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Healthiest+cheapest way of consuming marijuana?


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So marijuana just got legalized in my state! I'm just wondering - should I use a vape pen or a atomizer? I'm slightly concerned about heavy metal contamination and also about the conversion of glycerin into formaldehyde in some THC concentrates.

 

Edibles are definitively the healthiest but they're also the most expensive (unless I can consume THC concentrates).

 

I don't plan on using it often - just occasionally to expand my behavioral repertoire.

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This seems like a pretty good resource on the topic (massive list of reference links at the bottom):

https://examine.com/supplements/marijuana/

 

I would use caution, there are both documented benefits AND problems related to marijuana.  You certainly do not want to smoke it (or anything else) if you value your lungs.  It has been documented to activate BAT (discussed in the cold exposure thread, search it) which is a good thing, but I'm very cautious mostly because of the risk of permanent cognitive impairment.  

 

"Chronic THC exposure may hasten age-related loss of hippocampal neurons. In one study, rats exposed to THC every day for 8 months (approximately 30 percent of their life-span) showed a level of nerve cell loss (at 11 to 12 months of age) that equaled that of unexposed animals twice their age."

 

There are safer and more effective ways to achieve BAT activation for health and longevity.

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Gordo, your quote and its source did not seem to include details, but I do not think you want to check the effect on young animals.  I do agree with not inhaling combustion products.  I was surprised at the benefits apparently demonstrated in the below paper.

 

Splendor in the Grass? A Pilot Study Assessing the Impact of Medical Marijuana on Executive Function.
Gruber SA, Sagar KA, Dahlgren MK, Racine MT, Smith RT, Lukas SE.
Front Pharmacol. 2016 Oct 13;7:355.
PMID: 27790138 Free PMC Article
Abstract
Currently, 25 states and Washington DC have enacted full medical marijuana (MMJ) programs while 18 states allow limited access to MMJ products. Limited access states permit low (or zero) tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and high cannabidiol (CBD) products to treat specified conditions such as uncontrolled epilepsy. Although MMJ products are derived from the same plant species as recreational MJ, they are often selected for their unique cannabinoid constituents and ratios, not typically sought by recreational users, which may impact neurocognitive outcomes. To date, few studies have investigated the potential impact of MMJ use on cognitive performance, despite a well-documented association between recreational marijuana (MJ) use and executive dysfunction. The current study assessed the impact of 3 months of MMJ treatment on executive function, exploring whether MMJ patients would experience improvement in cognitive functioning, perhaps related to primary symptom alleviation. As part of a larger longitudinal study, 24 patients certified for MMJ use completed baseline executive function assessments and 11 of these so far have returned for their first follow-up visit 3 months after initiating treatment. Results suggest that in general, MMJ patients experienced some improvement on measures of executive functioning, including the Stroop Color Word Test and Trail Making Test, mostly reflected as increased speed in completing tasks without a loss of accuracy. On self-report questionnaires, patients also indicated moderate improvements in clinical state, including reduced sleep disturbance, decreased symptoms of depression, attenuated impulsivity, and positive changes in some aspects of quality of life. Additionally, patients reported a notable decrease in their use of conventional pharmaceutical agents from baseline, with opiate use declining more than 42%. While intriguing, these findings are preliminary and warrant further investigation at additional time points and in larger sample sizes. Given the likelihood of increased MMJ use across the country, it is imperative to determine the potential impact of short- and long-term treatment on cognitive performance as well as the efficacy of MMJ treatment itself.
KEYWORDS:
THC; cannabidiol; cannabis; cognition; executive function; medical marijuana
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Besides possible brain damage, there may be some links to cancer as well:

 

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I'm in CA, where it's relatively easy to access legal MJ. I was never a user, and have no concrete plans to start using, but the science is interesting. Unfortunately, a lot of it seems quite politicized (both for and against), so it's hard to sort the wheat from the chaff. It's also a question of relevance, as always in such cases. For example, for someone like me, the effects of MJ on an adolescent brain are irrelevant. Alcohol seems a big negative for the adolescent brain too, but for an adult/middle age it might be dose and form dependently beneficial according to some research.

 

I doubt I'll start using MJ anytime soon - I don't have enough time to go through the research to even begin to make sense of the pros and cons. 

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