How Dangerous is Smoking Medical Marijuana?

How Dangerous is Smoking Medical Marijuana?  Study Shows That Smoking Marijuana is Not as Detrimental as Cigarette Smoking.

Cannabis smoke exposure when compared to cigarette smoking is not particularly detrimental to lung health and is not associated with the onset of lung cancer, emphysema, or COPD, according to data published in the journal Chest. That being said, regular pot smoking can lead to other issues (like bronchitis and inflammation).  For more information on this and other marijuana topics, check out MJ News.

CalmEffect recommends that you speak with your doctor about any risks of consuming marijuana.

CHECK OUT THIS HELPFUL VIDEO about smoking medical marijuana.

How Dangerous is Smoking Medical Marijuana?

Because cannabis smoke shares many of the same dangerous compounds found in tobacco smoke, concerns have been raised that smoking cannabis can lead to the same increased risk of lung cancer and other chronic respiratory diseases found in tobacco smokers. However, the research done to date indicates that the long term health consequences of cannabis smoking are considerably less serious, if not negligible.

Population studies have found mild lung function changes in heavy cannabis smokers and long-term heavy use may generate symptoms of bronchitis, including wheezing, production of phlegm and chronic cough. More study is required to determine any causal relationship between smoked cannabis and the development of respiratory infections, but anyone needing large or frequent doses may benefit from choosing alternative delivery methods, especially if they smoke tobacco.

While many have historically maintained that heavy cannabis smokers are at higher risk of contracting cancer, new research casts doubt on these claims. Studies at the cellular and molecular level have suggested that chemicals in smoked cannabis may cause cancer; however, new evidence indicates that cannabinoids themselves may decrease the cancer-causing effect of the carcinogens typically inhaled from smoking cannabis, preventing cancers from developing. That prophylactic effect makes cannabis smoke inherently less dangerous than tobacco smoke, even though they contain some similar chemicals.

In 2006, the results of a five year, case-controlled investigation—the largest study of its kind—unexpectedly found that smoking cannabis, even regularly and heavily, does not lead to lung cancer or other types of head, neck or throat cancers. Lead investigator Dr. Donald Tashkin, chief of pulmonary medicine at UCLA medical school, speculated on the basis of other research that cannabis may contain key components that regulate aging cells and keep them from becoming cancerous. Dr. Tashkin’s findings reaffirm the results of prior case-control studies dismissing a causal link between cannabis use and certain types of lung and upper aerodigestive tract (UAT) cancers. Other studies have found significant differences between the health effects of cannabis and tobacco smoking. Even heavy smokers of cannabis do not have an increased rate of Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, a common affliction for tobacco smokers, and the rate of head, neck and throat cancers, common problems for tobacco smokers, is considerably lower among moderate cannabis smokers than among those who smoke nothing at all.

To avoid smoke inhalation, cannabis can be used with a vaporizer, orally in baked goods and other food products, in oral sprays, or in a suppository. No data exists suggesting that orally ingested cannabis may cause cancer.  SOURCE

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Check out this helpful video about different ways of consuming medical marijuana.