Marijuana Smoking Isn’t Healthy

Source: Kathleen Doheny, "Recreational Marijuana: Are There Health Effects?" WebMD, 11 December 2012.

Lung Damage

"'Putting smoke in your lungs is not good for the lungs,' says Roland Lamarine, HSD, professor of public health at California State University, Chico. ... Some research shows that marijuana smoke has up to 70% more cancer-causing substances than tobacco smoke, it says. 'Nobody is advocating that routinely inhaling carcinogenic smoke is healthy,' says Paul Armentano, the deputy director of NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws)."

"Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's" (I Corinthians 6:19-20).

Motor and Thinking Skills

"Long-term, heavy use of marijuana can lead to impaired thinking skills and memory problems, Lamarine says, citing published studies. The impairments can be especially hazardous when trying to do everyday activities such as driving. ... In a recent study, Yale University researchers looked at the effects of both marijuana and alcohol on driving. Both impair driving-related skills. But they found the impairment effects of marijuana, compared to those of alcohol, vary more among people. That is thought to be due to differences in tolerance, smoking technique, and the potency of the marijuana."

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour" (I Peter 5:8).

Mental Health

"Marijuana use can be linked with anxiety, Lamarine and Armentano agree. Several published studies, Lamarine says, have found a link between marijuana use and anxiety, but not necessarily full-blown anxiety disorders. Studies have also found a link between regular marijuana use and panic attacks."

"Likewise exhort the young men to be sober-minded, in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you" (Titus 2:6-8).