hi! certainly this is not the most important thing rn but i'm seeing a lot of moralizing misinformation abt cannabis smoking and covid risk that i'd like to clarify.

long story short: SMOKING CANNABIS IS NOT NEARLY AS DANGEROUS AS SMOKING TOBACCO // DOESNT CAUSE LUNG CANCER

don't believe me? here's a great scientific review:

(and i quote)

"habitual use of marijuana alone does not appear to lead to significant abnormalities in lung function when assessed either cross-sectionally or longitudinally"

https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1513/AnnalsATS.201212-127FR

now, smoking anything is never particularly good for you. so why is it that cannabis DOES NOT CAUSE LUNG CANCER?

well, the best experts i've spoken to think it has to do with the anti-carcinogenic effect of cannabinoids. yes, really. on balance, smoking pot is not that bad

BUT

if you are smoking pot that you bought on the illicit market, or legally in a state that does not screen v well for pesticides, you are at a greater risk, bc chemical treatment of cannabis crops is now PERVASIVE, and we're talking about chemicals w known neurotoxins & carcinogens

(see, for example, my reporting on the dangers of pesticides for rolling stone https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/inside-the-weird-and-wild-crusade-for-clean-pot-198873/

and re: the causes of the vaping crisis for @CalSunday
https://story.californiasunday.com/world-of-vaping  )

and what about vaping???

well, for starters, if you are smoking cigarettes and are able to switch to vaping nicotine, that would CERTAINLY be better for your lungs at this moment.

re: cannabis, it's p much the same as bud -- illicit vapes are way more likely to be dangerous

do i think it's a coincidence that we started to see articles like STOP SMOKING POT AND CIGS TO PREVENT COVID right after we started to see evidence that black communities are being disprop. affected by covid?

i do not.

the us has a long history of racist moralizing

so anyway. times are super intense. but pretty much the worst outcome here would be banning products of any kind. bans are only going to lead people to the illicit market, where products are decidedly less safe.

and please, mainstream news orgs, STOP MAKING IT SEEM LIKE cigarettes = cannabis = vaping.

They are NOT the same.