Smoking weed long-term isn’t that bad for your health, study finds

Harley Tamplin

Not as bad for your health as you might think (Picture: Jim Pozarik/Getty)

Smoking cannabis long-term does not have much of an impact on physical health, a new study claims.
Researchers analysed 1,037 people in New Zealand for the first 38 years of their life, monitoring how much weed they smoked from age 18 onwards.

Surprisingly, the results published in JAMA Psychiatry showed there was only one negative effect on the body from heavy marijuana use, at the age of 38.

That was the effect on the teeth – with heavy cannabis smokers having worse periodontal health.
However, there appeared to be no other effects.

This guy’s teeth will be wrecked but otherwise, not too bad (Picture: Sean Gallup/Getty)

In fact, weed use was linked to a lower BMI, smaller waist size and better cholesterol levels.

Dr Kevin Hill, a marijuana addiction expert and assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, explained the results.

There are definitely health risks associated with heavy marijuana use, but there just aren’t as many as we previously thought.

The answers with marijuana aren’t exactly what we would have expected them to be, and this is a great example.

You need to be willing to change your mind on these issues.

It still has an impact on the brain, though (Picture: Justin Sullivan/Getty)

The researchers conceded that, as only the first 38 years of their subjects’ lives were studied, it could mean physical effects develop later in life.

And cannabis’ effect on the brain remains undisputed.

When people started smoking weed before turning 18, regularly using it was associated with up to an eight point drop in IQ – though that did not apply if they started late.

On the other hand, the outlook was not nearly so positive for tobacco smokers.

It was linked with worse lung function, more inflammation and compromised metabolic health.