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What Are The Long-Term Effects Of Marijuana Use In Women?

by — Last updated: 2017-01-26 in Addiction & Recovery

Table of Contents

Here we explore marijuana and how THC effects men versus women and the differences. Before women consider smoking marijuana long-term, it is important to learn about how it can affect the body.

Marijuana produces many long term effects in women and these may include any or all of the following:

  • Cancer: Marijuana contains the same cancer producing chemicals that are found in tobacco smoke.
  • Birth defects:  If women smoke marijuana during pregnancy, it can lead to an increased risk of birth defects.
  • Immune system issues: Long-term smoking of marijuana results in the THC causing damage to the cells and tissues of the body, and it can result in less protection against diseases and illnesses.
  • Learning, energy and memory impairment and difficulties.
  • Breathing problems: People who smoke marijuana long-term are more likely to face breathing issues, much like what a cigarette smoker would such as coughing, wheezing, and COPD-like symptoms.
  • Fertility: A woman who smokes marijuana long-term could experience impaired fertility.  Long-term marijuana smoking causes a sharp drop in reproductive hormones.  Smoking marijuana long-term could result in a decreased ability to conceive, but generally it does not lead a woman to experience complete infertility.

What were the results of the research study involving the effects of marijuana on women?

In research led by Professor Rebecca Craft of Washington State University, it was established women were more prone to cannabis abuse and dependence than men.  

For women, cannabis withdrawal symptoms can be more severe and there is a higher likelihood of relapse after quitting the drug.

With recent legislation concerning cannabis legalization in Washington and Colorado, it is now more important than ever to understand the effects of marijuana and how it acts differently in men verses women. Professor Craft found the “munchies” effect appears to be the only THC reaction where men showed more sensitivity than women.

Why is Professor Crafts study so unique?

The study Professor Craft conducted is so unique in that it is one of the few that has been conducted on females, because males normally have a more stable hormonal profile.  Working with female rats in the laboratory, Craft and her team routinely manipulated hormones and monitored the female subjects across their cycle to see if drug sensitivity changes with exposure to drugs. 

It was found females have a more profound spike in drug sensitivity when ovulating, when estrogen levels are at their highest.

What was so surprising about the study?

The biggest surprise finding of the study was the pain relieving effects of THC in female and male rats.  After approximately ten days of treatment, the tolerance levels of females were significantly higher than that of the male subjects.  Further studies will need to be conducted to include different types of chronic pain, such as; Crohn’s disease, debilitating back or joint pain, cancer, muscle spasms, multiple sclerosis, spinal injuries and more. 

See Also: Marijuana: A Healer Or A Killer?

Outcome:

Marijuana is very different than it was 40-years ago and the varieties seen today have a much higher THC concentration, which makes it more potent and less is needed to get “high”.  The effects of marijuana in females are questionable, because the long-term impact of repeated THC exposure is not yet fully understood.   While the benefits of smoking pot may be overstated by advocates of the drug, with the new sweeping legalization going on across the United States, more research is needed to fully understand exactly how women are impacted and if it is beneficial or not.