[well.blogs.nytimes.com]

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Drew

Marijuana Smoking Does Not Harm Lungs, Study Finds
By ANAHAD O'CONNOR

Jim Wilson/The New York Times
Investigating the health effects of marijuana.

A large new government study has found that smoking marijuana on a regular basis, even over many years, does not impair lung function.

Marijuana, the country’s most widely used illicit drug, has become increasingly popular and less stigmatized in recent years, particularly among young adults. One government report released in December found that one out of 15 high school students now smokes marijuana nearly every day, a growth fueled in part by the spread of medicinal marijuana, which is legal in 16 states. With its use rising, questions about the drug’s long-term medical consequences have garnered more attention.

The new research is one of the most extensive looks to date at whether long-term marijuana use causes pulmonary damage, and specifically whether its impact on the lungs is as harmful as smoking cigarettes. The researchers followed more than 5,000 people over two decades and found that regularly smoking marijuana — the equivalent of up to a joint a day over seven years — did not impair performance on a lung function test. The test, a measure of pulmonary obstruction that looks at the amount of air a person can force out in one second after taking a deep breath, is typically worsened by smoking tobacco.

In something of a twist, the researchers found that compared to nonsmokers, marijuana users performed slightly better on the lung function test, though the improvement was minuscule. “Even with this tiny increase in airflow, I have to admit that I really doubt that there’s any real increase in lung health,” said Dr. Stefan Kertesz, an associate professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham school of medicine and an author of the study. The finding may merely reflect marijuana smokers’ years of “training” in taking deep inhalations and holding the smoke, the researchers said.

In the near term, smoking marijuana irritates the airways and can cause coughing, and public health advocates stress that it causes impairment that reduces attention, lowers motivation and heightens the risk of accidents. Over days or weeks, chronic use can lead to problems with learning and memory. But whether smoking marijuana sets off the type of pulmonary changes that lead to lasting damage like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a leading cause of death among Americans, was not entirely clear.

Earlier research suggested that the impact of marijuana smoke, which contains some of the same noxious chemicals as tobacco, was not as harmful to lung function as cigarette smoke. But many of the studies were carried out over relatively short periods and contained hundreds, not thousands, of subjects.

In the new study, which was published in The Journal of the American Medical Association and financed by the National Institutes of Health, roughly 5,100 men and women in four cities – Oakland, Calif.; Chicago; Minneapolis; and Birmingham – were interviewed and given lung function tests repeatedly over 20 years. They were on average about age 25 at the start, and more than half smoked marijuana, cigarettes or both.

The researchers found that for marijuana smokers, an exposure of up to seven “joint years” — with one joint-year equivalent to smoking 365 joints or filled pipes, or an average of one joint a day for seven years — did not worsen pulmonary function. Dr. Kertesz noted that with heavier marijuana use, described as 10 joint-years of exposure or more, lung function did begin to decline. And for a person who smokes both marijuana and cigarettes, “the net effect is going to be continued loss of lung function.”

Dr. Donald Tashkin, a pulmonologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, who has studied marijuana for over 30 years and was not involved in the study, said it confirmed findings from several other studies showing “that essentially there is no significant relationship between marijuana exposure and impairment in lung function.” He said one reason marijuana smoke may not be as harmful as tobacco smoke, despite containing similar noxious ingredients, may be the fact that its active ingredient, THC, has anti-inflammatory effects.

“We don’t know for sure,” he said, “but a very reasonable possibility is that THC may actually interfere with the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.”

Dr. Tashkin said he and his colleagues had found in their own research — unexpectedly — that even smoking up to three joints a day did not appear to cause a decrease in lung function. “I think that the bottom line is that there does not appear to be any negative impact on lung function of marijuana smoking,” he said, “and that therefore marijuana is not a risk factor for the development of C.O.P.D. Tobacco smoking is the most important risk factor for C.O.P.D.”



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-01-15 00:07 by drewmaster.

i was holding my breath on that one

let's hear it for the bongaloids!

It only harms your lungs if you inhale.

"It's just some friends of mine and they're busting down the door"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-01-15 06:42 by sweetcharmedlife.

where am i at?

The important thing to take from this study is the word moderation. This is based on people who smoke a joint a week. People who smoke a couple doobs a day are still in great physical and mental danger, just like anyone who drinks to excess. Personally I can't imagine people who smoke pot everyday. It would seem like it would leave you foggy and unable to get really high.

Dis is how we do in da "D".






Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2012-01-15 00:21 by tatters.

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24FPS
The important thing to take from this study is the word moderation. This is based on people who smoke a joint a week. People who smoke a couple doobs a day are still in great physical and mental danger, just like anyone who drinks to excess. Personally I can't imagine people who smoke pot everyday. It would seem like it would leave you foggy and unable to get really high.

Perhaps you skipped over the part that read "Dr. Tashkin said he and his colleagues had found in their own research — unexpectedly — that even smoking up to three joints a day did not appear to cause a decrease in lung function."?

And no, pot does not even come close to the physical dangers of alcohol. You just can't compare the two.

[thepowergoats.com]

I'll smoke to that!

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

Well the NEW study probably used the NEW bud that's being grown, of course it doesn't harm your lungs. You get so high on two puffs you can't remember where you left the bong. lol

I agree , end the madness stop jailing people for related offenses. Time for the guard to change. Moderation is of course the key as 24FPS notes. Although I've never seen people with resultant serious problems from smoking but addiction is a bitch in all its forms. If you've ever seen a daily smoker when he is climbing the walls because he doens't have weed... you know what I'm talkin' about. peace.

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jamesfdouglas
Perhaps you skipped over the part that read "Dr. Tashkin said he and his colleagues had found in their own research — unexpectedly — that even smoking up to three joints a day did not appear to cause a decrease in lung function."?

