How Smoking Marijuana May Affect Your Body?

After the democratic win in the 2020 US elections, Marijuana smoking legalization has renewed its interest at the federal level. According to a Gallup poll, 64% of American Citizens believe marijuana should be legal nationwide. Many other countries have also loosened the restrictions surrounding marijuana sale and distribution, including Canada, which greenlight the federal legalization of marijuana back in 2018 — an event which created a lot of worldwide buzzes. 

 Part of what’s driving this worldwide endorsement of marijuana is the idea that weed is relatively innocuous. The prevalent opinion is that weed is a lot less harmful than other substances like alcohol, tobacco. But is that true? To answer this,  let’s have a look at how smoking marijuana affects your body:

Marijuana May Alter Your Sleep

Yes, smoking marijuana affects your sleep, but this debate boils down to the strain of marijuana you’re using. For example, indica may calm your nerves, whereas Sativa is known for boosting energy levels. So, indica is preferable if you’re looking for a good night’s sleep. 

Studies have shown that indica promotes stage 3 sleep at the cost of REM sleep or Stage 4 Sleep. Stage 3 sleep is responsible for repairing your body, whereas stage 4 replenishes your mind. It would be best if you have both to function at optimal levels. 

It Could Help Improve Bone Health

A study indicated that smoking marijuana might boost bone recovery. 

The experiments carried out at Tel Aviv University in Israel demonstrated how cannabidiol improved recovery times in mice with fractures and breaks. CBD, or cannabidiol, is an active ingredient found in the cannabis plant, thought to have various medicinal benefits, from fighting inflammation to relieving pain. It is non-psychoactive and doesn’t cause a high, so it differs from the whole marijuana plant in the way it acts on the central nervous system. 

CBD mineralizes bone tissue, making your bones bulkier, stronger, and more resilient. 

Weed Might Improve Your Night Vision

Researchers at the University of McGill, Montreal, noticed that Jamaican Fishermen have excellent night vision. This drove them back to their lab to apply synthetic cannabinoids to the ocular tissues of tadpoles. 

The results of the experiment were promising, with retinal cells in the subjects exhibiting increased sensitivity and responsiveness to light. 

However, another study published in JAMA Ophthalmology painted a negative picture. 

Those who smoked weed every day had reduced electrical transmission in the retinal ganglion cells. The ganglion cells are special structures in neurons that send electrical signals from the eye to the brain. So, if you’re a seasoned weed smoker, make sure you have your eyesight checked up regularly. 

Have an Effect on Cognitive Function

If you’re smoking weed almost every day, it might have a negative effect on your memory. This is common knowledge in the marijuana community.

 Several studies have also tried to shed light on the topic. According to researchers at Northwestern University, pot smokers were more susceptible to impaired cognitive functions, such as short-term memory loss and general forgetfulness. 

However, this isn’t the worst part. Brains of weed smokers showed striking similarities with those of schizophrenic patients. That is why THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychotropic substance in cannabis, is linked with a host of psychological side effects, such as hallucinations and delirium, and aggravation of underlying mental disorders, including schizophrenia. 

If you’re looking to sidestep these risks, maybe you should consider CBD-dense strains instead of smoking the whole marijuana plant, which lacks THC’s psychoactive properties. 

Weed Smoking May Increase Susceptibility to Oral Cancer

One study published in Cancer Epidemiology suggested that long-term marijuana smoking have increased susceptibility to oral cancer. The researchers of the study concluded that when marijuana strains are heated at high temperatures, they may negatively impact oral tissues and induce cancerous changes at the cellular level, resulting in the development of precancerous growths in oral sites. 

Smoking Marijuana May Help With Performance Anxiety

If you’re looking to boost your sex drive, then some sources suggest you’d do better without pot. According to one study, the incidence of erectile dysfunction is three times more in stoners than in people who have never touched weed. 

But, the results of this finding varies. 

Anecdotal and scientific evidence is vast and sundry on marijuana’s anti-anxiety effects. And as you may know from experience, one of the most lethal killers of good sex is performance anxiety. 

Weed helps manage performance anxiety, but it needs to be the right kind of strain — one with a higher CBD to THC ratio. Taking a strain high in THC may exacerbate your anxiety instead of making it better. Studies have linked THC with heightened anxiety, whereas CBD has shown to dissipate it. 

Smoking Marijuana may Help the Circulatory System

THC sharply interacts with your circulatory system, moving briskly from the lungs into the bloodstream. This rapidly increases your heart rate: 20 beats surge to 50 in a single minute and linger at this frequency for more than three hours. This poses a great risk for people with underlying cardiovascular conditions, such as arrhythmia. 

One of the most visible indicators of marijuana use is bloodshot eyes. This color is because marijuana decreases ocular blood flow, causing the eyes to dilate. Marijuana can release intraocular pressure in the eyes. Therefore, it may treat glaucoma, but only temporarily. 

In the long term, marijuana positively impacts the circulatory system. While research isn’t conclusive in this area, there’s evidence to suggest that marijuana may stop blood flow to vessels that nurture cancerous tumors. As a result of this, marijuana-based treatments have been researched for cancer prevention but haven’t advanced to clinical stages as of yet. 

Final Thoughts

Marijuana science is still in its infancy. The safest product in the market today is Full-Spectrum CBD oil. Full-spectrum CBD contains a healthy blend of all compounds found in the cannabis plant and is known to cause little to no adverse side effects. And the best part is that it’s also legal. So, if you’re looking to get the best out of cannabis, full-spectrum CBD is the way to go.