How Often Do You Smoke Weed?

How Often Do You Smoke Weed
To conserve and be enjoyable id say 3–4 times a week would be decent. Also holding in weed in your lungs will exponentially make it hit harder, as well as waiting a bit of time between hits, because it can take a bit to go to fullest high.

How much marijuana does the average user consume each day?

WHEREVER THERE IS SMOKE, THERE IS DAMAGE – Given the well-known negative effects of tobacco use, it is reasonable to assume that marijuana may also be hazardous to physical health. Despite not containing nicotine, marijuana smoke is undoubtedly harmful to the lungs.

And because tobacco smoking has been connected to lung damage, cancer, emphysema, heart disease, pregnancy difficulties, and low birth weight, among other afflictions, it is reasonable to be concerned that marijuana smoking may be similarly hazardous. On the basis of a variety of characteristics, scientists have compared marijuana and tobacco smoking, but they have been unable to determine whether substance poses a larger health risk.

On the one hand, it has been demonstrated that marijuana joints transport at least four times as much tar to the lungs as equivalent-weight tobacco cigarettes. This discrepancy is attributable to the absence of filters on joints and the fact that marijuana users inhale a bigger amount of smoke and carry it deeper into their lungs than tobacco smokers.

Inhaling marijuana smoke for a period of time before inhaling exposes the lungs to even higher quantities of cancer-causing chemicals. In contrast, because commercial cigarettes are packed more securely, they create more smoke than joints fashioned by hand. This, along with the fact that most tobacco users smoke more cigarettes per day than their marijuana-using peers, means that most tobacco users inhale far more smoke per day than those who solely consume marijuana.

Consequently, it is hard to establish accurate comparisons between the health risks associated with marijuana and cigarette use. And because around 70% of marijuana users also smoke tobacco, it is challenging to perform epidemiological research that separate the effects of marijuana smoking.

Not surprisingly, clinical studies indicate that marijuana smokers are more prone than nonsmokers to suffer respiratory diseases. A survey of outpatient medical visits at a large health maintenance organization (HMO) revealed that marijuana users were more likely to seek assistance for respiratory ailments than those who neither used marijuana nor cigarettes.1 The researchers also discovered that patients who had used marijuana for more than ten years did not seek treatment for respiratory sickness more frequently than those who had smoked it for less than ten years.

One possible explanation for this finding is that individuals who smoked for an extended period of time did not experience respiratory issues such as shortness of breath, whereas those who did get such symptoms quit smoking very fast. Unfortunately, this poll did not ask marijuana smokers if they also took cocaine, which is known to exacerbate respiratory difficulties.

  1. In addition, it is probable that some individuals underreported their usage of cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana.
  2. In a research including 446 participants, the incidence of chronic bronchitis symptoms (excessive coughing, sputum production, and wheezing) was compared between marijuana users, tobacco smokers, and nonsmokers.2 Approximately one-third of the marijuana and tobacco users had one or more of these symptoms, whereas only one-twelfth of the nonsmokers did.

Smokers, including those who did not smoke tobacco, experienced acute bronchitis five times more frequently than nonsmokers. Additionally, marijuana users fared worse than nonsmokers on pulmonary function tests. In this survey, the typical marijuana user used three to four joints per day, while the average tobacco user smoked twenty cigarettes per day.

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In this research of chronic marijuana users, individuals who smoked both marijuana and tobacco reported no more chronic bronchitis symptoms than those who smoked tobacco alone, indicating that consuming marijuana does not exacerbate the negative effects of tobacco smoking. Another research did find evidence of this interaction, but it was done on participants who used far less marijuana and tobacco than those in the first study.

Researchers have discovered that, in general, it is easiest to identify the interaction effects of harmful compounds at low exposure levels. This may explain why lighter smokers in the second research exhibited symptoms of increased lung injury but larger smokers in the first study did not.

