Cannabis
Cannabis can affect your overall health. Following Canada’s Lower-Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines can help reduce risk.
What effect could cannabis have on my body?
Cannabis contains many different types of chemicals, however, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main active chemical in the cannabis plant that gives people who use it a ‘high’. THC affects brain areas that control memory, concentration and coordination. Cannabidiol (CBD) is an active chemical in the cannabis plant that can be used for medicinal purposes with authorization from a health care provider. The levels of THC and CBD vary depending on the plant strain or product type used, with some products containing very high levels of THC.
Using cannabis may also cause other side-effects. It can:
- impair your short-term memory
- affect decision making
- affect your coordination
- increase anxiety or paranoid thoughts
- increase your heart rate
Cannabis use is also linked with health risks, including:
- problems with thinking, memory or physical co-ordination
- impaired perceptions or hallucinations
- fatal and non-fatal injuries due to impairment, including those from motor-vehicle collisions
- mental health problems and cannabis dependence
- chronic respiratory or lung problems
- testicular cancer, which could lead to infertility and/or low sperm count
If you use cannabis, following Canada’s Lower-Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines may reduce these health risks.
If you think you might be pregnant or know that you are pregnant, no cannabis use is the safest choice.
