Here ya go funny guy living under rocks The greatest health danger of marijuana is due to smoking, like cigarettes. While THC is a relatively safe drug, smoked marijuana is hazardous. Careful scientific analyses have identified at least 6,000 of the same chemicals in marijuana smoke as are present in tobacco (Iversen, 200
. The main difference between the two is THC in marijuana and nicotine in tobacco. Otherwise, smoked marijuana and smoked tobacco are chemically very similar.
Furthermore, one of the most potent carcinogens in tobacco smoke, benzo(α
pyrene, is present in even greater amounts in marijuana smoke. As marijuana smokers frequently inhale and hold the smoke in their lungs, this increases the amount of tar deposited in the respiratory system by about a factor of four. No wonder, research shows that approximately 20% of regular pot smokers (and it only takes 3 to 4 joints a day) complain of chronic bronchitis, coughing and excess mucus (Tashkin, 2005).
A burning tobacco cigarette can be thought of as a "miniature chemical factory" (Iverson, 200
. The process of combustion creates extra chemicals on top of those already present in the plant material. Smoke consists of two components. They are minute droplets in the particulate phase and volatile gases in the vapor phase. Experienced pot smokers inhale more deeply and hold their breath longer when compared to cigarette smokers. Wu el al. (198
compared the amount of particulate matter (tar) and carbon monoxide absorbed in volunteers who smoked both pot and tobacco. Compared to tobacco, smoking pot resulted in 5 times the amount of absorption of carbon monoxide and four to five times more tar being retained in the lungs.
Some studies indicate that when pot with a higher THC content is smoked users take smaller drags and don't hold it in as long (Matthias et al. 1997). Experienced users know how to adjust their smoking to attain a certain high. It may be that smoking joints with higher THC content results in less tar intake. Water pipes, filters, and vaporizes may also reduce the tar before it reaches the lungs.