Both studies demonstrate that marijuana use decreases respiratory function. The lining of the bronchial airways is harmed by regular marijuana or cigarette use. These passages’ fragile tissues grow red and swollen after prolonged exposure to cigarette smoke. Additionally, smoking alters the bronchial airway cells.

Normally, these tubes are lined with ciliated cells, whose hairlike projections push mucus toward the mouth. When a person smokes, however, these cells are replaced by others that produce enormous quantities of viscous mucus, which can only be ejected by the infamous “smoker’s cough.” Bronchial injury, a more sensitive indicator of damage than chronic bronchitis symptoms, is significantly more prevalent among those who smoke both marijuana and tobacco.

The damage spreads to the inside of bronchial cells, causing a variety of abnormalities. Some of these alterations, which are known to be cancer precursors, have also been detected in the respiratory tracts of non-tobacco-using marijuana and hashish users. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is another kind of respiratory damage induced by cigarette use.

COPD is characterized by a gradual loss of flexibility in the airways that supply air to the lungs. People with COPD have shortness of breath and chronic bronchitis symptoms. Inconsistent results have resulted from attempts to ascertain if marijuana smoking also causes COPD.

For instance, one research found that smoking as little as one joint per day severely impairs small airway function, but another failed to identify comparable harm even in persons who smoked four joints per day for more than ten years.4 Thus, it remains unknown if chronic marijuana use truly causes COPD, but there are strong indications that it does.

Despite the fact that many tobacco users regard coughing and shortness of breath as part of the price they pay for the pleasure of smoking, they are occasionally motivated to stop by the fear of developing cancer. (There are also others who derive little pleasure from smoking but continue to do so in order to prevent feeling worried and angry, which are withdrawal symptoms of nicotine addiction) Whether marijuana users should be equally concerned has yet to be demonstrated decisively.

  • Nevertheless, molecular, genetic, and clinical research indicate that marijuana smoking is a significant risk factor for the development of pulmonary cancer.
  • Many of the carcinogenic or cancer-causing chemicals identified in tobacco smoke are also present in marijuana smoke.
  • Specifically, unfiltered smoke from joints includes greater quantities of a family of chemicals known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) than cigarette smoke.
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Due to the fact that marijuana users often inhale more deeply than tobacco smokers, they may expose their lungs to even higher quantities of these harmful compounds. Additionally, preliminary study reveals that the lung cells of marijuana users possess a greater concentration of an enzyme that transforms PAHs into a cancer-causing form.

  • It is therefore not unexpected that several studies have shown marijuana use as a risk factor for lung cancer as well as mouth and throat cancer.
  • Several studies indicate that marijuana users are more likely than nonsmokers to develop malignancies in tissues that come into touch with smoke, such as the lungs, mouth, larynx, pharynx, and esophagus.

However, these results were based on case reports of cancer patients rather than controlled trials. Thus, the higher incidence of cancer among marijuana users cannot be solely attributable to marijuana, but may also be due to other variables, such as cigarette use.

  • To far, only one large-scale investigation 5 has attempted to estimate the incidence of cancer among marijuana users.
  • It includes around 65,000 male and female HMO members aged 15 to 49.
  • There were 1,421 occurrences of cancer among these individuals, but marijuana usage, defined as six or more uses, appeared to enhance the risk of prostate cancer only among males who did not use tobacco.

There was no relationship between marijuana usage and any other form of cancer, including those often associated with tobacco smoking. However, this study was hampered by the fact that many individuals were younger than the normal age at which many malignancies are diagnosed, as well as by the short duration of their marijuana usage.

Lung cancer, for instance, often develops only after long-term exposure to smoking; very few marijuana users continue the habit for more than a few years, and the majority also smoke tobacco. Researchers should soon be better equipped to investigate the carcinogenicity of marijuana. More than three decades have passed since the beginning of widespread marijuana use among young people in the United States, who now comprise a big enough population to warrant epidemiological research.

