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Obviously, tobacco and nicotine have a inhibitory effect on wound healing, but has anyone seen anything published in a medical journal that demonstrates whether marijuana has any deleterious effect on healing? I did a brief search and found nothing that was published about the subject - other than at marijuana proponent web sites that say how it does everything but clean the kitchen sink.

Had a patient ask me just after I had done a third toe amputation for a nonhealing ulcer with distal osteomyelitis about whether it was okay for him to smoke a little "weed". I have often implored patients to help me to help them by stopping smoking tobacco, but this was one I have not been hit with before.

Anecdotally I've heard it said that marijuana is more carcinogenic than tobacco. However, usually it is smoked less frequently by users, hence, a likely overall risk of cancer. It has also been said that the level of natural tars is the key factor that they use to determine this carcinogenicity. Unrelated to wound healing but good to know. I'd be interested to see which study this is taken from.

As for the wound healing issue, I would be wary myself given the same situation as your patient. The physiological impact on tissues would be similar I would only have to hazard a guess, given there are very similar consequences in the COPD adverse effects for both marijuana and tobacco. I can only assume ethics approval for a study which would ascertain the impact of marijuana on wound healing would be pretty tricky in the US. I suppose its just one of those things where we might have to wait for a population-based study that might crop up. Although I wouldn't hesitate to state that its a risk I wouldn't take personally if I were having digits amputated. Nor is the effects mechanically and chemically on O2 reuptake in the lungs something that can be ignored.

Hi yall,

A friend of mine is a medical equipment rep and during one of the seminars he attended approx two weeks ago, a prominant orthopaedic surgeon stressed that he would not operate on hip replacement patients who smoked marijuana because it ALWAYS lead to non healing and unsatisfactory result.

I'll see if I can get his name and more info if your interested.

Steve

Hello All

A bit late in on this, I know; but I thought it worth pointing out that marijuana is often (though not always) mixed with regular tobacco. In which case, the smoker has the effects of both plants to contend with. Not worth the risk, in my opinion...

Sarah

How did you know that? Are you speaking from personal experience or did you hear it from a friend?

Well I guess you don't do much horse-riding either. If you are inclined, you could always try cooking with cannabis. Try melting 5oz of butter and add 1oz of good quality cannabis resin (pollen, nepalese, lebanese) and heat until the cannabis is fully disolved. Add 6 tablespoons of maple syrup, 1tsp cocco powder, 1 pkt of crushed digestives, 1 pkt crushed nuts, 1 pkt of dried blueberries - mix well and press into the base of a cooking tin then stick in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Remove and cover with melted orange chocolate.

Not that I've tried it, of course, but quite a few of my patients swear by it and there's no inhibitory effect of wound healing either.

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