Teenagers did not develop health problems as a result of their past marijuana consumption.
A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh shows that marijuana consumption among teenagers is not linked to health problems. Until recently it was believed that chronic smokers of marijuana may develop respiratory problems or psychotic affections, but new findings prove the opposite.
The research has been conducted with the participation of 408 teenage boys, whose evolution has been closely followed within a time interval of 20 years. At the end of the research, participants were 30 years old, so scientists could estimate their evolution by comparing their physical and mental state at the beginning of the research with the results registered at the end of the experiment.
Participants were divided into four large groups, based on their use of marijuana. Thus, researchers identified non-smokers or rare smokers of marijuana, early chronic consumers and regular smokers, who have started consuming the plant in their teenage years and continued until adulthood.
The study was first started in the 1980s, when investigators began interviewing 14-year-old males about their marijuana consumption habits. The same participants were interviewed again in 2009-2010, when respondents were 36 years old; thus, enabling scientists to make the comparison between the two periods.
The experiment has proven scientists that there is no connection between marijuana consumption and the health problems that these individuals developed at an older age. On the contrary, investigators confessed that very few participants had developed respiratory and mental affections during this time interval, their percentage being too small to constitute a pattern.
Studies have further revealed that the more mature a person gets, the less inclined is to smoke marijuana. According to the answers that respondents have provided, participants have lowered the consumption of marijuana with the passing of the years. Chronic smokers consumed marijuana only 200 times per year by the time they reached 22 years old.
Researchers at the Pittsburgh University have explained that the recent study has been conducted with the intention to find out whether marijuana should be legalized or not. Although findings indicate that there is no actual risk in consuming marijuana, scientists have agreed that additional tests may be required to confirm the results of the current experiment.
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Ryan Harris
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