The good, bad and unknown about marijuana's health effects

NEW YORK (AP) — It can almost certainly ease chronic pain and might help some people sleep, but it's also likely to raise the risk of getting schizophrenia and might trigger heart attacks.

The current lack of scientific information "poses a public health risk," said the report , released by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

Limited evidence says marijuana or the other compounds can boost appetite in people with HIV or AIDS, and ease symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, the report concluded.

[...] it said there's not enough research to say whether they're effective for treating cancers, irritable bowel syndrome, epilepsy, or certain symptoms of Parkinson's disease, or helping people beat addictions.

— For pregnant women who smoke pot, there's strong evidence of reduced birthweight but only weak evidence of any effect on pregnancy complications for the mother, or an infant's need for admission to intensive care.