Quote:
Originally Posted by elizabeth52
The OP asked about the effects of marijuana smoking on the lungs. According to The National Institute on Drug Addiction, marijuana smoke is an irritant to the lungs, and frequent marijuana smokers can have many of the same resspiratory problems experienced by tobacco smokers, such as daily cough and phlegm production, more frequent acute chest illness, and a heightened risk of lung infections. One study found that people who smoke marijuana frequently but do not smoke tobacco have more health problems and miss more days of work than nonsmokers, mainly because of respiratory illnesses.
However, as a senior I would be more concerned with the short term effect where Marijuana raises heart rate by 20-100 percent shortly after smoking; this effect can last up to 3 hours. In one study, it was estimated that marijuana users have a 4.8-fold increase in the risk of heart attack in the first hour after smoking the drug. This may be due to increased heart rate as well as the effects of marijuana on heart rhythms, causing palpitations and arrhythmias. This risk may be greater in older individuals or in those with cardiac vulnerabilities
This is serious stuff. Stepping down now.
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I like to remain "open" but I'm with you, Eliz, on this one. I turned 70 last year and I declared it "The Decade of the Fun"! (like the Chinese Year of the Cat, Rat, Dog, etc). So.....of course, I told all my friends that this is The Decade of the FUN. One of my closest friends was going out to Colorado to visit her brother. Mind you, I never even smoked a cigarette no less MJ! So I told her, "Barb....this is 'The Decade of the Fun', let's try marijuana." You can try it out there....and then we'll try it here". So....her brother, who was ill, had a "brownie". She enjoyed a bit of the brownie.....til her heart started racing and she felt terrible. Her head was spinning and she was up all night long. She said, "No way, Karen!" So....since I am super sensitive to medications, I will never try it. I can't even enjoy a cup of decaf coffee after 3 PM, so the idea of trying something that might rev me up is a real turn off.
Bottom line: There are side effects to every single medication and certainly a lot of side effects to marijuana. No thanks!!!!