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“i think people view recreational cannabis use as being harmless,” says dr. paul potnuru , anesthesiologist and researcher at the department of anesthesiology, critical care and pain medicine at mcgovern medical school, part of the university of texas health science center, uthealth houston. “the problem with that is we don’t really know when you cross over from recreational use into more harmful use.”
one of the challenges in figuring out the effects of cannabis is the increasing amount of the active component thc — or t etrahydrocannabinol — which is much higher now than in the early 1990s, says potnuru. it’s hard to tell how much people are actually consuming — when you consume an edible, for example, is that equal to one joint or two joints?
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another concern is that the rising use of cannabis is leading to substance dependence, he adds. in fact, statistics canada reports that by the end of 2020, 7.9 per cent of canadians aged 15 and older used cannabis daily or almost daily, with similar prevalence for males and females, and higher for people aged 18 to 44 than those aged 45 and older. health canada says that daily use puts the risk of addiction at 25 to 50 per cent.
about one in five americans use cannabis, and among those, about three in 10 will develop cannabis use disorder, characterized by food cravings or decreased appetite, restlessness, irritability, and mood and sleep difficulties after quitting, according to the u.s. national institute on drug abuse . another telltale sign of the disorder is the inability to stop using even when it’s negatively interfering with daily life.
potnuru is the first author of a breakthrough uthealth houston study that appeared in the journal jama surgery which demonstrated the heightened risk for people with cannabis use disorder for serious complications after major elective surgery.
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as the medical director of the renascent residential addiction rehabilitation centre in toronto , tarman has a front-row seat to the effects of increased cannabis use, saying that patients often describe it as “taking over their lives.”
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