Long-Term Effects of Smoking Weed: Brain, Lungs, Heart and Cancer Risk

Smoking weed regularly over the long term has been linked to effects on the developing brain (especially in teens), lung irritation and respiratory infections, and a short-term rise in heart rate and blood pressure that can be risky for people with heart conditions. Cannabis is used all over the world recreationally, and its medical and therapeutic benefits are increasingly recognized. Even so, it can be harmful to your health, and more so as THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) levels in weed keep climbing.

Scientists are only starting to understand the complex ways weed use, especially long-term use, affects the body, but some studies suggest it may cause several health problems over time. For example, early studies in animals and humans suggest smoking weed may suppress the immune system.

How does weed affect the brain?

The main active ingredient in weed, delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, acts on cannabinoid receptors found in the brain regions that influence learning, memory, appetite, coordination and pleasure.

Researchers are still learning about weed's long-term effects on the brain, but they believe the strongest effects hit young people whose brains are still building neural connections.

According to the CDC (the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), marijuana affects brain development. While the brain is still developing, as in babies, children and teenagers, it's especially vulnerable to the long-term effects of weed and THC. Research is ongoing, but studies suggest that marijuana use during pregnancy may be linked to problems with attention, memory, problem-solving and behavior in the children.

Does smoking weed as a teenager affect the brain?

Smoking weed as a teenager, before age 18, can affect how the brain builds connections for functions like attention, memory and learning. These effects can be long-lasting or even permanent, but more research is needed to fully understand them.

What do the studies say?

One study in teenagers found impaired neural connectivity in specific brain regions involved in a wide range of executive functions like memory, learning and impulse control, compared with non-users.

Teens who smoked weed regularly (daily for three years) showed changes in the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for long-term memory. The researchers found that the longer (and more heavily) participants used weed, the more abnormal the shape of their hippocampus, which went along with poorer long-term memory.

Does smoking weed hurt your lungs?

Weed and tobacco are completely different substances, but smoking either one can affect your lungs in similar ways. Just like cigarette smokers, weed smokers face a higher risk of colds, bronchitis and lung infections.

Vaping weed used to be seen as a safer option than smoking, but vaping products, especially illicit THC cartridges, have been tied to EVALI (e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury), a lung condition that causes breathing problems and can lead to hospitalization and even death.

Respiratory side effects:

Coughing and colds are the most annoying side effects of smoking weed, but a higher risk of lung cancer would be life-threatening. Weed smoke contains some of the same cancer-causing compounds as tobacco smoke, sometimes in higher concentrations.

That said, so far, population studies haven't found a clear increase in lung cancer risk from smoking weed.

More research is needed to understand how smoking weed might affect lung cancer and other respiratory diseases, such as emphysema (a lung condition that causes shortness of breath) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Is there a link between weed and cancer?

Smoking weed may be particularly risky for younger men. Some studies suggest a link between weed use and a higher risk of a particular type of testicular cancer.

A 2015 study in the journal BMC Cancer concluded that using cannabis once a week, or for more than 10 years, was associated with a higher risk of testicular germ cell tumors.

Smoked weed delivers THC and other cannabinoids to the body, but it also delivers harmful substances, including many of the same toxins and carcinogens (cancer-causing chemicals) found in tobacco smoke, which are bad for your lungs and cardiovascular system. More research is needed to understand how weed might affect lung cancer and other respiratory cancers.

Is weed bad for your heart?

Within minutes of smoking weed, your heart rate goes up and your blood pressure can shift, which can be dangerous for people with heart disease. Researchers have found that people who use weed have a higher risk of a heart attack right after smoking compared with people who don't.

Studies have also found a link between weed use and arrhythmias, as well as a potentially higher risk of stroke.

Can weed interfere with medications?

Cannabinoids can also potentially interfere with many heart medications, including antiarrhythmics, statins, calcium channel blockers and beta blockers.

Despite what a lot of people think, long-term use can lead to cannabis use disorder. That's why we always say there are healthier ways to consume cannabis than others, that you can control the dose and amount to sidestep many of these risks, and that medical cannabis treatments, prescribed and monitored by professionals, can deliver real benefits when done right. 

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