On the other hand, it is difficult to conduct such studies since significantly fewer persons have solely smoked marijuana than have smoked tobacco alone, and also because marijuana smokers are tend to underreport their usage of the illegal substance.

Contrary to human studies, research on the cellular consequences of marijuana smoke gives significant evidence that it includes a high concentration of carcinogens. In isolated human and animal lung cells, exposure to marijuana smoke has been found to trigger chromosomal abnormalities that precede cancer, and in some cases cause cancer itself.

Similar modifications have been observed in the real lung cells of marijuana users, and to an even greater extent in tobacco smokers. A particularly persuasive research examined alterations in blood cells obtained from pregnant women who were exclusive marijuana users, as well as from their newborns.6 In lymphocytes, a kind of white blood cell associated to the development of cancer, the researchers identified considerably more DNA mutations of a type linked to cancer than in lymphocytes from nonsmoking mothers and their babies.

  1. In prior investigations, the same group of researchers discovered identical modifications in the DNA of tobacco users, suggesting that the same chemicals are present in both marijuana and tobacco smoke.
  2. The use of marijuana has also been linked to higher mortality among males with AIDS.
  3. This conclusion is particularly significant because these patients represent the biggest group of medicinal marijuana consumers in the United States.
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Several variables may contribute to the relatively unexplained nature of this tendency. It is possible that persons who use marijuana also engage in hazardous sexual conduct or use intravenous drugs, both of which put them at a higher risk for acquiring AIDS.

  1. However, it is also plausible that smoking marijuana exacerbates the immunosuppressive effects of HIV.
  2. Regular marijuana users who are HIV-positive tend to have an elevated risk of opportunistic infections and Kaposi’s sarcoma, although the risk is somewhat lower for those who smoke more than half a pack of cigarettes per day.

Whether smoke, cannabinoids, or both are at blame if marijuana smoking makes AIDS patients worse is unknown (see Chapter 5 ).

How much marijuana should I consume? This is a prevalent question among cannabis novices and those who have not used in years. The basic approach is to test one or two puffs and wait around 15 minutes to observe the effects before repeating.

What does marijuana do to the body?

Physical Outcomes –

  • Breathing difficulties Marijuana smoke affects the lungs, and regular marijuana smokers may experience the same breathing difficulties as tobacco smokers. These issues include daily cough and phlegm, more frequent lung sickness, and an increased chance of developing lung infections. Researchers have not yet identified an increased lung cancer risk among marijuana smokers.8
  • accelerated heart rate After consuming marijuana, the heart rate rises for up to three hours. This impact may raise the risk of experiencing a heart attack. People who are older or who have cardiac issues may be at a greater risk.
  • Developmental difficulties during and after pregnancy. A research indicated that around 20% of pregnant women younger than 24 tested positive for marijuana. This study also indicated that women are almost twice as likely to test positive for marijuana usage on a drug test than they disclose using self-reporting methods.9 This shows that self-reported marijuana usage rates among pregnant women are not a reliable indicator of marijuana use and may underreport their use. Additionally, in one study of marijuana retailers, non-medical staff recommended marijuana to pregnant women for nausea, despite medical professionals’ warnings. Experts are concerned because marijuana use during pregnancy is associated with lower birth weight 10 and an increased risk of cognitive and behavioral issues in infants. When a pregnant woman consumes marijuana, the substance may disrupt the fetal brain’s development. Those exposed to marijuana in the womb are more likely to have issues with attention, memory, and problem-solving than children who were not exposed.12 Some study also reveals that modest levels of THC are secreted by nursing moms into their breast milk.13 With repeated usage, THC levels in breast milk can reach levels that could harm the developing brain of the infant. Recent studies indicate an increased risk of premature births.27 More study is required. Read our report on marijuana and pregnancy for more details.
  • Intense nausea and vomiting. Some persons may develop Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome as a result of regular, long-term marijuana usage. This results in repeated cycles of extreme nausea, vomiting, and dehydration, which occasionally necessitates emergency medical care.14
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