Marijuana made legal continues to expand
without alarm in too many States all across the land.
But where’s the science that pushes this speedy spree?
Hey!? – there’s no cherries picked from any disrelished trees!!
Take note cherries of cadmium and lead
that easily burns a path straight through the user’s foggy head
befouling the brains of those who freely use weed.
Should this be a warning for users to hear and then perhaps to heed?
So is pot safe or not? Confusion reigns!!
Where are the leaders who with their voice – could refute any poisonous claim?
If this hyper-accumulating claim is true
upon those silent – wormlike leaders a reckoning is due!
If our trust is placed – in leaders promoting pot
and they betray us – may all their legacies – be left to rot.
(The Random Poet:09142023
www.the randompoet.com)
<<<< selected sources include: Sandee Lamotte – cnn.com – Aug 31, 2023 – Marijuana Users Have More Heavy Metals in Their Bodies – “Compared to non-users, marijuana users had 27% higher levels of lead 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; Kerry Charron – labroots.com – Sep 11, 2023 – A Columbia University study found significant levels of metals in the blood and urine among cannabis users. The study suggests that chronic cannabis consumption may be a primary source of lead and cadmium exposure. The study is one of the first to report biomarker metal levels among cannabis users. It is also the most extensive study to date that links self-reported cannabis use to internal measures of metal exposure, whereas previous studies mainly assessed metal levels in the cannabis plant. The researchers explained that the cannabis plant is a “hyperaccumulator” of many metals naturally found in soil. The authors noted “Because marijuana is relatively unregulated . . . there is need to understand contamination exposures, including metals, associated with marijuana use.” The results are published online in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. The researchers combined data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for 2005-2018. NHANES is a biannual survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) to assess health and nutritional trends; cadmium toxic effect occurs more quickly than lead-adversely effects kidneys, lungs and bines in particular. >>>>