CNN
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Cannabis users had statistically higher levels of lead and cadmium in their blood and urine than non-users, a new study found.
“Compared to non-users, marijuana users had 27% higher blood iron levels and 21% higher urinary iron levels,” said lead author Tiffany, an assistant professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. Sanchez said. New York City Health.
There is no safe level of lead in the body, according to US Environmental Protection Agency.
Marijuana users also had 22% higher blood cadmium levels and 18% higher urine cadmium levels than non-users, Sanchez said.
“Both cadmium and lead stay in the body for quite a long time,” she says. “Cadmium is absorbed into the renal system and filtered through the kidneys. So when you see cadmium in your urine, it’s a reflection of your systemic burden, how much you’ve ingested over long periods of chronic exposure. Become.”
According to the EPA, cadmium has been linked to kidney disease and lung cancer in humans and fetal abnormalities in animals, and has set specific limits for cadmium. air, water, food.
“I think this highlights the need for more in-depth research into cannabis, especially the real-world products that people are using,” said Dr. Schneider, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and director of the UCSF program. said Dr. Beth Cohen, co-director of . Stay survey methods and epidemiology. She was not involved in the research.
blood and urine measurements
The study, published Wednesday in the journal Environment Health Perspectives, used data from 2005 to 2018 collected by the annual National Health and Nutrition Exam Survey (NHANES), which tracks the health of Americans. .
Blood and urine tests were tested for heavy metal levels in 7,254 people who said they had used marijuana in the past 30 days. This is what makes this new study “unique.” Most studies simply measure metal levels in cannabis plants; most studies simply measure metal levels in cannabis plants. People are using marijuana, Sanchez said.
“In our study, we were not able to distinguish whether self-reported cannabis users used medical or recreational cannabis. “I can’t say for certain whether it’s particularly high or not,” she said. “This is something that should be evaluated in future studies.”
Heavy metals bind to cells in the body and limit their function, According to the Cleveland Clinicand until now Association with cancer, chronic disease, and neurotoxic effects.
“People with weakened immune systems, such as those undergoing chemotherapy, may be at higher risk from common cannabis contaminants such as metal exposure and mold. However, this is less researched. It’s an area where it’s not done,” Sanchez added.
Heavy metals aren’t just found in marijuana. Smokers are exposed to even more heavy metals. type of toxin. For example, e-cigarettes contain high aerosol levels of nickel, chromium, lead, and zinc, and researchers have found that e-liquids and tanks contain arsenic, lead, nickel, tin, manganese, copper, and chromium. was found to contain According to research.
As natural elements, heavy metals are found in the soil where crops are grown and cannot be avoided. This is the main reason heavy metals are present in our air, water, and food supply. However, some crop fields and regions contain more. more toxic levels than othersExcessive use of metal-containing pesticides and ongoing industrial pollution are partly to blame.
“There was a time when we used metals as our primary pesticide for many years because we assumed they were safe,” Dr. Leonardo Trasande, chief of environmental pediatrics at New York University Langone, told CNN in a previous interview.
Not all plants can absorb high levels of entrapment substances without harm. However, cannabis has special properties. It is a “known hyperaccumulator” and is extremely good at absorbing heavy metals, pesticides, petroleum solvents, crude oil, and other potentially harmful chemicals without harming itself. means.
It has deep and wide roots and can grow in poor soil, so it can grow in a variety of environments. In fact, cannabis has been successfully used to naturally leach toxic heavy metals from the soil around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster, and pesticides such as dioxins from heavily contaminated farms in Italy. Looking back on 2022.
The use of this plant is so promising that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is sponsoring research into how to bioengineer it to absorb even greater amounts of toxins, according to the review.
While this is good news for the environment, it’s a concern for marijuana users.a 2021 Survey They found that lead, cadmium, and chromium absorbed by plants are transported and distributed through the stems to the plant’s leaves and flowers. This is a problem because few states monitor legal recreational or medical cannabis.
a 2022 survey examined existing regulations on heavy metals in the 31 states and the District of Columbia where recreational marijuana is legal and found that 28 states had regulations on arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury.
But even in regulated areas, Sanchez said there is no way to know where the plants were grown if the weed was grown or purchased from a private individual.
“This goes back to the fact that cannabis is still illegal at the federal level, but legal at the state level in some states, so there are tiered regulations for metals, molds, and pesticides,” she said. Stated.
What can marijuana users do to protect themselves from contaminants? That remains a question with no clear answer, Sanchez said.
“One of the biggest things I tell people when talking about heavy metals in food is to eat a diverse diet,” Sanchez said. “We don’t know how to change exposure in this case, but we can at least recognize that there are many different environmental contaminants in things that we’re not aware of, such as cannabis. ”