Federal health officials concluded, “The risks to the public health posed by marijuana are low compared to other drugs of abuse,” such as benzodiazepines — a Schedule IV drug, or alcohol, which is unscheduled.
Category: SCIENCE
“These findings ought to reassure lawmakers and the public that cannabis access for adults can be legally regulated in a manner that is safe, effective, and that does not significantly impact young people’s consumption habits.”
Numerous studies assessing the long-term health impacts of cannabis smoke exposure belie the myth that marijuana is associated with the same sort of well established, adverse respiratory hazards as tobacco.
It is misleading at best and disingenuous at worst to imply that cannabis smoke exposure is either equal to or more hazardous to health than tobacco smoking, or to imply that long-term data on its respiratory effects do not exist.
“Only 18.4 percent [of the evaluated products] probably used natural hemp-derived delta-9 THC,” the study’s authors concluded.
Although the study’s lead author criticized Americans’ changing perceptions toward cannabis, numerous scientific studies reinforce the fact that cannabis smoke exposure poses far fewer risks to health than does tobacco.
Consistent with prior studies, investigators reported “no difference in workplace injury risk” among those employees who consumed cannabis while away from the job versus abstainers.
Data suggests that endocannabinoids (namely anandamide), rather than endorphins, are responsible for the so-called ‘runner’s high’ experience.