surgeon General

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Title
Know the Risks- Cigarettes
02/29/2020

E-cigarette use poses a significant – and avoidable – health risk to young people in the United States. Besides increasing the possibility of addiction and long-term harm to brain development and respiratory health, e-cigarette use is associated with the use of other tobacco products that can do even more damage to the body. Even breathing e-cigarette aerosol that someone else has exhaled poses potential health risks.


Vaping, surgeon General
DEA and the Surgeon General Issue Statements Regarding Marijuana
11/12/2019

The key points raised by the advisory (and supported by significant research) include:

  • Strongly advising that marijuana should not be used during pregnancy or by adolescents.
  • Marijuana use during pregnancy can affect the developing fetus by, among other things, hindering fetal brain development and increasing the risk of lower birth weight.
  • Likewise, marijuana use by adolescents causes deficits in attention, impaired learning, decline in IQ and school performance, and an increased risk for early onset of psychotic disorders.
  • Marijuana is also still considered a “gateway drug” and its use by adolescents increase the likelihood of the misuse of opioids.

I found it interesting that, in addition to issuing the warning regarding marijuana use, Dr. Adams reiterates what the Food and Drug Administration has been warning the public about regarding CBD products,


surgeon General, Adams
The Doctor Is In: Answering Your Marijuana Questions
10/24/2019
The Doctor Is In:  Answering Your Marijuana Questions

The Nation's Doctor, VADM Jerome M. Adams, M.D., answers top questions about marijuana. The U.S. Surgeon General addresses marijuana-related questions he often receives including those related to the chemical composition and potency of today’s marijuana, associated risks, and what parents and teachers can say to young people about marijuana.


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U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory: Marijuana Use and the Developing Brain
08/29/2019

Marijuana, or cannabis, is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States. It acts by binding to cannabinoid receptors in the brain to produce a variety of effects, including euphoria, intoxication, and memory and motor impairments. These same cannabinoid receptors are also critical for brain development. They are part of the endocannabinoid system, which impacts the formation of brain circuits important for decision making, mood and responding to stress.


surgeon General
Facing Addiction in America
12/15/2016
addiction, epidemic, surgeon General
78 People Die a Day From Opioid Overdose, Surgeon General Says in Landmark Report
11/17/2016

n 2015, the report notes, substance-abuse disorders affected 20.8 million people in the United States — as many as those with diabetes and 1.5 times as many as those with cancer. Yet, Murthy said, only one in 10 people receives treatment.
“We would never tolerate a situation where only one in 10 people with cancer or diabetes gets treatment, and yet we do that with substance-abuse disorders,” he said.


surgeon General, addiction, epidemic
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