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The bladder is a hollow organ in your lower abdomen that stores urine. Bladder cancer occurs in the lining of the bladder. It is the sixth most common type of cancer in the United States.

Symptoms include:

• Blood in your urine
• A frequent urge to urinate
• Pain when you urinate
• Low back pain

Risk factors for developing bladder cancer include smoking and exposure to certain chemicals in the workplace. People with a family history of bladder cancer or who are older, White, or male have a higher risk.

Treatments for bladder cancer include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and biologic therapy. Biologic therapy boosts your body's own ability to fight cancer.

NIH: National Cancer Institute

Breast cancer is a cancer that starts in breast tissue. It happens when cells in the breast change and grow out of control. The cells usually form a tumor.

Sometimes the cancer does not spread any further. This is called "in situ." If the cancer spreads outside the breast, the cancer is called "invasive." It may just spread to nearby tissues and lymph nodes. Or the cancer may metastasize (spread to other parts of the body) through the lymph system or the blood.

Breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer in women in the United States. Rarely, it can also affect men.

There are different types of breast cancer. The types are based on which breast cells turn into cancer. The types include:

• Ductal carcinoma, which begins in the cells of the ducts. This is the most common type.
• Lobular carcinoma, which begins in the lobules. It is more often found in both breasts than other types of breast cancer.
• Inflammatory breast cancer, in which cancer cells block lymph vessels in the skin of the breast. The breast becomes warm, red, and swollen. This is a rare type.
• Paget's disease of the breast, which is a cancer involving the skin of the nipple. It usually also affects the darker skin around the nipple. It is also rare.

Breast cancer happens when there are changes in the genetic material (DNA). Often, the exact cause of these genetic changes is unknown.

But sometimes these genetic changes are inherited, meaning that you are born with them. Breast cancer that is caused by inherited genetic changes is called hereditary breast cancer.

There are also certain genetic changes that can raise your risk of breast cancer, including changes in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. These two changes also raise your risk of ovarian and other cancers.

Besides genetics, your lifestyle and the environment can affect your risk of breast cancer.

The factors that raise your risk of breast cancer include:

• Older age
• History of breast cancer or benign (noncancer) breast disease
• Inherited risk of breast cancer, including having BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene changes
• Dense breast tissue
• A reproductive history that leads to more exposure to the estrogen hormone, including
  • Menstruating at an early age
  • Being at an older age when you first gave birth or never having given birth
  • Starting menopause at a later age
• Taking hormone therapy for symptoms of menopause
• Radiation therapy to the breast or chest
• Obesity
• Drinking alcohol

The signs and symptoms of breast cancer include:

• A new lump or thickening in or near the breast or in the armpit.
• A change in the size or shape of the breast.
• A dimple or puckering in the skin of the breast. It may look like the skin of an orange.
• A nipple turned inward into the breast.
• Nipple discharge other than breast milk. The discharge might happen suddenly, be bloody, or happen in only one breast.
• Scaly, red, or swollen skin in the nipple area or the breast
• Pain in any area of the breast.

Your health care provider may use many tools to diagnose breast cancer and figure out which type you have:

• A physical exam, including a clinical breast exam (CBE). This involves checking for any lumps or anything else that seems unusual with the breasts and armpits.
• A medical history.
• Imaging tests, such as a mammogram, an ultrasound, or an MRI.
• Breast biopsy.
• Blood chemistry tests, which measure different substances in the blood, including electrolytes, fats, proteins, glucose (sugar), and enzymes. Some of the specific blood chemistry tests include a basic metabolic panel (BMP), a comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP), and an electrolyte panel.

If these tests show that you have breast cancer, you will have tests that study the cancer cells. These tests help your provider decide which treatment would be best for you. The tests may include:

• Genetic tests for genetic changes such as in the BRCA and TP53 genes.
• HER2 test. HER2 is a protein involved with cell growth. It is on the outside of all breast cells. If your breast cancer cells have more HER2 than normal, they can grow more quickly and spread to other parts of the body.
• An estrogen and progesterone receptor test. This test measures the amount of estrogen and progesterone (hormones) receptors in cancer tissue. If there are more receptors than normal, the cancer is called estrogen and/or progesterone receptor positive. This type of breast cancer may grow more quickly.

Another step is staging the cancer. Staging involves doing tests to find out whether the cancer has spread within the breast or to other parts of the body. The tests may include other diagnostic imaging tests and a sentinel lymph node biopsy. This biopsy is done to see whether the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes.

