{"id":103992,"date":"2017-05-24T23:20:48","date_gmt":"2017-05-25T03:20:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=103992"},"modified":"2017-05-24T23:20:48","modified_gmt":"2017-05-25T03:20:48","slug":"science-says-whats-known-and-not-known-about-marijuana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2017\/05\/24\/science-says-whats-known-and-not-known-about-marijuana\/","title":{"rendered":"Science Says: What’s known and not known about marijuana"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A<\/a>
A new marijuana study joins a limited record of scientific knowledge about the harms and benefits of pot. (Photo: Katheirne Hitt\/Flickr<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NEW YORK \u2014 A new marijuana study joins a limited record of scientific knowledge about the harms and benefits of pot.<\/p>\n

The research published Wednesday is the first rigorous test of a marijuana compound in treating a certain form of severe epilepsy. It found that an ingredient of marijuana \u2014 one that doesn’t give pot smokers a high \u2014 reduced the number of seizures in children.<\/p>\n

In the U.S., more than two dozen states allow medical use of marijuana. Federal drug regulators have not approved marijuana itself, but they have allowed man-made, chemically related medicines to treat loss of appetite in people with AIDS, and nausea and vomiting caused by cancer therapy. A marijuana extract is sold in Britain for nerve pain and other problems from multiple sclerosis.<\/p>\n

In January, a U.S. advisory committee concluded that the lack of scientific information about marijuana and its chemical cousins, called cannabinoids, poses a risk to public health. The experts called for a national effort to learn more.<\/p>\n

In a report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, they also rounded up what is known. Here are some of its conclusions.<\/p>\n

There’s strong evidence that marijuana or cannabinoids:<\/p>\n

\u2014 Can treat chronic pain in adults<\/p>\n

\u2014 Can ease nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy<\/p>\n

\u2014 Can treat muscle stiffness and spasms in multiple sclerosis as measured by what patients say, but less strong evidence if the changes are measured by doctors<\/p>\n

On the other hand, it also found that pot smoking may be linked to:<\/p>\n

\u2014 Risk of developing schizophrenia and other causes of psychosis, with the highest risk among the most frequent users<\/p>\n

\u2014 Risk of a traffic accident<\/p>\n

\u2014 More frequent chronic bronchitis episodes from long-term use<\/p>\n

\u2014 Lower birthweight in offspring of female users<\/p>\n

There’s some evidence that pot or cannabinoids may:<\/p>\n

\u2014 Improve short-term sleep in people with some medical conditions<\/p>\n

\u2014 Boost appetite and ease weight loss in people with HIV or AIDS<\/p>\n

\u2014 Ease symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and improve outcomes after traumatic brain injury<\/p>\n

Similarly, some evidence suggests pot use may be linked to:<\/p>\n

\u2014 Triggering a heart attack<\/p>\n

\u2014 An increased risk of developing a lung condition called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease<\/p>\n

\u2014 Pregnancy complications when used by the mother<\/p>\n

\u2014 Impaired school achievement and outcomes<\/p>\n

\u2014 Increased suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts, especially among heavier users<\/p>\n

\u2014 Risk of developing bipolar disorder, especially among regular users.<\/p>\n

There’s not enough evidence to know if marijuana or cannabinoids can:<\/p>\n

\u2014Treat cancer<\/p>\n

\u2014 Ease symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome<\/p>\n

\u2014 Help with movement problems associated with Parkinson’s disease<\/p>\n

\u2014 Improve mental health outcomes in people with schizophrenia<\/p>\n

Similarly, there’s not enough evidence to know if marijuana is linked to:<\/p>\n

\u2014 Increased risk of heart attacks over time from chronic use<\/p>\n

\u2014 Development of post-traumatic stress disorder<\/p>\n

\u2014 Changes in the course or symptoms of depression disorders<\/p>\n

\u2014 Development or worsening of asthma<\/p>\n

\u2014 Accidents or injuries on the job<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2014 A new marijuana study joins a limited record of scientific knowledge about the harms and benefits of …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":103995,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[2238],"class_list":["post-103992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-lifestyle","tag-marijuana","mauthors-malcolm-ritter","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103992"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103992\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}