Occasional
pot smoking doesn’t appear to harm users’ lungs the way regular tobacco
use does, according to a 20-year study. At the level of one marijuana
cigarette a week for 49 years, or one joint a day for 7 years, there was
no decline in lung function, according to the Journal of the American
Medical Association. The study, which followed more than 5,000 people
for 20 years, is unusual in marijuana research because it involved the
general population. Usually scientists study addicts because they are
easier to find. However, most pot users don’t get addicted and it’s
important to know how the drug use affects them, researchers said. At
more than 10 years of smoking a daily joint, lung function seemed to
decline although not to a degree that was statistically significant, the
study found.
