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By Shamard Charles, M.D.
While the legalization of marijuana is gaining momentum across the United States – Michigan becoming the latest state to allow adults to use it for recreational purposes – researchers warn of the need for Additional studies on the long-term effects of chronic smoking on the human brain.
Marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug in the United States, but little is known about its effects on health or its degree of dependence.
According to a survey conducted in 2017 by Marist College and Yahoo News, more than half of American adults have ever used marijuana at least once in their lives and nearly 55 million of them, or 22%, say they are currently consuming it. According to the survey, nearly 35 million people are "regular users", people who say they consume marijuana at least once or twice a month.
"Surprisingly, many people freely admit to using marijuana, but underreporting remains a problem," said Jonathan Caulkins, a drug policy researcher and professor at Carnegie Mellon University. "To correct that, you have to deceive by 20 to 40 percent."
With the polling day measure in Michigan, 10 states and the District of Columbia now allow free use of the drug; 33 states plus BC allow medical use, leaving many people wondering if the US will follow Canada's initiative by legalizing marijuana nationally.
Consequences of chronic marijuana use
Nathaniel Warner, 31, a data analyst at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, first tried marijuana at age 19 when he was a student at the university. Warner struggled to adapt to campus life at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota.
"It was a difficult transition for me and I was facing social anxiety," Warner told NBC News.
At first he just smoked during the school holidays three or four times during the school year. "But before I knew it, it was summer and I smoked every day," he said. "It gave me a feeling that I had never known before."
After four years of intensive use, Warner noticed that his short-term memory was starting to crumble. He avoided talking to people and his feelings of anxiety and depression were growing. He tried to hide them with grass, deepening his addiction. In 2010, Warner stunned his life by quitting his job and breaking up with his girlfriend.
"I was hopeless. I realized that this lifestyle of being miserable and getting high would never change. I did not want to go through a cycle of 30 to 40 years to go to work, go home and get high. I did not see that escape. That kind of me shook me, "Warner said.
Unfortunately, Warner's story is not uncommon.
Although alcohol is more dangerous in terms of the risk of acute overdose, but also of promoting violence and chronic organ failure, "marijuana – at least as it is used in the United States – creates higher rates of behavioral problems, including addiction, users, "said Caulkins.
Does marijuana create an addiction?
Research leans towards yes.
Studies have shown that chronic marijuana use affects the same brain structures involved in addiction.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse suggests that 30% of marijuana users may be suffering from a "marijuana use disorder".
Marijuana-related disorders are often associated with addiction – a person experiences withdrawal symptoms when they do not take the medication. Frequent users report irritability, mood and sleep disturbances, decreased appetite, cravings, agitation and anxiety. 39, a physical discomfort that culminate in the first week after quitting and last up to two weeks. Marijuana addiction occurs when the brain adapts to large amounts of drugs, which requires more and more to create the desired euphoric effect.
The disorder of marijuana use becomes addictive when the smoker can not stop using the drug, even if it interferes with many aspects of his life. Estimates of the number of people addicted to marijuana are controversial, in part because studies of substance use often use addiction as a measure of dependence, even if it is possible to be addicted without to be addicted.
In Warner's case, he developed both addiction and dependency. The first time that he seriously decided to resign, he confided his reserve to his girlfriend to keep her at bay. Later that day, he returned home and convinced him to return it.
"Even though I was serious about cleanliness at the time, I relapsed," he said. "The problem of addiction is that you can wake up and be 100% convinced that you will not use it anymore. You can pass a test to lie detector and succeed brilliantly, but 12 hours later, a trigger can make you change your mind and you may get up.
Signs of Marijuana Addiction
- Inability to reduce or stop use
- Use more than expected
- Do not fulfill daily responsibilities like going to school or work
- Choose relationships and activities based on your ability to smash yourself.
Researchers estimate that 4 million people in the United States met the criteria for a marijuana use disorder in 2015, but only 138,000 of them voluntarily sought treatment.
What is chronic marijuana use?
Most experts agree that further research is needed to answer this question correctly. First, there is no universal definition of what constitutes "chronic" use.
A Canadian study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry in 2017 showed a substantial increase in "psychotic-type experiences" among adolescent users. The study also reported adverse effects on cognitive development and increased symptoms of depression.
Other studies show that chronic use may even interfere with the normal development of the adolescent brain.
Patricia Conrad, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Montreal, believes that further research is needed to evaluate the effects of chronic marijuana use on the brain.
"The power has increased over time," said Conrad. We are seeing more and more products extracting CBD oil from the product, resulting in more and more products with potent cannabis levels, "said Conrad.
A study that received considerable publicity involved 38,600 confiscated cannabis samples from 1995 to 2014.
Analysis of these samples revealed that the average amount of THC, the psychoactive portion of the drug, increased from 4% in 1995 to more than 12% in 2014. During the same period, cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive component marijuana rose from 0.28 percent to 0.15 percent. This change in the ratio of THC to CBD has a pronounced effect on the perceived potency of the drug.
The average power of flower-based products sold in the Washington-licensed markets is over 20%, and the average power of extract-based products – such as vaping pen oils, tampons and other similar products – is around 70%, said Caulkins. . She added that more research is needed to see how this difference in power affects the body, compared to the weaker product studied previously.
As we learn more about the effects of marijuana on the brain and body, experts are hoping to find out if marijuana is a drug that can be managed like alcohol or if it is a high-addiction drug that needs to be highly regulated, such as tobacco.
Warner has been sober since October 17, 2010. He thanks his parents, the Mayo Clinic's intensive addiction treatment program and his 12-step recovery group for helping him get back on track, but he warns others against the use of the drug for recreational purposes.
"The addiction is real. It's a slow descent … it takes a few years to reach that low point and years to slowly recover, "Warner said. "Recovery is not easy, even for a guy like me who had resources, a support system and no serious consequences, like losing his job or going to jail."
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