Cannabis is a powerful herbal plant known for its significant impact. Its benefits range from helping patients suffering from depression and anxiety to relieving inflammation in patients battling chronic ailments. Generally, cannabis has numerous positive effects, especially for people seeking alternative solutions to most of their problems. But does cannabis improve lung capacity? Well, there have been a lot of studies around this area. Read on to discover the relationship between the lungs and cannabis usage.

Effect and Benefits Depend on How it is Consumed.

First things first, before rushing to understanding delta-8-THC? make sure you understand the potential risks of using Marijuana. When properly used, Marijuana can offer numerous benefits to users. Usually, most people use it as a party joint. It is often taken in wrapped papers or smoked through bongs or pipes. 

Other users sometimes go for alternative products such as edibles like cookies, gummies, candy, and brownies. Other users prefer e-cigs, capsules, or tinctures. Some of the consumption methods are safe and recommended by experts. For instance, taking CBD oil, gummies, and edibles is much safer than when smoking the same cannabis. Smoking marijuana poses significant dangers to users for both primary and secondary smoke.

Cannabis Smoke and its Effects on Users 

Generally, smoke is unsafe for the lungs, regardless of its source. Harmful smoke comes from any form of combustion, including wood, plastic, tobacco, or Marijuana. Any burning that releases smoke comes with a release of toxins and carcinogens.

Besides the general danger caused by smoke from any source, Marijuana's consumption is different from tobacco. Unfortunately, cannabis smokers are said to inhale more smoke deeper and for longer than Tobacco smokers. This means that they are exposed more to the tar in the smoke. Most people assume that marijuana smoke is safer than tobacco because it contains no nicotine. 

However, it is equally polluting to the lungs. Sadly, non-users can also suffer from similar contamination through secondary smoke. This smoke has identical, if not more, harmful components that negatively affect the lungs once inhaled. There may be no studies showing the detrimental effect of the secondary smoke of cannabis; it is still a concern, especially when vulnerable kids are in the picture. 

Secondary smoke can affect children negatively. It is worse if the Marijuana has high levels of THC and the room is poorly ventilated. Even so, this sector needs further research to help clarify most of these claims.

Lung Health and Cannabis Smoking – A Split Between Positive and Negative Impacts

It appears as though smoking Marijuana is not suitable for human lung health. Studies indicate that this could trigger certain lung-related complications. For instance, a study revealed that the long-term smoking of Marijuana leads to an impairment of the large airway function. It, in turn, leads to an obstruction of airflow and causes hyperventilation. 

This is usually triggered by constant inflammation and edema in the tracheobronchial mucosa due to always smoking Marijuana. Patients tend to exhibit specific symptoms that are common for chronic bronchitis disease. They include wheezing, persistent chronic cough as well as increased sputum/phlegm production. 

Patients with heavy exposure to Marijuana smoking also tend to suffer from apical emphysema with large bullae formation. Such patients have a high level of inflammation in the lung cells, leading to injuries in the lungs. With these findings, one can assume that cannabis is generally not good for the lungs.

However, different studies prove otherwise. For instance, current data shows that inhaling combusted Marijuana indeed causes respiratory irritation that triggers the symptoms mentioned above. However, on the other hand, the same Marijuana seems to act as a bronchodilator. 

This means that it can decrease the respiratory airway's resistance, thus increasing the airflow to the lungs. What's more, there is no direct data that presently shows a link that the use of Marijuana alone triggers COPD(Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). The existing data indicate that Marijuana can cause lung injury when used in conjunction with tobacco.

In the same way, experimental studies show that heavy usage of Marijuana can lead to certain cancers. In contrast, other studies show the effectiveness of cannabis in the treatment of specific cancers. These findings indicate that it is more beneficial to users when Marijuana is used in a non-combustible form. It is thus advisable to use cannabis in other states, such as tinctures and edibles. 

Arguments that Marijuana Smokers Breathe Better

To further support the argument that moderate smoking of pot or cannabis can be beneficial, a comparison study by Harvard showcases users benefiting even after long-term use. The claim is that moderate to low smoking of Marijuana can help improve lung functioning. How this happens is yet to be established, but the bottom line is that smoking pot does not affect the lungs' functioning, as long as it is done in moderation. Compared to tobacco, whose long-term inhalation triggers COPD, Marijuana is generally safe despite having similar toxic substances such as tar and poisonous gases.

Final Thoughts

In the end, the consumption of Marijuana or cannabis should be done moderately. If possible, users should consider other methods as opposed to explosive inhalation. While cannabis has numerous benefits, it can cause harm when heavily used or abused.