cannabisnews.com: Pot Smoking Not So Harmful To Lungs, Study Finds
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Pot Smoking Not So Harmful To Lungs, Study Finds
Posted by CN Staff on January 11, 2012 at 15:51:42 PT
By Erin Allday, Chronicle Staff Writer
Source: San Francisco Chronicle 
USA -- Smoking a joint from time to time won't damage the lungs, even after years of drug use, according to a study led by UCSF researchers that disproves one of the major concerns about marijuana - that smoking it must be just as risky as lighting up a cigarette. The study, results of which were published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that the lung capacity of people who smoked marijuana was not diminished by regular toking, even among those who smoked once or twice a week.
Only heavy marijuana users - those who smoked 20 or more joints a month - saw a negative impact on the pulmonary system, but that level of marijuana use is unusual, researchers said. In fact, they said, it may be that marijuana smoke doesn't affect lung function the way tobacco does simply because people don't smoke as many joints as they do cigarettes. The results should reassure doctors and patients who are considering using marijuana for medical care, primarily to ease pain and nausea, said Dr. Mark Pletcher, a UCSF epidemiologist and lead author of the study. But that's not to say that Pletcher or his colleagues are ready to give the all clear to anyone who wants to smoke pot.'Issue with Marijuana' "This study shouldn't be interpreted as marijuana is totally harmless," said Dr. Stephen Sidney, a study author with Kaiser Northern California's division of research in Oakland. "We don't see marijuana having a big impact on lung function or lung disease. But it doesn't mitigate the fact that we have an issue with marijuana, at least in terms of dependence on it." Smoking cigarettes has such dramatic, long-term health consequences - including emphysema and lung cancer - that doctors have long assumed that marijuana smoking, too, must be detrimental. SnippedComplete Article: http://drugsense.org/url/0Iz4qiXUSource: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)Author: Erin Allday, Chronicle Staff WriterPublished: Wednesday, January 11, 2012Copyright: 2012 San Francisco Chronicle Contact: letters sfchronicle.comWebsite: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml 
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Comment #1 posted by HempWorld on January 11, 2012 at 16:53:22 PT
More on this subject, 
I was just watching CNBC, Larry Kudlow, his guests wanted marijuana to be legalized, Robert Reich, Economist and the Editor of the Wall Street Journal Steve Moore.http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle_blog/2009/jun/03/top_anti_drug_researcher_changes
Donald Tashkin
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