marijuana adverse effectsGet this: weed smokers are at an increased risk of developing peripheral arterial disease (PAD), a condition characterized by blood clots and vessel-narrowing which can lead to limb pain. Although I am certain this news won’t keep anybody from getting high, at least it may serve as some foreknowledge as to what stoners have in store for themselves.

A recent study showed that marijuana smokers have triple the odds of developing PAD. Researchers used data from U.S. National Inpatient Samples from 2016 to 2019, and found that of the 30 million patients sampled, over 620,000 were marijuana users. Among them, more than 2.400 also had PAD.

PAD - marijuanaPAD is a condition in which narrowed arteries reduce blood flow to the arms or legs. The affected limb – more commonly a leg – does not receive enough blood flow to keep up with metabolic demand. The reduced blood flow leads to claudication in the leg, which is characterized by pain, cramping, and muscle fatigue. Many people suffering from PAD will have leg pain while walking, most often felt in the calf. The pain can range from mild to severe and may ultimately disrupt the ability to walk or exercise normally.

Symptoms of PAD may include:

  • Coldness in the lower leg or foot relative to the other side
  • Leg numbness or weakness
  • Weak pulse in the legs or feet
  • Painful cramping in one or both legs (hips, thighs or calf muscles) after certain activities, like walking or climbing stairs
  • Shiny skin on the legs
  • Skin color changes on the legs
  • Slower growth of the toenails
  • Sores on the toes, feet or legs that don’t heal
  • Pain in arms (aching, cramping) when doing tasks involving hands (knitting, writing)
  • Erectile dysfunction
  • Hair loss or slower hair growth on the legs

Cannabis has in the past been linked to other cardiovascular health issues in heavy smokers. THC, for instance, is known to cause blood platelets to aggregate, thereby increasing the risk of blood clots. This can further lead to narrowing and obstruction of the arteries supplying the limbs. But both THC (the compound in marijuana that gives the high) and cannabidiol (CBD) can negatively affect the tone of the arteries, as well as stimulate brain receptors that trigger blood vessel narrowing. A 2014 study showed that smoking marijuana increased the risk for myocardial infarction (heart attack) and stroke.

marijuana adverse effects femaleI understand weed smoking; I really do. When compared to other forms of chemical mind-alteration, it is rather benign. Alcohol makes people go loopy when done in excess (easy to do) and has quite the price to pay the next day in horrendous hangovers. Narcotics and stimulants are massively habit-forming and ultimately prevent abusers from functioning normally in day-to-day lives. Relative to these drugs, marijuana seems so mild. But that’s the danger, to think that THC’s mellow effects (relative to harder drugs and alcohol) means that it has no immediate or long-term negative consequences. That’s a huge illusion. Some of marijuana’s immediate and long-term effects (from chronic use) are:

man tits (gynecomastia) - marijuanaThe latter is enough for me. The prospect of walking through life with man-titties is enough to just say no! So, like I have already said, I doubt that any of this information is going to stop the most ardent smokers of marijuana from partaking in their daily toke, but maybe, just maybe, some of you who might be questioning your once-in-a-while indulgences might see enough here to hang it up for good. You can also keep in mind that non-users of marijuana are going to generally outperform users in every capacity – physically, mentally and emotionally – and so the world is your oyster, abstainers…especially as marijuana use grows by the day. Oh well, unemployment and man titties – that’s what users have to look forward to. I’d think twice on it.

Passing the joint may not be a marijuana thing after all, as recent research shows the penis to be filled with receptors for THC, marijuana’s active ingredient.  As a result, marijuana may have a negative impact on male sexual performance, ultimately leading to erectile dysfunction.  Doh!

Rany Shamloul, a physician with appointments at the University of Ottawa and Queen’s University in Canada as well as the University of Cairo, conducted a review of studies on marijuana to determine how weed affects male sexual function.  He found that many of the studies were not only contradictory, but rife with problems as well.

