08-30-2023, 11:21 PM
Marijuana users found to have lead and another heavy metal in their blood and urine
Compared to people who didn’t use marijuana or tobacco, marijuana users had 27% higher levels of lead in their blood, according to a new study.
Image: A marijuana plant in Oakland, Calif., in 2020.
As many as 28 states regulate arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury in marijuana products. Kelsey McClellan / NYT via Redux, file
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Aug. 30, 2023, 2:05 PM EDT
By Aria Bendix
Some marijuana users may have elevated levels of lead and cadmium — two heavy metals linked to long-term health issues — in their blood and urine, a new study shows.
Among a group of more than 7,200 adults, the 358 who reported using marijuana within the past 30 days were found to have 27% higher blood lead levels than those who said they didn’t use either marijuana or tobacco.
The marijuana users also had 22% higher levels of cadmium in their blood, according to the research, which was published Wednesday in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. Urine samples showed similar results.
The researchers, a team at Columbia University, knew going in that cannabis plants can absorb heavy metals from soil and, in fact, are particularly good at doing so. The contaminants travel through the stalk of the plant into the leaves and flowers.
But the new findings demonstrate that heavy metals in cannabis plants can also wind up in the human body.
There is no safe amount of lead exposure, since even low levels can slow children’s brain development and result in learning and behavioral problems. In adults, chronic exposure to lead increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart problems and kidney damage.
Cadmium, meanwhile, is considered a human carcinogen by the World Health Organization. Exposure to low levels, such as through tobacco smoke, may lead to kidney disease and fragile bones.
“For both cadmium and lead, these metals are likely to stay in the body for years, long after exposure ends,” said Tiffany Sanchez, an author of the study and an assistant professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health.
For their research, Sanchez and her team analyzed data from blood and urine samples collected between 2005 and 2018 as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a program conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics.
The data set didn’t distinguish between different ways participants consumed marijuana, such as edibles or joints. But generally speaking, Sanchez said, inhaling lead is worse than eating it in food.
“The absorption rate from inhalation is 100%,” she said.
Compared to people who didn’t use marijuana or tobacco, marijuana users had 27% higher levels of lead in their blood, according to a new study.
Image: A marijuana plant in Oakland, Calif., in 2020.
As many as 28 states regulate arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury in marijuana products. Kelsey McClellan / NYT via Redux, file
SHARE THIS —
Aug. 30, 2023, 2:05 PM EDT
By Aria Bendix
Some marijuana users may have elevated levels of lead and cadmium — two heavy metals linked to long-term health issues — in their blood and urine, a new study shows.
Among a group of more than 7,200 adults, the 358 who reported using marijuana within the past 30 days were found to have 27% higher blood lead levels than those who said they didn’t use either marijuana or tobacco.
The marijuana users also had 22% higher levels of cadmium in their blood, according to the research, which was published Wednesday in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. Urine samples showed similar results.
The researchers, a team at Columbia University, knew going in that cannabis plants can absorb heavy metals from soil and, in fact, are particularly good at doing so. The contaminants travel through the stalk of the plant into the leaves and flowers.
But the new findings demonstrate that heavy metals in cannabis plants can also wind up in the human body.
There is no safe amount of lead exposure, since even low levels can slow children’s brain development and result in learning and behavioral problems. In adults, chronic exposure to lead increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart problems and kidney damage.
Cadmium, meanwhile, is considered a human carcinogen by the World Health Organization. Exposure to low levels, such as through tobacco smoke, may lead to kidney disease and fragile bones.
“For both cadmium and lead, these metals are likely to stay in the body for years, long after exposure ends,” said Tiffany Sanchez, an author of the study and an assistant professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health.
For their research, Sanchez and her team analyzed data from blood and urine samples collected between 2005 and 2018 as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a program conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics.
The data set didn’t distinguish between different ways participants consumed marijuana, such as edibles or joints. But generally speaking, Sanchez said, inhaling lead is worse than eating it in food.
“The absorption rate from inhalation is 100%,” she said.
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