The Healthy Man

SORTING OUT RUMORS, CLAIMS, FACTS ON MARIJUANA'S IMPACT

Doctors in this country can't agree on whether patients with cancer, HIV,
glaucoma and other conditions get any benefit from smoking marijuana. And
the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in May to not legalize the manufacture
and sale of pot for medical use only deepens the debate.

Meanwhile, scientists continue to study whether people who smoke pot
strictly for pleasure are endangering their health. In June, researchers at
Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center reported that a person's risk
of a heart attack increases fivefold in the first hour after smoking
marijuana. For a young, healthy person, a fivefold increase doesn't mean
much, since the risk of suffering a heart attack is minuscule to begin
with. But for older smokers, and anyone with a condition that increases the
risk for cardiovascular disease (such as diabetes), the study may offer a
reason to think twice before getting high.

Which got me thinking: Are the guys I know who unwind with this illicit
herb putting their health at risk in other ways? For the record, the
majority of pot smokers in this country are men. According to government
figures, adult males are nearly 2 1/2 times more likely than females to say
they have used marijuana in the last month. Among Americans over age 35,
male pot smokers outnumber female users by even greater numbers.

So, are these guys doing themselves any harm? Several pieces of pot wisdom
about the health of men who smoke marijuana have passed down over the
years. I recall hearing back in college that male pot smokers often develop
gynecomastia, or saggy breasts. Frequent marijuana use is also rumored to
lower sperm count and cause impotence, or erectile dysfunction.

But none of these claims has ever been proven true in humans, says Dr. Paul
Gahlinger, author of a book on the history of illegal drugs scheduled for
publication later this year. Gahlinger notes that exposure to constituents
in marijuana seems to slow sperm in test-tube studies, "but in practice
there doesn't seem to be any difference at all" in the fertility and sexual
potency of men who get high and men who don't. Likewise, he says, the
flabby-chest and impotence stories lack evidence.

In regard to heart disease, Gahlinger notes that no reliable research shows
that marijuana smokers are more or less likely than nonusers to have
cardiovascular problems. (The Boston study didn't compare people in the two
groups.) In general, other illegal drugs carry far more serious health
risks, he insists.

"Marijuana is one of the safest drugs ever discovered," says Gahlinger.
"It's safer than aspirin."

But many physicians in this country don't share Gahlinger's mellow view.
"Daily smoking of marijuana causes some of the same consequences as the
smoking of tobacco," says Dr. Donald Tashkin, a professor at the UCLA
School of Medicine, among them bronchitis, a persistent cough and heavy
production of phlegm. Although even regular pot smokers light up only a few
times per day, Tashkin points out that joints are loosely packed and don't
have filters. What's more, pot users inhale deeply and hold smoke in their
lungs far longer than tobacco users. As a result, smoking a marijuana
cigarette exposes the lungs to three to four times more tar than smoking a
butt.

There's little data on lung cancer rates among people who smoke only
marijuana, but Tashkin says that lung biopsies of regular pot users reveal
the presence of pre-cancerous cells. He's also concerned about research
suggesting that the active ingredient in marijuana, THC, may suppress the
immune system.

Last year, a study at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center showed that mice
implanted with malignant cells develop tumors faster if they're exposed to THC.

"It appears that the THC in marijuana impairs host defense - the ability to
fight infection and fight cancer," says Tashkin. He points out the irony
that cancer and HIV patients, whose immune systems need bolstering, are
among the loudest voices demanding medical marijuana. It's also
conceivable, he says, that THC's effects could make a healthy pot smoker
more vulnerable to infectious diseases, such as pneumonia.

While researchers try to clear the haze over marijuana's impact on health,
a few things aren't up for debate. Driving while high is a terrible
idea. "Don't do it," says Gahlinger. "You're intoxicated."

One study found that airline pilots operating flight simulators still had
delayed reactions 24 hours after smoking pot. Furthermore, like it or not,
the stuff is illegal. Getting busted for possession or fired for flunking a
drug test are guaranteed ways to complicate your life.

Finally, no pot smoker on the planet would deny the phenomenon universally
known as the munchies. Another study published in June, by researchers at
SUNY Buffalo, found that marijuana users eat more salty snacks and cheese
than nonusers. They also eat fewer fruits and vegetables, consume greater
amounts of beer and soda and smoke more cigarettes.

Whatever you think about marijuana, you're kidding yourself if you believe
that the path to better health runs through the chips-and-dip aisle at
7-Eleven.