In case marijuana advocates needed something else to celebrate after today’s legalization in Maine, a new academic report that was just published has some very good news for marijuana users. The study examined over 10,000 other studies and combined their findings to come to more definitive conclusions. Those conclusions confirmed that marijuana is an effective pain reliever, marijuana is not a gateway drug, among other findings.
The study only focused on the abstracts of papers published since 1999. It was conducted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and featured nearly 100 conclusions about marijuana use based on the findings. The conclusions in the 395-page report ranged from good to very bad, and included:
- Marijuana is an effective treatment for chronic pain
- Marijuana does not appear to be a gateway drug
- There does not appear to be any connection between marijuana use and lung cancer or head and neck cancers
- Marijuana can’t treat cancer
- Longterm Marijuana use can cause social anxiety disorders and trigger schizophrenia
- Cannabis use increases the risk of motor vehicle accidents
So if you’re planning on lighting up, consider checking the results to see what you’re really doing to your body and brain. Nothing in the studies was able to show a difference between pipes, bongs, blunts, papers or any other method of getting high.
[via Esquire]