Cannabis
Cannabis can affect your overall health. Following Canada’s Lower-Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines can reduce your risk of many long-term health problems.
What effect could cannabis have on my body?
The cannabis plant contains more than 400 chemicals. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main active chemical in the cannabis plant that gives people who use it a ‘high’. THC affects areas of the brain that control memory, concentration, and coordination. Cannabidiol (CBD) is an active chemical in the cannabis plant that’s used for medicinal purposes. The levels of THC and CBD vary depending on the plant strain used. Some forms of cannabis can have very high levels of THC. Using cannabis may also cause other side-effects. It can:
- impair your short-term memory
- cause you to make poor decisions
- affect your coordination
- increase anxiety or paranoid thoughts
- increase your heart rate
Cannabis use is associated with increasing many health risks including:
- problems with thinking, memory or physical co-ordination
- impaired perceptions or hallucinations
- fatal and non-fatal injuries, including those from motor-vehicle collisions, due to impairment
- mental health problems and cannabis dependence
- chronic respiratory or lung problems
- reproductive problems
If you use cannabis, following Canada’s Lower-Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines can reduce your risk.
