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Some marijuana experts, like Mayo’s Bostwick, think this tight regulation is harmful because all the marijuana used in studies come from the same place — whereas in the real world, the plants can vary widely, leading to different effects for different people.

There is “absolutely no comparison” between the safety of marijuana and tobacco smoke, Dr. Tashkin added, noting that the latter is the top cause of preventable deaths in the United States. No one has ever overdosed on marijuana, and no major studies have found a significant increase in lung cancer risk from the drug.

There are known carcinogens in marijuana smoke the same that’s in tobacco smoke. We also know that there are pre-cancerous changes in the [airways] of heavy marijuana users who don’t smoke tobacco.”

Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the active psychedelic ingredient in cannabis, has known anti-tumoral effects, Donald P. Tashkin, M.D., a pulmonologist at UCLA who has studied marijuana for more than 30 years, told weather.com. “It’s been shown by a large number of investigators to [reduce] growth of brain, lung, breast, prostate and thyroid cancer cells in animal models,” he said.

But research on its long-term medical effects — and its impact on healthy individuals — has been hampered by the federal government’s stance on its legality, he continued. “Pharmaceutical development has been thwarted by the federal government’s seeming unwillingness to have new scientific discovery supplant long-standing ideology.”

What weed users are really feeling is short-term cognitive and motor impairment.

It impairs the activity of immune cells in your lungs, which work to prevent respiratory infections, by impairing their ability to kill bacteria and fungus, Dr. Tashkin said.

ut research shows it can exacerbate mental health problems, such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, in people with a predisposition for these conditions.

His friends said he was agitated after eating the brownie — one side effect of edible pot that’s not usually seen when the drug is smoked. Edibles are also more likely to make an individual paranoid and dizzy, Franson said at the AHCJ conference.

A Swedish study of 45,450 males showed no increase in the 15-year mortality rate of pot smokers, compared to those who did not smoke, according to an editorial published in BMJ.

Extremely low doses of THC may protect the brain from long-term cognitive damage in the wake of injury from a lack of oxygen, seizures or toxic drugs, one study in mice published in the journal Experimental Brain Research found.Another mouse study concluded that CBD might help stop alcohol-related brain damage.