home across state lines can be subject Exposure to marijuana smoke can to arrest under federal drug laws. exacerbate health problems such as asthma, chronic obstructive Am I just being paranoid? Everyone pulmonary disease (COPD), and has smoked marijuana at one time or atherosclerosis, leading to heart another and we’re all still alive. How attack and strokes. harmful can it be? Although Nevada’s Clean Indoor Air “There is great concern about the Act does not currently proscribe health impacts of marijuana use, indoor marijuana use in public especially on lung health. Smoke buildings, most public spaces in from marijuana combustion has been Nevada that currently prohibit shown to contain many of the same combustible tobacco use also forbid toxins and carcinogens as tobacco smoking marijuana. smoke,” says Will Rucker with the American Lung Association. Americans for Non-Smokers Rights (ANR) point out that marijuana smoke “Smoke is smoke,” said Dr. Matthew is a form of indoor air pollution. The Springer, associate professor of ANR states, “If we want healthy, smoke medicine at the University of California free air for workers and the public, in San Francisco. Dr. Springer said, then products like marijuana and “Both tobacco and marijuana smoke electronic smoking devices” as well impair blood vessel function similarly. as combustible tobacco, “must not People should avoid both.” be used in smoke free environments where others are forced to breathe the secondhand emissions.”
CRUSH’s Malcolm Ahlo says, ““PRIDE should be a fun event celebrated with family and friends. Who wants to have to breathe someone else’s marijuana or tobacco smoke?”
Richard Davis is a community health worker with Dignity Health – St. Rose Dominican Hospitals. Mr. Davis is a certified tobacco treatment specialist and master instructional specialist with the University of Arizona’s HealthCare Partners. He is a workshop leader and master trainer for the Chronic Pain Self-Management Workshop originally developed at Stanford University. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone.
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