American Lung Society - "Tobacco vs. Marijuana
Like tobacco smoke, marijuana smoke contains cancer-causing chemicals. There are 33 cancer-causing chemicals contained in marijuana. Marijuana smoke also deposits tar into the lungs. In fact, when equal amounts of marijuana and tobacco are smoked, marijuana deposits four times as much tar into the lungs. This is because marijuana joints are un-filtered and often more deeply inhaled than cigarettes."
Source -
http://www.lung.org/associations/states/colorado/tobacco/marijuana.html
Now with that said, the American Lung Society is a voluntary organization, so let's compare those findings to another source.
From a USAToday article:
"Q. Does marijuana cause cancer?
A. Although some studies have linked heavy marijuana smoking to lung cancer, the link isn't totally clear. But marijuana is associated with a variety of lung problems, including inflammation of the airways, symptoms of chronic bronchitis and an increased risk of pneumonia and respiratory infections, according to the New England Journal review."
Okay, so the link isn't totally clear, but it still shown to cause other lung ailments.
Source -
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/07/27/risks-of-marijuana/10386699/
But USAToday is a newspaper. Let's again check more sources.
This article suggests that it does, found on
http://lungcancer.about.com/od/causesoflungcance1/f/marijuana.htm . So what are they stating basically? That while some studies suggest that it doesn't, many suggests that it does. Not only are many of the same chemicals found in tobacco smoke also found in marijuana smoke, but we do know for sure that marijuana smoke does inflame the cells of lungs.
If some studies show that it does increase the risk of lung cancer, that's because it probably does. Maybe not to the same level as tobacco, but it's still many of the same chemicals, so expect similar results. The difference, of course, is that people who smoke tobacco are puffing down a pack a day, whereas marijuana might be one joint a day, or every other day, or whatever. It also increases the risk of getting into a car accident (not as much as alcohol, but it does), and with all the hooligans driving around with their cell phones in their face, that's the last thing we need.
Am I arguing that marijuana has many medical benefits for terminally ill situations? Absolutely not, because there are many benefits to it. But am I arguing that marijuana use has other cognitive effects that, as a manager who leads people, I pick up on? You betcha. Now if you want to do it, go ahead, that's your choice. But don't think you're fooling anyone with it. Don't think it doesn't have an impact on your drive. And certainly don't think you're "protecting" your lungs from cancer, because you're not.
It's a drug that contains carcinogens. It makes you feel reeeaaalllllyyy good. You can smoke it, directly exposing it to your lungs and delivering those chemicals to your brain. What more do you want me to say?
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