Researchers believe that the effects of smoking the substance can impact on
the body in a negative way in the long term. Rather than being the relaxing
stimulant many believe it to be, it's claimed that prolonged periods of smoking
cannabis can in fact cause the body more stress.
The study claims that non-smoking boys will not only be 4.6 inches taller,
but four kilos heavier than their smoking counterparts at the age of 20.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Dr Syed Shakeel Raza Rizvi, of the
Agriculture University Rawalpindi in Pakistan who lead the study said:
"Marijuana use may provoke a stress response that stimulates onset of
puberty but suppresses growth rate."
Scientists at the university tested 217 boys addicted to cannabis and 220
who were not. They tested for levels of puberty-related hormones which included
luteinising hormone and testosterone. Both those levels were increased, while
growth hormone levels were significantly reduced.
During the study, researchers also investigated the stress hormone cortisol
among 10 cannabis addicts, which revealed that smokers were likely to be more
stressed than non-smokers.
Around 250,000 youngsters aged 11-15 in the UK smoke cannabis. The numbers
in that age group who smoke has dropped from 13.3% in 2003 to seven percent in
2013, while around 80.5 million Europeans have smoked the drug at least once in
their life.
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