Marijuana Facts and Myths: Israeli Health Officials Explain Risks of Pot

By Andrea Billups 
Israel is paving the way on global marijuana research, helping to sort through facts and myths about the drug. Some health officials in Israel are warning that there are risks associated with consumption.

“The effects of cannabis differ from one person to the next and depend on the dosage, the method of delivery, the past experience of the user with the medication, the patients’ surroundings (his expectations of treatment, his attitude toward the effects of the substance, his mood and the social environment), and the amount of use," a report from the Israel Phamacists' Association released in January warned, according to Haaretz.

The report offered caution to users of all stripes, noting pot can elicit feelings of "euphoria or dysphoria, calm, anxiety or even psychosis," Haartez said.

The group cautioned that negative drawbacks occurred from those who were chronic or high-dose users. But it warned that those with such psychiatric conditions as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder should not use medical marijuana.

Elderly patients, by turn, can suffer increased risks for high blood pressure, heart attack as well as blood vessel damage and stroke, the report noted, adding that “long-term use of cannabis through aspiration increases the risk of inflammation of the jaw and the tonsils, asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia and lung cancer," Haaretz noted.

The Israel Ambulatory Pediatric Association also warned about medical pot use in children, Haaretz reported in a separate story.

Such prescriptions for children are rare, but pot is used in Israel for youth with severe epilepsy, Haaretz said, citing the group's position paper released in February.

“Cannabis should not be recommended for children with a known tendency to psychosis or a family history of mental illness,” the pediatric association's paper noted.

Israeli researchers are developing strains of marijuana with high concentrations of the anti-inflammatory agent cannabidiol, or CBD, and low amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which is associated with the "high" feelings the plant is known for, The Washington Post reported.