“Marijuana is quite possibly the finest of intoxicants. It has been scientifically proven, for decades, to be much less harmful to the body than alcohol when used on a regular basis”―Nick Offerman
Within the past century, smoking cannabis has become immensely popular within both the teenage and adult community. For some, the feeling of elation and euphoria produced from the herb is preferred rather than the “out-of-control” side effect from inebriation. Although marijuana “has been scientifically proven…to be much less harmful to the body than alcohol when used on a regular basis”, that does not mean that it is necessarily harmless. Many consider the link between smoking “herb” and lung cancer correlative; however, the possibility of a third variable is often neglected. It has been scientifically proven that smoking tobacco heightens the chances of getting lung cancer; on the other hand, can it also be said that smoking marijuana produces the same consequence?
Despite the legal implications of possessing the drug, a substantial amount of Americans still choose to smoke. In fact, according to Gallups Annual Consumption Habits Poll, marijuana use among Americans has risen 26% since 1973.
Graph taken from http://www.gallup.com/poll/163835/tried-marijuana-little-changed-80s.aspx
In order to determine whether developing lung cancer from smoking the occasional joint was fact or fiction, an observational control case study was conducted by the Cannabis and Respiratory Disease Research Group in 2008. First, the conductors of the experiment received permission from 324 lung cancer patients (age 55 or younger) to interview them about prior marijuana use. According to the publication of the study, “information on demographics (including ethnic group), smoking history, passive smoking exposure, recreational drug use, diet, occupation, income, education, alcohol consumption and family history of malignancy was collected” in order to rule out any possible third variables. Subjects who admitted to have smoked cannabis on 20 or more occasions were then asked to complete a more thorough questionnaire. The results revealed that out of the 324 controls, there were 79 cases of lung cancer that were believed to stem from the inhalation of marijuana. Data indicated that the risk of receiving lung cancer increased by approximately 8% for each “joint-year of cannabis smoking” after confounding variables such as smoking cigarettes were adjusted into the numbers. After 4 and a half years of monitoring their patients (January 2001-July 2005), it was concluded that long-term use of cannabis among young adults can, in fact, increase the risk of developing lung cancer.
If one was to abide by the previous control case’s data and believe that smoking weed causes lung cancer, it would be expected that the number of smokers and the number of lung cancer fatalities would have a positive relationship; however, between 1970 and 2008, statistics reveal that the number of lung cancer deaths among Americans actually decreased by roughly 7%.
Graph taken from http://www.clevelandclinicmeded.com/medicalpubs/diseasemanagement/pulmonary/lung-cancer/
This is good news for pot smokers; the data above advocates that their “high habits” aren’t as unhealthy as one might initially believe. What about the data, however? In the field of science, nothing is absolute; therefore, there is a chance that the conclusions of the control case study could have been a false positive. In addition, an article on LeafScience.com argues that “a new study confirms that smoking marijuana does not raise the chances of developing lung cancer.”
Researches from Canada, the United States, and New Zealand compiled and combined data from six other studies in order to resolve the mystery surrounding smoking marijuana and lung cancer. Compared to the other control case study, this experiment utilized more subjects…to be exact, there were approximately 2,000 lung cancer patients and 3,000 controls. The team, which included members from the International Lung Cancer Consortium, concluded that their “results from [the] pooled analyses provide little evidence for an increased risk of lung cancer among habitual or long-term cannabis smokers.” Furthermore, Donald P. Tashkin from the University of Southern California reveals even more positive information regarding the smoking of marijuana.
“The THC in marijuana has well-defined anti-tumoral effects that have been shown to inhibit the growth of a variety of cancers in animal models and tissue culture systems, thus counteracting the potentially tumorigenic effects of the procarcinogens in marijuana smoke.” -Dr. Donald P. Tashkin, M.D.
Among all the positivity surrounding the health hazards of marijuana, there happens to be some negative silver lining. Hal Morgenstern, PhD, a University of Michigan epidemiologist insists the smoke from cannabis contains many carcinogens that can be harmful to the lungs. In fact, a marijuana “joint” will produce almost four times as much tar inside of the lungs than a normal cigarette would.
So now let’s get down to the jist of it– there’s nothing about smoking weed that is good for you; however, according to the data presented before, a couple hits every now and then won’t kill you. It’s ambiguous as to whether smoking weed truly causes lung cancer, but in order to prevent it totally it is suggested to refrain from smoking all together. To quote Mark Twain, “I never smoke to excess – that is, I smoke in moderation, only one at a time.” So for all you stoners out there, I suggest you follow Mr. Twain’s advice about moderation unless you want to end up developing lung cancer……or will you?
I thought that this post was very interesting as I have never heard of a link between smoking marijuana and lung cancer before. You typically hear people say things about how there are no negative impacts that result from smoking weed, so your research brings up many interesting points. Since marijuana has been around for such a long time, it is surprising that there are not more studies on its harmful effects. While nearly all types of smoke are bad for the lungs, some forms have a more harmful impact than others. Something that would be interesting to research would be comparing the effects smoking marijuana has on our lungs versus tobacco. This study, conducted by the University of California San Fransisco found that smoke from weed is less harmful from that of tobacco. http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2012/01/11282/marijuana-shown-be-less-damaging-lungs-tobacco Researchers collected data from roughly 5,000 adults males over twenty years. The researchers measured air flow rate and lung volume of participants. Air flow rate is the speed that a person can breathe out, and lung volume is the total amount of air that a person can hold in their lungs. Researchers found that the more tobacco smoked, the less functional both air flow and lung volume become. However, they found that with marijuana, “air flow increased rather than decreased with increased exposure… up to a certain level.” They believe this to be true because typically, cigarette smokers go through a pack a day, where as marijuana users average smoking two or three times a month, therefore decreasing the exposure. Since heavy marijuana smokers are relatively rare (at least to researchers), it is difficult to study the long term effects of heavy marijuana usage. On the other hand, here is information regarding the American Lung Association’s research on smoking marijuana. http://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/smoking-facts/marijuana-and-lung-health.html
Philip, this was an informative, interesting post on an issue that is very prevalent in our society today. It is fascinating how much contradicting research there is on the possibility of health issues related to smoking marijuana. You stated that there is “nothing about smoking weed that is good for you”, however the wording of this accusation is a bit misleading due to all of the research being done on medicinal marijuana curing all sorts of ailments. . The Medical Marijuana Association lists the three necessities in order to gain access to marijuana for medicinal purposes. One is proof of residence; you must live in an area where medical marijuana has been legalized. Next, you must be suffering from an eligible condition, which varies by state. Finally, you must find a doctor to sign a form for you. A website entitled United Patients group has an article on ways to consume medical marijuana. Although there are many innovative ways, smoking it is the most expedient. The article acknowledges your claim above that, “although not as harmful as cigarettes… it can cause respiratory problems and damage the lungs”. This is extremely fascinating due to the fact that the act of smoking is supposed to be curing an ailment, but in reality, has potential to cause another sickness.