Because smokers of cannabis inhale, researchers speculated that these users would have statistically higher levels of lead and cadmium in their blood than people who do not use weed[2].
They collected data from a group of more than 7,200 adults, of which 358 reported using marijuana within the past 30 days.
The marijuana users had 22% higher cadmium levels in their blood than non-users, and they had 27% higher blood lead levels than those who said they didn’t use either marijuana or tobacco.
“Both cadmium and lead stay in your body for quite a long time,” explained Tiffany Sanchez, an author of the study and an assistant professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health. “Cadmium is absorbed in the renal system and is filtered out through the kidney. So, when you’re looking at urinary cadmium, that’s a reflection of total body burden, how much you have taken in over a long period of chronic exposure.”
Cadmium has been linked to kidney disease and lung cancer in people and fetal abnormalities in animals, according to the EPA, which has set specific limits for cadmium in air, water and food.
There is no safe amount of lead exposure, since even low levels can slow children’s brain development and result in learning and behavioral problems. In adults, chronic exposure to lead increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart problems and kidney damage. Cadmium, meanwhile, is considered a human carcinogen by the World Health Organization. Exposure to low levels, such as through tobacco smoke, may lead to kidney disease and fragile bones.
[1] Bengyell et al: Global impact of trace non-essential heavy metal contaminants in industrial cannabis bioeconomy in Toxin Reviews - 2021
[2] McGraw et al: Blood and Urinary Metal Levels among Exclusive Marijuana Users in NHANES (2005-2018) in Environmental Health Perspectives - 2023
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