Marijuana May Not Be As Bad As We Thought

With marijuana becoming legal across several US states, some are worried about how more relaxed restrictions will affect children. Many argue that making marijuana easier to obtain could increase the number of adolescents using the drug, something concerning for parents as some studies indicated that long term use could cause a barrage of health problems. However, marijuana supporters are pointing to a new study that shows the drug may not be as detrimental as once believed to counter those concerns.

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conducted by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Rutgers University researchers showed that the men who used marijuana from their teenage years into adulthood were no more likely to develop health issues than their drug-free peers. The study tracked 408 US males from adolescence into adulthood and found that marijuana use, no matter how frequent, did not affect their physical or mental health.

Previous studies suggested that long term marijuana use could cause health issues like lung cancer or mental health problems like depression or anxiety. However, the results of this study suggest that the two are unrelated.

While children may not be at risk to develop health issues later in life due to marijuana use, there is still some concern about the impact the legal weed industry will have on their health. Hospitals have seen an influx of accidental overdose cases in children who have unknowingly consumed marijuana edibles in large quantities. Products which feature kid-friendly flavors like bubblegum vapor pens could make drug use more appealing to children who would otherwise abstain from using. For that reason, the debate on how marijuana laws impact America's youth is expected to continue.