ONDCP: Smoking Marijuana Causes Phlegm, Coughing, and Stuff
The Drug Czar's blog eagerly touts the finding of a recent Yale School of Medicine study showing that long-term marijuana use isn’t good for your lungs.
Marijuana: Harmless?Predictably, the drug warriors are grabbing onto this like a life-preserver after a week of tough news. New research proves that medical marijuana helps AIDs patients, a DEA judge recommends ending their monopoly on research, and Americans for Safe Access sues them in federal court for lying to the public, and all they can say is "but you'll get a bad cough!"
From HealthDay News:
"People who smoke marijuana for a long time face many of the same kinds of respiratory problems -- such as phlegm, coughing and wheezing -- as long-term cigarette smokers, say researchers at the Yale School of Medicine."
Remember the good old days when marijuana made you rape and kill? No one complains that crack is bad for your lungs, because it's goddamn crack and its reputation precedes it. Indeed, the phrase "long-term health consequences" is seldom used with regards to any drug but marijuana, because they're too busy promising instant death.
Further progress on our part will become evident during the imminent debate over whether pot brownies cause tooth decay.
Looking for the easiest way to join the anti-drug war movement? You've found it!
Tooth decay?
Awww, come on Scott, you know your teeth will get rotten if you eat too many brownies. I don't know if you remember the old movie "Reefer Madness" but you can get many pointers for avoiding "pot smokers" because they can turn "mad" at any moment and you never know what they will do. Hey, I think we should all pitch in and do our part for the "war on drugs", for our country's sake, and buy a copy of that movie and send it to the DEA and all of the other participants so they can use it in their campaign. What a brilliant idea! And that was my contributing two cents.
Gaynel in Arkansas
marijuana
it makes you extremely happy, is not addicting, and when under the infulence of it would probably be the most unlikely time to be violent. God gave us this plant, it's here for a reason. Drugs such as crack are man-made. Humans have creates some harmful and messed up drugs. Marijuana came here with nature.
I'm all for legalizing pot
I'm all for legalizing pot too. I'ma stoner but I it actually is addictive but only slightly. Caffine.. which is in almost evey soda and chocolate bar, is just as, if not more, addictive.
if they legalie pot, they will tax it!
im all for , if they dont tax it> we r pretty lucky 2 b able to buy something we all enjoy smoking with out tax. if it was legalized we would b dealing with the price rise jus like cigarettes now
Taxing Pot
As much as I'm not a fan of governments intruding in our lives... or taxes for that matter - the legalization of pot would actually set a more controlled cost. As in, the moment any product is made illegal, the price of manufacturing and distribution will be cut down as well. As it won't be a risk for a dealer (a 7-11 for instance) to sell, so too will the prices reflect that. Legal pot will be much cheaper based on weight, though there would be a tax - and even the new price and the tax combined wont come as close to how high pot is sold for on 'the street', as the markup *has* to be severe to cover risk factor, etc.
addicting..
Everything can be addicting, its incorrect to state that weed isnt.. just because you arent. People with addicting personalities can become addicted to anything once they find a reward or pleasure associated.
Alcohol is extremely
Alcohol is extremely addicting. It's a powerful depressant. Used, even mildly, daily will cause increased
adrenaline production, which causes increased drinking causing even higher adrenaline production.
Which is how one becomes phonically addicted to alcohol. I was brought up to embrace alcohol (tobacco to)
Alcohol is a bigger problem than even crack because it's forced in our faces from birth by the culture of greed that are threatend by marijuana.
true but....
ok so iv used weed alot and i have begun to gough up light to slighly darker greyish collors and have begun weezing along with what feel to be slightly labord brething what do you think?
that's a myth. It is most
that's a myth. It is most certainly psychologically addictive and many believe psychically too after prolonged use. natural? heroin comes from poppy's too, dude. that being said, it should totally be legalized like all other drugs. portugal has the drop.
Yea, as a pot-smoker I will
Yea, as a pot-smoker I will say that it is addicting. I don't believe that "God's" intentions were for people to smoke it, I don't believe that any kind of smoke is good for your lungs. It doesn't matter if it doesn't give you cancer, it still isn't good.
Marijuana
Well, Duh! I mean SMOKING anything will possibly generate those problems. I hope they weren't paid to research something that almost anyone with common sense all ready knows???
We eat more unhealthy chemicals than we smoke.
Look at the food nowadays. Most of it isn't completely real but where is the fight to stop us (the american people) from eating it. All marijuana distributors need to do is bride the right politicians. Most the people want the drug to take us out of the real world which is so disturbing since the inception of America or what I like the call it GREED.
PRO-MARIJUANA QUESTION ...
A question: So, if your kid sister or brother, or better yet, your teenage son or daughter asks if it's OK if they start smoking weed, YOU'LL SAY WHAT? I'm asking for an honest answer. My 17 year old son said THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH IT. I ask him, "So it's OK for your younger sister to smoke it too then? - (she's 16) - and he says (emphatically, I might add): NO, I DON'T WANT HER TO.
Comments? ...heartfelt ones please. How can one so easily rationalize a drug as HARMLESS yet protect loved ones from this HARMLESS drug?
Protection from the Harmless
Doesnt "protecting someone from something harmless" sound a bit contradicting? Hypothetically, theres nothing in need of protection! Its harmless. in everybody's day to day life we do things without paying too much head to them. Those things, and i prefer not to be specific for the obvious reason that EVERYTHING we do, has positives and negatives. everything. why over-analyze herb so much? its like, youre looking TOO far into it. id recommend the ceasing of hamburger consumption, LET ALONE prescription drugs and their side effects and many, many more things over tearing myself apart over a controversial subject, that doesnt need to be controversial! save YOURSELF the hassle of the media imposed issue, and try to understand that its not an issue.
well put, keep up the good
well put, keep up the good work man!
Leave the buds out of this.
people get sick from coffe, sugar, and a whole slew of other things. weed has its good and bad effects. so does walking. its fun to do and we need to do it, but its bad on our joints, bad for our bones with age, i know this seems extreem, and im sorry. if you dont like weed dont smoke it. it is just like cigarettes, except for the fact that there are some good, and adverse health effects. leave pot alone man. i smoked pot, and no one died. parents im not saying let your teens smoke buddah. i am just saying it may not be ok with you, but it really does help some people.
thank you, come again.
ogroovy.
I think the fact that we
I think the fact that we might not want our loved ones and close friends to use is because of our lack in faith in those people. I do not feel that everyone is the same in their tendencies and we cannot generalize about pot and its users. that is like saying that all drivers drive one way, wrong. I am 18 and have smoked for three years. I made a 3.8 in high school, maintained the same job since I was 16, and I am now at a 4- year university on the dean's list. You should be glad your kids are smoking weed; alcohol is a poison whereas it is impossible to overdose on marijuana. your children will turn out fine as long as you love them and believe in them. peace.
yes i would let my children smoke marijuana
i would think anyone who has smoked grss before would realize that it isnt harmful - im a smoker ad i love to smoke - and i would rather my children, or anyone, to smoke marijuana than to experiment with other things - such as alcohol which happens to have very serious side-effects and is linked with dependentcy, liver damage, and alcohol poisoning (instant death)
BUT!
i would NOT suggest smoking all the time. when i was in high school i was smoking weed fairly often and i wasnt affected at all because i did not go smoke instead of going to school while some people i know smoked all day every day and these are the people you heard about that make you want to shelter your children
set boundaries, let your children use common sense and good judgment to make their own decisions - you have to guide them through potentialy bad things not shelter them from them
these are just my thoughts i have no kids of my own. so i could be wrong...
A heartfelt comment.
If weed were legalized, there would be an age limit. I'm sure a parent wouldn't want their 17 year old son smoking cigarettes, but when he comes of age, it's his decision regardless of what his parents think.
Your son and daughter.
Your 17 year old son seems to have his head firmly planted on his shoulders.
He is almost right, there is nothing wrong with the chemicals in cannabis that get us high. The plant matter, the resin within and (sometimes) the lifestyle can be harmful.
I am a pot smoker, an advocate and I love standing up for it. I noticed when I was younger (your sons age) that I was coughing up black stuff, bad tastes in my mouth...etc. I got a vaporizer, I no longer deal with the unimportant parts of the cannabis bud.
Your son may have a good idea of how marijuana and its market is run... shit is sad! Since cannabis is an illegal drug by law, but most people enjoy its effects, it has become a fucking horror show for drug dealers to just take it over, gangsters with guns, people who kill each other for a market, an area, for money. The only thing I currently see unsafe about cannabis is its resins that end up in your lung if smoked (not particularly dangerous, but not enjoyable at all... can't be a GOOD thing) and the fact that this drug is a black market one, one of which is sold by criminals, people who KNOW how to be criminals. Billions of dollars are being given to criminals every year just so we can all have a few joints after work.
LEGALIZE, REGULATE!!!!
Maybe your 17 year old son understands this, maybe he is scared that his younger sister will become involved with un-respectable, potentially dangerous drug dealers. Maybe she will be told "oh, you like the weed huh? try this OPIATE, its a lot the same, just stronger"
And yes... I have seen this being peddled before... oxycodone as a strong type of weed high. It is sad that people are shown these drugs and these lifestyles when all they want is to smoke some pot like the rest of us...
My 2 cents.
PRO-MARIJUANA ANSWER
As far as dealing with letting my kids, who are both under 2 right now, smoke weed.....i see it like this... Its an adult decision we make when we are adults to smoke. Atleast 18. Its not a drug. I would much rather her choose to experiment with weed than drugs. Just like making the adult decision at 21 to drink, there are responsibilities such as not driving and knowing your limits. I would never allow it otherwise just like with alcohol. I didnt start smoking til I was 18 but didnt reg smoke until after I was 25 and I have never tried any drugs. Im 29 now.I know it cant work for everyone, but it has for me
the man
honestly its probably more of the idea that it is socially unacceptable and can cause legal issues. the worst side affect of marijuana is the jail time... thats all there is to it he protecting his sister from the man....
weed....makes you happy when your sad or deppressed
i think weed isnt bad, i try anyting to get it but then i found out a few days ago that my friends mom smokes it so she steals it for me nd ya emai me bac at [email protected]!
JustSomeGuy
I've been smoking pot pretty much every day since I was 15,
My cough Is usually worst In the morning when I hack up bit bits of greyish phlegm (I know...) but I dont smoke cigs or joints and I don't have trouble breathing.
Your situation is like mine,
Your situation is like mine, i smoke everyday and if i cough hard enough i feel a bit of phlegm in my lower throat, but as long as your phlegm doesn't have blood in it, it isn't cancer, i just wonder if its permanent
dont think its permanat
i cough that phlegm shit up to in the mornings to im pretty sure if you stopped smoking your lungs would repair themselves but would take about 6 months to fully repair depending on how long you smoked and within a week or 2 you will notice less phlegm
ON DA REAL..
FIRST OF ALL, EVERYBODY IS DIFFERENT AND I CAN ONL SPEAK FROM MY EXPERIENCES. IF YOU CHOOSE TO SMOKE WEED PLEASE KNOW THAT THERE IS A CHANCE YOU CAN DEVELOPE EXCESS PHLEGM. ALTHOUGH ALL THAT COUGHING MIGHT BLOW YOUR HIGH, THATS ABOUT AS SERIOUS AS IT GETS. BUT ONLY IF YOU TAKE A COUPLE OF DAYS TO REST YUOR LUNGS AND CLEAR THE PHLEGM. IT'LL BE ORTH IT. BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T YOU'RE JUST WASTING YOUR TIME. BECAUSE OF THE PHLEGM IN YOUR THROAT YOU WONT BE ABLE TO REALLY INHALE THE SMOKE WITHOUT COUGHING OR MAYBE EVEN CHOKING. AND IF THAT CONTINUES YOU'LL HAVE MUCH BIGGER PROBLEMS ON YOUR HANDS. SO I CANT TELL YOU TO STOP SMOKING, (EVEN THOUGH IT IS NOT GOOD FOR YOU), BUT WHAT I AM TELING YOU IS DONT LET THE PROBLEM LINGER TAKE CARE OF IT AS SOON AS IT BECOMES A PROBLEM, CAUSE IT WILL ONLY GET WORST. PUT ONE IN DA AIR FO YA BOY AND BREATHE EASY.
Long time user to occasional user of matijuana
I have been smoking marijuana since I was 12 years old. I stayed in school and went to college, and now I work for the government. We all know marijuana does affect the memory but it is not hard to be successful and still smoke weed. I believe it is your own choice to smoke weed or do other drugs. You should read up and find out information on the drug you would like to do before using.I am currently detoxing from marijuana after 11 years of smoking weed almost everyday. I am not totally quiting, I'm just going to smoke on occasionally. I am coughing up phlegm excessively. I am slowing down smoking weed because I feel marijuana is making to lazy after work and is holding me back from launching my business. I know I may be a little hypocritical by saying you can be successful and still smoke weed, then saying is it's holding me back. I'm just being honest I am successful and plan to make my business successful and I need a clean mind to do so. Take what you want from my post, but don't push your family member (Parents, Siblings, friends too) away because they smoke weed, except their chooses.
Thanks for reading!
Kevin Robbins
Kevin, Is it possible to
Kevin,
Is it possible to have smoked marihuana and to work for the government? Does one's use preclude them from government employment?
Try to look at weed as a bad thing
I am a 22 year old Canadian University student and I have smoked marijuana every day for the last 3 years. I completely agree that Marijuana does no harm to your body except for the fact that you can get a cough, lol. But there is other side effects to this drug, as it makes it ok for you to be bored. I know some people who have smoked weed their whole life and over time they get so used to doing nothing that eventually that is all their life is. Weed is an addiction, but it is a life style addiction.
Also as much as I hate to say "Gateway Drug" I have to say this kind of is. As everyone is saying, marijuana makes you happy when you are depressed. Well after time, marijuana starts to lose some of its effects and a person must smoke more in one sitting in order to feel that high. Well sometimes I have a bad day and weed just doesn't bring me to that "stoned" level and I wonder what Ecstasy would feel like. I would never do anything but marijuana, for the fear of some kind of brain damage or death by man-made chemicals. But, none the less, it can still bring unwise people to other drugs.
Again, I am Pro Marijuana. But I am not Pro-Legalization. I think this is a wondrous drug in its natural form, and if the government legalizes it and gets their hands on it, I know they will change it for mass-marketing and it would never be the same.
And I agree with the poster above me. Always read up on a drug you plan to use and use it wisely. I also agree that you should not force people to either try marijuana or to not try it. I have friends that tryed it and dont like it and thats fine.
I am off to smoke a bowl and write an essay. Everyone enjoy your life.
The slippery slope is another lie about pot
The "Gateway drug" argument is a fallacy. The link is coincidental not causative. People who go on to harder drugs have probably drank alcohol the same or even more then the number of people who smoke pot and go on to harder things. This little argument is pretty weak imho.
The only thing about pot opening up other drugs for people is that people can be led to think that drugs are all not very bad. Then they try pot, its not that bad. This doesnt match up with what they've been told and people realize they've been sold a pack of lies. It then discredits all of the anti-drug information they've heard. Scare tactics about pot backfire and erode the entire anti-drug message. The Nazis understood very well that propaganda has to resemble the truth as much as possible and they tried to put out some pretty untrue crazy propaganda! Anti-drug fighters havent learned that lesson and imagine they can spew out a pack of lies and people wont see through it. Its incredible some of the things that are claimed about pot that are obviously untrue. It makes me think about how masturbation was associated with hairy palms and blindness.
Pot has no link to cancer (it seems that THC may accelerate cell death inhibiting cancer) This is counter-intuitive, since pot has carcinogens and leaves four times as much tar in your lungs as a cigarette you would expect this to cause cancer - yet it doesnt. It has beneficial effects as a pain killer, Alzheimer inhibitor, and appetite stimulant.
