The Analysis of Marijuana-related Risks

Marijuana use has been linked to motor-vehicle accidents. Consuming marijuana puts the user at risk of having motor-vehicle accidents (Kalivas & Volkow 6). Research shows that marijuana impairs one’s ability to drive especially immediately after consumption (Kalivas & Volkow 6). Various illicit drugs are responsible for road accidents both minor and fatal ones and marijuana is at the top of that list (Kalivas & Volkow 6). Studies revealed that people who had consumed marijuana had 3 to 7 times more chances of causing motor-vehicle accidents compared to those who had consumed any drugs or alcohol prior to driving (Kalivas & Volkow 6). When marijuana is mixed with alcohol, the risk becomes higher. Researchers at the Columbia University wanted to find out the connection between marijuana use and car accidents. From their research, they discovered that 12% of the motor-vehicle deaths experienced in 2010 were as a result of marijuana consumption (Abuse 11). Marijuana increases road accidents.

Smoking marijuana may cause cancer. Researchers and scholars have not found a clear connection between the two. For example, researchers discovered that smoking one joint of marijuana on a daily basis for 30 years increased the number of not only lung cancer cases but various cancers related to one’s upper aero digestive tract (Abuse 12). What made researchers unsure of the relationship between marijuana smoking and cancer was the fact that some factors such as cigarette smoking were also present. Therefore, it may be hard only to link the cancers to marijuana consumption. However, research shows that marijuana causes different lung issues (Abuse 11). For example, a marijuana user can develop chronic bronchitis, their airways may become inflamed, and they may be more susceptible to respiratory infections and pneumonia (Abuse 11).

Although researchers may not have been able to link marijuana and cancer, evidence shows that tobacco has a higher chance of causing the disease (Kalivas & Volkow 6). Studies have shown that countries that have higher rates of marijuana and tobacco consumption also have higher rates of cancers compared with their counterparts (Kalivas & Volkow 6). Some cigarettes have a combination of tobacco and marijuana, and these considerably increase one’s chances of getting cancer.