The following blog post is by Family Council staff member Deborah Beuerman.
There’s no special “medical marijuana” plant. The marijuana plant people smoke to get high is the same one some people claim is medicine. Looks like you’d better be prepared for side effects when smoking that medicine.
Smoking? Is there any other medicine people have to smoke? Smoking itself is harmful. And research continues to show marijuana contains more tar and toxins compounds than tobacco.
Marijuana smoke deposits in the lungs four times the tar of tobacco smoke. While there is not conclusive evidence that marijuana causes as much cancer as tobacco, smokers suffer from the same chronic lung illnesses and infections and respiratory problems like bronchitis and COPD.
Marijuana does cause one special infection. Aspergillus is a mold or fungus that grows on the plants. When taken into the lungs, one type of Aspergillus causes an allergic reaction and coughing and wheezing. Another type of Aspergillus can spread throughout the body and damage any of the organs, of course starting with the lungs. This infection, invasive aspergillosis can be fatal in 90% of cases.
Smoking marijuana is not good for anyone’s health.
