Cannabis is the most widely-used illicit substance in the America, according to DrugAbuse.gov. In fact, the Pew Research Center reports nearly half of people in the U.S. have tried the drug. That compares to about 88 percent of American adults who have tried alcohol.
RENO, Nev. (News 4 & Fox 11) — While both substances are commonly used, they are very different regarding how long-term use can affect a person's health.
"Alcohol really affects nearly every organ system in the body." Dr. Jenny Wilson is the Emergency Room Director of Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center in Reno.
Dr. Wilson said many of her patients are aware that long-term use of alcohol can cause liver disease and cirrhosis, "however, I don't think people are aware that when they're having chest pain and they're an alcoholic... I don't think they necessarily attribute that to the use of alcohol."
She said chest pain could be a symptom of heart arrhythmia, high blood pressure, stroke and cardiomyopathy; but the effects of alcohol don't stop at heart problems. They also include pancreatitis and forms of cancer throughout the body; including mouth, esophagus, throat, liver, and breast cancers. Dr. Wilson said chronic alcohol users are also subject to weakened immune systems, certain forms of dementia, and neuropathy.
When comparing the health effects of alcohol to those of marijuana, Dr. Wilson said, "statistically significant data doesn't exist to actually prove that long-term use of marijuana leads to any irreversible cognitive impairment."
Although marijuana can be consumed in several forms, like edibles; Dr. Wilson said smoking the drug is the worst form for your health. "It is definitely known that inhaled marijuana, which I believe is the most common form of marijuana use, can lead to lung disease."
Some studies suggest marijuana use can make underlying mental health issues worse. Dr Wilson said, "if there's any predisposition to bipolar disorder or schizophrenia or psychosis or even anxiety, use of marijuana, especially long-term use, can absolutely exacerbate that."
But she said sometimes it's difficult to make a distinction between symptoms caused by marijuana use and those caused by using tobacco. "Frequently marijuana users are also tobacco users, so if they have lung disease, who am I to say that that is particularly from your marijuana use as opposed to your tobacco use."
Using tobacco also comes with a long list of health affects other than lung damage. It increases your chance of heart attack, stroke, vascular disease, aneurysm, emphysema, bronchitis, cataracts, pneumonia, dental pain, and several forms of cancer. Dr. Wilson said, "tobacco use is implicated in, I would go ahead and say the majority of cancers."
On average, adults who smoke tobacco die 10 years earlier than non-smokers.
The CDC reports about 88,000 Americans die every year because of excessive alcohol use.
There is no significant data showing anyone has ever died from an overdose on marijuana, but Dr. Wilson believes there needs to be more studies done on the long-term effects of cannabis use.
"The problem I think is doing the research on a drug that is not yet legal everywhere, so you can't get a lot of statistically significant information because you don't have thousands and thousands of people that you can study it on."
Despite the lack of research, Dr. Wilson said marijuana is not as problematic in her emergency room as alcohol and tobacco. "Every single day, we take care of patients who are suffering the complications of alcohol use and the complications of long-term tobacco use... In the emergency department setting, we just don't see as many complications related to acute marijuana use."
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