Marijuana is becoming more popular and legal across the United States. According to recent statistics, around 18% of all Americans have tried marijuana at least once, which shows its growing acceptance.
But despite its popularity, there are still many unanswered questions about how it affects our health. A new study from Northwestern Medicine offers some insights into this.
Marijuana comes from the Cannabis sativa plant and is usually dried and prepared in different forms. People might roll it into cigarettes called joints, use a water pipe called a bong, or even brew it into tea or mix it into food.
By 2019, about 48.2 million Americans were reported to have used marijuana, making it the most commonly used drug in the country. These figures come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
However, while usage is increasing, especially as more states make it legal, there is still a lot that scientists don’t fully understand about marijuana’s impact on the body.
To explore this, a team of researchers led by Dr. Lifang Hou at Northwestern Medicine focused on understanding the biological effects of marijuana. They examined blood samples from more than 900 adults.
These participants had previously been part of a heart health study, so the researchers were able to collect two blood samples from each person—one taken five years after the other.
The researchers asked the participants about their recent marijuana use and tried to estimate how much they had used over their lifetimes. Then, they closely analyzed the DNA in these blood samples to look for any noticeable changes.
The team found something intriguing in the DNA of the participants who reported using marijuana. They discovered changes in a process called DNA methylation.
This process involves small chemical groups attaching to our DNA, which can affect whether certain genes are turned on or off. Essentially, these changes can influence how our genes behave.
In total, the researchers identified between 16 and 132 DNA methylation markers that were linked to marijuana use. These markers were found in regions of the DNA associated with various bodily functions, such as cell growth and hormone signaling.
Some of these markers were also linked to mental health conditions like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and substance use disorders.
While these findings are significant, it’s essential to understand what they really mean. This study doesn’t prove that marijuana use directly causes these genetic changes or that these changes necessarily lead to health problems.
Rather, it shows that there is a connection between marijuana use and these specific DNA markers. More research is needed to confirm whether these changes could have long-term health impacts and to understand how marijuana might be influencing our genetic makeup.
The findings also open up opportunities for future research into the effects of marijuana. Scientists will want to explore these genetic changes in more depth to see if they hold true for other groups of people and to determine how marijuana use might affect health as people age.
As marijuana becomes more widely accepted and legalized in many places, understanding its effects on our bodies is crucial. Studies like this one provide important clues, but there’s still much to learn.
This research emphasizes the need for more detailed studies to help people make informed choices about marijuana use.
The study from Northwestern Medicine was published in Molecular Psychiatry. As scientists continue to investigate, it’s important to keep up with emerging research on how marijuana use might be linked to health risks, including heart attacks, depression, and brain health.
If you care about smoking, please read studies about smoking may increase heart disease risk by 200% and e-cigarette smoke may cause lung cancer and bladder disease.
For more health information, please see recent studies about the cause of weight gain after smoking cessation, and results showing smoking may cause white scars on the brain.
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