Emphysema is More Common in Cannabis Smokers

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), marijuana is used by more than 48 million people, making it the most used federally illegal drug in the U.S. It affects the part of the brain responsible for memory, learning, attention, decision-making, coordination, emotion, and reaction time and has been linked to increased risk of psychosis or schizophrenia in some users.

If those facts aren’t sobering enough, new research has also linked it to higher rates of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

According to a study in Radiology, COPD is more common in cannabis smokers than cigarette smokers, likely because it enters the lungs unfiltered. The study involved chest CT scans of 56 marijuana smokers, 33 tobacco-only smokers and 57 nonsmokers. It found higher rates of emphysema among the marijuana smokers (42 out of 56) than nonsmokers (three out of 57) but not tobacco-only smokers (22 out of 33). 

The scans also found higher rates of bronchial thickening – inflammation of the lining of the bronchial tubes – among cannabis smokers, as well as bronchiectasis (widened, damaged airways) and mucoid impaction. The study also found that paraseptal emphysema was the predominant subtype in marijuana smokers. The rarest form of emphysema, paraseptal emphysema damages tiny ducts that connect air sacs in the lungs, usually affecting the upper part of the lung with fluid-filled sacs called bullae forming on the surface.

The study’s findings align with other research that associates marijuana smoking with large airway inflammation, increased airway resistance, and lung hyperinflation, and more prevalent symptoms of chronic bronchitis. Another study found that frequent marijuana smokers had more outpatient medical visits for respiratory problems than those who do not smoke.

To read the full study, visit Radiology.