Smoking Marijuana

How Is Marijuana Smoked?

Marijuana can be smoked in a variety of ways, including:

• Pipe smoking. Using a traditional smoking pipe, by packing marijuana leaves into the pipe instead of tobacco or other substances.
• Smoking a roll. Smoking any type of rolled cannabis product. These include:
  • Joints, which are rolled papers containing solely marijuana leaves
  • Blunts, which are cannabis cigarettes rolled in cigar paper
  • Spliffs, which are rolled cannabis cigarettes that contain both cannabis and tobacco
• Bong smoking. Using a bong (a water pipe) to smoke marijuana filters out some of the larger particles before the smoke is inhaled.
• Vaping marijuana. Using a vaporizer, people can consume varying levels of THC, sometimes much higher amounts than traditional smoking methods.
• Dabbing marijuana with a weed pen. Inhaling the smoke from melted cannabis extracts or waxes.

The above methods for smoking marijuana are common, but there may be other emerging methods used by some people.

Vaping Marijuana And Marijuana Pens

Vaping marijuana involves using a vaping pen or other vaping tool to smoke liquified, then aerosolized, marijuana products. The product may begin as a liquid or, if using a marijuana dabbing pen, a solid, that is then heated and vaporized to be inhaled.

Depending on the type of vaporizer, people may use dry herbs, cannabis concentrate in an extract or solid form, or cannabis e-liquid. Some misinformation has circulated that vaping may be “healthier” than other smoking methods because it does not require the inhalation of burned smoke. Still, the availability and widespread use of higher potency cannabis concentrates have presented additional health risks.

The Effects Of Smoking Marijuana

Smoking marijuana has health risks. It causes THC to enter the brain and blood much quicker and at higher doses than eating an equivalent amount of marijuana. This allows a person to feel the effects of marijuana almost immediately. These effects, both desired and undesired, may include:

• Euphoria
• A sense of relaxation
• Increased sensory perception (such as seeing colors “brighter”)
• Laughter
• An altered perception of time
• Increase in appetite
• Anxiety or fear
• Psychotic symptoms (such as hallucinations, delusions, or loss of sense of identity)
• Impaired short-term memory
• Increase in heart rate
• Worsened coordination and balance
• Impaired attention span and judgment

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Long-Term Effects Of Smoking Marijuana

Smoking marijuana and other forms of marijuana consumption are known to have several potential long-term effects on the brain. Possible long-term effects of marijuana use include:

• Memory impairment
• Lower IQ
• Onset of schizophrenia or other mental health issues in those with genetic vulnerability
• Addiction
• Increased risk of lung problems
• Sleep difficulty
• Decreased heart health
• Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome

These effects may be experienced long after intoxication, and some are permanent with long-term cannabis use. However, not every short- or long-term side effect is experienced by each person who smokes marijuana.

Lung Health And Marijuana

Smoking anything, including marijuana, can be damaging to a person’s lungs. Smoking marijuana is well-known to cause chronic bronchitis and injure the lining of a person’s lungs and large airways. This can cause chronic coughing, increased phlegm production, and wheezing. Examination of the lungs of some heavy marijuana smokers has shown air pocket development between the lungs and chest wall, and between the lungs, causing breathing difficulties.

In addition, the smoke damages lung cells that remove dust and filter the air a person breathes. A person may become more susceptible to infection and create more mucus as a result of smoking marijuana.

Heart Health And Marijuana

Smoking marijuana can also harm a person’s heart. A recent study by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute found that daily marijuana use was associated with a 25% increase in heart attacks and a 42% increased likelihood of stroke. Weekly use showed less of an increase but still elevated chances of heart attacks and strokes by 3% and 5%, respectively.

Exactly how marijuana causes these effects in the body is not clearly understood. However, researchers are exploring how, in addition to toxins, the effects of cannabis directly on receptors found on heart cells may contribute.

Smoking Marijuana During Pregnancy

Using marijuana during pregnancy can have negative effects on you and your baby. Some people may believe that marijuana helps with morning sickness, but there are no well-studied cases that prove this assertion, and there are safer alternatives to help with pregnancy-related nausea and vomiting.

Taking either recreational or medical marijuana during pregnancy may lead to the following adverse events for the fetus:

• Disruption of normal brain development
• Smaller birth size or weight
• Higher risk of stillbirth
• Higher chance of premature birth
• Harm from secondhand smoke after the baby is born
• Increased likelihood of behavioral problems and short attention span for the child when older

For pregnant women, smoking marijuana while pregnant may lead to:

• Permanent lung injury
• Dizziness, making falls more likely
• Impaired judgment, increasing risk of injury
• Lower levels of oxygen, leading to breathing problems

If it is difficult to stop using marijuana on your own, help is available. Deciding to quit smoking marijuana during pregnancy can make a lifetime of difference for your child.

Smoking Marijuana Vs. Tobacco

People often debate whether smoking marijuana or tobacco is more harmful to a person, but studies of the two substances have not been able to find consistent evidence that one or the other causes more damage. However, there is no debate that both can be harmful, carcinogenic, and cause birth defects.

It is difficult to directly compare the two in observational studies for many reasons:

• People who smoke one often smoke the other; up to 70% of marijuana users also smoke tobacco.
• Marijuana joints often deliver at least 4x the amount of tar to the lungs as tobacco cigarettes of equal weight.
• People often inhale marijuana smoke for longer and deeper breaths than when smoking tobacco.
• Tobacco cigarettes are packed tighter than joints, so they produce more smoke.
• People who smoke tobacco often smoke more cigarettes per day than those who smoke marijuana.

It is not ethical to conduct studies that subject people to smoking either substance when they would not otherwise be doing so because of the known harm of both substances. Therefore, conclusions must be drawn from observational studies alone. Thus, substance use professionals cannot definitively say that either substance is more harmful but can assert that both substances can cause significant long-term harm to people who chronically use them.

Are Marijuana Edibles Safer Than Smoking?

Consuming marijuana edibles may protect a person from the harm of smoke in their lungs, but it still poses a risk.^` One danger with edibles is that the late onset of effects can lead people to consume more marijuana than they intended. The effects of taking marijuana through edibles can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to set in, while effects from smoking set in within minutes. As a result, people may ingest more marijuana than expected from edibles, not realizing that the effects have not yet peaked.

Therapy To Help You Stop Smoking Marijuana

If you are concerned about your own or a loved one’s habit of smoking marijuana,  participating in evidence-based treatment from substance use professionals can help. Several therapeutic techniques exist to help you quit smoking and regain your health.

Explore your online therapy options today and start working with a licensed therapist who can support you from the comfort of your own home. Additionally, if your marijuana use is coupled with other substance use or mental health conditions, inpatient and outpatient treatment can provide more structured support as you heal. Contact a treatment provider today or browse our rehab directory to explore treatment options.