The federal government claims that marijuana has ‘no accepted medical use’ and continues to classify it in the same category as heroin, MDMA, and PCP. This claim is made by the government despite countless studies existing which highlight its many industrial and medicinal uses. One very recent study sheds light not only on how the plant could be beneficial, but how casual marijuana use doesn’t even lead to lung damage and could even have positive effects on the lungs.

Marijuana Use May Have Positive Effects on Lungs

The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, examined 5,115 men and women over the course of two decades – between March 26, 1985 and August 19, 2006. The data also showed that high-use of the plant, about one joint every day for 7 years, had little to no negative impact on lung air flow rates or lung volume. What’s shocking is that there is evidence pointing to slight increases in lung air flow rates as well as enhancements in lung volume from occasional marijuana use – positive effects of marijuana many wouldn’t believe. According to one of the study’s co-authors, Stefan Kertesz:

“With marijuana use increasing and large numbers of people who have been and continue to be exposed, knowing whether it causes lasting damage to lung function is important for public-health messaging and medical use of marijuana…at levels of marijuana exposure commonly seen in Americans, occasional marijuana use was associated with increases in lung air flow rates and increases in lung capacity.”

Yet this is only one more finding to compliment the many past findings regarding the lack of danger and positive aspects of cannabis. Studies have found marijuana use to be beneficial in treating multiple sclerosis, Tourette syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder, brachial plexus neuropathies, insomnia, memory disorders, anxiety disorders, cancer, neurodegenerative disease, and many more conditions. Most notably, the plant possesses a significant painkilling effect as well as noticeable improvements in sleep.

Some cannabis activists actually state that certain properties of marijuana can act as a “cure-all” in the right forms. Marijuana low in THC, the active ingredient responsible for psychoactive effects, and high in CBD (cannabidiol), offer the health promoting aspects of cannabis while avoiding the “high”. Although both THC and CBD are considered cannabinoids, CBD acts as a neutralizer and blocks the psychoactive effects of THC. Hemp is a perfect example of a plant containing low or no THC levels and high CBD levels, yet it is still illegal to grow within the United States.

Why is marijuana illegal? Whether individuals choose to use marijuana or hemp should be their choice. There is plenty of information available portraying the positive aspects of these plants, but government censorship still persists. No matter what, being able to use these substances is our given right, and no authority should be able to take that away from us.