Marijuana vs. Alcohol & Tobacco

It is common to see people gulp gallons of liquor but abstain completely from medical marijuana. Lot of people abstain from medical marijuana as it is labeled as a Schedule 1 drug and therefore they compare it with other heavy weight Schedule 1 drugs like heroin or cocaine. Moreover, it is not legalized in most states across US and other countries. However, just because it is illegal, does not necessarily mean that it is harmful. Even tobacco or alcohol has extremely harmful side effects on our health and wellness.

Let us have a look on effects of marijuana vs. tobacco and alcohol on human body:

·         Health: There are many myths regarding the effects of marijuana on one’s health. One of the popular myths say that it causes long term memory impairment, damages one’s cognitive skills, and slowly kills the brain cells. Another says that marijuana smoke contains lot more chemicals than tobacco. However none of the scientific studies have ever linked medical marijuana with cancer or any kind of death. On the contrary, it is seen that alcohol in heavy dosage and if used for a long period can cause brain and liver damage and its usage has also been linked to various types of cancers as per various scientific studies conducted. Cannabis does not contain harmful chemicals like nicotine which is present in tobacco.

·         Dosage: The truth is you can’t overdose in case of marijuana. Even if you smoke whole day there will be no detrimental effects of marijuana on your health.  The ability to tolerate alcohol is different in different people and slight overshoot can lead to alcohol overdose. Therefore you can easily have an overdose of alcohol.

·         Effect: Exposure to smoke is generally much lower in medical marijuana than in tobacco cigarette smokers, even after taking into account the larger exposure per puff. Existing studies do not support a link between the use of cannabis and heart disease, the leading cause of death in many Western countries. Furthermore, cannabis does not contain nicotine, a chemical contained in tobacco that is addictive and contributes to the risk of heart disease.

Very long-term and excessive smoking of marijuana does release some carcinogenic elements but certain cannabinoids present in marijuana have been proved to have anticancer properties. It considerably slows down tumor growth in breasts, lungs, and brain and reduces neuropathic pain. Ardent marijuana supporters believe “If people had just stuck to smoking pot we wouldn’t have had all the problems we’ve had all these years”. Time magazine in one of its earlier issues had written, “In spite of the legends, no case of physical, mental or moral degeneration has ever been traced exclusively to marijuana Because of its non-habit-forming character, doctors have recently been experimenting with the drug as an aid in curing opium addiction.”