“As of January 10, 2012, a new study has been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association exonerating marijuana from the bad reputation of being as harmful to your lungs when smoked as tobacco cigarettes. Researchers at the University of California San Francisco and the University of Alabama at Birmingham completed a twenty-year study between 1986 and 2006 on over 5,000 adults over the age of 21 in four American cities. Study co-author Dr. Stefan Kertesz is a professor of preventive medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He explained that the studies measured the pulmonary obstruction in individuals with up to seven joint-years of lifetime exposure (one joint per day for seven years or one joint per week for 49 years). “What this study clarifies,” Kertesz explains in a released video, “is that the relationship to marijuana and lung function changes depending on how much a person has taken in over the course of a lifetime.”

“…findings suggest that occasional use of marijuana may not be linked with unfavorable consequences on pulmonary function.  Marijuana is designated by the U.S. government as a Schedule I drug, which declares it has no medicinal purposes.  Previous studies have shown that the drug can be used to treat multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, nausea, and pain.  It has been known to have beneficial effects on pain control, mood, appetite, and managing of other chronic symptoms.  Despite these facts, marijuana continues to be depicted as more damaging to us than it’s legal counterpart tobacco. Marijuana activists, medical patients, and recreational users alike will rejoice knowing the evidence shows otherwise.”

Read more: http://nugs.com/article/marijuana-smokers-breathe-easy-says-the-university-of-alabama.html

“It wouldn’t have mattered if Bill Clinton inhaled, as far as his lungs are concerned. Smoking up to a joint per day doesn’t seem to decrease lung function, according to a study published in Jan. 11 edition of Journal of the American Medical Association.

In fact, occasional marijuana use was associated with slight increases in lung airflow rates and increases in lung volume, the study found.

Far from a license to light up, the study eases the worry among some health professionals that daily use of marijuana for medical reasons could have negative, long-term implications on pulmonary health.”

Read more: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=casual-marijuana-smoking&fb_action_ids=462987810404532&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582

“Marijuana smoke does not damage lungs in the same manner as tobacco smoke, according to a study released Jan. 11. The study found that smoking marijuana on an occasional basis does not appear to significantly damage the lungs.”

“Marijuana Smoke Not as Damaging as Tobacco, Says Study (ABC News)”

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/marijuana-poses-no-threat-to-lungs-1326344236-slideshow/

 “Researchers from UAB helped conduct a 20-year study designed to measure heart disease, but it’s getting international publicity because of what it means for moderate marijuana use and lung function.

Researchers studied low to moderate marijuana users, those who reported smoking about two to three times per month. With cigarette smoking, the more you smoke, the more you decrease your lung function.

This study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows with marijuana, it’s a much more complicated relationship.

Stefan Kertesz with the UAB School of Medicine says, “There was actually an increase in air flow and an increase in lung capacity, but not enough that a person would necessarily feel healthier.”

Dr. Kertesz says it’s important to emphasize the smokers in the study are not the heavy duty smokers often portrayed in movies. Researchers weren’t able to draw conclusions on the effects of heavy marijuana use and lung function.

He says it’s possible the very small increase in air flow researchers saw could represent something of a practice effect. Marijuana smokers are used to taking in deep breaths, holding it and breathing out, which could help them ace the office test of lung function.”

http://www.cbs42.com/content/localnews/story/Study-Smoking-Marijuana-Does-Not-Harm-Lungs/DIw4loQb9k-GZB8Ujf-sCw.cspx