Can marijuana use cause cancer/emphysema?

Hey guys...

Is there any evidence that marijuana use can cause cancer of any type? Or other lung related problems such as emphysema?

Also another question...

How long does your cilia stay paralyzed when you smoke? And do they regenerate after being paralyzed?

Yes, anything you smoke regularly can eventually do some damage to your lungs. Usually smoking marijuana has a lesser chance of causing cancer/etc. than smoking cigarettes, but if you smoke everyday (especially multiple times a day) for a long period of time, it definitely can cause health problems. There's less chemicals than in cigarettes, but there's still tar. Plus, many marijuana smokers also smoke cigarettes, so the combination of the two really isn't good for long term health.

Yeah I mean JUST marijuana...

I've read it hasn't been shown to cause a single case of cancer? And can actually prevent cancer?

I read some where where if you smoked weed and thats it you have a less chance of getting lung cancer, then someone that doesnt do anything. So weed is a good preventer from getting lung cancer

Hmm well I think that maybe in a lot of cases it can't be proven that it necessarily is what caused someone to develop cancer. Like I said above, many people who use marijuana regularly don't exactly live otherwise super-clean lifestyles, so if a regular marijuana smoker gets cancer later in life, there are probably several factors you can point to.

I really can't claim to be an expert, but I've never heard that marijuana prevents cancer. Cancer patients use it medicinally, but that's for nausea associated with chemotherapy and stuff like that, not to prevent the growth of cancer cells. It is safer than cigarette smoke, but at the end of the day, you're still smoking something, it does have toxins in it, and extensive use can cause health problems.

Also, I'm not sure about specifically cancer, but a lot of the things that doctors say marijuana causes/doesn't cause is really just educated guesses or assumptions, because not that many studies have been done that look specifically at just marijuana and health effects, especially in countries where marijuana is illegal. It's hard to find enough participants for a study to say that they've smoked x amount for x number of years, with nothing else "bad" for them in their systems, and really study the effects.

As an example (not cancer/emphysema), I was curious awhile back about how people (well, women..) are told they shouldn't smoke cigarettes while on the birth control pill, especially if they're over a certain age or have previous health problems, because smoking can exacerbate side effects, such as poor circulation and blood clots. I was curious to see if the same was true about smoking only marijuana, not cigarettes, and the only answers I could find (even from actually asking doctors, not just on the internet) was that they're really not sure, because it hasn't been studied, but they advise against it just in case (especially if you meet the risk factors).

Research shows that marijuana does not cause cancer and may even have a protective effect. Smoking anything too much can cause emphysema, but it's much less likely to happen to people who only smoke marijuana than people who smoke cigarettes. When's the last time you saw anyone put away 20 cigarette-size joints in a day?

It helps undermine the cancer, basically alot of the damage done by actually smoking weed is undone by the medicinal effects

Sadly, I know a few people who smoke weed like other people smoke cigarettes, going outside for a smoke break just about every hour. And also people who hit the bong ALL day, from when they get up to when they go to sleep at 3 in the morning.

But yeah, MOST people who smoke marijuana do it once a day or less. Most of the facts you can point to that say it doesn't do any long-term health damage assumes that the weed smokers in question are the kind who smoke a joint maybe once or twice a week, while in they're in college, who eventually give it up entirely a few years down the road, as they start careers and have families and what not. Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not trying to put myself in the "marijuana is evil" camp, just saying, if you're a very regular smoker and plan to be for the next few decades and think it's good for you, it's not.

But honestly, what DOESN'T cause cancer/something else these days? The sun causes cancer. Does that mean no one should go outside, ever? No. So I'm not saying you shouldn't smoke weed because one day you might get emphesyma or have respiratory problems or whatever. You should just know that you might.

So what d you guys think about like once a week for smoking from a bong or bubbler? Do your lungs have time to recover by then?

I don't know about "recovering", but a few hits once a week should be totally fine. If you do it for years and years, you might eventually notice some lung issues, but I doubt it, unless you have other factors, like asthma or something.

Naw no asthma or that stuff... I'm just wondering if they can recover after use like that? I know lungs can recover somewhat even after heavy cannabis use but I'm wondering how much and stuff and can you be left with problems from that? Also please back up anything you write!!!

Okay, well I don't have anything I can point you to specifically about marijuana use to back myself up, but here's one page about lung damage (that mentions specifically cigarette smoking and "other lung irritants"):

Lung conditions - obstructive pulmonary disease - Better Health Channel.

Lung tissue can heal itself to some degree, but not when it's completely damaged, like in cases of COPD mentioned on that web page. When you've gotten to the point when you have something like COPD, medical intervention is necessary to repair or regenerate lung tissue (breakthroughs have been made with stem cells stimulating the growth of new lung tissue). With very moderate use of marijuana, you shouldn't ever get to the stage where you need that though. It won't heal itself from week to week, if you smoke, say, every Friday night, but if you were to, for example, smoke every week for the next two years, gradually smoke less and less, and five years from now you aren't smoking ever, at all, then yeah, your lungs should be fine on their own without doctors needing to do anything radical. Think of it as if you were in a fire and had some moderate smoke inhalation. Your lungs won't be permanently damaged. Also think of it in terms of alcohol use. If you only have a couple drinks every few weeks, you're not going to kill your liver.

Like I said, that article above only mentions smoking in specific regard to cigarettes. And it takes years of regular, heavy cigarette smoking to permanently damage your lungs. If someone manages to quit smoking when they're 25, they're likely not going to have long term effects when they're 50 (if they made an effort to stay fit and are otherwise healthy... a 25 year old regular smoker might get winded easily when running or even walking, but if they quit smoking and work at staying fit, their lung function and stamina while doing exercise will improve, not stay the same as it was when they were smoking). I really wouldn't worry about your lungs needing to recover if you smoke a bit of weed once a week - it's not going to damage them enough to NEED to recover. Perhaps if you're still smoking once a week 30 years from now, there will be some damage, but not to the extent that cigarettes will cause.

Yeah cigarettes are far worse than cannabis... The thing is that even if you are smoking cannabis once a week for the rest of your life you may have some effects but I think if you stopped for like a month or even two weeks I think those effects should be able to go away. There's tons of evidence that supports that cannabis smoke can actually help lungs repair tissue and prevent tumor growth.

Now this brings up another question...

Is a water filtration system healthier for you than an unfiltered system such as a joint? And also is it worth getting a vaporizer?

Frankly, I don't understand why people smoke marijuana, except in situations where they have portability issues, paraphernalia issues, or lack of electricity. While smoking marijuana is very unlikely to cause any lung problems unless you smoke like a chimney, vaping is much more pleasant and has no lung issues at all. Even without those, I'd vape because I can get high twice as many times on the same amount of weed if smoked.

I would love to have a vaporizer when I have a credit card, but as a 16 year old I have no other option but to smoke.

If you have the cash, you can have a credit card. Wal-Mart offers pre-paid Visa cards. You can get a good box vape, like a VaporWarez, for $130. It'll pay for itself with the first $130 worth of weed you put through it because the weed will go twice as far.

The THC has anti-tumorous properties. So even if it is smoke going in your lungs its like balanced out by the THC and doesn't really harm you much.

I've never heard of emphysema on a just weed smoker either.