New Study Says Marijuana Use Is Not Connected to Poor Lung Health

By Joseph Misulonas

Considering the many health benefits people are discovering for marijuana, it can be hard for anti-cannabis advocates to justify keeping the drug illegal. One of the few arguments they've made is that smoking marijuana is bad for your lungs, but it turns out that isn't true.

A new study by the Colorado School of Public Health determined that smoking marijuana did not cause adverse effects on lung function. The researchers examined 2,300 cannabis users to see if their drug use affected respiratory function, and found that it did not.

“Neither current nor former marijuana use was associated with increased risk of cough, wheeze, or chronic bronchitis when compared to never marijuana users after adjusting for covariates," the study said. "Current and former marijuana smokers had significantly higher FEV1 (forced expiratory volume)… when compared to never users… Both current and former marijuana use was associated with significantly less quantitative emphysema… when compared to never users, even after adjusting for age… current tobacco smoking pack years, and BMI… In agreement with other published studies, we also did not find that marijuana use was associated with more obstructive lung disease.”

This actually only confirms what we already knew. Past studies had already shown that there was no link between marijuana use and lung function, despite the claims from the anti-cannabis crowd. 

Of course, anti-marijuana advocates will probably completely ignore this study and continue to peddle the same lies to justify their position.