While cannabis is something that’s used by many people, the truth is, there is still a whole lot that we don't know. Specifically, how it can impact the lungs. This is typically because of the state of cannabis in plenty of countries, making it very hard for people to study, and a lot of people aren’t able to really express their honesty about the usage of cannabis. There isn’t a specific size for the joints either that’s considered the standard. In contrast, tobacco has the standard sizes, and the tobacco within them is pretty much standard all around.
But there isn’t any control on the size of the joint as well, and not to mention, there are people who smoke both tobacco and weed, and we don’t know the full effects of cannabis due to the tobacco usage that also occurs, and it’s not easy to separate this.
One study that was done by Ottawa hospital located in Canada looked at CT scans of over 56 different smokers, 57 people who don’t smoke, and 33 people who only use tobacco.
It showed that around 75% of those who smoked cannabis did have emphysema, which causes issues with the way that you breathed, and about 67% of those who smoked only tobacco had this. And for those who don’t smoke, around 5% of the people who didn’t had this condition.
The reason for cannabis being higher is primarily because the smoke in tobacco is filtered. But the cannabis smoke that’s there is not filtered, which means that there are more particulates within the airways. It’s also inhaled for a much longer period of time, and the volume of the puff can be larger than tobacco. It’s also something that shows the potency of joints, with more particles within the lungs for those who smoke joints, rather than those who just smoked tobacco.
Particulates are typical irritants, and right now, there are still limitations on the design of the experiments, since there are people who are in the smoking group for only cannabis, who also will use tobacco too, so we really don’t know whether or not the emphysema is from tobacco, cannabis, or both of these.
There are other cross-sectional studies that looked at those who smoked just cannabis. They weren’t as likely to show the symptoms of emphysema through the CT scans, especially when compared to tobacco smokers.
There was some physiological evidence within the other study though that those who do smoke cannabis also might deal with emphysema since it was shown that the oxygen extraction from where the air is tends to lessen, and of course, too much cannabis use causes lungs that are inflated way too much more than those who just use tobacco.
This may show that there might be a chance that emphysema and cannabis are connected. Some people refer to this as “bong lung” in certain cases.
Right now, the studies are still incredibly preliminary, and right now, we need to look at other studies, to back this up, and see if it does follow the state of the other publications too
There is a study though, that did find that those who smoked cannabis doe have higher inflammation in their aways, including the thickening of the bronchial wall, and more mucus that’s within the lungs, trapped and from there causing infections and breathing issues. There are other studies too that’s definitely going to play a role in this.
For a lot, there is still much to learn about the impact of cannabis, and what occurs next too.