Treatments for breast cancer include:

• Surgery such as
  • A mastectomy, which removes the whole breast
  • A lumpectomy to remove the cancer and some normal tissue around it, but not the breast itself
• Radiation therapy
• Chemotherapy
• Hormone therapy, which blocks cancer cells from getting the hormones they need to grow
• Targeted therapy, which uses drugs or other substances that attack specific cancer cells with less harm to normal cells
• Immunotherapy

You may be able to help prevent breast cancer by making healthy lifestyle changes such as:

• Staying at a healthy weight
• Limiting alcohol use
• Getting enough exercisee
• Limiting your exposure to estrogen by
  • Breastfeeding your babies if you can
  • Limiting hormone therapy

If you are at high risk, your health care provider may suggest that you take certain medicines to lower the risk. Some women at very high risk may decide to get a mastectomy (of their healthy breasts) to prevent breast cancer.

It's also important to get regular mammograms. They may be able to identify breast cancer in the early stages, when it is easier to treat.

NIH: National Cancer Institute

Colonoscopy and flexible sigmoidoscopy are procedures that let your doctor look inside your rectum and colon (large intestine). They use instruments called scopes. Scopes have a light and a tiny camera attached to a long, thin tube. These procedures let your doctor see problems such as inflamed tissue, ulcers, polyps, and cancer.

Colonoscopy checks your entire colon and rectum. Flexible sigmoidoscopy checks the rectum and the lower colon (sigmoid colon) only.

A virtual colonoscopy also looks inside your rectum and part of your colon. But it does not use a scope. Instead, it is an x-ray test. Another name for this test is CT colonography.

You may need a colonoscopy, virtual colonoscopy, or flexible sigmoidoscopy to find the cause of unexplained symptoms such as:

• Bleeding from your anus (the opening of the rectum through which stool passes out of your body)
• Changes in your bowel activity, such as diarrhea
• Pain in your abdomen (belly)
• Unexplained weight loss

Doctors also use these procedures to screen for colon polyps and cancer. Screening is testing for diseases when you have no symptoms. It may find diseases at an early stage, when they are easier to treat. If aren't at higher risk for colorectal cancer, your health care provider will likely recommend you start getting screenings at age 45. If you are at higher risk, you may need to start getting screened for colorectal cancer earlier.

There are also other tests to screen for colorectal cancer, including stool tests. Talk with your provider about which test is right for you and when and how often you should get it.

To prepare for a colonoscopy, virtual colonoscopy, or flexible sigmoidoscopy, you will need to:

• Talk with your doctor about any health problems you have and all of the medicines and supplements that you take. You may need to stop taking some of your medicines and/or supplements before the procedure.
• Follow the bowel prep instructions from your doctor. The bowel prep clears the stool out of your colon, so your doctor will be able to see the colon during the procedure:
  • You may need to follow a clear liquid diet, usually for about one day before the procedure. Avoid red or purple drinks or gelatin; the dye can look like blood in the colon. You probably need to stop eating and drinking the night before the exam.
  • You will need to take some laxatives. They may be pills, a powder that you dissolve in liquid, an enema, or a combination of these. The laxative will cause diarrhea, so you need to stay close to the bathroom.

For a virtual colonoscopy, you will also need to drink a contrast medium the night before. The contrast medium is a dye or other substance that is visible on x-rays. It can help your doctor tell the difference between stool and polyps.

For a colonoscopy:

• You will have the procedure at a hospital or outpatient center. It usually takes 30 to 60 minutes.
• You will get IV (intravenous) sedatives or anesthesia, usually along with pain medicine, so you won't be awake or feel pain during the procedure.
• You'll lie on a table while the doctor inserts a colonoscope through your anus and into your rectum and colon. The scope inflates your large intestine with air for a better view. The camera sends a video image to a monitor so your doctor can see your colon.
• Once the scope reaches the opening to your small intestine, the doctor will slowly remove the scope. While doing so, your doctor will examine your colon again.
• If you have polyps, your doctor may remove them and send them to a lab for testing. Most polyps aren't cancer, but removing them can prevent them from becoming cancer later on.
• If you have abnormal tissue, your doctor may do a biopsy.
• The sedative or anesthesia takes time to wear off completely. You'll stay at the hospital or outpatient center for 1 to 2 hours after the procedure. Then you will need someone to drive you home.

