well i was thinking about how before i smoked weed it seemed like i got sick a lot less. i tested smoking while sick and while it makes you better it takes longer to go away, but does it actually weaken my immune system... any thoughts?
I haven't been sick since I was a kid, i'm 19 now and i've been smoking for almost 6 years, and I stopped getting sick around the time I started smoking, interestingly enough A joint a day keeps the dawcta away friend!
it does. I don't have any real proof, but it has to. Anytime I have a cold or the flu, smoking just stretches my illness. I don't know why this is. or maybe its just because people have germs, and multiple people generally use the same piece in a rotation. I am no scientist.
I recently got sick with the same sickness as my mom at about the same exact time and I recovered twice as fast as her. Maybe it was cause of of weed. haha. who knows
yea. ive had similar experiences like that, i usually blaze wen im sick, but it doesnt always help me out, like it just makes me feel better which is good i guess. I heard of doctors prescribing medical marijuana to swine flue victims, or weed helps them out?? pretty tight
Ever since I started smoking, I started buying organic and not taking prescription meds. I occasionally get a cold. But I feel great. Thank you earth.
From personal experience, if anything it would make me believe it strengthens it. I've had Crohns Disease since I was 6 (probably all my life, just diagnosed then), and it really weakens the immune system. Anyway, I was always sick as a kid, and had to deal with terrible, awful headaches nearly every day. Since becoming a daily weed smoker, I have maybe 5 headaches a year, and almost never get sick. Could be coincidence, but I don't think it is. Maybe the sickness thing, but it definitely has relieved my headache issues which used to be life-altering due to their severity and frequency, now I'm not held back by them at all. And just a pointless side story --- when I got my wisdom teeth removed, I was back smoking bud the next day, and when I went back to my doc he said he had never seen the scarring heal so completely so quickly before. You'd think the smoke going into open wounds in my mouth would get them infected or fuck up the healing process, but nope. Once again could just be coincidence, I really don't know.
I read something in a thread here once about the anti-bacterial properties of cannabinoids. Not sure the specifics or how accurate it was, but it's believable. IMHO. When smoking, I tend to get sick less, if at all. When i take T-breaks (I break out for months at a time) is when I tend to get sick. I'd like to get OldSkools take on this.
SMOKING definatly doesnt help when you are sick, just because it is smoke and common symptoms are sinus congestion and sore throat, so smoke would not feel good. I find when i vaporize i get better faster, and relieves some of the uncomfortable feelings. It doesnt weaken your immune system.
im pretty sure just smoking in general causes a decrease in your immune system, but it really isn't that huge.(unless u have like lung cancer) i remember my health professor telling us about how smoke makes it so your lungs let more bacteria go to your system if you smoke. not saying this is 100% true, just what I've heards from my professor.
Exactly- AIDS and cancer patients often cannot continue conventional medication because it's too strong, that's when they turn to MMJ. Its true. More susceptible to mouth/throat/lung infections. Most MMJ patients vape to avoid this. Nothing 6-8 glasses of water a day can't handle.
You guys all all wrong. Marijuana weakens the immune system. I'll find the study in one second. My brother who has cancer refuses to ingest marijuana for this reason. "The study of marijuana cannabinoid biology has led to many important discoveries in neuroscience and immunology. These studies have uncovered a new physiological system, the endocannabinoid system, which operates in the regulation of not only brain function but also the regulation of the immune system. Studies examining the effect of cannabinoid-based drugs on immunity have shown that many cellular and cytokine mechanisms are suppressed by these agents leading to the hypothesis that these drugs may be of value in the management of chronic inflammatory diseases. In this report, we review current information on cannabinoid ligand and receptor biology, mechanisms involved in immune suppression by cannabinoids with emphasis on antigen-presenting cells, and preclinical and clinical models analyzing the therapeutic potential of cannabinoid-based drugs." http://www.springerlink.com/content/l287880r30656608/ If anyone has access to the actual journal then you can see exactly why, but I feel that it might be a little dense for most to consume.
I can't argue with your personal experience. Shouldn't have generalized AIDS and cancer. I read a study on the endocannibinoid system and I remember it mentioning the negative effects you described, but it also said something about immune reinforcement.. I'm scrambling my history to find this page. >.< Blessings on your bro.
+rep brah. This is very much true. Once I started to smoke alot more heavily I noticed that i was feeling more tired and got sick more often. It was because since the THC pretty much eliminates your REM cycle and it is during this stage of sleep where the most work is done to cell repair, your immune system, and your muscles. All you really need to do is just take a shitload of vitamins and supplements. It really does the trick and improves your overall health.
Yeah thanks for your words but he just graduated from UCLA with a degree in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, and has already been published in medical journals. I have a feeling that soon he will be developing a cure for cancer (he has been working in a lab for the past two years on the subject and has helped advance the field greatly already) plus his cancer is in remission. So its looking positive for him. He was the one who showed me the study after I introduced the idea of MMJ to him. Apparently he already did the research Browse PubMed Home they have many studies and might have the one your looking for.
