One Absolute Drawback Of Cannabis Plant

Cannabis plants are used to produce different by-products and there is a resurgence in their use for medical purposes. Medical marijuana, hemp, oil and so on, but one of their particular characteristics is that they can absorb heavy metals from the ground. Thus, they are very useful to improve soil that has been contaminated. Till now, this seems and an all-dream, magical, multi-purpose without any drawbacks, but yet, some people do not realize that they can be consuming heavy metals that can be toxic for their health.

But its use to clean contaminated soil is not the only way to be contaminated. The plant can get cross-contaminated during the drying process, or it can have been added voluntarily to ad weight when selling.

However, the plant capacity to absorb harmful metals may make it dangerous for those who consume it. A new meta-analysis performed by researchers looks at the ability of the plants to absorb heavy metals and the health implications for consumers. The researchers offer a set of measures for growers to reduce heavy metal uptake by their crops.

Metals And Cannabis 

There are different metals that are known to be carcinogenic, such as lead, mercury, chromium and cadmium. As the number of metals absorbed by the plants is not something that can be regulated, consumers may be exposed to a very high level of metal without knowing.

This is bad news for users, but it’s especially awful news for cancer patients who use medicinal marijuana to alleviate nausea and discomfort from their therapies. The fact that certain cannabis strains have been produced expressly for phytoremediation (the use of plants to remove contaminants from soil, water, or air) adds to the dilemma.

The difficulty is that if we employ these strains for phytoremediation without contemplating why they were created in the first place, we risk unintentionally exposing consumers to heavy metals.

Features Of Cannabis 

There is some specific type of cannabis plant used to remove heavy metals from the soil. They are more apt because of their physical characteristics, such as high root, leaf area, long stem length, and fast growth.

Some researches demonstrated that the roots of the plants are used to absorb metals and that some metals such as lead and cadmium are distributed through the other part of the plants, such as leaves and stems.

What Are The Effects Of Metal Absorbed Cannabis?

Researchers discovered that heavy metal poisoning in cannabis could cause various health concerns. The generation of reactive oxygen species and free radicals, which may damage enzymes, proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids and cause cancer and neurological disorders, is the most prevalent mechanism of heavy metal toxicity in the human body.

Analysis of heavy metals in cannabis smoke found the presence of selenium, mercury, cadmium, lead, chromium, nickel, and arsenic, posing the biggest threat to human health. It is very disturbing to think that cannabis products are being used on cancer patients for their benefit, but in reality, they are doing more bad than good.

What Shall Be Done For Cannabis?

Agriculturists must opt for better practices to avoid these. For example, selecting cannabis types that have not been developed to better absorb heavy metals and selecting heavy metal-free acreage can help reduce heavy metal contamination. There are three main points to consider when selecting farmland: avoid abandoned industrial locations, conduct air quality analysis before establishing a farm, and conduct a soil pH test because pH can affect the number of heavy metals absorbed by a plant.

Users need to gather information from where they are buying to know that it is safe, especially for cancer patients, as they are fragile and quickly threatened. In the comments, let us know what you think about the usage of cannabis to clean contaminated soil…