HEALTHY COLORADO: What sort of risks come with marijuana use?

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - As of Tuesday, recreational marijuana sales are active in the city of Colorado Springs. While some may see recreational sales as a welcome addition to the area, recent research is showing that consuming marijuana does have risks.

"The biggest risk would be smoking marijuana. You know, smoking anything is not good. It can cause irreparable damage to your lungs, and marijuana can also cause neurological issues. It can worsen underlying psychological conditions like anxiety," said Dr. Neha Sharma, a hospitalist and medical director with Emerus.

However, edibles can be a way around the issues associated with smoking.

"Now make sure that you're obtaining these from the legal market and even then make sure you pay attention to the potency and the dosages," said Dr. Sharma.

In addition to risk to yourself, it can come with risk to pets and kids. It's important to keep anything away from them, "especially those gummies and edibles and the chocolate," said Dr. Sharma.

However, there are benefits to use, including aiding those with anxiety, insomnia, and chronic pain.

"It has been proven to help with tremors with Parkinson's pain with endometriosis, so a lot of benefits if used properly," said Dr. Sharma.