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| Serious | 52% | 287 votes | Total: 548 votes | |
| Benign | 48% | 261 votes |
Serious
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Add to FavoritesSmoking is a serious health hazard, so of course smoking pot would be no different. It's smoking, for goodness sake. All means of inhaling smoke is hazardous, so whether you're the one smoking or an innocent bystander, it can be dangerous to your health.
Anytime smoke, or for that matter any substance that's not needed for medical purposes, is inhaled into the lungs, it's a health hazard. My father was a farmer. He inhaled grain dust, barn dust, and field dust, as well as cigarette smoke. He was diagnosed with, and finally succumbed to emphysema. Granted, my father was not inhaling pot smoke. He was, however, inhaling foreign substances into his lungs.
Now emphysema is a horrible way to die. You slowly lose the ability to breathe, until there's not enough functioning lung tissue for you to draw a breath. Inhaling becomes a struggle, and you know it's never going to get better. There is no cure.
At the end, my father had twelve percent breathing capacity in one lung and eight percent breathing capacity in the other. He was on oxygen at least twenty three hours a day, and if he wanted to walk across the kitchen or go to the bathroom, he had to stop and rest, as he tried to catch his breath. Oxygen helps and there are medications that help, but they're not a cure. There is no cure, only prevention.
To those who claim they only smoke pot and not any other tobacco products, you're still smoking. If you say you don't inhale, then why are you smoking pot? If you don't inhale, you're not getting the "benefits" of marijuana in your blood stream. If you're not getting the "benefits," why bother? On the other hand, if there's a smoking object in your hand, the smoke is going someplace. Are you sure you're not inhaling?
Chances are, you'll claim you're not addicted. If you're not addicted, why risk the chance of lung cancer or emphysema, not to mention arrest? To me, it's just not worth it. I've tried pot several times, eight or nine years ago, but I didn't see the attraction. Whatever I was feeling at the time was enhanced, not changed. When I had a headache, it became a major umbrella opening inside my head, headache. When I was tired, I fell asleep. I would have soon fallen asleep anyway. When I was happy, I stayed happy. We were on our way to a party; we were already having a good time.
To me, it's not worth the risks; neither the risk to your health, nor the risk to your freedom. You could end up on probation, in jail, sick or even dead. But of course, you already knew that. I do, however, find these risks to be quite significant, and quite hazardous to your health!
Learn more about this author, Molly O'Shea.
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Benign
The issues surrounding "pot" are simple ones. The issue of this particular debate is the health risks that are tied to the use of marijuana. There is a health risk connected to taking anything other than fresh air into one's lungs and no one that has a working knowledge of the human body would argue that there isn't. Smoking marijuana must, by virtue of the fact that the smoke generated by it's burning is not fresh air, have a negative impact on the health of one's lungs. But, having said that, the hazard is absolutely benign.
First, marijuana is not, let me repeat that, is absolutely not addictive. Do your research and this fact will become clear in a really big hurry. Therefore, when the individual that chooses to smoke "pot" wants to, or needs to, stop they may do so with a great deal more ease than those that are addicted to smoking cigarettes. Cigarettes are addictive, legal and carcinogenic in the extreme. Therefore, when a person chooses to quit smoking cigarettes they will find that a "cold turkey" scenario is needed or that some form of outside aid is required and they will also find that, regardless of method used to quit, that is damned difficult to accomplish. Cigarettes have a great many additives. They do. It's a fact. Those additives are not, in many cases, naturally occurring chemicals and are in almost every way extremely harmful. Marijuana, if bought from people with any sense of honor, will be additive free or, at the very least, the person selling it will inform you of the additive so that you might be an informed consumer.
Marijuana can be used without it ever having entered the lungs. Make up some brownies or a cup of tea if you prefer and spare your lungs any ill effects. The delivery of the THC into the body need never cause the slightest of breathing problems for either the user or for the individuals that are in his or her presence. Tobacco has no real options to offer on the delivery system which means that the second hand smoke from it's use can make life hard on the non users. Varying the means by which the drug is consumed will limit any adverse health risk connected to the drug to the user alone.
Alcohol is highly addictive, it rots the liver, causes ulcers and car wrecks by the score and is absolutely legal. Marijuana, again, is not addictive. It doesn't rot the liver or cause ulcers and,though it may cause a car wreck, and no car wreck is a good one, it cause vastly less than alcohol does. When the user of alcohol becomes addicted quitting often requires stays in detox centers and these stays are often repeated over and over again until success is finally achieved. After these stays the addicted alcoholic can never drink again without having a relapse into addiction. When the user of marijuana becomes addicted,- oops, that's right, - they can't become addicted and, therefore, there really isn't much of a problem. They simply stop when they choose to stop.
As for any risks to the body, aside from cancer or lung diseases, (you'll recall our chat about varied delivery systems for this drug), are there really any drugs that one can take that don't have an ill effect on one's health? Caffeine is addictive and causes nervousness, high blood pressure and terrible stains of the teeth. Too many aspirin and the blood won't clot properly. Viagra may lead to an erection lasting four hours and while some might think that a plus the doctors say it's very, very bad. Blindness with Cialis (sp), maybe. The wonder drug, Television, clearly rots away brain cells and at a faster rate than anything known to mankind.
As for the natural hazards; too much exposure to sunlight and you'll get skin cancer. Breathe too much inner city smog and your lungs might just fail on you. Swim in the ocean and you may step on a used hypodermic needle, be stung by a jellyfish or bitten by a shark. Fail to install a carbon monoxide monitor in your home and you may well wake up dead. Mold is currently growing on the inside of home and left unchecked will surely send you and the loved ones to the hospital someday. Drive to work and be wary of the idiot on the cell phone who doesn't see you coming. Have unprotected sex with anyone and then hope that some years down the road you aren't hoping that they come up with a great new Aids vaccine.
This is, without any real doubt, a very benign health risk. You take a greater risk with your well being by crossing the street of any major American city or, as we've seen recently all too clearly and tragically, crossing a bridge. There are greater risks involved with the absolutely legal stimulants and reality escape systems of coffee and alcohol then there are with "pot". The risks involved with drinking alcohol are vastly greater than any risk one takes by using, (no one said smoking), marijuana.
Learn more about this author, Nouri Arif.
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