We presume that will please the stoner doom rock bands amongst us..
Users of marijuana had statistically higher levels of lead and cadmium in their blood and urine than people who do not use weed, a new study found.
“Compared to non-users, marijuana users had 27% higher levels of iron in their blood, and 21% higher levels in their urine,” said lead author Tiffany Sanchez, an assistant professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York City.
There is no safe level of lead in the body, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Marijuana users also had 22% higher cadmium levels in their blood than non-users, and 18% higher levels in their urine, Sanchez said.
“Both cadmium and lead stay in your body for quite a long time,” she said. “Cadmium is absorbed in the renal system and is filtered out to through the kidney. So, when you’re looking at urinary cadmium, that’s a reflection of total body burden, how much you have taken in over a long period of chronic exposure.”
Cadmium has been linked to kidney disease and lung cancer in people and fetal abnormalities in animals, according to the EPA, which has set specific limits for cadmium in air, water and food.
“I think this highlights the need for more detailed studies on cannabis, particularly the real world products that people are using,” said Dr. Beth Cohen, professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco and co-director of UCSF’s program in residency investigation methods and epidemiology. She was not involved in the study.
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/30/health/marijuana-heavy-metals-wellness/index.html
