1/3 of American adults can now legally smoke marijuana. Here is how weed affects your brain and body, for good and bad

Marijuana can make you feel good.

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), one of the active ingredients in weeds, interacts with the brain’s reward system, the part that is prepared to respond to things that make us feel good, like food and sex.

When overexcited by drugs, the reward system creates a feeling of euphoria. This is also why some studies have indicated that excessive marijuana use can be a problem for some people – the more you trigger that euphoria, the less you may feel during other rewarding experiences.

In the short term, it can also make your heart beat faster.

Within minutes of inhaling marijuana, your heart rate can increase by 20 to 50 beats per minute. This can take anywhere from 20 minutes to three hours, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

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In August, a study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology appeared to suggest that marijuana smokers are three times more likely to die from high blood pressure than people who have never smoked. Marijuana user “like anyone who has ever tried the drug.

Research suggests that this is a bad assumption – and one that could have compromised the results of the study … Other studies have also come to the opposite conclusion of the present study. According to the Mayo Clinic, cannabis use could result in decreased – not increased – blood pressure.

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Pot contains cannabidiol, or CBD, a chemical that isn’t responsible for getting you high but is believed to be responsible for many of marijuana’s therapeutic effects. These benefits may include pain relief or potential treatment for certain types of childhood epilepsy.

The new report also found conclusive or substantial evidence – the most definitive values ​​- that cannabis can be an effective treatment for chronic pain that could be related to both CBD and THC. Pain is also “by far the most common” reason people request medical marijuana, according to the report.

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According to the report, people who smoke marijuana regularly are more likely to have chronic bronchitis. There is also evidence that smoking cessation may alleviate these symptoms.

Perhaps surprisingly, however, the report’s authors found moderate evidence that cannabis was not linked to an increased risk of lung cancer or head and neck cancer associated with cigarette smoking.

Based on the evidence available and discussions with researchers, there are good reasons to believe that marijuana has potentially valuable medicinal uses. At the same time, we know that, as with any substance, not every use is risk-free.

More research is needed to find out how best to treat the conditions cannabis can help with and how to minimize the risks associated with medicinal or recreational use.

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