And no, pot does not even come close to the physical dangers of alcohol. You just can't compare the two.

+1

Legalize and sell it under same rules as alcohol.

I think the research is looking at people who smoke up to one joint a day, and comparing those with non-smokers of pot and
cigarettes, and also with cigarette smokers. They followed over 5,000 people for 25 years.

I found it rather amusing that the pot smokers had a very small advantage of lung functioning during tests compared with
non-smokers. The authors say that's probably due to the practice pot smokers have in holding smoke in their lungs.

Thanks for the topic and the link, drewmaster!

~"Love is Strong"~



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-01-14 23:10 by angee.

....but do cookies rot ya teef??



ROCKMAN

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Naturalust
Well the NEW study probably used the NEW bud that's being grown, of course it doesn't harm your lungs. You get so high on two puffs you can't remember where you left the bong. lol

I agree , end the madness stop jailing people for related offenses. Time for the guard to change. Moderation is of course the key as 24FPS notes. Although I've never seen people with resultant serious problems from smoking but addiction is a bitch in all its forms. If you've ever seen a daily smoker when he is climbing the walls because he doens't have weed... you know what I'm talkin' about. peace.

Unlike alcohol, nicotine, cocaine and assortments of opiates, THC is not physically addictive. Someone climbing the walls without a pot 'fix' clearly has other addictions and/or issues. Show me soemthing that will tell you otherwise that does NOT come from The United States of Git-them-potheads-ica.

[thepowergoats.com]

Pot is addictive. To say otherwise is just wishful thinking. Don't care what some magazine says, I've lived it.

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Naturalust
Don't forget who taught you Canadians how to grow and smoke the stuff .....peace.

We won't forget; ours still live and govern here.


[thepowergoats.com]

Quote
Naturalust
If you've ever seen a daily smoker when he is climbing the walls because he doens't have weed... you know what I'm talkin' about. peace.

I have never seen it, not even with those who were heavy smokers. But I have seen people go psychotic when they have tried (and failed) to quite smoking regular ciggarettes.

That said. Pot is addictive. But it's not as bad as regular ciggarettes.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-01-14 23:28 by tonterapi.

Someone climbing the walls without a pot 'fix' clearly has other addictions and/or issues.

YEP .... what sends lesbians up the wall???






Cracks on the ceiling...!!!!!!!!!!!!!



ROCKMAN

Here's what the UK's oldest and most trusted medical journal has to say about it.



Fearing this relatively harmless "drug" has always historically been a very American thing.

[thepowergoats.com]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2012-01-14 23:38 by jamesfdouglas.

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jamesfdouglas

Quote
Naturalust
Don't forget who taught you Canadians how to grow and smoke the stuff .....peace.

We won't forget; ours still live and govern here.

Nice try James, do yer homework, the natives weren't smoking hemp, mostly tobacco and hickory. Respect your neighbors to the South. peace.

Quote
Rockman
YEP .... what sends lesbians up the wall???

Hardwood floors.

Pot was growing in Canada rampantly since boats could leave Asia (where cannabis was originally indegenous). It's been cultivated and used globally for thousands of years. Our natives happen to still grow the best in the world. But you implied that pot-fearing Americans are somehow to be credited for that, which I find puzzling.

I have no idea how or why you would say that. Then again you guys do tend to re-write history (*cough* War of 1812 *cough*).Still, you may be indirectly correct... the more your government warns ours about progressive pot crime reform, the better our stuff gets

But yeah, you implied that Americans taught us to grow and smoke it. Please explain, Im very much looking forward to that.

Peace.


[thepowergoats.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-01-14 23:56 by jamesfdouglas.

But... what if you've " never inhaled?"...

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klrkcr
But... what if you've " never inhaled?"...

Then what are you waiting for ?

20 years ago a new study said that red wine was good for your health, I believed it

Remember that famous study that said drinking red wine was good for your health? You know, the one that was featured on every news channel that you keep stored away in the memory bank whenever you feel like taking a bottle of Pinot Noir to the face? Well, as it turns out, the study’s results were comprised of utter bullshit. So that glass or two of red wine you’re having with dinner or before bed may be helping you tolerate life better, but there’s no evidence that proves it’s helping you live longer.

__________________________

Quote
NICOS
20 years ago a new study said that red wine was good for your health, I believed it

Remember that famous study that said drinking red wine was good for your health? You know, the one that was featured on every news channel that you keep stored away in the memory bank whenever you feel like taking a bottle of Pinot Noir to the face? Well, as it turns out, the study’s results were comprised of utter bullshit. So that glass or two of red wine you’re having with dinner or before bed may be helping you tolerate life better, but there’s no evidence that proves it’s helping you live longer.

Supposedly, the resveratrol in red grapes help against cholesterol, but you don't need wine to get that benefit.

I found that when I got into my late thirties, red wine at the end of the day would interfere with my sleep at night.

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jamesfdouglas

But yeah, you implied that Americans taught us to grow and smoke it. Please explain, Im very much looking forward to that.

Peace.

I wish I could in proper detail James but I'll have to take the Fourth Amendment on that.

What I can say is most all of the popular strains in the early days of popular Canadian growing came from California growers, before Amsterdam got going on their science. The smugglers who went to Santa Marta columbia and brought the Santa Marta gold back with all it's seeds, those boys were the first.

The early days of BC growing were masterminded by Americans, of course you guys caught on quick but the spirit of cooperation has remained high thats what makes the whole thing still work , somewhat , today. We are happy to smoke your excess weed, send it on down, just don't get caught. peace.

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Edith Grove

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klrkcr
But... what if you've " never inhaled?"...

Then what are you waiting for ?

Good point - no need to hold back now!!!