Pubdate: Thu, 19 May 2016
Source: Westword (Denver, CO)
Column: Ask a Stoner
Copyright: 2016 Village Voice Media
Contact: http://www.westword.com/feedback/EmailAnEmployee?department=letters
Website: http://www.westword.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1616
Author: Herbert Fuego

DEAR STONER: CAN LUNGS HEAL THEMSELVES WHEN YOU QUIT SMOKING?

Dear Stoner: I'm thinking about quitting smoking flower. I'll 
probably eat edibles, but I want my lungs to stay healthy. Will they 
heal themselves if I quit?

J.R. Huff 'n' Stuff

Dear J.R.: Good for you, man. As much as I love consuming cannabis 
and all that it does, there's no way around the effects of smoke on 
lungs after years of use, so I commend you for even considering the 
idea. According to the American Lung Association, the dangers of 
marijuana smoke include chronic cough, phlegm production, wheezing 
and acute bronchitis. The first three are likely to gradually 
disappear in the weeks, months and years after you quit smoking, but 
if you get chronic bronchitis or emphysema, then you're stuck for 
life. If your lungs and the air sacs in them aren't completely 
forsaken, though, they could slowly regenerate and eventually filter 
out all of the tar - so don't be surprised if you continue to cough 
for a little after quitting.

A study done in 2005 for the Harm Reduction Journal and National 
Center for Biotechnology Information found that while marijuana smoke 
contains carcinogens and toxins that are certainly bad for your lungs 
and can cause the conversion of respiratory cells to a pre-cancerous 
state, there's no connection between cannabis and lung, colon or 
rectal cancers. If you're patient enough for edibles, though, your 
lungs will thank you in the future!

Dear Stoner: I'm thinking of doing some biking and camping in western 
Colorado this summer, probably the Fruita area. Can I buy weed there? 
If not, where should I stop to stock up?

Mick Trickle

Dear Mick: Pretty sweet to be able to drive to Fruita in less than 
half a day, isn't it? But even though that town will let us enjoy its 
trails, that doesn't mean it will sell us pot. Although communities 
on the western side of Colorado are much cooler than those on the 
eastern side when it comes to recreational sales (and you don't hear 
Arizona and Utah bitching, do you, Nebraska and Oklahoma?), Fruita, 
Grand Junction and unincorporated Mesa County all ban retail pot 
shops. Fortunately, I-70 has a healthy helping of towns along the way 
that allow pot sales. Glenwood Springs, Rifle, Silt, Parachute and 
DeBeque are all on the way to Fruita and have retail stores, and 
Palisade has a medical-only dispensary. It's not like you're leaving 
the state, though, so why not just stock up in Denver before making the drive?
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom