ABSTRACT
The smoke contents of marijuana are at least qualitatively similar to those of tobacco, with the major exception that marijuana smoke contains
~9-tetrahydrocannabinol (~9_ THC) and approximately 60 additional cannabinoid compounds not found in tobacco, and that tobacco contains nicotine that is absent from marijuana. 13 Many of the ingredients that are common to marijuana and tobacco smoke are known to be toxic to respiratory tissue. These toxic components include hydrocyanic acid, oxides of nitrogen, acrolein, reactive aldehydes, and several known carcinogens. It is therefore reasonable to expect that repeated inhalation of the noxious components in cannabis smoke may have long-term adverse effects on the lung similar to those that have been observed in regular tobacco smokers.
