As many of my readers already know, I think that the widespread Pavlovian acceptance of recreational marijuana (Mary Jane) is a mistake. Initially I was opposed to marijuana use because of its driving safety issues. Unlike alcohol which will also impair one’s judgement when driving, because of marijuana’s long half-life its blood level cannot be used to determine whether or not someone is driving impaired. (“That blood test only demonstrates that I used marijuana yesterday … not today.”)
However, in addition there is more evidence surfacing that using marijuana can be detrimental to one’s own health.
From Medscape:
“Researchers at University of California, San Diego looked at cannabis-related emergency department visits from all acute-care hospitals in the state from 2005 to 2019 and found an 1808% increase in patients aged 65 or older who were there for complications from cannabis use.”
The two important things to note in that last sentence … ‘patients over age 65’. and a 1808% increase!
From that same UCSD study:
‘The lead author said in an interview that, “Older patients taking marijuana or related products may have dizziness and falls, heart palpitations, panic attacks, confusion, anxiety or worsening of underlying lung diseases, such as asthma or [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease].’
But these adverse consequences of marijuana use are not limited to the crazies in California.
A recent study from Canada suggests that commercialization has been associated with an increase in related hospitalizations, including cannabis-induced psychosis.
According to a National Study of Drug Use and Health, marijuana use in young adults reached an all-time high (pun intended) in 2021. Nearly 10% of eighth graders and 20% of 10th graders reported using marijuana this past year.
To me this means, as was well put by Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO) in their song … “you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!”
12/1/23