Study: Smoking Pot Is Better for You Than Cigarettes

Let's blow this joint!

It’s been a matter of fierce debate on college campuses and in hipster homes for decades: Is smoking the occasional joint any better or worse for you than smoking the occasional cigarette? The Journal of the American Medical Association just published the results of a big fat study that says … it’s not!

Smoking (and inhaling) marijuana on a casual basis had no adverse effects on the pulmonary systems of the 5,000 lucky study subjects; in fact, many actually experienced improved lung functioning. Cigarette smoking, as I’m sure you’re more than aware, causes impaired lung function.

Scientists followed the pot smokers for 20 years and determined that smoking a joint a week for seven years doesn’t hurt lung function. On the downside, smoking a joint a day for a decade did cause a loss in lung capacity.

So the scientists urged moderation. Of course, they would.