Weeding Out Some Confusion

Chances are if you have ever been to a college party you have seen it or most likely smelled it. It being marijuana. And chances are at any party you will run into cigarettes. A new study has found a big difference between smoking these two substances (besides the obvious). The new study shows that smoking cannabis or marijuana in moderate amounts doesn’t hurt your lungs as much as smoking.
 
The study released by the Journal of the American Medical Association is a 20-year study that examines that the difference in the effects of tobacco and marijuana on the lungs. The study says it has to do with all the extra chemicals that are found in a cigarette that makes them more harmful to our lungs and body immediately after lighting up.
 
Nicotine in tobacco products is one of the most addictive substances; some argue it’s more addictive than heroine says, Professor Dessa Bergen-Cico, who specializes substance addiction at Syracuse University. The study concludes that the chemical in marijuana, THC, which is also responsible for the “high” feeling, may be the key to less lung damage. THC causes inflammation, and may block some of the harmful chemicals from reaching the lungs.
 
This doesn’t mean marijuana should become your new drug of choice.
           
“Cannabis is still and addiction, and the studies on Cannabis are still based on weak science, says Bergen-Cico.

Find more information on the study here: http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/307/2/173.short