For a virtual colonoscopy:

• You will have the procedure at a hospital or outpatient center. It usually takes about 10 to 15 minutes.
• You do not need anesthesia.
• You'll lie on a table while a specially trained x-ray technician inserts a thin tube through your anus and into your rectum. The tube inflates your large intestine with air for a better view.
• The table slides into a tunnel-shaped device where the technician takes the x-ray images. You will turn over on your side or stomach to get more images taken.

For a flexible sigmoidoscopy:

• You will have the procedure at a hospital, medical office, or outpatient center. It usually takes about 20 minutes.
• You do not need anesthesia.
• You'll lie on a table while the doctor inserts a thin tube through your anus and into your rectum. The tube inflates your large intestine with air for a better view. The camera sends a video image to a monitor so your doctor can see your lower colon.
• Once the scope has reached the top of the lower colon, the doctor will slowly remove the scope. While doing so, your doctor will examine your lower colon again.
• If you have polyps, your doctor may remove them and send them to a lab for testing. Most polyps aren't cancer, but removing them can prevent them from becoming cancer later on.
• If you have abnormal tissue, your doctor may do a biopsy.

You may feel cramping in your abdomen or bloating during the first hour after the any of these procedures. If the doctor removed polyps or performed a biopsy, you may have light bleeding from your anus. This bleeding is normal.

For a virtual colonoscopy or a flexible sigmoidoscopy, you go back to your regular activities and diet right after the test. For a colonoscopy, you can expect a full recovery and return to your normal diet by the next day.

Your doctor will give you the results of your procedure. If you had a biopsy, it can take a few days to get those results.

NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Colorectal cancer is cancer that develops in the tissues of the colon or rectum. Your colon and rectum are part of your digestive system:

• Your colon is the first and longest part of your large intestine. It absorbs water and some nutrients from foods. It also changes the leftover waste products into stool (poop).
• Your rectum is the lower part of your large intestine. It's where your body stores stool.

Cancer that begins in the colon is called colon cancer, and cancer that begins in the rectum is called rectal cancer. Cancer that affects either of these parts may also be called colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer happens when there are changes in your genetic material (DNA). These changes are also called mutations or variants. Often, the genetic changes that lead to colorectal cancer happen during your lifetime and the exact cause is unknown. But certain genetic changes that raise your risk for colorectal cancer are inherited, meaning that you are born with them.

Besides genetics, other factors, including your lifestyle and the environment, can affect your risk of colorectal cancer.

Anyone can get colorectal cancer, but certain factors make you more likely to develop it:

• Being older; your risk of getting colorectal cancer increases as you age.
• Having a personal or family history of colorectal cancer.
• Having a history of adenomas. Adenomas are colorectal polyps (growths) that look abnormal under a microscope or are 1 centimeter or larger. Adenomas are not cancer, but they can sometimes turn into cancer over time.
• Having a genetic syndrome such as familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) or Lynch syndrome (hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer).
• Having chronic ulcerative colitis or Crohn disease for 8 years or more.
• Having three or more alcoholic drinks per day.
• Smoking cigarettes.
• Being Black; Black people have an increased risk of colorectal cancer and death from colorectal cancer compared to other races.
• Having obesity.

Colorectal cancer may not always cause symptoms, especially at first. If you do have symptoms, they could include:

• A change in bowel habits that lasts more than a few days, such as:
  • Diarrhea
  • Constipation
  • Feeling that the bowel does not empty completely
  • Your stool is narrower or has a different shape than usual
• Blood (either bright red or very dark) in the stool
• Frequent gas pains, bloating, fullness, or cramps
• Weight loss for no known reason
• Fatigue

Because colorectal cancer may not cause symptoms at first, it's important to have screening tests for colorectal cancer. Screening tests look for signs of a disease before you have any symptoms. They can help find cancer early, when it may be easier to treat.

Most experts recommend that start screenings at 45 and continue until at least age 75. People over 75 and those who are at high risk should talk to their providers about how often you need screening and what type of test they should get.

The types of tests include different stool tests and procedures such as colonoscopies and flexible sigmoidoscopy. Talk with your provider about how often you need screening and what type of test you should get.

If you have symptoms that could be caused by colorectal cancer or if your screening test results are abnormal, you may need to have more tests to find out if you have cancer. Possible tests include:

• A physical exam.
• A digital rectal exam. For this exam, your provider inserts a lubricated, gloved finger into your rectum to feel for lumps or anything unusual.
• The tests that are also used for screening (colonoscopy, stool tests, etc.) and biopsy, if you have not already had them.
• Other blood and tissue tests.

