The Drug Update

An Australian study found that marijauna users risk the onset of emphysema 20 years before tobacco smokers. The risk is increased possibly because of higher temperatures at which the marijuana is inhaled and different inhalation techniques. Matthew Naughton of Melbourne's Alfred Hospital explained that "a tobacco smoker generally has smaller holes in the top of the lungs. What we were seeing (in marijuana smokers) was larger holes in the top and mid-part of the chest." The emphysema cases in marijuana smokers were more advanced and occured 20 years earlier than the cases in tobacco users.