Some early studies found marijuana to have positive effects, sexually, for men.  For instance, in a 1982 survey 75% of men reported sexual enhancement from smoking marijuana (…love weed, baby).  But a study published last year in the journal European Urology found the penis to contain receptors for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in the Mary Jane.  The receptors are located mainly throughout the smooth muscle of the penis.  Additional lab studies suggest that THC has an inhibitory effect on the muscle.

Says Shamloul, “This is a more serious effect on the erectile function because the smooth muscle makes up 70 percent to 80 percent of the penis itself.”

According to The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 162 million people worldwide use marijuana every year.   More than 22 million use it daily.  That makes understanding long-term effects important, Shamloul said.

Check it and weep, stoners.

As Shamloul says, many of the older studies showing marijuana to have positive effects on sexual performance are flawed in their lack of controlling for perceptual alterations caused by the THC itself.  Other studies from the same year showed male marijuana smokers to have twice the rate of erectile dysfunction as non-smokers.  Another study showed the effects of marijuana on sexual function to be dose specific–small doses having positive effects and larger doses working in the negative.

“What we are really missing are clinical studies,” Shamloul said. “We are stuck with only animal studies and molecular studies, and some clinical studies done in the ’60s and ’70s, most on a very small number of men… We need well-designed, placebo-control studies examining marijuana’s effect in both the short-term and long-term.”

Hmmm…pot and sex…any volunteers?


You’ve heard of “fake weed,” no? Now you have. It’s what kids are smoking these days. It may be fake, but it’s real. A real drug with real dangers. Time to talk to them youngsters.

Fake weed, also known as K2 and “spice”, is causing hallucinations, vomiting, agitation and other dangerous side effects. Oh it gets you high, alright–but it comes with an added surprise: different responses in different people. Not since LSD have we seen that kind of shenanigans.

K2 was first designed in the organic chemistry lab of Clemson professor John W. Huffman, who studies cannabinoid receptors. Essentially these receptors are the human molecular machinery that responds to THC, the compound in marijuana. The recipe for the compound JWH-018 (his initials) got picked up likely in Europe, although he had heard that people were selling it in China and Korea as a plant growth stimulant well before people started getting high on it.

And have they ever been getting high. Apparently K2 has an affinity for cannabinoid brain receptor (CB1) that’s about 10 times greater than THC. That means it doesn’t take a whole lot to get you wasted. Good for Snoop Dog..bad for your kid.

And worse yet, it comes with unexpected side effects. As a cannabinoid receptor stimulant, one would expect it to behave like marijuana; but some of the symptoms bringing teens into hospitals after using the drug, such as increased agitation and elevated blood pressure and heart rates, didn’t match up with marijuana. Some more unusual side effects include fast heart beat, dangerously elevated blood pressure, pale skin and vomiting, which suggests that K2 is affecting the cardiovascular system. Further, it also is believed to affect the central nervous system, causing severe, potentially life-threatening hallucinations and, in some cases, seizures. Doh!

According to Huffman, “It’s like playing Russian roulette. You don’t know what it’s going to do to you; you’re a potential winner of a Darwin award,” referring to the tongue-in-cheek awards given to people who “do a service to humanity by removing themselves from the gene pool.”

Well, all I can say is…doesn’t surprise me. Think about this: when marijuana becomes legalized, as it pretty much has in California and other states, it’s non-illicit nature will not be enough for either rebel teens nor societal outcasts. Illegal booze led to the formation of the mob, illegal hallucinogenics to Woodstock, and “fake weed” will likely have its counter-culture. I’m not endorsing it, nor am I shrugging it off. I think you’ve got to talk to your kids about this stuff and hopefully steer them away from it. Since laboratory mice that JWH-018 was tested on were euthanized following experiments, nobody really knows the long-term effects. So, kids…just say no, okay?

But if the kids today are anything like those of yesteryear–and they ARE–looks like you’ll be happy if your’s merely hangs out at the local medical marijuana clinic. I see more of these designer drugs on the horizon. Wow–the more things change, the more they stay the same.

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