Your treatment options usually depend on your age, your general health, how serious the cancer is, and which type of cancer you have.

For colon cancer, your treatment may include one or more of these options:

• Surgery.
• Radiofrequency ablation, a procedure that uses radio waves to heat and destroy abnormal cells. The radio waves travel through electrodes (small devices that carry electricity).
• Cryosurgery, a procedure in which an extremely cold liquid or an instrument called a cryoprobe is used to freeze and destroy abnormal tissue.
• Chemotherapy.
• Radiation therapy.
• Targeted therapy, which uses drugs or other substances that mainly attack specific cancer cells and cause less harm to normal cells.
• Immunotherapy.

For rectal cancer, your treatment may include one or more of these options:

• Surgery.
• Radiation therapy.
• Chemotherapy.
• Active surveillance, which means having regular tests to see if your rectal cancer has changed. If the tests show the cancer is starting to grow, then you will have treatment to try to cure the cancer.
• Targeted therapy, which uses drugs or other substances that mainly attack specific cancer cells and cause less harm to normal cells.
• Immunotherapy.

Avoiding the risk factors that you have control over may help prevent some cancers. That includes:

• Not smoking
• Limiting alcohol to under three drinks per day
• Managing your weight

There are also other steps you can take to try to prevent colorectal cancer. They include:

• Getting regular colorectal cancer screenings
• Having polyps removed before they can become cancerous
• Getting regular exercise

When someone's blood flow or breathing stops, seconds count. Permanent brain damage or death can happen quickly. If you know how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), you could save a life. CPR is an emergency procedure for a person whose heart has stopped (called sudden cardiac arrest) or who is no longer breathing. CPR can maintain the blood flow breathing until emergency medical help arrives.

Take these steps if someone is in sudden cardiac arrest:

• Call 911.
• If someone else is around, have them look for an automated external defibrillator (AED). An AED is a device that sends an electric shock to the heart to try to restore its normal rhythm. AEDs are available in many public places such as schools, businesses, and airports .
• Make sure that the person with sudden cardiac arrest is lying on their back on a firm surface.
• If you haven't had any CPR training, you can do "hands-only" CPR for a teen or adult whose heart has stopped beating ("hands-only" CPR isn't recommended for children). "Hands-only" CPR uses chest compressions to keep blood circulating. Chest compressions involve pushing hard and fast in the center of the chest.
• If you've had training, you can use chest compressions, clear the airway, and do rescue breathing. Rescue breathing helps get oxygen to the lungs for a person who has stopped breathing. To keep your skills up, repeat the CPR training every two years.
• Use the AED as soon as possible, if there is one available.

Crohn's disease is a chronic (long-lasting) disease that causes inflammation in your digestive tract. It can affect any part of your digestive tract, which runs from your mouth to your anus. But it usually affects your small intestine and the beginning of your large intestine.

Crohn's disease is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Ulcerative colitis and microscopic colitis are other common types of IBD.

The cause of Crohn's disease is unknown. Researchers think that an autoimmune reaction may be one cause. An autoimmune reaction happens when your immune system attacks healthy cells in your body. Genetics may also play a role, since Crohn's disease can run in families.

Stress and eating certain foods don't cause the disease, but they can make your symptoms worse.

There are certain factors that may raise your risk of Crohn's disease:

• Family history of the disease. Having a parent, child, or sibling with the disease puts you at higher risk.
• Smoking. This may double your risk of developing Crohn's disease.
• Certain medicines, such as antibiotics, birth-control pills, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin or ibuprofen. These may slightly increase your chance of developing Crohn's.
• A high-fat diet. This may also slightly increase your risk of Crohn's.

The symptoms of Crohn's disease can vary, depending where and how severe your inflammation is. The most common symptoms include:

• Diarrhea
• Cramping and pain in your abdomen
• Weight loss

Some other possible symptoms are:

• Anemia, a condition in which you have fewer red blood cells than normal
• Eye redness or pain
• Fatigue
• Fever
• Joint pain or soreness
• Nausea or loss of appetite
• Skin changes that involve red, tender bumps under the skin

Stress and eating certain foods such as carbonated (fizzy) drinks and high-fiber foods may make some people's symptoms worse.

