STUDY SUGGESTS LONG-TERM MARIJUANA USE MAY NOT HARM LUNGS

A recent study conducted in part by Northwestern researchers suggests
that occasional marijuana usage may slightly improve rather than
decrease lung function.

Dr. Ravi Kalhan, Feinberg associate professor of pulmonary and
preventive medicine, helped author the study, which was published
Jan. 11 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

"The hypothesis was that marijuana use when smoked would be similar
to tobacco smoke -- that heavy smoking would lead to detriment to
lung function," Kalhan said. "(The results were) a little unexpected."

When study participants smoked up to seven joint-years (one joint a
day for seven years), they experienced a statistically significant
increase in lung function. Even participants who smoked up to
40-joint-years saw a marked improvement in lung function.

Researchers primarily based at the University of Alabama at
Birmingham and the University of California, San Francisco led the
20-year study. The researchers followed 5,115 men and women in four
U.S. cities and studied their marijuana and/or tobacco usage in
relation to their lung function.

Although Kalhan said the scientific world has long believed marijuana
decreases lung function, some NU students who smoke marijuana said
they disregard this advice. Neither a McCormick sophomore nor a
Weinberg sophomore said they considered the medical effects before
smoking. Both requested to be kept anonymous.

"I don't think that people really think the physical damage aspect of
it affects their decisions," the Weinberg sophomore said. "I think
most people, when it comes to cannabis use, have hesitation because
of the psychoactive effects."

The McCormick sophomore said he has had asthma his whole life, but
his condition did not faze him when considering marijuana.

He said he was around friends who were smoking marijuana, so he did
not consciously think through the decision.

The first time the McCormick student smoked, he coughed quite a bit,
but he said that is common for most first-time smokers. He continues
to occasionally smoke and sometimes cough but said he does not feel
any breathing differences.

"I don't know if there's a correlation at all, but my asthma since
age 15 has been getting better every year that I've smoked
marijuana," the McCormick sophomore said. "I've never had smoker's cough."

As for why marijuana correlates with increased lung function, Kalhan
said he remains unsure. Some doctors believe marijuana's effects aid
lung function, he said, but that argument is widely disputed. Still,
the study's authors note that in cases in which doctors prescribe
medical marijuana, its use "may not be associated with adverse
consequences on pulmonary function."

The authors said deep inhalations of marijuana may expand the lungs.
They also suggested the chest muscles could become stronger by
training the lungs to breathe deeply.

Chad Larrabee, the manager of a medical marijuana clinic in Denver,
Colo., said he has never prescribed marijuana for patients with
respiratory problems. Larrabee said he remains cautious when giving
out medical marijuana to people with pre-existing breathing issues
and usually recommends the drug in an edible or a pill form.

Still, he said he believes that THC, the active component of
marijuana, is able to dilate the lungs, which would have a positive
effect on asthma and other respiratory issues.

However, Leo Miller, the vice president of clinical support services
at the Haymarket Center, a Chicago drug abuse intervention center,
said the risks of addiction to marijuana outweigh the possible
benefits in most cases. He has seen "a few" patients who had started
with medical marijuana as a prescription and who ended up addicted to it.

"For many people, there is a benefit to using psychoactive
substances," Miller said. "Unfortunately, the vast majority of people
use it to get high and they get addicted."

The Weinberg sophomore said he agrees there is an element of
addiction when smoking marijuana. He said marijuana has the potential
to do serious psychological harm if used improperly.

"I've personally found that when I've smoked for days or weeks or
months at a time and then I stop, I've found myself craving it," he said.