Be happy with weed
Why do you need to take drugs or smoke weed to get high? Don't you know how to be happy with the simple things in life? Like holding someone's hand you love, or taking a walk in nature, or having a bubble bath, or having a conversation with a good friend, or playing cards, or baking cookies, or calling a loved one ( your grandma would love to hear from you) ,or volunteering in a seniors home and making them laugh, or be a Big Brother or Big Sister, or sitting on a park bench and watching the birds, or go for a bike ride in a nice neighbourhood, or, or, or ,do you get it? I think relying on a substance that alters your mind is copping out. Quit using something to get you where you can go yourself, quit faking it and get a reality check !! Why not make someone else happy instead of self indulging? By the way I have had my share of difficult times and I have pulled through without any foreign substances which alter the mind.
re:"Why do you need to take drugs or smoke weed to get high?"
Have you ever done thos
e things after smoking a spliff?
Even better!
"By the way I have had my share of difficult times and I have pulled through without any foreign substances which alter the mind."
So fucking what? What's your point. You think you're living in reality simply because you've never ingested a substance. Guess what friend, adrenaline rushes through you every day, seretonin, dopamine, you have them all.
You're not better than anyone, you assume that people who smoke weed don't volunteer at seniors home, dont bake cookies, dont talk to their grandmother and by making this asusmption you prove your retardation.
For the record, i have been smoking for 8 years, about 4 regularly, and i enjoy my life thoroughly! :)
byeeeeee
wweed
weed is great
being high is great
love it
and if you love it
work around it and work with it
dont try to stop doing what you enjoy
and if you dont love it
keep livin life without it
and leave it for the rest of us to enjoy
and dont judge
cuz we dont judge you
POT IS STUPID!
if u smoke pot your just as low and pathetic as brittney spears!
i hate em
i hate pot smokers and if u do it ... then you suck!
re: i hate em
Okay. Well first of all, using the word "hate" is low, try to be a little more mature. Second, you probally dont have a clue about it, yet your the person who is addicted to coffee, gets headaches on the weekends because of it, drinks with friends till one of them throws up. yet, its so easy for you to say you hate pot smokers. If pot is used in moderation, then it is fine, when it is smoked 5+ times a day, everyday, that is when i believe it begins to have some negative effects (known from personal experience).
and as far as loved ones..... of coarse i wouldnt want a younger sister smoking pot, as well as a million other things.. drinking, hanging out with guys, staying out late, ect ect
Reply to the above 2 comments
you dont know what you are talking about. try weed before you criticize it and act like you understand the drug. It could end up being the best decision of your life :)
im so happy right now.
all these smart people saying good things about weed
i am so proud.
this blog is about weed
this blog is about weed cough and phlegm not about other gay shit don't comment on how cool it is or if you don't like it. (so irrelevant)
has anyone fully recovered from excessive phlegm and cough, i just started coughing up a fair amount of phlegm in the morning or after i drink coffee, also a bit of pain in the chest.
yeah probably you can
yeah probably you can probably get rid of your cough and phlegm and continue to smoke but it would be harder than if you didnt smoke, smoking also makes you more suseptible to cough and colds because it aggravates the lungs and sinuses and therefore makes it harder for them to cope with illness, smoking bongs is ok depending on how you do it if you use it like a water pipe its good because it filters the smoke but if your hardcore and try to pull through the bong in one you actually use up alot more lung capacity than usual and therefore over a while this will lead to a build up of phlegm as when you breath normally you do not inhale as deeply when you rip the bong.
i would suggest drinking alot more water than usual as this will help cleanse your lungs and keep you hydrated, as often the cause of a cough is simple dehydration. give the bong a rest once in a while or just get it out on those special occasions, or use it as more of a water pipe and just sip it obviously depending on its size. also get lots of fresh air even exersice will help clear your lungs, try smoking in the park i dont know where you live but if you can find a place to smoke outside its always better than hot boxing it all the time. eating apples is good they contain an acid which is supposed to help with cleaning the lungs. and lastly dont forget anti bacterial mouth wash keep your throat and mouth clean especially when you sleep will help alot as the build up of bacteria on the back of throat will be greater after smoking and is likely to lead to coughing and or a sore throat.
hope this makes your smoking a more pleasurable experience, take it easy.
