The Toker was made possible through a financial contribution from Health Canada.

The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of Health Canada.

The Science

The Lung Health Foundation would like to thank all researchers who are working tirelessly to investigate the lung health effects of cannabis. They are proof that not all heroes wear capes.


  1. Wu, Tzu-Chin; Tashkin, Donald P.; Djahed, Behnam; Rose JE. Pulmonary Hazards of Smoking Marijuana as Compared with Tobacco. N Engl J Med. 1988;318(6):347-351. doi:10.1056/NEJM198802113180603 
  2. Moir D, Rickert WS, Levasseur G, et al. A comparison of mainstream and sidestream marijuana and tobacco cigarette smoke produced under two machine smoking conditions. Chem Res Toxicol. 2008;21(2):494-502. doi:10.1021/tx700275p.
  3. Lutchmansingh D, Pawar L, Savici D. Legalizing Cannabis: A physician’s primer on the pulmonary effects of marijuana. Curr Respir Care Rep. 2014;3(4):200-205. doi:10.1007/s13665-014-0093-1. 
  4. ElSohly, Mahmoud A et al. “Changes in Cannabis Potency Over the Last 2 Decades (1995-2014): Analysis of Current Data in the United States.” Biological psychiatry vol. 79,7 (2016): 613-9. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2016.01.004. 
  5. Tashkin Donald P. Effects of marijuana smoking on the lung. Annals of the American Thoracic Society. 2013 Jun;10(3):239-47. doi: 10.1513/AnnalsATS.201212-127FR.
  6. Hancox RJ, Shin HH, Gray AR, Poulton R, Sears MR. Effects of quitting cannabis on respiratory symptoms. European Respirology Journal. 2015;46(1):80-87. doi:10.1183/09031936.00228914.
  7. Gates P, Jaffe A, Copeland J. Cannabis smoking and respiratory health: Consideration of the literature. Respirology. 2014;19(5):655-662. doi:10.1111/resp.12298.
  8. Gates P, Jaffe A, Copeland J. Cannabis smoking and respiratory health: Consideration of the literature. Respirology. 2014;19(5):655-662. doi:10.1111/resp.12298.
  9. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/publications/drugs-health-products/canadian-cannabis-survey-2019-summary.html
  10. Adapted from Canada’s Lower-Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines (LRCUG).
  11. Psychoyos D, Vinod KY. Marijuana, spice “herbal high”, and early neural development: implications for rescheduling and legalizationAmerican Journal of Roentgenography. 2013; 5:27–45.
  12. Bahorik AL, Leibowitz A, Sterling SA, Travis A, Weisner C, Satre DD. Patterns of marijuana use among psychiatry patients with depression and its impact on recovery. J Affect Disord. 2017 Apr 15;213:168-171. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2017.02.016. Epub 2017 Feb 14. PMID: 28242498; PMCID: PMC5407687.
  13. Jacobus et al., 2017
  14. Buckner JD, Zvolensky MJ, Farris SG, Hogan J. Social anxiety and coping motives for cannabis use: The impact of experiential avoidance. Psychol Addict Behav. 2014 Jun;28(2):568-74. doi: 10.1037/a0034545. Epub 2013 Nov 25. PMID: 24274436; PMCID: PMC5149405.
  15. Henquet C, Krabbendam L, de Graaf R, ten Have M, van Os J. Cannabis use and expression of mania in the general population. J Affect Disord. 2006 Oct;95(1-3):103-10. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2006.05.002. Epub 2006 Jun 21. PMID: 16793142.
  16. Fischer, B., Russell, C., Sabioni, P., van den Brink, W., Le Foll, B., Hall, W., Rehm, J. & Room, R. (2017). Lower-Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines (LRCUG): An evidence-based update. American Journal of Public Health, 107 (8). DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2017.303818.
  17. Hasin DS. US epidemiology of cannabis use and associated problems. Neuropsychopharmacology 2018 Jan;43(1):195-212.

SHARE THE TOKER’S SAGA

Share the misadventures, and help your friends breathe a little easier.

SHARE THE TOKER’S SAGA

Share the misadventures, and help your friends breathe a little easier.