Here are a bunch of tidbits that have been in The Lancet, the world's leading independent medical SCIENTIFIC journal. The old "1 joint is equal to 10 cigarettes" thing was claimed on the amount taken in 1 hit of weed vs 1 hit of a cigarette combined with the length at which one holds each in their lungs, obviously weed being held in longer. It is a bogus media scare though.

In 1997, Tashkin and colleagues[ 18] reported that the rate of decline in respiratory function over 8 years among marijuana smokers did not differ from that in non-smokers. This finding contrasted with that of a follow-up of the Tucson cohort,[ 19] in which there was a greater rate of decline in respiratory function among marijuana-only smokers than in tobacco-only smokers and additive effects of tobacco and marijuana smoking. Both studies showed that long-term cannabis smoking increased bronchitic symptoms.

The safety of marijuana also needs additional clarification. The fact that marijuana has not been shown to produce serious health effects in casual users who tend to be young and healthy does not mean it will be devoid of adverse consequences in ill patients or in at-risk populations who may use marijuana on a continual basis. Long-term inhalation of marijuana smoke has adverse consequences on the lung,[ 8] potential for suppression of the immune system,[ 9] and abstinence symptoms on cessation.[ 10] Nadia Solowij and colleagues, in an observational study, now report impairment of cognitive function in long-term heavy cannabis users.[ 11]

The smoking of cannabis, even long term, is not harmful to health. Yet this widely used substance is illegal just about everywhere. There have been numerous calls over the years for the legalisation, or at least decriminalisation, of soft drugs, among which cannabis remains the most popular with all social groups. In this highly contentious area, the Dutch attitude has often been mentioned as the voice of sanity. In the Netherlands, customers of coffee shops can buy up to 30 g of cannabis for about [alpha]10 ($15) although the drug is technically illegal. The shops are not allowed to advertise, or to sell cannabis to individuals aged under 16 years.



My father has used marijuana for roughly 40 years, daily, and since he quit smoking cigarettes earlier this year I haven't heard him cough like he used to when smoking the tobacco. He is still a genius and hasn't shown any signs of mentally slowing down either. So I don't see anything wrong with it!