Crohn's disease can cause other problems, including:

• Intestinal obstruction, a blockage in the intestine
• Fistulas, abnormal connections between two parts inside of the body
• Abscesses, pus-filled pockets of infection
• Anal fissures, small tears in your anus that may cause itching, pain, or bleeding
• Ulcers, open sores in your mouth, intestines, anus, or perineum
• Malnutrition, when your body does not get the right amount of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients it needs
• Inflammation in other areas of your body, such as your joints, eyes, and skin

Your health care provider may use many tools to make a diagnosis:

• A medical history, which includes asking about your symptoms
• A family history
• A physical exam, including:
  • Checking for bloating in your abdomen.
  • Listening to sounds within your abdomen using a stethoscope.
  • Tapping on your abdomen to check for tenderness and pain and to see if your liver or spleen is abnormal or enlarged.
• Various tests, including:
  • Blood and stool tests.
  • A colonoscopy.
  • An upper GI endoscopy, a procedure in which your provider uses a scope to look inside your mouth, esophagus, stomach, and small intestine.
  • Diagnostic imaging tests, such as a CT scan or an upper GI series. An upper GI series uses a special liquid called barium and x-rays. Drinking the barium will make your upper GI tract more visible on an x-ray.

There is no cure for Crohn's disease, but treatments can decrease inflammation in your intestines, relieve symptoms, and prevent complications. Treatments include medicines, bowel rest, and surgery. No single treatment works for everyone. You and your provider can work together to figure out which treatment is best for you:

• Medicines for Crohn's include various medicines that decrease the inflammation. Many of these medicines do this by reducing the activity of your immune system. Certain medicines can also help with symptoms or complications, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and anti-diarrheal medicines. If your Crohn's causes an infection, you may need antibiotics.
• Bowel rest involves drinking only certain liquids or not eating or drinking anything. This allows your intestines to rest. You may need to do this if your Crohn's disease symptoms are severe. You get your nutrients through drinking a liquid, a feeding tube, or an intravenous (IV) tube. You may need to do bowel rest in the hospital, or you may be able to do it at home. It will last for a few days or up to several weeks.
• Surgery can treat complications and reduce symptoms when other treatments are not helping enough. The surgery will involve removing a damaged part of your digestive tract to treat:
  • Fistulas
  • Bleeding that is life threatening
  • Intestinal obstructions
  • Side effects from medicines when they threaten your health
  • Symptoms when medicines do not improve your condition

Changing your diet can help reduce symptoms. Your provider may recommend that you make changes to your diet, such as:

• Avoiding carbonated drinks
• Avoiding popcorn, vegetable skins, nuts, and other high-fiber foods
• Drinking more liquids
• Eating smaller meals more often
• Keeping a food diary to help identify foods that cause problems

In some cases, your provider may ask you to go on a special diet, such as a diet that is:

• High calorie
• Lactose free
• Low fat
• Low fiber
• Low salt

If you are not absorbing enough nutrients, you may need to take nutritional supplements and vitamins.

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Epilepsy is a brain disorder that causes people to have recurring seizures. The seizures happen when clusters of nerve cells, or neurons, in the brain send out the wrong signals. People may have strange sensations and emotions or behave strangely. They may have violent muscle spasms or lose consciousness.

Epilepsy has many possible causes, including illness, brain injury, and abnormal brain development. In many cases, the cause is unknown.

Doctors use brain scans and other tests to diagnose epilepsy. It is important to start treatment right away. There is no cure for epilepsy, but medicines can control seizures for most people. When medicines are not working well, surgery or implanted devices such as vagus nerve stimulators may help. Special diets can help some children with epilepsy.

NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Histoplasmosis is an infection caused by a fungus called Histoplasma. This fungus is common in the central and eastern United States, especially around the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys. It can also be found in parts of Central and South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia. It lives in the environment, especially in soil that contains large amounts of bat or bird droppings (poop).

You get histoplasmosis by breathing in Histoplasma fungal spores from the air. It usually happens after you have been doing an activity that disturbs the soil, such as farming, construction, and landscaping. Histoplasmosis is not contagious. This means that you cannot get the infection from another person or an animal.

Most people who breathe in the spores never have any symptoms. If you do get symptoms, they usually start between 3 and 17 days after you breathe in the spores. The symptoms may include:

• Fever
• Cough
• Fatigue
• Chills
• Headache
• Chest pain
• Body aches

For most people, the symptoms of histoplasmosis will go away within a few weeks to a month. However, some people can have symptoms that last longer, especially if their infection becomes severe. Certain people are more likely to get a severe infection:

• People who have weakened immune systems, for example from:
  • Having HIV
  • Having had an organ transplant
  • Taking medicines which weaken your immune system, such as chemotherapy and steroids
• Infants
• Adults age 55 and over

Severe histoplasmosis can develop into a long-term lung infection. It can also spread from the lungs to other parts of the body, such as the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord). This is known as disseminated histoplasmosis.

