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Drugs of Abuse, Immunity, and Immunodeficiency pp 25–32Cite as

Altered Serum Immunoglobulin Concentration in Chronic Marijuana Smokers

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Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 288))

Abstract

Marijuana smoking has been reported to produce a variety of effects on the immune system of animals and man (1). Even before the reports of an apparent marijuana depression of the cell-mediated immune response (2,3), several factors suggested that marijuana might interfere with immunological mechanisms: Tobacco smoking was an immunosuppressant of both humoral (4) and cellular (5) immune pathways; 2) marijuana like tobacco, stimulated the pituitary-adrenal axis (6) which could initiate involution of the thymus (1), a primary organ of the immune system; 3) cannabinoids have a specific affinity for lung tissue (7), a major organ for phagocytosis, providing prolonged exposure of drug to macrophages irrespective of route of administration of cannabinoids; 4) marijuana has influenced alveolar macrophage structure, function, and mobilization (8); 5) cannabis use has evoked allergic reactions (9); 6) cannabinoids might perform as haptens because of their nearly complete binding to plasma proteins (10,11); and 7) cannabinoids have repressed bone marrow leukopoiesis (12).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, 650 West 168th St., New York, New York, 10032, USA

    Gabriel G. Nahas & Eliott F. Osserman

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  1. Gabriel G. Nahas
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  2. Eliott F. Osserman
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. The University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA

    Herman Friedman , Steven Specter  & Thomas W. Klein ,  & 

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© 1991 Plenum Press, New York

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Nahas, G.G., Osserman, E.F. (1991). Altered Serum Immunoglobulin Concentration in Chronic Marijuana Smokers. In: Friedman, H., Specter, S., Klein, T.W. (eds) Drugs of Abuse, Immunity, and Immunodeficiency. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 288. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-5925-8_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-5925-8_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-5927-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-5925-8

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