What's Wrong with Marijuana?

Millions of Americans believe marijuana relieves pain, reduces anxiety, improves your mood, and has no side effects. Are they right? Dr. Drew Pinsky, physician, addiction medicine specialist, and media personality, answers this question.Show more

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Script:

Here’s a medical miracle for you: a drug that relieves pain, reduces anxiety, improves your mood, and has no side effects.

Too good to be true? Well, millions of Americans believe that drug is marijuana.

Are they right?

I’m a physician, board-certified internist, and addiction medicine specialist. I’ve treated thousands of people whose addictions to opiates, alcohol, and other drugs were wrecking their relationships, their careers, and their lives. And I’m telling you marijuana can be both harmful and addictive, just like many other substances.

What I’ve seen firsthand for twenty years is now becoming obvious to other doctors and researchers: increased use of marijuana is leading to increased psychosis, bipolar mania, and even spontaneous vomiting, especially in adolescents and young adults. The younger the user, the less developed their brain, the more harmful the drug.

I hate to burst your bubble, but that is the science.

A 2022 Gallup survey found 30% of Americans between 18 and 34 use marijuana. When scientists at the University of Michigan asked young adults between 19 and 30 if they’d used it within the past month, 29% said yes in 2021, compared to 21% in 2016 and 17% in 2011.

Daily marijuana use across all ages nearly doubled from 6% in 2011 to 11% in 2021. That translates into over 13 million Americans, compared with 5 million in the decade before.

There is no such thing as a “bad” drug. They are just molecules that affect the human physiology. Most Americans use some form of a recreational substance. But ignoring or denying potential adverse effects creates the potential for serious harm. There is no free lunch with mother nature so there are always side effects. My goal here is not to shame or scare anyone, but to raise awareness so you can make informed decisions.

Speaking of that, keep in mind that marijuana has gone corporate. According to Forbes, legal marijuana is now a 20 billion dollar industry and growing. There’s a lot of vested interest in making sure you don’t hear the bad news.

But there are risks. And the more you use, and the higher the concentrations, the more the risk.

Of course, most people who use marijuana won’t have a psychotic break, develop bipolar disorder, or become schizophrenic—just as most people who drink don’t develop alcoholic liver disease or alcohol dementia.

Some individuals—and not a small number—will have a significant reaction to marijuana. And there is no way to know in advance. You won’t know until it happens. And then it might be too late.

It wasn’t always like this. The marijuana people use today is not the weed of my generation. It hasn’t been for at least two decades.

What changed?

The answer is found in three letters: THC

THC or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the main psychoactive—or mind-altering—component of cannabis; it’s what gets you high.

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