Posted on 01/11/2012 9:29:52 AM PST by Hemingway's Ghost
CHICAGO—Smoking a joint once a week or a bit more apparently doesn't harm the lungs, suggests a 20-year study that bolsters evidence that marijuana doesn't do the kind of damage tobacco does.
The results, from one of the largest and longest studies on the health effects of marijuana, are hazier for heavy users -- those who smoke two or more joints daily for several years. The data suggest that using marijuana that often might cause a decline in lung function, but there weren't enough heavy users among the 5,000 young adults in the study to draw firm conclusions.
Still, the authors recommended "caution and moderation when marijuana use is considered."
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
I smoked pot for long enough to know that it does harm the lungs. Only a moron would believe otherwise.
I would think any smoke inhaled would be harmful to some extent. If legalised, people that really wanted MJ, could grow enough so they could incorporate it into their food.
Smoky Backroom fodder . . .
Dang, that’s a relief. Now I don’t have to cut back to 20 joints a day. ;-)
20 year study? Big deal. I know a few 50 year studies. They’re mostly Democrats, so the empirical evidence doesn’t look good for the brain.
Well, maybe, but what about... Reefer Madness?
Smoking a tobacco cigarette once or twice a week won’t kill you either. Daily, another story.
The tough part is trying to smoke only ONE JOINT A WEEK.
It’s not clear why that is so, but it’s possible that the main active ingredient in marijuana, a chemical known as THC, makes the difference. THC causes the “high’’ that users feel. It also helps fight inflammation and may counteract the effects of more irritating chemicals in the drug, said Dr. Donald Tashkin, a marijuana researcher and an emeritus professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. Tashkin was not involved in the new study.Study co-author Dr. Stefan Kertesz said there are other aspects of marijuana that may help explain the results.
Unlike cigarette smokers, marijuana users tend to breathe in deeply when they inhale a joint, which some researchers think might strengthen lung tissue. But the common lung function tests used in the study require the same kind of deep breathing that marijuana smokers are used to, so their good test results might partly reflect lots of practice, said Kertesz, a drug abuse researcher and preventive medicine specialist at the Alabama university.
....
The analyses showed pot didn’t appear to harm lung function, but cigarettes did. Cigarette smokers’ test scores worsened steadily during the study. Smoking marijuana as often as one joint daily for seven years, or one joint weekly for 20 years was not linked with worse scores. Very few study participants smoked more often than that.
Like cigarette smokers, marijuana users can develop throat irritation and coughs, but the study didn’t focus on those. It also didn’t examine lung cancer, but other studies haven’t found any definitive link between marijuana use and cancer.
I’m guessing your frequency was greater than 1/week.
I'll bet they are.....
any inhalant is harmful....who are they trying to kid....
I think it depends on the individual. Some people hyperventilate just hearing the word.
As a child of the 60’s,Mom ALWAYS preferred her Marijuana in her brownies...seriously.
So only marijuana smoke is not bad for your lungs? ALL other smoke on the planet IS bad for your lungs but not pot?
Riiiight.
how about the brain function?
You just gotta up the caliber of your stash, that's all.
Ask Bob Marley, oh wait he’s DEAD.
Toked everyday of his adult life.......
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