No, you're wrong. Big deal, you can give sources. So can I. "2.0 THE TOXICOLOGY OF THC It is our position that THC is one of the least toxic chemicals that humans ingest. At normal doses, there is no evidence of genetic damage due to THC exposure or effects on fertility, pregnancy, or offspring. Similarly, there is no evidence of damage to the hormonal or immune systems. These statements apply to humans who ingest large quantities of marijuana daily, and much more so to humans who ingest trace amounts of THC through hemp foods. Ingestion through hemp bodycare products is completely undocumented and highly unlikely. Research that finds damaging effects of THC generally falls into one of two categories: 1) studies that are not replicated by later research using more appropriate experimental designs; and 2) studies that use massive quantities of THC, far beyond the doses employed by heavy marijuana users." "2.4 Immune System "Cell experiments and animal studies demonstrate that THC has suppressive effects on the humoral and cell-mediated immunity. However, the majority of those can be attributed to toxic unspecific effects. Many analysed parameters required extremely high doses to exhibit any significant effect and the effects were dose-dependent with the threshold concentration being precisely determinable. When applying lower doses, one often observed differentially immunostimulating effects or no effects at all. For many immune parameters the NOEL is ... irrelevant to the human consumption situation. In studies of man or of cells of marijuana users the effects observed were often contradictory. If such effects were found at all, they were weak even in case of heavy cannabis use and of questionable relevance to health. The World Health Organisation summarised in its most recent cannabis report: 'Many of their effects appear to be relatively small, totally reversible after removal of the cannabinoids, and produced only at concentrations or doses higher than those required for psychoactivity (WHO, 1997, p. 27)'" (Grotenhermen et al, 1998, p. 53)." "2.4.1 Suppression versus enhancement THC and the immune system is the most thoroughly researched topic in the area of subliminal biological effects. Much of the early research, which demonstrated 9 immune-system suppression, has been discredited. For example, Nahas et al. (1974) found that THC decreases the number of T-lymphocytes – which control cellmediated, acquired immunity. Later studies found no such decrease. Dax et al. (1989), for example, found no change in T- or B-lymphocytes (humoural immunity) or in T-cell subtypes before, during, or subsequent to administration of THC to chronic users. Wallace et al. (1988) reported similar findings, with a twist: an increase in helper T-cells (CD4). These findings should be interpreted as immunoenhancement, because helper T-cells stimulate the proliferation and activation of other immune cells. In a study cited in the Health Canada risk assessment, Nahas et al. (1977) found in vitro suppression of T-cell proliferation in response to mitogens, which stimulate cell division. Other researchers criticized Nahas's method – applying THC in massive doses to human cells in a petri dish – and called the results "meaningless." Better studies failed to replicate Nahas's work and, instead, found immune system stimulation at lower doses (Pross et al., 1993; Luo et al., 1992). Let us be clear about these findings: What the research shows is immune system suppression at very high doses, but immune system stimulation (enhancement) at low doses. These effects have been demonstrated for both the T- and B-lymphocytes. This means that the trace amounts of THC in hemp foods probably strengthen the immune system of humans. High doses have nonspecific toxic effects, likely the cause of any damage, whereas low doses act through specific receptor-based effects. It's a basic principle of pharmacology: low doses may be curative whereas high doses are poisonous. One last point: With an oral dose of THC of 0.1-0.2 mg/kg (the psychotropic threshold), the blood plasma reaches a maximum concentration of 3-5 ng/ml. In the cell studies, the concentration is 10 ug/ml, or 10,000 ng/ml – 2000 to 3000 times the dose that produces the marijuana "high."" Quick break: Man, don't you love research? "Immune-system stimulation by THC at low doses should be apparent in macrolevel health benefits. The stunning (but rarely reported) success of THC treatments of cancer may be representative. One of the first studies had rats ingest a large dose (50 mg/kg) of THC daily for two years. At the completion of the experiment, 70 percent of the dosed animals were still alive, but only 45 percent of the control (undosed) animals survived. This sizeable difference was due almost entirely to a reduced incidence of cancer in the animals given THC (Chan et al., 1996)." HMMMMMM. What is the most important thing in preventing cancer? A strong immune system. The ones who had THC had a less percentage of cancer incidents... Stronger immune system anyone? Or it could just be its anti-cancerous properties, though. Eh: "One out of four Americans will die from cancer. Researchers believe cancers erupt when immune system response is weakened" (Thorpe, 1999, p. 32).". Maybe its both??? Who knows. Oh and uhh.. Do you know what hemp oil is? Its made from marijuana and : "A second major benefit of hemp oil is a strengthening of the immune system. It inhibits tumour growth, kills bacteria (including staph), and heals wounds (Erasmus, 1993)." Could give full sources of the ones i put in ()'s if someone desires?? And, so, i've basically come to the conclusion that the research in which your research is founded on, Rhythm of Life, used doses much larger than what actual users consume... Your claim that it weakens your immune system. Well it may... at very large doses that we do not reach. Well, water is bad for your body.. at doses that we do not reach. But would you still claim that water is bad for your body? No.