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Review
. 2014 Jun 5;370(23):2219-27.
doi: 10.1056/NEJMra1402309.

Adverse health effects of marijuana use

Affiliations
Review

Adverse health effects of marijuana use

Nora D Volkow et al. N Engl J Med. .
No abstract available

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Increases over Time in the Potency of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in Marijuana and the Number of Emergency Department Visits Involving Marijuana, Cocaine, or Heroin
Panel A shows the increasing potency of marijuana (i.e., the percentage of THC) in samples seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) between 1995 and 2012. Panel B provides estimates of the number of emergency department visits involving the use of selected illicit drugs (marijuana, cocaine, and heroin) either singly or in combination with other drugs between 2004 and 2011. Among these three drugs, only marijuana, used either in combination with other drugs or alone, was associated with significant increases in the number of visits during this period (a 62% increase when used in combination with other drugs and a 100% increase when used alone, P<0.05 for the two comparisons).
Figure 2
Figure 2. Use of Marijuana in Relation to Perceived Risk and Daily Use of Tobacco Cigarettes or Marijuana among U.S. Students in Grade 12, 1975–2013
Panel A shows the inverse correlation between the perception of the risk associated with marijuana use and actual use. Perceived risk corresponds to the percentage of teenagers who reported that the use of marijuana is dangerous. Panel B shows the percentage of students who reported daily use of tobacco cigarettes or marijuana in the previous 30 days. Data for both graphs are from Johnston et al.

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