A JOINT DAMAGES THE LUNGS

Marijuana Closes Smallest Airways

Smoking just one marijuana joint is the same as smoking five
cigarettes in terms of the damage it does to your lungs, a new study
has found.

Lung damage from marijuana results in chronic bronchitis and other
respiratory problems. But whether marijuana causes emphysema or lung
cancer isn't clear, the researchers said.

"This damage is a full range from symptoms to structural lung damage
and reduced lung function," said lead researcher Dr. Richard Beasley,
director of the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand in Wellington.

"Many people think that marijuana is safe, but this shows that it's
not safe."

For the study, Beasley's group collected data on 339 people. The group
consisted of people who smoked at least one marijuana cigarette a day
for five years; people who smoked a pack of tobacco cigarettes a day
for at least a year; and people who smoked both. There were also
people who didn't smoke either.

All participants had lung X-rays and took breathing tests to see how
well their lungs worked, according to the July 31 online report in the
journal Thorax.

Among the 75 people who smoked only marijuana or the 91 who smoked
tobacco and marijuana, there were complaints of wheezing, coughing,
chest tightness and phlegm. But, the researchers found signs of
emphysema only among the people who smoked just tobacco or tobacco and
marijuana.

Marijuana did, however, damage the lungs. The drug decreased the
number of small fine airways, which carry oxygen and waste products to
and from the blood vessels. In addition, marijuana damaged the large
airways, blocking airflow.