Respiratory

One of the most significant impacts on health is the effect of marijuana on the respiratory system.

We know that many of the chemicals present in tobacco are also present in marijuana. Of particular significance is the chemical benzo(a)pyrene, (found in both tobacco and marijuana) which is a known cancer causing agent. We also know that there is approximately four times the amount of tar in a marijuana cigarette as in a tobacco cigarette.

Extensive research has been done on the effects of marijuana on the respiratory system by Dr. Donald P. Tashkin, M.D. Professor of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles. Dr. Tashkin has been conducting studies on the effects of marijuana on the respiratory system for over 15 years and is the researcher whose studies are most often quoted by both camps (those who would like to legalize the drug and those opposed to legalization).

Source Documentation:

Marijuana effects and side effects, 2001, Report by CNS Productions Inc.

"Marijuana smoke produces airway injury, acute and chronic bronchitis, lung inflammation and decreased pulmonary defenses against infection. Smoking one marijuana cigarette leads to air deposition of four times as much cancer-causing tar as does tobacco smoke. (Dr. D. Tashkin, Western Journal of Medicine.)" (BUSTED America's war on marijuana, PBS online) 

"Marijuana smoking, if it occurs on a regular basis, leads to symptoms of acute and chronic bronchitis. Chronic bronchitis consists of chronic cough for most of the days in a few months out of the year." (Marijuana Effects & Side Effects, CNS Productions, 2001)

"'Because marijuana users often inhale the unfiltered smoke deeply and then hold it in their lungs as long as possible, chronic marijuana use may play a role in the development of chronic respiratory problems,' says Wadler (Dr. Gary Wadler, a New York University School of Medicine professor)". (Drugs and Sports, Marijuana, ESPN, September 6, 2001)