Ross Parker was chief of the criminal division in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit for 8 years and worked as an AUSA for 28 in that office.
By Ross Parker
ticklethewire.com
Adding to the developing body of medical knowledge about the dangers of marijuana use, the University of Edinburgh announced this past week that frequent use results in reduced bone mineral density and a higher incidence of fractures. The study also concluded that these heavy users have a reduced body mass index (BMI) which further contributed to a thinning of the bones and could result in a greater risk of osteoporosis.
This part of the study raises questions about the popular theory that smoking increases appetite, colloquially known as having the “munchies.” For frequent smokers the use actually had the opposite effect of suppressing appetite, thus resulting in a lower BMI and weaker bones. Frequent smokers were defined as those who had smoked marijuana at least 5,000 times in their lifetimes.
The study also found that moderate use, about 1,000 total occasions of smoking, showed no difference in bone mineral density from that of non-users.
The study was sponsored by Arthritis Research UK and is published in the American Journal of Medicine.
