They say that it causes brain damage, this that and the next. Does it really just boil down to ‘lungs only supposed to breathe air’
In: Biology
There’s a lot more nuance to it than just good or bad, and the truth is that cannabis is still very much a scientific grey area, as the ability to research its effects have long been bound in legal red tape.
The bottom line is that inhaling any product of combustion has negative effects on your lungs and cardiovascular health, and that abuse of THC from any source can negatively impact certain areas of the brain, especially during development. Memory is where the effects are most pronounced, but it also fucks with your internal reward system, reduces the quality of your sleep, and habitual use has become a hallmark predictor for psychosis in emergency departments. It should be noted that most of these ill effects will eventually subside after the abuse is ceased.
There are legitimate medical applications for it, such as treating insomnia, digestive issues, and chronic pain, but for most people it is not a medicine, it just sits on the hierarchy of vices somewhere between alcohol and coffee.
It does not, however, “cause brain damage”. Anyone who tells you that is simply trying to scare you.
I do think that the emphasis placed on its untold effects is a holdover from the stigma around it being long considered illicit, because as with anything, we won’t know exactly how bad it is for a very long time (if ever, truly). There are additives in food, byproducts of burning fuel and forest fires in the air, microplastics in everything else, etcetera… and all of it is likely changing our chemistry in ways which we can’t yet understand. It’s up to you to assess the risk and decide if you stand to lose more than you gain from getting high. Just don’t let it consume your daily habits, because *that* is the most immediate threat it poses to anyone – when you can’t enjoy life without it.
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