UVA doctor offers a medical perspective on using recreational marijuana

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia (WVIR) – Medical marijuana has many benefits for patients, but consulting a doctor before recreational use is something medical professionals at the University of Virginia want to think about.

Dr. Christopher Holstege, the UVA director of the Blue Ridge Poison Center, encourages people to think twice before recreating marijuana.

“We know there are a few things that happen … increased exposure to the pediatric population, toddlers getting caught in different products … brownies with marijuana or gums with marijuana,” said Dr. Holstege.

He says there has been an influx of calls to the Blue Ridge Poison Center as more children buy their parents’ marijuana products lying around the house.

“Short-term use can include things like impaired motor coordination, altered judgment, and impaired short-term memory,” said Dr. Holstege.

Dr. Holstege points to an article in the New England Journal of Medicine comparing short-term and long-term use of cannabis.

“Studies have really made it clear that there are long-term problems with being a chronic, habitual marijuana user,” said Dr. Holstege.

These studies show room for further addiction, decreased IQ, and altered brain development in young people.

“Surely the mixture of alcohol and marijuana is well studied to be really problematic, even an alcoholic drink with marijuana can lead to many accidents based on simulation models,” said Dr. Holstege.

Holstege says other considerations include mental health, lung status, THC dose, and hereditary predispositions.

“We know that everything we consume in our body is associated with risks. This applies to alcohol, tobacco and even medication with risks. Marijuana has a psychoactive substance, it’s like a drug. People just have to be aware, “said Dr. Holstege.

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