Effects of Pot
Well, addicting or not...it certainly may have an effect on peoples ability to spell...
serf's up dood!
WEED IS THE SHIT
I think if you don't smoke weed you suck.
weed
all day!
What about harm reduction?
I agree with your points Marijuanna is not evil--it might be as benign as Caffeine or Chocolate. However, I think the act of
inhaling anything into your lungs excessively has risk. For example, in Hong Kong and China there are cases of Chinese
women being more susceptible to lung cancer because of inhaling the cooking fumes. There are higher lung cancer rates for some Buddhist monks from inhaling excess incense during worship. Although studies such as Tashkin (2006) have
suggested that their is no correlation between lung cancer and smoking Marijuana I believe that one has to proceed
with caution. I am not saying don't smoke. What has been missing from this discussion is harm reduction. Buy a vaporizer,
or eat marijuana, don't consume marijuana when you are already high and it is unnecessary, don't hold in the smoke in too too long THC is absorbed very quickly and efficiently into the human bloodstream.
"The drug is really quite a remarkably safe one for humans, although it is really quite a dangerous one for mice and they should not use it." - J.W.D Henderson Director of the Bureau of Human Drugs, Health and Welfare, Canada
The Publics view on TetraHydroCannabinol or THC
Since before i could remember i was being told marijuana is BAD but thats a commom misconception. Yes, weed may be a drug and it is mind impairing but would you rather have someone in your family be a meth head than a pot head. and dont say its the same becuase its not. Meth heads pick there scabs and smoke them to get high if they dont have any drugs. Pot heads would never do anything like that because we cant and wouldnt. i have been smoking marijuana for 37 years and i have a firm belief that it is one of gods greatest gifts to man. it helps people with aids to EAT!!! and cancer patients too. now theres no way that using a legal substance such as alcohol or some medicinal pill can make you hungry without the help of THC. and THC only comes from The Cannabis Sativa plant. or MARIJUANA
MARIUANA MARCH
Prince george BC, Canada
may 17th
CIty hall to Fort George park
Written by Ydarb McHorningvoy
Vaporizer anyone?!
If you smoke or not is your choice, dont let anyone ever tell you anything else. And as far as the bad effects on lungs go you can use a bong to help or just use a vaporizer which will vaporize the THC and not burn the plant. Therefore you only breathe in THC. Furthermore the DEA knows full well that vaporizers arguable remove all risk of lung damage and is just trying to cover it up because they are all anti-marijuana.
to all anti weed extremists.
why do you care if I or any one else smokes weed. wasting your time telling us not to..... i dont tell you to do it, so why do you tell anyone not to...
A realistic view of marijuana from a chronic smoker
Ok, here's the thing...smoking pot daily is for people like me, that are happy with the way their lives are, and GROWN UP. I can sometimes get through a 1/4 a week, so I know what I am talking about. IT IS NEVER OK for parents to condone kids 18 and under to smoke!!! This can warp their brains as pot often does. It is never good to do this when the kid really has no idea how the world works yet (no 18 year old does). It can have the power to greatly limit a young person's choices. There exists a huge stigma against pot in this country. Therefore, pot heads are often ostracized from groups that could have been extremely helpful to them. The bottom line about kids smoking...human beings are social creatures, and pot often causes people to isolate or be ignored. Soon they find that they have to take on the world by themself. It can be an incredible limitation on their life. If a parent allows this to happen, he/she might as well shoot your kid in the foot. Of course, if you are an asshole parent and don't know how to control your kids, or you just don't care to try, why did you have them in the first place?
For the user, pot is good for making you happy, no matter how dire your situation is. Why work for something in life that can make you happy when you can just toke up, right?
weed is not stupid poeple are stupid
my yob here is done
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