To find out if you have histoplasmosis, your health care provider:

• Will ask about your symptoms and your medical and travel history
• Will do a physical exam
• Will likely order a blood, urine, or tissue test to look for signs of the fungus
• May order a chest x-ray or CT scan of the lungs

For some people, the symptoms of histoplasmosis will go away without treatment. But you will need treatment if you have severe histoplasmosis in the lungs, chronic histoplasmosis, or an infection that has spread to other parts of the body. That treatment would be with prescription antifungal medicines. In some cases, you may need to take the medicines for 3 months to 1 year.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Lymphoma is a cancer of a part of the immune system called the lymph system. There are many types of lymphoma. One type is Hodgkin disease. The rest are called non-Hodgkin lymphomas.

Non-Hodgkin lymphomas begin when a type of white blood cell, called a T cell or B cell, becomes abnormal. The cell divides again and again, making more and more abnormal cells. These abnormal cells can spread to almost any other part of the body. Most of the time, doctors don't know why a person gets non-Hodgkin lymphoma. You are at increased risk if you have a weakened immune system or have certain types of infections.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma can cause many symptoms, such as :

• Swollen, painless lymph nodes in the neck, armpits or groin
• Unexplained weight loss
• Fever
• Soaking night sweats
• Coughing, trouble breathing or chest pain
• Weakness and tiredness that don't go away
• Pain, swelling or a feeling of fullness in the abdomen

Your doctor will diagnose lymphoma with a physical exam, blood tests, a chest x-ray, and a biopsy. Treatments include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted therapy, biological therapy, or therapy to remove proteins from the blood. Targeted therapy uses drugs or other substances that attack specific cancer cells with less harm to normal cells. Biologic therapy boosts your body's own ability to fight cancer. If you don't have symptoms, you may not need treatment right away. This is called watchful waiting.

NIH: National Cancer Institute

Marijuana is a green, brown, or gray mix of dried, crumbled parts from the marijuana plant. The plant contains chemicals which act on your brain and can change your mood or consciousness.

There are many different ways that people use marijuana, including:

• Rolling it up and smoking it like a cigarette or cigar
• Smoking it in a pipe
• Mixing it in food and eating it
• Brewing it as a tea
• Smoking oils from the plant ("dabbing")
• Using electronic vaporizers ("vaping")

Marijuana can cause both short-term and long-term effects.

Short term:

While you are high, you may experience:

• Altered senses, such as seeing brighter colors
• Altered sense of time, such as minutes seeming like hours
• Changes in mood
• Problems with body movement
• Trouble with thinking, problem-solving, and memory
• Increased appetite

Long term:

In the long term, marijuana can cause health problems, such as:

• Problems with brain development. People who started using marijuana as teenagers may have trouble with thinking, memory, and learning.
• Coughing and breathing problems, if you smoke marijuana frequently
• Problems with child development during and after pregnancy, if a woman smokes marijuana while pregnant

It is possible to overdose on marijuana, if you take a very high dose. Symptoms of an overdose include anxiety, panic, and a rapid heartbeat. In rare cases, an overdose can cause paranoia and hallucinations. There are no reports of people dying from using just marijuana.

After using marijuana for a while, it is possible to get addicted to it. You are more likely to become addicted if you use marijuana every day or you started using it when you were a teenager. If you are addicted, you will have a strong need to take the drug. You may also need to smoke more and more of it to get the same high. When you try to quit, you may have mild withdrawal symptoms such as:

• Irritability
• Trouble sleeping
• Decreased appetite
• Anxiety
• Cravings

The marijuana plant has chemicals that can help with some health problems. More states are making it legal to use the plant as medicine for certain medical conditions. But there isn't enough research to show that the whole plant works to treat or cure these conditions. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved the marijuana plant as a medicine. Marijuana is still illegal at the national level.

However, there have been scientific studies of cannabinoids, the chemicals in marijuana. The two main cannabinoids that are of medical interest are THC and CBD. The FDA has approved two drugs that contain THC. These drugs treat nausea caused by chemotherapy and increase appetite in patients who have severe weight loss from AIDS. There is also a liquid drug that contains CBD. It treats two forms of severe childhood epilepsy. Scientists are doing more research with marijuana and its ingredients to treat many diseases and conditions.

NIH: National Institute on Drug Abuse